A Draft Scenario That Makes Sense.

An interesting Draft scenario was sent to me in my messenger yesterday. I believe the scenario came from Luke Easterling via Draft Wire. The scenario is intriguing and makes sense.

First, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers trade the 5th pick to the Denver Broncos so John Elway can get his man. It has been no secret that Hall of Fame QB turned GM had gushed over QB Drew Lock and would likely do nothing short of everything in order to get his future QB. So, this makes a ton of sense to me.

In exchange for the 5th pick, Tampa would receive Denver’s 10th pick. We have seen Jason Licht do this in the past, so whether or not Denver is the team or Jacksonville, who is likely looking QB themselves, it is probable that Tampa will come off the 5th pick to a QB needy team.

Now the interesting scenario for me is the idea that if Tampa does trade the 5th to Denver, who has the 10th pick, or Jacksonville, who has the 7th pick, Tampa would trade either one to Miami. Miami may also be looking for a QB themselves. With Denver drooling over Drew Lock and J-Ville possibly looking at QB Dwayne Haskins, Miami could jump and grab QB Kyle Murray, according to Easterling, and this makes total sense to me.

If Tampa trades with Denver and then with Miami, we would be sitting at 13th, and Easterling has us selecting DT Ed Oliver out of Houston and OMG! I am in love with this pick!

Ed Oliver is a beast!

In three seasons with the Houston Cougars, Oliver played in 32 games, recording 13.5 sacks, 192 tackles with 53 of them for losses, 11 passes defended, 5 forced fumbles, and 1 fumble recovery.

Oliver has been compared to Aaron Donald, but Walterfootball.com says he is not Donald, citing that both Aaron Donald and Ed Oliver are certainly fast, but Oliver is nowhere near as strong as Donald.

Bucky Brooks calls Ed Oliver the Next Big Thing and cites,

“The 6-foot-2, 290-pound playmaker flashed big-time potential as a true freshman in a marquee tilt against Oklahoma. With that spectacular debut (seven tackles, including two sacks) setting the table for an impressive two-year run that has seen him tally 39.5 tackles for loss in 25 career games, Oliver is already a household name in the scouting community.”

Brooks also stated that,

“Oliver is capable of winning with finesse or power on the inside, but he wins most of his snaps by outworking his opponent at the line of scrimmage. Whether it’s using a second or third move on a rush or simply running down a ball carrier from behind on a chase play, Oliver’s energy and effort jump off the screen. In fact, it reminds me a lot of Sheldon Richardson’s tape when I watched him make a ton of energy plays at Missouri as a disruptive playmaker.”

I am almost 100% sold!

Oliver’s ability to penetrate a blocking line during a run is elite and shoots the gap better than most. His ability to overcome double teams sets him apart from the majority of defensive lineman, of his position, in this year’s draft. He is explosive off the line, Gerald McCoy-esque, and is good at getting his hands into the faceoff opposing quarterbacks or in throwing lanes.

Ed Oliver is explosive, fast, versatile, flexible, and a rare talent that would boost and defensive line, preferably Tampa’s. As pointed out by Easterling and myself many times, if Gerald McCoy and Tampa do part ways, a replacement will be needed. Ed Oliver is the perfect candidate. If Tampa keeps McCoy, then Oliver would be perfect as a future replacement.