NFL Draft blog: 2016's Mr. Irrelevant is Kalan Reed
Live analysis (Draft order/selections below)
The marathon is over and Mr. Irrelevant has been named.
This year's winner of that dubious title was Kalan Reed, a cornerback from Southern Mississippi. Reed will be flown to Newport Beach in southern California for a parade thrown in his honor. He'll get a nice chunk of change for his troubles. This is the 41st year of the Mr. Irrelevant celebration.
Lions add Washington RB with final pick
With their last pick of the draft, the Lions added a running back in Dwayne Washington from...wait for it...Washington.
Washington is 6-foot-2, 222 pounds, making him a load to take down. He also mixes in some speed, running a 4.44 40-yard dash. He's a great pass-catching back as well. Seemingly, he's the whole package physically.
The knock on him is his slow decision making. He ran for just 282 yards and four touchdowns in 2015, missing the final three games of the season due to injury. Maybe his lack of touches will make him a fresh guy for the Lions to plug into their backfield, assuming he can stay healthy, which is something he struggled to do in college. Running backs, more than any other position, are able to overcome late round stigmas.
WMU star a steal for Bears in 7th round
Daniel Braverman wasn't the flashy guy on a good Western Michigan offense, but he may have been its most reliable receiver.
Braverman was drafted by the Chicago Bears with the 230th overall pick, making him the second Bronco taken in this year's draft.
This kid is just 5-foot-10 and 177 pounds, but he knows how to catch the football. A reliable, shifty receiver like this could really be a steal for the Bears. He's a guy I was high on and though the Lions should take in the sixth round.
Braverman had 103 receptions for for 1,266 yards and 12 touchdowns during his senior campaign.
Another Spartan off the board
The run on local players continues as Donovan Clark, a guard from MSU, was taken by the San Diego Chargers with the 224th overall pick.
Clark was the fourth player taken from a Michigan school over the course of 13 selections.
EMU back goes to Dallas
Darius Jackson, a running back from Eastern Michigan, was taken by the Dallas Cowboys with the 216th overall pick.
This one is a bit puzzling as the Cowboys added Ezekiel Elliott early in the draft and already have Alfred Morris and Darren McFadden in the mix.
Jackson has what it takes to stay competitive for playing time, however. He ran for 1,078 yards and 14 touchdowns last year for the Eagles.
MSU star receiver taken by 49ers
Aaron Burbridge fell a little further than a lot of the local media thought he would, but he eventually ended up as the 213th overall pick in the draft, heading to San Francisco to play in Chip Kelly's uptempo offense.
Burbridge was the 2015 Big Ten receiver of the year, catching seven touchdowns while putting up 1,258 yards on 85 receptions.
He played his high school football at Farmington Hills Harrison.
It will be a challenge for Burbridge to adjust to Kelly's offense after playing in a pro-style system at MSU. With his athleticism, he is definitely capable of being a solid receiver for years to come if he can pick up the system.
CMU star heading to Dallas
Kavon Frazier was the second player taken from one of MIchigan's Mid-American Conference schools, being taken 212th overall by the Dallas Cowboys.
Fraizer played safety for Central Michigan and is from Grand Rapids. As a late round secondary player, he'll have an uphill battle to make the team. But given the Cowboy's struggles on defense, he'll definitely have his opportunities.
Lions take a long snapper
The Lions took the first long snapper of the 2016 NFL Draft, adding Jimmy Landes from Baylor with the 210th overall pick.
Personally, I'd like to see the Lions take a swing at wide receiver Daniel Braverman from Western Michigan. I think he could end up being a good possession receiver in the NFL in the mold of Julian Edelman.
Lions add a bull at defensive tackle
The Lions have added a little more beef to an already beefed up 2016 draft.
Anthony Zettel was the pick for Detroit with 202nd overall selection in the sixth round. Zettel, a defensive tackle that stands at 6-foot-4 and 277 pounds, is a solid depth addition to Lions defensive unit that is in need of big, young bodies in its interior.
Zettel is from Ogemaw Heights, Michigan. He was recruited by both Michigan and MSU before ultimately choosing Penn State.
