NFL Draft: Ryan Tannehill 8th, Luke Kuechly 9th, Stephon Gilmore 10th, Dontari Poe 11th, Fletcher Cox 12th
By Jason Lisk
9. Carolina: Luke Kuechly, LB, Boston College. One of the safest picks in the draft to be a pretty good player. The Panthers were bad on defense last year, so they opt to address the linebacker corp with a great coverage linebacker. Jon Beason was hurt last year and is expected to return, so Kuechly should line up as an OLB in the 4-3 if Beason returns, for now, and can move to the inside later in his career.
11. Kansas City: Dontari Poe, NT, Memphis. Kansas City drafted for need here. The last time they did that, they took Tyson Jackson to play 3/4 DE at #3 overall when most had him as a mid-first round pick. Poe was largely projected in the same range. I would have preferred a trade down if they were locked on Poe. He was a workout warrior at the Combine, so we’ll hope that he turns it on in the pros when he steps up in competition from playing at a woeful program with little help at Memphis.
12. Philadelphia (via trade with Seattle): Fletcher Cox, DT, Mississippi State. The Eagles immediately follow with a great trade up and pick. Cox was thought to be a top 10 guy but slipped past Carolina when they opted for Kuechly (which probably made Seattle willing to trade as well). Everyone talked about the top picks having more value. For the fourth trade in a row, the trading up team actually gives up less than the old trade chart. In this case, Philly gave up a 4th and a 6th to move up.
[photos via Mike the Intern]