There is a certain beauty to behold when an NFL team can marry need and value during the NFL Draft.
Every general manager wants you to believe that they aren’t reaching to fill a need, but we see it happen all the time. On the flip side, some personnel men stick to the board every single time, despite the fact that certain positions are in dire need of bolstering.
There were more than a few cases during Round 1 of the 2016 NFL Draft in which teams got the best available player for them while also landing a terrific value.
That’s what we’re looking at here as we examine the 10 best fits from the first round.
1. Ezekiel Elliott, running back, Dallas Cowboys (No. 4 overall)
Jerry Jones and the Cowboys could have taken Jalen Ramsey here at No. 4, and nobody would have argued it as a bad choice. But instead the team chose Elliott, who has all the ingredients going for him to legitimately challenge for a rushing title as a rookie.
The Cowboys already have a No. 1 receiver, a franchise quarterback and an all-world offensive line. Heck, even Darren McFadden was able to cobble together a 1,000-yard season in 2015 rushing behind Dallas’ bad boys up front.
It should feel just like home for Elliott, who enjoyed a similar luxury at Ohio State. He piled up 4,125 total yards and 41 touchdowns in his final two seasons, averaging 229 yards per game.
While numbers of that ilk shouldn’t be expected, Elliott is a three-down running back who should thrive and produce at a high level right out of the gate.
2. Jalen Ramsey, defensive back, Jacksonville Jaguars (No. 5 overall)
At the risk of coming across as overly zealous, the Jaguars landed a guy who may be a cross between Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman when they selected Ramsey at No. 5 overall.
In terms of value, the Jags got plenty here. Ramsey could have gone No. 1 to the Tennessee Titans before the huge trade with the Los Angeles Rams, and nobody would have batted an eyelash. But what makes this even better for the Jaguars is the fact that the team’s defense desperately needed secondary help.
Ramsey can play pretty much every position in the defensive backfield. He can line up in the box to attack the run or blitz in the passing game. He can cover a team’s best receiver on the outside (his preference), he can slide inside to play the nickel cornerback role and he can play the deep middle.
No doubt head coach Gus Bradley — a product of the Seattle Seahawks and a guy quite familiar with the Legion of Boom — is salivating at the prospect of getting Ramsey lined up all over the field to wreak havoc.
3. DeForest Buckner, defensive end, San Francisco 49ers (No. 7 overall)
49ers general manager Trent Baalke must have done a legendary happy dance when Roger Goodell announced the Baltimore Ravens were selecting offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley out of Notre Dame at No. 6.
With the seventh pick, the 49ers were giddy to land Buckner out of Oregon, who projects as a prototypical 3-4 defensive end.
Buckner possesses all the traits Baalke has coveted: Size (6-foot-7, 291 pounds), length (34 3/8-inch arms) and power. Barring injury, he should slide right into Justin Smith’s old spot, which was never really owned by anyone last year.
Adding Buckner to the team’s 3-4 alignment immediately makes the entire front seven better. He’ll take on double-teams, break outside linebackers free on stunts and should collapse the pocket all by himself at times on passing downs.
4. Sheldon Rankins, defensive tackle, New Orleans Saints (No. 12 overall)
Whether it was defending the run or the pass, the Saints were terrible last year, finishing second-to-last in total defense and giving up more points than any other team in the league.
Thankfully, they landed a stud defensive tackle in Rankins who can make an impact on all three downs. He was quite the force in the middle for Louisville, logging 14 sacks in his final two years.
His low center of gravity (6-foot-1), combined with ridiculous quickness and agility for a big man makes him the ideal fit in New Orleans’ four-man front as the three-technique defensive tackle. He should be a cornerstone defender for the Saints for years to come.
5. Laremy Tunsil, offensive tackle, Miami Dolphins (No. 13 overall)
Thanks to an ill-timed social media blunder, Tunsil, one of the top-three prospects in the entire draft, tumbled to the Dolphins at No. 13. They couldn’t have been happier about it.
Franchise quarterback Ryan Tannehill has been sacked an average of 46 times in his first four pro seasons — more than any other quarterback in the NFL during the same stretch. It’s almost impossible to see the full potential of a young passer develop into reality when he’s being pummeled like that.