Lions take Michigan QB Rudock
Jake Rudock, a guy a lot of Michigan fans wanted benched after his first couple of starts in Ann Arbor last year, was taken by the Lions with the 191st overall pick in the sixth round of the draft.
Rudock came on after he became comfortable in Jim Harbaugh's system, taking control of the offense and leading a balanced Wolverine attack. He threw for 3017 yards and 20 touchdowns with a 64 percent completion percentage. He threw nine interceptions, but more than half of those came in the first few weeks as he was getting acclimated to a new system after transferring from Iowa.
Bob Quinn knows a thing or two about Michigan quarterback taken in the sixth round as he spent years with Patriots, who took Tom Brady 199th overall in 2000.
Rudock is a solid choice by the Lions and someone that may not jump Dan Orlovsky on the depth chart right away, but has a chance to become a solid backup quarterback in this league.
Vikings take German wide receiver
Moritz Boehringer was a 17-year-old kid in Germany who randomly came across a video of Adrian Peterson on YouTube and fell in love with football. Now, he's Peterson's teammate after being taken by the Vikings in the sixth round (180th overall) as a wide receiver.
Boehringer is a fascinating prospect. Having never played collegiate football, the odds may be stacked against him. But be assured, his measurables make him worth taking a flier on this late in the draft. Boehringer is 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds while running a 4.3 40-yard dash.
Lions add another physical player
The Lions have a need at linebacker, and though Antwione Williams from Georgia Southern won't be expected to start in 2016, he's a solid addition to the team's depth at the position and could see some playing time if he performs well in practice.
Detroit took Williams (6-foot-3, 245 pounds) with the 169th overall pick in the draft. He can force fumbles as he's a hard-hitter when he gets going downhill. Scouts also say Williams supposed to be pretty good in coverage. The knock on him is that his instincts may be a little slow as he sits and waits for the play to develop. Obviously, he's got the size and physicality to succeed.
Surprise, surprise...Lions go with another lineman
The Lions continue to show that they don't think they've got a lot of depth in the trenches, going with Joe Dahl, an offensive guard from Washington State with the 151st overall pick.
Dahl is the fifth consecutive pick that analysts have dubbed "tough and hard-nosed." Though Dahl comes from an offense that threw the ball a ton under coach Mike Leach, he appears to have the intangibles to be a solid addition to the Lions depth on the offensive line.
Local product taken by Ravens
Matt Judon made a name for himself at West Bloomfield High School and continued to do big things on the football field at Division 2 Grand Valley State in Grand Rapids.
All of that hard work has paid off as Judon, a defensive end, was taken by the Baltimore Ravens with the 146th overall pick.
Ohio St. QB Jones goes to Buffalo
Cardale Jones had himself an up and down year in 2015, going from national champion to backup quarterback at Ohio State after getting off to a tough start early in the season.
Now, he's a Buffalo Bill, taken with the final pick of the fourth round (139th overall).
Jones is a work in progress and he knew he wasn't going to get any playing time going forward with J.T. Barrett calling the shots in Columbus. He'll be a backup in Buffalo, but with a cannon arm like his, anything is possible in the future.
Michigan's Henry is a Raven
Willie Henry (DT) elected to leave Michigan a year early and was taken by the Baltimore Ravens with the 132nd overall pick.
For Henry, he just traded one Harbaugh for another, as Jim's brother, John, is the head man in Baltimore.
Henry has a lot of upside. He plays the run very well and has all of the intangibles to be a solid pass rusher at the next level.
Henry is the second Wolverine taken in this draft after center Graham Glasgow was taken by the Lions late in the third round yesterday.
WMU tackle heading to Minnesota
The first player from an in-state school not named Michigan or Michigan State was Willie Beavers, an offensive tackle from Western Michigan, who was taken by the Minnesota Vikings with the 121st overall pick.
Beavers (Southfield Lathrup) is one of two Broncos expected to be taken at some point today, with the other being wide receiver Daniel Braverman.
