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Right Pick, Wrong Team

Which talented players from the 2015 NFL Draft landed with the wrong teams? Find out here.

John Owning

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There are numerous factors that go into whether a team’s selection in the NFL draft is a good one or not. Of course, it is impossible to know for sure whether it was good or not right after the draft, but there are a couple of factors to look at to make the best educated guess. When judging a team’s pick, you have to look at how that player’s skill set matches up with the scheme that team utilizes, his overall talent and whether he will get the opportunity to really utilize his talent.

It may seem like it is obvious that teams should only select players that meet that criteria, but every year team’s fall into the same mistakes. For example, when the St. Louis Rams selected Tavon Austin, he didn’t fit the offense that they were trying to run and they wouldn’t put him in a position to best utilize his skill set.

This year, there were a few players who had the talent to go where they were selected, but they wound up with the wrong team. Without further ado, let’s take a look at those players.

Marcus Mariota, Tennessee Titans

It is undeniable that Marcus Mariota is an extremely talented quarterback; however, he went to an offense where he will have a huge learning curve. At Oregon, he played in an uptempo, spread offense where he took almost all of his snaps from the shotgun and he never had to call a play or get his team in a huddle.

In Tennessee, he will have to do almost the exact opposite. He will be taking a ton of five and seven step drops from under center where he will have to make complicated reads against extremely advanced defenses. Furthermore, he will have to make pre-snap adjustments to put his team in the best position to get a positive play.

Even for a quarterback who played in a pro-style offense in college, the jump to the NFL is huge. For Mariota, the jump will be enormous. He will have to learn concepts that he has never had to work with and he will have to do it quickly, since he has already been named the day-one starter at quarterback. Mariota’s talent warrants a selection in the top five; however, his skill set doesn’t fit what the Titans want to do very well.

Tevin Coleman, Atlanta Falcons

Tevin Coleman is a home-run hitting running back who could develop into one of the most explosive running backs in the game. Unfortunately, his talents are much better suited for a gap-scheme running game and the Atlanta Falcons run an almost exclusive zone scheme.

Coleman is at his best when his route is already declared before the snap and he can come downhill extremely quickly and hit the hole hard. He struggles to be patient and he lacks the change of direction to be the one-cut style of running back that thrives in a zone running offense.

Now, Coleman could still make an impact in the passing game as a receiver, but with the Falcons he will never be as good as he can be as long as the Falcons are a zone scheme team. His talent will be marginalized and that is exactly the opposite of what you want in a draft pick.

Mario Edwards Jr., Oakland Raiders

Mario Edwards Jr. is a boom-or-bust type of player as he has a ton of talent, but it is impossible to know whether he will realize it. Therefore, it is crucial that Edwards be used in a role that will maximize his skill set, which doesn’t appear to be happening in Oakland.

Early reports have Edwards manning the Leo spot, which could be worse for Edwards’ skill set. Edwards skill set is better as a strong side defensive so that he can utilize his power and set the edge in the run game. He doesn’t have the quick twitch or speed rushing ability to be a good fit as a Leo.

If the Raiders keep Edwards as a Leo, they will likely see dismal results. This could lead Edwards to not realizing his full potential and being another in a long line of busts under the Raiders regime.

 

 

 

John Owning is a NFL columnist for Football Insiders. He has years of experience covering the NFL, NFL draft and NCAA football. John's work has been featured on the Bleacher Report and DraftBreakdown.com

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