Winners and Losers of the 2018 NFL Draft

Losers

Russell Wilson

Super Bowl XLVIII - Seattle Seahawks v Denver Broncos

Poor Russell Wilson. Coming off a season where Wilson excelled, the Seattle Offense has been decimated. The offensive line is one of the worst in the league, with only a 5th round pick being used to strengthen the position. Not only that, both Jimmy Graham and Paul Richardson left in Free Agency to the Packers and Redskins respectively.

Graham was a huge RedZone weapon for Wilson last season and his replacements Ed Dickson and Nick Vannett are hardly exciting options. Richardson was replaced by aging veteran Brandon Marshall, who looked slow and out of shape last year in New York. Neither position was addressed in the first few rounds of the draft.

The legendary ‘Legion of Boom’ defense is no more. The team has lost Richard Sherman, Michael Bennett, Kam Chancellor and Cliff Avril, with Earl Thomas being rumored to be on the trade block. They are all huge loses for this team and it will pile more pressure on Wilson. Wilson will have to put up more points as the defense will likely be conceding a lot more. The defense was reinforced in the draft with Rasheem Green, the iconic Shaquem Griffin and Safety Tre Flowers. They will do well to live up to their predecessor’s level of play.

Rashad Penny was brought in to help beef up a lackluster running game. However, using a first-round pick on him when there are such glaring needs is questionable. This looks like it will be a long season for Wilson and Co.