7 Players Who Found the Perfect Fit in the 2014 NFL Draft

Every season, NFL teams find gems in the draft who not only fit perfectly into their schemes but also excel under the right circumstances.

Some of these players come in the first round, while some are found later in the draft.

With the 2014 NFL draft behind us, here is a look at some of the players who found the perfect fit for their skill sets over the weekend.

Aaron Donald, St. Louis Rams

One of the best pass-rushing attacks in the league took another step on draft day.

With the 13th selection in the first round, the Rams selected Pittsburgh standout defensive tackle Aaron Donald to add to a defensive line that already includes the NFL’s second-leading sack artist Robert Quinn, Chris Long, Kendall Langford and Michael Brockers.

Donald, the 2013 Outland Trophy winner, had an extremely productive final season at Pittsburgh. He registered 11 sacks and 28.5 tackles for loss despite being the focal point of offensive game plans. He spent most of his time fighting through double-teams, beating a solid amount of them due to his raw strength and ability to get under his opponents.

Donald’s athleticism allows him to use a deadly combination of power and speed. He appears to be still developing a full set of pass-rushing moves, but he had moderate success going to the spin move in one-on-one situations.

His height (just over 6'0") was said to be a big detractor during the draft process. This issue might have been slightly overblown. With Donald playing a position that relies heavily on the ability to stay lower than the man in front of him, his slight height deficiency could actually provide a slight advantage in some situations.

He is going to best fit when the Rams are trying to rush the passer, especially in a division with Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick, two of the most elusive quarterbacks in the NFL.

With offensive lines having to account for Quinn and Long rushing off the edges, Donald is virtually guaranteed to get one-on-one looks from opposing interior linemen.

He will likely be a part of the three-man rotation with Brockers and Langford on the interior of the defensive line. With the natural skill that Donald possesses, it would be a surprise not to see him get major playing time as a rookie.

Brandin Cooks, New Orleans Saints

After the Saints parted ways with running back Darren Sproles, there were questions surrounding who was going to be the big-play threat (aside from Jimmy Graham) in the offense.

The Saints erased all of those questions with the selection of Brandin Cooks with the 20th pick in the 2014 draft.

Cooks, unlike Sproles, probably won’t be making any plays from the backfield, but he is going to torch defenses from the slot position. He will hurt teams running down the seams, but due to his quickness and athleticism, the Saints could design screens for him similar to the way they did for Sproles. Cooks has a small frame, but he has shown the ability to fight through tacklers and make big plays after the catch.

The presence of Cooks along with Graham in passing situations is going to make life very difficult for defensive coordinators.

Look for Cooks to make an impact in New Orleans from the first day of the season.

Stephon Tuitt, Pittsburgh Steelers

With the 46th pick in the NFL draft, the Steelers might have found a player who will be a defensive centerpiece for a very long time.

Stephon Tuitt, the standout defensive lineman out of Notre Dame, is going to fill an immediate need for the Steelers.

During his senior season, he experienced a slight drop in numbers. Part of this could be attributed to health issues, but a lot of NFL people believe it is because of his weight. NFL Network’s Mike Mayock said that when he is at a weight around 310-315 pounds, he would be at his best.

Tuitt is a disruptor and will fit in well with the Steelers defense. Not only is he a two-gap player, but he also has shown the versatility to play at either of the 3-4 end positions, and he lined up at nose tackle in some circumstances. While he is solid against the run, he was a consistent threat to get to the quarterback in South Bend, notching 20.5 sacks in 28 career starts.

He will have to compete for a spot in the starting lineup with Cameron Heyward and Nick Williams, but don’t be shocked to see him starting at some point early in the season.

Carlos Hyde, San Francisco 49ers

To put it simply, the San Francisco 49ers won the NFL draft by a wide margin. They found value in nearly every round, highlighted by the selection of Ohio State running back Carlos Hyde in the second round.

The 49ers have a bit of a logjam at running back, but no player on the roster at the position probably has more potential than Hyde.

