I'm always one of the ones cautioning about putting too much hope into immediate dividends from draft picks. Most don't produce a ton in their rookie seasons. That said, I do feel there are more spots or a greater chance for starters than what you have here.
Here's my list:
Blythe - Ruiz for sure and IMO Hennessey, Cushenberry, and maybe Biadasz could potentially start over Blythe. If the pick isn't early, it's not happening.
Corbett - I think any number of draftees up to the early 4th round could potentially upend Corbett at LG. I don't even feel that Corbett is penciled in at LG right now. Even with no draft picks, he'll probably compete against Evans and maybe even NB.
Deep threat WR - If they use a premium pick for Cooks' role, chances are likely the rookie starts.
ILB (2) - As Snead has stated, all of our guys are inexperienced so both positions are open for a talented rookie to start since the guy the draftee would be displacing isn't much more experienced.
Edge - Probably Floyd, Ebu, and OBO have the edge here (pun intended) so it's unlikely a year 1 player starts but the possibility is definitely there.
I count about 6 potential places where a draft pick can be a starter right out of the gate. In fact, I would say if we don't have draft picks starting or at the very least heavily contributing at these 6 positions above, we're in serious trouble this year because all of these positions are very suspect with the bodies we currently have in place.
Edit: I forgot RB. If we draft one of the top RBs in the 2nd round, I can see that rookie starting over Henderson. Beyond that, it will be a committee with Hendo taking the lion's share of the reps.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/16/2020 11:03AM by dzrams.