Beavers is 6-for-4, 324 pounds, so matching up with NFL guys is not going to be a problem for this young man. His success at the next level depends on whether he can smoothly transition into being a guard, where he projects in the NFL, despite starting at tackle for three years in Kalamazoo.
Lions grab hard-hitting safety
The Lions added some much-needed depth to their secondary in safety Miles Killebrew out of Southern Utah with the 111th overall pick.
The word on Killebrew is that he is a run-stuffing safety that can really deliver a blow to ball carriers. He's the new-wave kind of safety in the NFL as he's got the skill-set of a linebacker.
MSU QB Cook is Raider
In a bit of a puzzler, the Oakland Raiders took MSU quarterback Connor Cook with the 100th overall pick in the NFL Draft.
The Raiders already have a young stud quarterback that they are very high on in Derek Carr. They must have thought Cook was too good of a value to pass on in the fourth round as they traded their fourth round and fifth picks to Cleveland for the right to draft Cook.
Cook is a proven winner at the collegiate level, but it looks like he's going to have to bide his time in the NFL (barring injury) and learn behind Carr before getting a shot somewhere else down the road.
Wisconsin LB first off the board
Joe Schobert out of Wisconsin was the first player off the board on day 3 of the NFL Draft.
Those familiar with Big Ten football are familiar with Schobert, who started his career as a walk-on with the Badgers before becoming one of the best linebackers in the conference by the time he left Madison.
Round 4
1 (99) Cleveland: Joe Schobert, LB, Wisconsin
2 (100) Oakland: Connor Cook, QB, MSU
3 (101) Dallas: Charles Tapper, DE, Oklahoma
4 (102) San Diego: Joshua Perry, LB, Ohio State
5 (103) Jacksonville: Sheldon Day, DT, Notre Dame
6 (104) Baltimore: Tavon Young, CB, Temple
7 (105) Kansas City: Parker Ehinger, G, Cinncinati
8 (106) Kansas City: Eric Murray, CB, Minnesota
9 (107) Baltimore: Chris Moore, WR, Cincinnati
10 (108) Tampa Bay: Ryan Smith, CB, North Carolina Central
11 (109) NY Giants: B.J. Goodson, LB, Clemson
12 (110) Los Angeles: Tyler Higbee, TE, Western Kentucky
13 (111) Detroit: Miles Killebrew, S, Southern Utah
14 (112) New England: Malcolm Mitchell, WR, Georgia
15 (113) Chicago: Nick Kwiatkoski, LB, WVU
16 (114) Cleveland: Ricardo Louis, WR, Auburn
17 (115) Atlanta: De'Vondre Campbell, LB, Minnesota
18 (116) Indianapolis: Hassan Ridgeway, DT, Texas
19 (117) Los Angeles: Pharoh Cooper, WR, South Carolina
20 (118) NY Jets: Justin Burris, CB, North Carolina St.
21 (119) Houston: Tyler Ervin, RB, SJSU
22 (120) New Orleans: David Onyemata, DT, Manitoba (CA)
23 (121) Minnesota: Willie Beavers, OT, WMU
24 (122) Cincinnati: Andrew Billings, DT, Baylor
25 (123) Pittsburgh: Jerald Hawkins, OT, LSU
26 (124) Chicago: Deon Bush, S, Miami (FL)
27 (125) Indianapolis: Antonio Morrison, LB, Florida
28 (126) Kansas City: Demarcus Robinson, WR, Florida
29 (127) Chicago: Deiondre' Hall, CB, Northern Iowa
30 (128) Arizona: Evan Boehm, OG, Arizona
31 (129) Cleveland: Derrick Kindred, S, TCU
32 (130) Baltimore: Alex Lewis, OT, Nebraska
33 (131) Green Bay: Blake Martinez, LB, Stanford
34 (132) Baltimore: Willie Henry, DT, Michigan
35 (133) San Francisco: Rashard Robinson, CB, LSU
36 (134) Baltimore: Kenneth Dixon, RB, Louisiana Tech
37 (135) Dallas: Dak Prescott, QB, Mississippi St.