Frank Gore, who has been the team’s featured back since the 2005 season, will be 31 years old on May 14. LaMichael James has been underwhelming since joining the team two seasons ago, and his name has been coming up in trade rumors, according to Matt Barrows of The Sacramento Bee.

Marcus Lattimore is an intriguing option, but he has major health questions after his gruesome injury against Tennessee two years ago. All of those factors could lead to Hyde being the 49ers’ featured back of the future.

If you tuned into an Ohio State game this season, you likely saw him powering his way through defenders on his way to 1,521 yards and 15 touchdowns as a senior.

He has the prototypical build (6’0”, 230 pounds) needed for a running back who plays in a power-rush scheme.

He has a good shot at seeing meaningful playing time as a rookie, especially if Gore begins to show the wear that 2,187 NFL carries can have on the body.

Louis Nix III, Houston Texans

When Louis Nix III, or "Irish Chocolate" to most of the Notre Dame fanbase, is healthy, he is possibly the best two-gap nose tackle in this draft class.

The Texans virtually stole him midway through the third round, grabbing a prospect with the potential to develop into a franchise nose tackle.

He has the ability to not only stuff gaps in the run game, but he’s shown a good amount of agility for someone his size. He is going to be a great fit for Houston’s defense, which is now controlled by Romeo Crennel.

Nix is massive (6’2”, 331 lbs) and can be a Vince Wilfork-like player for the Texans. He is prone to drawing double-teams, which is going to open up lanes for middle linebacker Brian Cushing to blow up plays, assuming he can stay on the field in 2014.

The addition of Nix to a front seven that already contains All-Pro J.J. Watt, Cushing and first overall selection Jadeveon Clowney is going to make facing Andrew Luck twice a year a lot more bearable.

Tom Savage, Houston Texans

Although I believe that former Pittsburgh quarterback Tom Savage was slightly overhyped toward the end of the draft process, he fell into the perfect situation when selected by the Houston Texans.

First off, he won't have to face the pressure of starting immediately. With veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick in front of him, Savage is going to get plenty of time to absorb even more information on the playbook, although he seems to be knowledgeable on the nuances of a NFL style of offense due to playing his last collegiate season in Pittsburgh’s pro-style scheme.

Savage is also a great fit for the Texans because he has the frame (6’4”, 228 pounds) that Texans head coach Bill O’Brien looks for in his quarterbacks.

Before he can expect to see an excessive amount of playing time, Savage will have to improve on a number of things. Having a quarterback guru like O’Brien by his side during his development process is going to be beneficial for both Savage and the team.

Although seeing him start in his first season is a long shot, it would not be a surprise to see him get an opportunity to lead one of the NFL’s best worst teams in the league in two to three seasons.

Caraun Reid, Detroit Lions

In the fifth round, the Lions selected Caraun Reid, a defensive tackle out of Princeton.

When people see that, they might think that he is an ordinary player who will have a shot at making the roster but likely won’t have much of an impact. I mean, he did go to Princeton, which doesn’t exactly churn out NFL talent, right?

The difference between Reid and other players at his position is his superior athleticism, which would make any scout/front-office executive/coach salivate at the thought of having an opportunity to mold him.

He has natural power and athleticism, and his long wingspan was worthy of interest as early as the third round in my opinion, yet he fell to the fifth round.

Aside from his athleticism, a big part of Reid’s game that pops out is his versatility. During his junior season, he played both end and nose tackle in a 3-4 scheme. Princeton used both the 4-3 and 3-4 schemes during his senior season, where he saw a majority of his time at the end position in the 3-4.

The Lions run a base 4-3, which could benefit Reid. He will only be asked to shoot one gap, and with the depth on the interior of the defensive line that is already on the roster with Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley, Reid won’t be asked to do too much too quickly.

He does have some things to improve. He sometimes gets too far upfield after breaking through the offensive line, and he plays with a high pad level on occasion, both of which are coachable problems.

With the Lions opting not to pick up former first-rounder Fairley’s team option, it could open the door for Reid to start in his second season.