Hypothetical expansion franchise alters the draft with Cam Ward landing elsewhere and major surprises across all seven rounds
There's no way around it. The best and most realistic path to build a strong team in the NFL is the draft. That's even more important for a new team. Especially since the 2011 CBA with the rookie-scale contract, adding young and cheap talent to the roster is the most efficient way to construct a […]
There's no way around it. The best and most realistic path to build a strong team in the NFL is the draft. That's even more important for a new team. Especially since the 2011 CBA with the rookie-scale contract, adding young and cheap talent to the roster is the most efficient way to construct a consistent winner, particularly with the surplus value generated with players from valuable positions.
This is a series of posts about what a hypothetical expansion franchise would look like in 2025. The A to Z Sports team built the St. Louis Arches, a fictional expansion team. We will do everything from a football operation perspective — expansion draft (and we involved our writers to get a fresh perspective from all teams), regular draft, free agency, and also building the top positions on the front office and coaching staff.
Everything is hypothetical, so take it with a grain of salt. But it's a good exercise to understand how a situation like that would work and how real teams would handle it.
This is the part to go into details with the regular draft. We will also talk about the entire process and go further in free agency, coaching staff/front office, and expansion draft.
In the NFL, expansion teams traditionally have the first overall pick — that allowed the Cleveland Browns to take Tim Couch in 1999 and the Houston Texans to select David Carr in 2002.
To make this exercise possible at this time of the calendar, we had to go back in time a little bit. Since the real draft has already passed, we will give the Arches the first pick in each round, and draft players who were available at that point. Sorry, Titans fans, but Cam Ward is the future in St. Louis now, not Nashville.
Our goal is to build a 90-man roster. After making 40 picks in the expansion draft and adding some veteran free agents, the Arches make seven draft picks here. To round out the roster, we also had to sign 25 undrafted free agents.
First round, pick 1: QB Cam Ward, Miami
There's no question that Cam Ward has improved since taking the leap from Incarnate Word to Washington State to Miami. He's become more consistent throughout key areas of his game, and his physical traits are worth banking on as NFL offenses require higher-tier abilities to solve complex defensive schemes. However, his NFL future will boil down to how well Ward can improve his weaknesses as much as build on his positives. He has to recognize defensive alignments and where he can find easy wins, then avoid ego-driven mistakes. He's a high-risk, high-reward prospect. — Ian Valentino.
Second round, pick 33: OL Jonah Savaiinaea, Arizona
I enjoyed Jonah Savaiinaea's tape, but it was evident early on that his best position for the next level is inside at guard. While there are things that can suggest he could play tackle at the next level, it's not ideally suited for him and wouldn't be where he is best at. However, there's a quality starter in Jonah Savaiinaea, in my opinion. I'm optimistic about his growth year over year, and his hand placement, play strength, frame, and awareness give him a great floor as an NFL offensive lineman. — AJ Schulte
- Third round, pick 65: CB Azereye'h Thomas, Florida State
- Fourth round, pick 103: WR Dont'e Thornton, Tennessee
- Fifth round, pick 139: EDGE Bradyn Swinson, LSU
- Sixth round, pick 177: T Chase Lundt, UConn
- Seventh round, pick 217: RB Damien Martinez, Miami
Undrafted signings
- QB Donovan Smith, Houston
- RB Donovan Edwards, Michigan
- WR Ja'Corey Brooks, Louisville
- WR Nick Nash, San Jose State
- WR Jackson Meeks, Syracuse
- TE Carter Runyon, Towson
- TE Caden Prieskorn, Ole Miss
- T Esa Pole, Washington State
- C Seth McLaughlin, Ohio State
- C Jacob Gardner, Colorado State
- DT Cam Horsley, Boston College
- DT Nazir Stackhouse, Georgia
- ED Jared Ivey, Ole Miss
- ED JJ Weaver, Kentucky
- LB Ozzie Nicholas, Duke
- LB Aaron Smith, South Carolina State
- CB Cobee Bryant, Kansas
- CB Isas Waxter, Villanova
- CB Kam Alexander, Oregon
- S Sebastian Castro, Iowa
- S De'Rickey Wright, Vanderbilt
- S Shamari Simmons, Arizona State
- P Alex Mastromanno, Florida State
- K Graham Nicholson, Alabama
- LS Austin Brinkman, West Virginia