Needless to say, the need was there for Miami to draft a top offensive tackle. He’ll slide into the starting left tackle spot and is an instant upgrade for this team at the position.
6. Darron Lee, inside linebacker, New York Jets (No. 20 overall)
One of the most intriguing top prospects in the 2016 NFL Draft, Lee landed in the perfect spot.
Jets head coach Todd Bowles loves to be aggressive defensively and now has a player who can play a role similar to what he had in Arizona in 2014 with Deone Bucannon, another linebacker/safety hybrid.
Lee will be slotted in as a weak-side inside linebacker in Bowles’ system, where he’ll be asked to take on a number of different roles. Like Bucannon, he’s an undersized linebacker (6-foot-1, 231 pounds) who can fly. Slot him in next to David Harris and you have a potent combination that allows you to be more flexible with your defensive calls.
7. Laquon Treadwell, wide receiver, Minnesota Vikings (No. 23 overall)
The big knock on Treadwell to the Vikings is that he isn’t exactly a track star in terms of speed. And after the team released Mike Wallace speed was assumed to be a requisite acquisition for Minnesota’s offense.
As a side note, the Vikings did end up landing a speedy receiver in German Moritz Boehringer.
Back to Treadwell. While he doesn’t possess the track speed of a Will Fuller, who was landed by the Houston Texans in a trade-up scenario two spots ahead, the Ole Miss product has a big body (6-foot-2 and 221 pounds) and unrivaled catch radius in this draft class. He’s similar to DeAndre Hopkins in this respect, and a lack of sprinter’s speed hasn’t stopped him from becoming an elite receiver in the NFL.
Treadwell should be an instant starter on the perimeter for the Vikings. His sure hands and ability to control his body down the sideline and in the end zone will quickly turn him into quarterback Teddy Bridgewater’s favorite go-to target.
8. Paxton Lynch, quarterback, Denver Broncos (No. 26 overall)
When you’re talking value, this selection might not be on par with many of the others on this list. After all, the Broncos did cough up a third-round pick to slide five spots up to snag Lynch, so this isn’t exactly a steal.
That said, when compared to the ridiculous ransoms conceded by the Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles to land their quarterbacks, what John Elway did to get his man was cheap. Not only that, but the Broncos reportedly rated Lynch higher than No. 1 overall pick Jared Goff, and they got their guy after a Super Bowl-winning season.
Mark Sanchez will do his best to hold off the rookie in training camp, but in terms of learning a new offense they’re both on equal footing. You’d have to believe Denver is going to give Lynch the benefit of the doubt if he is anywhere close to Sanchez in terms of having a mental grasp of the offense, because he is far and away the better athlete and arm talent.
With that in mind, nobody should be shocked if Lynch is the Day 1 starter. At the very least, I have to believe he’ll end up starting at some point, even if Sanchez does have a better handle on things in the beginning.
9. Joshua Garnett, offensive guard, San Francisco 49ers (No. 28 overall)
Is trading up for a guard sexy? Does it scream good value? The correct answer to both queries is no.
However, Trent Baalke is one of those “stick to the board at any cost” guys, meaning the 49ers must have really had a high grade on Garnett. A mauler out of Stanford, Garnett was a driving force behind Christian McCaffrey’s record-breaking season in 2015. He is very adept at finding a moving target in space, which is ideal for zone-blocking linemen.
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Garnett should be an immediate starter at left guard as a replacement for Alex Boone, who signed with the Minnesota Vikings and wasn’t at his best last year replacing Mike Iupati.
10. Robert Nkemdiche, defensive guard, Arizona Cardinals (No. 29 overall)
While we can’t forget about Nkemdiche’s off-field red flags, they aren’t valid in terms of pure fit on the football field.
As has been mentioned by many different draft experts, Nkemdiche is like a Darnell Dockett clone. Quick and powerful enough to play anywhere on the line, he’s going to challenge for a starting 3-4 defensive end spot from the moment he steps onto the practice field.
If it weren’t for his off-field red flags, this Ole Miss product was likely going to be a top-10 player in this year’s draft, if not higher than that.
The Cardinals are taking a risk with this selection, as nobody knows what making him an instant millionaire will produce (pet panther, anyone?), but if Nkemdiche can stay away from the wrong kind of press, he’s going to end up as one of the biggest steals in the draft.