The NFL draft's three big winners

The 2017 NFL Draft is in the books and the pre-draft uncertainty evolved into nothing short of insanity shortly after the Cleveland Browns took Myles Garrett with the first overall pick.

From the Chicago Bears mortgaging their future on quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, to the Raiders employing a polygraph test as a scouting method for a man currently under investigation for rape, the draft provided no shortage of questionable picks.

We won’t know the success of each team’s draft class until a few years down the track, but there are already a number of people who have benefited greatly in the eyes of the football public.

Here are the three biggest winners from the 2017 NFL Draft.

John Lynch – San Francisco 49ers General Manager
The 49ers decision to hire former All-Pro safety and Fox broadcaster John Lynch in February was met with the broad brush of skepticism, and for good reason. After all this is the same franchise that has been run into the ground in Al Davis-like fashion by owner Jed York.

The same franchise that jettisoned Jim Harbaugh – their best head coach since the glory days of Bill Walsh – in favour of someone called Jim Tomsula (whom I’m yet to confirm ever existed in the first place) and offensive visionary Chip Kelly – whom they only gave one year to turn around the worst offensive roster in the league.

Lynch wasn’t a sought after individual for any managerial positions around the league, and nor should he have been given his only post-playing career experience was as a colour commentator.

In an instant, the 49ers had seemingly committed themselves to six years of football purgatory with a GM lacking any credibility and or ability to successfully rebuild the most talent-deprived roster in the NFC.

Come draft week, it’s a different story all together.

Lynch proved to be a wily and formidable front office opponent as he suckered the Chicago Bears into believing they were destined to take North Carolina quarterback Mitchell Trubisky with the second overall pick.

The Bears’ fears of missing out on the man they hope to be their next Jim McMahon was just the incentive Lynch could exploit, and exploit he did.

Trading one spot down and obtaining an additional third and fourth round pick in 2017 as well as another third next year.

As a result, the Niners were able to still select their guy and Lynch’s Stanford classmate (that’s right, classmate) Solomon Thomas at number three, as well as trade back into the first to take Alabama’s Reuben Foster, a linebacking talent they were considering taking with the pick they’d eventually use on Thomas.

The mid-rounds could also provide key additions in the Niners long-term rebuild.

C.J Beathard is a steady, medium sized, pro-style quarterback from Iowa who should be able to immediately compete for backup reps in training camp, while running back Joe Williams (Utah) was one of the most productive running backs in the PAC-12 last season (1,407 yards, ten touchdowns) despite missing four games.

Time will tell as to whether this draft class reaches any great heights, but Lynch won the draft by merely showing he wasn’t going to be pushed around by more experienced NFL minds, and that the 49ers have a power-player in the front office once again.

Blake Bortles – Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback
Jacksonville had one of the more intriguing lead-ins to the draft, but truthfully, it hasn’t been dissimilar to previous years.

Once again, the Jags won the free agency period by supposedly filling needs with sexy names and players capitalising on the only productive season of their careers (see AJ Bouye), and once again we headed into the draft thinking their roster was stacked and they could merely add icing to what has been a very underwhelming cake.

The big question mark heading into the draft was whether the writing was on the wall for Blake Bortles.

Would GM David Caldwell all but confirm Bortles awful performance in 2016 was indicative of a trend and draft a quarterback in the first round? Or would they commit to competition by taking a signal caller in the second or third round, perhaps the likes of Deshone Kizer or Davis Webb.

But alas, no new faces in the quarterback room by way of the draft or undrafted free agents.

Bortles is in the clear for now.

The Jags draft firmly positioned the former Central Florida quarterback to return to the 2015 form that saw him set franchise records in all major passing categories.

Fourth overall pick Leonard Fournette has all the tools to be a generational running back in the NFL. Physically, he compares favourably to Adrian Peterson but possesses more polished receiving and blocking ability than Peterson did coming out of Oklahoma in 2007.

Alabama offensive lineman Cam Robinson should immediately add athleticism and nastiness to the line, and while his pass protection may not be the most refined element of his game, his pure size and strength should make him an asset in the run game whether that be at tackle or guard.

Fourth round pick, and 2016 Heisman Finalist, Dede Westbrook should provide speed, shiftiness and lateral agility to a receiving corps traditionally made up of bigger bodied, vertical threats.

Simply put, Bortles has zero competition at the position and a plethora of talent at his disposal.

Now, this may not guarantee a return to form, but no quarterback in the league has been put in this good a position to succeed.

QB Deshaun Watson and GM Rick Smith – Houston Texans
Prior to the draft, Clemson quarterback, national champion and all-around “really great guy at sports” Deshaun Watson declared it would be a ‘slap in the face’ if fellow ACC quarterback Mitchell Trubisky was taken ahead of him in the draft.

Well, consider Watson’s face slapped by the firm hand of John Fox and the Chicago Bears.

However, this slap may not be insulting at all.

If anything, it may slap some sense into Watson, and this newfound sensibility may even lead to the logical line of questioning such as ‘why the hell would I want to go to the Bears anyway?’

Yes, Watson was taken behind a quarterback whose college career wouldn’t even appear as a footnote in the history book of collegiate football, but he may have the last laugh as he’s landed in the best possible situation.

The Texans already have a championship calibre defence and this isn’t up for debate, as they dragged Brock Osweiler to a playoff appearance.

Brock Osweiler.

The very same Brock Osweiler they traded a second round pick to Cleveland just to get him and his $18m daylight robbery of a salary off the books.

The former Clemson Tiger will have a dynamic receiver tandem in Deandre Hopkins and Will Fuller to work with, as well as a potential top-five running back in Lamar Miller and the newly drafted D’Onta Foreman, who at 6ft, 233lbs may be the short-distance/goal-line running back they’ve needed for some time.

General Manager Rick Smith also comes out of the draft smelling like roses, because somehow, some way, he’s managed to sell a level of optimism to the Texans fan-base that has all but made them forget he signed off on the single worst quarterback contract since the Oakland Raiders made Jamarcus Russell 68 million dollars richer back in 2007.

It’s very rare that a GM will be able to whiff on a quarterback so egregiously, and yet manage to not only cut ties but also have a second shot at finding a face of the franchise.

Watson essentially guarantees Smith another two to three years at the helm of the Texans, and for that reason, he could well be the draft’s biggest winner.

Honorable mentions
-Running backs with character issues (Joe Mixon and Dalvin Cook)

-Roger Goodell fully committing to his Vince McMahon-like heel commissioner character

-The Cleveland Browns’ analytics based approach to drafting proving to be somewhat competent

-The city of Philadelphia, for nearly 250,000 people showing up to watch large men walk across a stage. The city of brotherly love sure does love its football.