38 (136) Denver: Devontae Booker, RB, Utah
39 (137) Green Bay: Dean Lowry, DE, Northwestern
40 (138) Cleveland: Seth DeValve, WR, Princeton
41 (139) Buffalo: Cardale Jones, QB, Ohio State
Round 5
1 (140) Tennessee: Tajae Sharpe, WR, UMass
2 (141) Carolina: Zack Sanchez, CB, Oklahoma
3 (142) San Francisco: Ronald Blair, DE, Appalachian St.
4 (143) Oakland: DeAndre Washington, RB, Texas Tech
5 (144) Denver: Connor McGovern, G, Missouri
6 (145) San Francisco: John Theus, OT, Georgia
7 (146) Baltimore: Matt Judon, DE, Grand Valley State
8 (147) Seattle: Quinton Jefferson, DT, Maryland
9 (148) Tampa Bay: Caleb Benenoch, OT, UCLA
10 (149) NY Giants: Paul Perkins, RB, UCLA
11 (150) Chicago: Jordan Howard, RB, Indiana
12 (151) Detroit: Joe Dahl, G, Washington State
13 (152) Washington: Matt Ioannidis, DT, Temple
14 (153) Philadelphia: Wendell Smallwood, RB, WVU
15 (154) Cleveland: Jordan Payton, WR, UCLA
16 (155) Indianapolis: Joe Haeg, OT, NDSU
17 (156) Buffalo: Jonathan Williams, RB, Arkansas
18 (157) Denver: LeShaun Sims, CB, Southern Utah
19 (158) NY Jets: Brandon Shell, OT, South Carolina
20 (159) Houston: KJ Dillon, S, WVU
21 (160) Minnesota: Kentrell Brothers, LB, Missouri
22 (161) Cincinnati: Christian Westerman, G, Arizona St.
23 (162) Kansas City: Kevin Hogan, QB, Stanford
24 (163) Green Bay: Trevor Davis, WR, California
25 (164) Philadelphia: Halapoulivaati Vaitai, OT, TCU
26 (165) Kansas City: Tyreek Hills, WR, West Alabama
27 (166) Houston: D.J. Reader, DT, Clemson
28 (167) Arizona: Marqui Christian, S, Midwestern St.
29 (168) Cleveland: Spencer Drango, OT, Baylor
30 (169) Detroit: Antwione Williams, LB, Georgia Southern
31 (170) Arizona: Cole Toner, OT, Harvard
32 (171) Seattle: Alex Collins, RB, Arkansas
33 (172) Cleveland: Rashard Higgins, WR, Colorado State
34 (173) Cleveland: Trey Caldwell, CB, Louisiana-Monroe
35 (174) San Francisco: Fahn Cooper, OT, Ole Miss
36 (175) San Diego: Jatavis Brown, LB, Akron
Round 6
1 (176) Denver: Andy Janovich, FB, Nebraska
2 (177) Los Angeles: Temarrick Hemmingway, TE, South Carolina St.
3 (178) Kansas City: D.J. White, CB, Ga. Tech
4 (179) San Diego: Drew Kaser, P, Texas A&M
5 (180) Minnesota: Moritz Boehringer, WR, Germany
6 (181) Jacksonville: Tyrone Holmes, DE, Montana
7 (182) Baltimore: Keenan Reynolds, QB, Navy
8 (183) Tampa Bay: Devante Bond, LB, Oklahoma
9 (184) NY Giants: Jerell Adams, TE, South Carolina
10 (185) Chicago: DeAndre Houston-Carson, S, William & Mary
11 (186) Miami: Jakeem Grant, WR, Texas Tech
12 (187) Washington: Nate Sudfeld, QB, Indiana
13 (188) Minnesota: David Morgan, TE, UTSA
14 (189) Dallas: Anthony Brown, CB, Purdue
15 (190) Los Angeles: Josh Forrest, LB, Kentucky
16 (191) Detroit: Jake Rudock, QB, Michigan
17 (192) Buffalo: Kolby Listenbee, WR, TCU
18 (193) Tennessee: Sebastian Tretola, OG, Arkansas
19 (194) Oakland: Cory James, LB, Colorado State
20 (195) Atlanta: Wes Schweitzer, OG, SJSU
21 (196) Philadelphia: Blake Countess, CB, Auburn
22 (197) Tampa Bay: Dan Vitale, FB, Northwestern
23 (198) San Diego: Derek Watt, FB, Wisconsin
24 (199) Cincinnati: Cody Core, WR, Ole Miss
25 (200) Green Bay: Kyle Murphy, OT, Stanford
26 (201) Jacksonville: Brandon Allen, QB, Arkansas
27 (202) Detroit: Anthony Zettel, DT, Penn St.
