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My Thoughts On The Draft And My Expectations

First, my expectations.

Round 1: Artie Burns CB Miami

Burns is tall and is lengthy. He is as close to William Jackson in physical traits that you can get. His production is different. He is not as good as William Jackson. I think we could have gone better. Since we drafted him first round, I expect him to be able to come in on some formations and able to cover well enough to have an upgrade over Antwon Blake. Realistically, that may not happen. I also expect he will start in the 2017-2018 season. He may not be as good and be a reach, he has the potential to be better. Let's hope our CB coach doesn't screw him up.

Round 2: Sean Davis CB/S Maryland

I don't understand. Vonn Bell was still on the board. I know Bill Cheatichek was interested in him, and even though he is the worst coach ever (Deflategate), he can spot talent well. The good news is since he is a hybrid, he understands the secondary even better. He played safety in his earlier years in college and switched over to CB this past year. He is a much better safety because of the fact he can tackle, hit hard, and is smart. I expect him to start in the middle of the season if he is worthy of our second round pick. Let's be honest, he doesn't have much competition. Golden is an amazing backup, Thomas is just Thomas and will never be as good as we thought, and Ventrone is a great on ST. So he may start assuming he isn't a complete bust.

Round 3: Javon Hargrave DT South Carolina St.

I love this pick. I jumped around when I heard his name called. He is amazing at getting through and tackling the RB and sacking the QB (I know that is what they are supposed to do). His biggest problem is that his arms and hands are small for a lineman. This is a problem you can't fix. But he still beasts everyone. With the added pressure of Tuitt and Hayward, we will have a nice time. I expect him to start soon after the season starts just because we have no other competition for DT besides McCullers. I think he will have the biggest impact of our picks so far.

Round 4: Gerald Hawkins OT LSU

I am really trusting the FO on this pick. We have so many other needs besides OT. I don't know much about this, but can you easily move a T to a G? If so, we should do that. He has issues with body control while playing. I don't know too much about this guy, but we honestly didn't need him. I knew we were going to go offense, but not a OT. I am just repeating to myself "Trust in the FO". I hope he turns into a Kelvin Beachum (minus the injuries).

Round 6: Travis Feeney LB Washington

First of all, great pick. I love the later picks more than I love the earlier picks. He is a hybrid LB and S. This is a great pick for me because our LB core is thin. We have Dupree, Moats, Jones, and possibly Harrison. Even if we have Harrison, he is going to have limited snaps. He worked hard to transition his body for a safety to a LB and still has a bit of work. He has natural coverage talent and is okay at blitzing. He may go back to a safety, but I want him to be a LB. He had 8 sacks, 56 total tackles, 17.5 tackles for a loss, 3 forced fumbles, and a recovered fumble. I expect him to help create depth this next year and maybe come into the rotation the year after.

Round 7: DeMarcus Ayers WR/KR/PR Houston

The first thing I notice about him is he comes from the same school as William Jackson (Too soon?). But seriously, he definitely is not Bryant's replacement at 5'9 and 4.72 40 time. From what I heard, he broke his hand during the 40 so that is why he had a slow 40. He relieves AB from his returning abilities. He can also break tackles very well. I think that is good for our special teams. He would also be good on WR screens. I expect him to become a replacement for anyone that leaves us. I also expect him to become an amazing KR/PR.

Round 7: Tyler Matakevich LB Temple

He is I think both linebackers. I think he is here to get more depth at the ILB position. He is a good coverage LB. He had 138 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 5 interceptions, and 15.5 tackles for a loss. He is very smart and studies himself to make himself better. He has great work ethic and I think will become a fan favorite. He will hopefully become a rotational player. I expect him to be depth at the ILB spot this upcoming season. I think the season after he will become a rotational player. He may become a rotational player this year.

Other thoughts on the draft:

I think we could have made better decisions in the first 2 rounds. We could have grabbed Mackenzie Alexander in the first and Vonn Bell in the second. If the FO really wanted those two over the others, they may see something in them. I loved the third round pick in Javon Hargrave. I thought round four was a real head scratcher. We don't need another Tackle on the line. I guess they thought since we lost Kelvin Beachum, we should get another. I thought we were going to get a new member of our secondary, another person for our D-Line, or a Guard. Maybe he will move over to a guard. I like the DeMarcus Ayers pick. He could fill the help fill the void if Wheaton were to leave us next year. He also will make sure AB doesn't get hurt returning kicks or punts. I didn't think we were going to double dip in the LB position. If anything, I thought it would be CB or S. These linebackers have a lot of potential with us. They will also have a lot of chances to prove it since we are thin on linebackers.

The opinions shared here are not those of the editorial staff of Behind the Steel Curtain or SB Nation. These posts are not approved in any way by the editorial staff of this web site.