The 2019 NFL Draft was held in Nashville, Tennessee from April 25-27. And despite this year lacking the flashy players and quarterback class that last year had, it is still an exciting time as teams use this as their final offseason push to shape their starting squads. And while some hit home runs with picks, others strike out with head-scratching decisions.

Winners:

Pittsburgh Steelers – The Steelers knocked this draft out of the park. They made a bold move and traded up to get one of the premier players in the draft. Linebacker Devin Bush fills a HUGE hole the Steelers have had in their defense ever since Ryan Shazier went down. They also addressed needs in the secondary with third-round pick Justin Layne. Pittsburgh went after need in this draft and they absolutely killed it.

Green Bay Packers – Green Bay went heavy defense with both their first round picks coming from that side of the ball. Defense has been their biggest weakness over the past few years and they are finally addressing that issue with a defensive back and an edge rusher in the first round. Only three of their picks were on the offensive side of the ball but they were big needs at running back, tight end and offensive line. The Packers had a rather disappointing season these last two years, and this draft could be a trend in the right direction.

Washington Redskins – The obvious pick for Washington was to take Dwayne Haskins with their first pick when he fell into their lap. After all the quarterback problems they had last year, he will hopefully pan out to be a franchise player after probably sitting out a few games this year behind Case Keenum. The Redskins got bold as well and traded up to get edge rusher Montez Sweat and also addressed their need in the backfield in picking up former Heisman finalist Bryce Love, and drafted two offensive linemen to protect Keenum. The Redskins are more of an underdog winner in this draft, but still a good one at that.

Losers:

New York Giants – Oh man, this was bad. This was so bad. Folks, this was absolutely terrible. Dave Gettleman is definitely on the hot seat after some decisions he made this offseason. Daniel Jones was listed on all except the Giants draft board as a second or third round pick. Dwayne Haskins was unanimously ranked higher than Jones on all mock drafts, yet the Giants took Jones. Their other picks in the draft were actually competent, but that Daniel Jones pick just made no sense, especially given how much they need a quarterback. Jones would have more than likely been available even in the second or third round of the draft yet the Giants made a HUGE reach on this kid. This was definitely a bad pick for New York, and it’s defining their entire draft class.

Arizona Cardinals – They’re in the same boat as the Giants. Not in terms of how bad a pick was, but just the oddity of why they did it. They drafted a quarterback in Josh Rosen with their first pick in last years draft, and yet they did the same thing this year. That would then classify last years pick as a useless pick. Now, don’t get me wrong, Kyler Murray has a lot of potential in this league and is a good fit for Kliff Kingsbury. But how they handled the situation with Rosen and their #1 overall pick this year as sub-par.

We’re not Sure Yet:

Oakland Raiders – The Raiders are a team that had an interesting draft. They reached on a couple of their first round picks but they were at needed positions. I was surprised to see that they took a safety with one of their three first round picks instead of addressing more serious issues on defense. They did as mentioned before have three first round picks but overall I was skeptical at some of their choices but understood where they were coming from for the most part.

Atlanta Falcons – It was interesting to see that after all the defensive mishaps and injuries last season, that the Falcons used two first round picks on offensive linemen. I understand them wanting to protect Matt Ryan but their defense last season was not good. And although they did get a few defensive players later in the draft, it was surprising that they didn’t pursue higher round talent in the first round.

Denver Broncos – A tight end worthy of a first round pick better be impressive. They addressed offensive line issues in the second round but it seemed that Noah Fant would have been available later in the draft. Although that may have been peculiar, I like them getting a quarterback in the second round. I doubt Joe Flacco will solve their quarterback problems so it’s good for them to have a developmental backup.