Big Reaches in 2013 Draft

SI Staff | Apr 27, 2013

Big Reaches in 2013 Draft

Travis Frederick

The Cowboys used the 31st pick on Frederick, then Brian Schwenke went to Tennessee at 107. I'm not sure Frederick is even the better of the two prospects, let alone 76 picks better. Dallas needed to bulk up its line, so that was the aim here. It's still a reach.

Le'Veon Bell

You'll probably hear a lot about how Bell fits the Steelers mold, so from their perspective, that may be all that matters. This is still higher than Bell should have gone -- even more so considering that Eddie Lacy, Johnathan Franklin, Montee Ball and others were on the board.

Jon Bostic

The fault is not in the Bears addressing their need at linebacker. It's in taking Bostic -- probably a Round 3 guy -- in the top 50, six selections before Arthur Brown heard his name called.

David Amerson

There is not a lot of middle ground here. Either Amerson improves dramatically as a man-to-man cover guy or he bombs as an NFL cornerback. Maybe the Redskins will hide him in zone or slide him to safety, but there were better cornerbacks for the taking here.

Kayvon Webster

This happens frequently in the draft -- a team simply values an intriguing prospect much more favorably than just about anyone else. Webster could develop into a solid contributor, and he does not need to do a whole lot early, so there's time to grow. Webster, however, probably would have been around in Round 4 or 5.

Duron Harmon

Duron Harmon (left) might have been around during the undrafted free-agent process that will be begin this weekend. Bill Belichick has a habit of doing this at least once a draft -- nabbing a player that is not really on anyone's radar.

Knile Davis

Knile Davis missed all of 2011 with a serious ankle injury and he was not the same player after coming back last year. Was Davis worth taking a shot on? Absolutely. Was he worth taking a shot on in Round 3, with Johnathan Franklin or even Marcus Lattimore on the board? Nope.

Edmund Kugbila

Never heard of him? You're forgiven. Kugbila was a fringe prospect out of tiny Valdosta State. The Panthers can afford to spend time developing Kugbila, and yet it's hard to imagine anyone else was jumping at him in Round 4.

Jeff Locke, Sam Martin

Both guys (especially Locke, pictured) have big legs, and the Lions were the worst punting team in the league last season. There won't be many punter picks, though, that get high marks -- doubly true in Round 5 of a deep draft.

Published Apr 27, 2013

SI STAFF