These are the biggest losers from the NFL Draft:
Loser: Luther Burden III, Wide Receiver, Bears
Same as with the TEs, Burden could have gone to so many other teams and been a focal point of the offense, but he’s in a situation now where he’ll be behind two elite Wide Receivers, Rome Odunze and DJ Moore.
Loser: Emeka Egbuka, Wide Receiver Bucs
Same as Burden, Egbuka will be behind two of the leagues best in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. Jalen McMillan is also there, coming off a great rookie season and in line for targets. Egbuka is good blocker and that’s how he’ll contribute and develop for now.
Loser: Dylan Sampson, Running Back Browns
I love Sampson as a prospect he has a lot to like and will become a great player one day, but barring injury he could be buried for the foreseeable future behind Quinshon Judkins, the presumed back of the future for the Browns as well as the veteran Jerome Ford.
Losers: Tyler Warren, Tight End Colts & Colston Loveland, Tight End Bears
Both of these first-round tight Ends are going to be great players for a long time, but unfortunately, both are in pretty crowded situations for this upcoming season.
Loser: Harold Fannin, Tight End, Browns
David Njoku is only 28 years old and one of the league’s best at his position. Tight ends are playing well into their mid-30s these days, and Njoku is a physical freak who doesn’t expect to slow down anytime soon. All this doesn’t bode well for the Bowling Green product, Fannin. He’ll have to do most of his damage in two tight-end sets when Kevin Stefanski deploys 12 personnel packages.
Loser: Damien Martinez, Running Back Seahawks
Martinez was a player who many perceived had moved up NFL draft boards, but as it turned out, he had to wait until Round 7 to hear his name called. Piling on, he ended up in one of the deeper Running back rooms in the league in Seattle behind Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet.
Loser: Jalen Milroe, Quarterback, Seahawks
Sounded like Seattle sniped Cleveland taking Milroe, and the latter would have been a much better opportunity for him to play right away. As it is, Milroe will sit and learn behind vets Sam Darnold and Drew Lock.
Loser: Trevor Etienne, Running Back Panthers
I really like Etienne, he showed up in big games at Georgia and was hoping for a better landing spot then Carolina who just extended incumbent Chuba Hubbard and signed Rico Dowdle as a free agent. So, at least for the immediate future, Etienne will be third on the depth chart.
Loser: Isaiah Bond, Wide Receiver UDFA
Despite being one of the more talented Wide Receivers in a fairly weak Wide Receiver class, off-the-field issues led to Bond going undrafted. He’ll now have to stick as an UDFA.