As
always this is the stupidest exercise but a lot of fun as we debrief from draft
weekend. And without further ado here are your 2019 draft grades (In descending order of grade).
Arizona
Cardinals
11
(75.1 AV) | 59.65% | 6.5 | 4.24 | Grade:
A
Best Pick
– Round 4, Pick 1 (103 Overall)– Hakeem Butler, WR, Iowa State
Butler
has flaws of that I have no doubt but slipping to the top of the fourth round was
ridiculous and the Cardinals were the beneficiaries of this collective misstep.
Worst Pick –
Round 3, Pick 1 (65 Overall) – Zach Allen,
Edge, Boston College
When
you worst pick is the lineman you take with your 4th pick you’ve had
a good draft. This is a hardly a disastrous pick, but I didn’t think it was
their best value play at that time.
Tennessee
Titans
6
(39.5 AV) | 65.15% | 6.5 | 4.15 | Grade:
B+
Best Pick
– Round 2, Pick 19 (51 Overall) – AJ Brown, WR, Ole Miss
Brown
fell all the way to 51 which is far too low for someone who showed ability to
play inside and outside and create separations from both.
Worst Pick –
Round 3, Pick 18 (82 Overall) – Nate
Davis, G, Charlotte
Much
like with Arizona I didn’t hate this pick, it was just my lowest graded. Davis
was a depth player and his versatility will be useful as he should primarily be
a guard and he played tackle at Charlotte.
New
England Patriots
10
(53.5 AV) | 61.67% | 5.9 | 4.14 | Grade:
B+
Best Pick –
Round 2, Pick 13 (45 Overall) - JoeJuan Williams, CB, Vanderbilt
My
reaction to this pick live was “Fuck you Bill” because it seems whenever the
Pats are on the clock early in the draft you can bet, they are going to find
the best value on the board.
Worst Pick
– Round 5, Pick 25 (163 Overall) – Jake Bailey, P, Stanford
Even
the Pats aren’t immune to specialists in the first five rounds.
New
Orleans Saints
5
(16.7 AV) | 57.39% | 6.2 | 3.85 | Grade:
B+
From
a pure hit rate standpoint New Orleans nailed the draft and so I popped there
grade up from a C to B+. None of their picks got lower than an A and it’s the
only team where I can’t in good conscious put a worst pick.
Best Pick –
Round 2, Pick 16 (48 Overall) – Erik McCoy, C, Texas A&M
McCoy
was my 18th rated player, New Orleans got him at 48. ‘Nough said.
Oakland
Raiders
9
(79.6 AV) | 63.74% | 6.0 | 3.76 | Grade:
B+
Best Pick –
Round 4, Pick 4 (106 Overall) – Maxx Crosby, EDGE, Eastern Michigan
Crosby
checked all the boxes pre-draft and despite being a known commodity and
highlighted as someone who would be a steal relatively early in the process he
still lasted until the 4th round.
Worst Pick
– Round 2, Pick 8 (40 Overall) – Trayvon Mullen, CB, Clemson
Mullen
is one of those players where I worry that I’m wrong because everyone I trust
likes him considerably more than I do.
Philadelphia
Eagles
5
(38.3 AV) | 67.92% | 6.1 | 3.97 | Grade:
B
Best Pick –
Round 2, Pick 25 (57 Overall) – JJ Arcega-Whiteside, WR, Stanford
Arcega-Whiteside
gives you a big fast receiver with a great catch radius and the seeming inability
to lose in jump ball situations.
Worst Pick
– Round 2, Pick 21 (53 Overall) – Miles Sanders, RB, Penn State
I
like this landing spot for Sanders, but I didn’t love the value of the pick at
53.
Denver
Broncos
6
(48.5 AV) | 64.02% | 6.2 | 4.03 | Grade:
B
Best Pick –
Round 1, Pick 20 (20 Overall) – Noah Fant, TE, Iowa
In
Fant Denver got what I consider 90% to 95% of the player that Hockenson will be
who was drafted almost half a round earlier.
Worst Pick
– Round 2, Pick 9 (41 Overall) – Dalton Risner, OL, Kansas State
I
don’t hate Risner, and his versatility is a real asset on the offensive line
and should help protect 42nd pick Drew Lock. That said the elite
tier of tackles was off the board at this point and Risner is most likely going
to play guard or center.
Jacksonville
Jaguars
7
(52 AV) | 61.93% | 6.1 | 3.94 | Grade: B-
Taylor
has a knee injury that certainly kept him from being a first rounder but may
also keep him from a second contract. That said he’s immensely talented and four
years as a starter makes him well worth this pick.
Worst Pick
– Round 3, Pick 5 (69 Overall) – Josh Oliver, TE, San Jose State
Oliver
is an interesting tight end prospect with upside and a path to be a very useful
receiving option, but as a third-round pick I thought he was a reach. Draftable,
but a work in progress.