28 (203) Kansas City: Dadi Lhomme Nicolas, LB, Va. Tech
29 (204) Miami: Jordan Lucas, S, Penn St.
30 (205) Arizona: Harlan Miller, CB, Southeastern Louisiana
31 (206) Los Angeles: Mike Thomas, WR, Souther Miss.
32 (207) San Francisco: Jeff Driskel, QB, Louisiana Tech
33 (208) New England: Kamu Grugier-Hill, LB, Eastern Illinois
34 (209) Baltimore: Maruice Canady, CB, Virginia
35 (210) Detroit: Jimmy Landes, LS, Baylor
36 (211) San Francisco: Kevin Taylor, WR, Florida
37 (212) Dallas: Kavon Frazier, S, Central Mich.
38 (213) San Francisco: Aaron Burbridge, WR, MSU
39 (214) New England: Elandon Roberts, LB, Houston
40 (215) Seattle: Joey Hunt, C, TCU
41 (216) Dallas: Darius Jackson, RB, EMU
42 (217) Dallas: Rico Gathers, TE, Baylor
43 (218) Buffalo: Kevon Seymour, CB, USC
44 (219) Denver: Will Parks, S, Arizona
45 (220) Pittsburgh: Travis Feeney, LB, Washington
46 (221) New England: Ted Karras, G, Illinois
Round 7
1 (222) Tennessee: Aaron Wallace, LB, UCLA
2 (223) Miami: Brandon Doughty, QB, Western Kentucky
3 (224) San Diego: Donovan Clark, G, MSU
4 (225) New England: Devin Lucien, WR, Arizona St.
5 (226) Jacksonville: Jonathan Woodard, DE, Central Arkansas
6 (227) Minnesota: Stephen Weatherly, LB, Vanderbilt
7 (228) Denver: Riley Dixon, P, Syracuse
8 (229) Pittsburgh: Demarcus Ayers, WR, Houston
9 (230) Chicago: Daniel Braverman, WR, WMU
10 (231) Miami: Thomas Duarte, TE, UCLA
11 (232) Washington: Steven Daniels, LB, Boston College
12 (233) Philadelphia: Jalen Mills, S, LSU
13 (234) Oakland: Vadal Alexander, G, LSU
14 (235) NY Jets: Lachlan Edwards, P, SHSU
15 (236) Detroit: Dwayne Washington, RB, Washington
16 (237) New Orleans: Daniel Lasco, RB, California
17 (238) Atlanta: Devin Fuller, WR, UCLA
18 (239) Indianapolis: Trevor Bates, LB, Maine
19 (240) Philadelphia: Alex McCalister, DE, Florida
20 (241) NY Jets: Charone Peake, WR, Clemson
21 (242) Washington: Keith Marshall, RB, Georgia
22 (243) Seattle: Kenny Lawler, WR, California
23 (244) Minnesota: Jayron Kearse, S, Clemson
24 (245) Cincinnati: Clayton, S, Illinois
25 (246) Pittsburgh: Tyler Matakevich, LB, Temple
26 (247) Seattle: Zac Brooks, RB, Clemson
27 (248) Indianapolis: Austin Blythe, C, Iowa
28 (249) San Francisco: Prince Charles Iworah, CB, Western Kentucky
29 (250) Cleveland: Scooby Wright, LB, Arizona
30 (251) Philadelphia: Joe Walker, LB, Oregon
31 (252) Carolina: Beau Sandland, TE, Montana St.
32 (253) Tennessee: Kalan Reed, CB, Southern Miss