Green
Bay Packers
8
(56.9 AV) | 61.35% | 6.1 | 3.76 | Grade:
B-
Best Pick –
Round 3, Pick 11 (75 Overall) – Jace Sternberger, TE, Texas A&M
I
went with Sternberger here because I think he’s functional in-line and that
should make him more of what the Packers were hoping they could get with an
aging Jimmy Graham.
Note: He doesn’t have Graham’s
upside as a receiver. Obviously.
Worst Pick
– Round 1, Pick 12 (12 Overall) – Rashan Gary, DL, Michigan
Gary
was a reach. He wasn’t a bad pick but there is high ceiling, high floor here
for the Packers and when you’re a team that doesn’t expect to be picking at 12
any time soon again you take a chance on an immensely talented player who could
be a difference maker. That said there is a significant amount of risk
associated with this strategy.
Los
Angeles Rams
8
(33.7 AV) | 59.49% | 6.0 | 3.75 | Grade:
B-
Best Pick –
Round 2, Pick 29 (61 Overall) – Taylor Rapp, S, Washington
Rapp
almost certainly fell because of his athletic testing and that is understandable,
but it allowed the Rams to get a great player with a nose for the ball and
coming downhill. Rapp is the poster child for the combination of scouting and
data analytics as both production and the eyes see a good player while athletic
testing can bring to light red flags that may not have been visible against
more inconsistent competition in college.
Worst Pick
– Round 7, Pick 37 (251 Overall) – Dakota Allen, OBLB, Texas Tech
It
was a 150 spot reach on my board, it was the third to last pick of the draft
and got a B from me it was fine but I needed something to put here and unlike
the Saints I had a pick with a grade less than A.
Cincinnati
Bengals
10
(51.1 AV) | 55.96% | 5.8 | 3.72 | Grade:
C+
Best Pick –
Round 4, Pick 34 (136 Overall) – Michael Jordan, G, Ohio State
Jordan
was a great value pick with the Bengals fourth round compensatory pick. A tall,
big bodied player Jordan ticked off the athleticism boxes and will be a presence
in the middle of a Bengals O-line that has seen it hampered by attrition in
recent seasons.
Worst Pick
– Round 2, Pick 20 (52 Overall) – Drew Sample, TE, Washington
Sample
was an epic reach for me, he didn’t have the athletic profile you’d want to be
a productive TE and he didn’t have the production to make you think he has a skill
set to overcome those athletic shortcomings.
Tampa
Bay Buccaneers
8
(55.3 AV) | 55.30% | 5.7 | 3.96 | Grade:
C+
Best Pick –
Round x, Pick xx (xx Overall) – Anthony Nelson, Edge, Iowa
All
Nelson did was affect the opposing offense while he was at Iowa and was a
player I was presently surprised when I watched him play. All in all, the Bucs
got two players rated between 60-70 for me at picks 99 & 107.
Worst Pick
– Round 2, Pick 7 (39 Overall) – Sean Bunting, CB, Central Michigan
There
were a number of corners I liked better and when I watched Bunting you could
see the athleticism, but he didn’t always efficiently utilize it.
Washington
Redskins
10
(51.8 AV) | 58.23% | 5.5 | 3.46 | Grade:
C+
Best Pick –
Round 1, Pick 26 (26 Overall) – Montez Sweat, Edge, Mississippi State
Sweat
fell because of an injury suffered in training and that went too far.
Washington lands one of the three best edge players in the draft at the end of the
first.
Worst Pick
– Round x, Pick xx (xx Overall) – Ross Pierschbacher, OL, Alabama
Pierschbacher
is a subpar athlete who played for a big school and got drafted off that pedigree
and the earliest of the two players that Washington drafted with backup grades.
Seattle
Seahawks
11
(53.4 AV) | 53.99% | 5.7 | 3.49 | Grade:
C+
Best Pick –
Round 2, Pick 32 (64 Overall) – D.K. Metcalf, WR, Ole Miss
I
wasn’t in the camp that was super high on Metcalf, but he has a specific set of
skills that are very useful for an offense even if the breadth of those skills
are limited. Getting Metcalf at the end of round 2 means they got a player we
all thought would be over-drafted gets drafted at a value.
Worst Pick
– Round 1, Pick 29 (29 Overall) – L.J. Collier, Edge, TCU
Collier
was as big of a reach for me as Jones but at least Jones plays the premier
position on the football field. Collier isn’t an explosive athlete.
Baltimore
Ravens
8
(41.7 AV) | 58.98% | 5.7 | 3.6 | Grade: C+
Best Pick –
Round 3, Pick 29 (93 Overall) – Miles Boykin, WR, Notre Dame
Marquise
Brown is the headliner, but I think Miles Boykin is the receiver to get excited
about from this draft for the Ravens. He’s big, fast, and a smooth router runner
and will provide a big target for Lamar Jackson.
Worst Pick
– Round 4, Pick 21 (123 Overall) – Ben Power, G, Oklahoma
One
of a couple of OLs from Oklahoma that ended up on my least favorite picks side
of the team equations, and like the others he’s fine but wasn’t a special talent
for me.
Los
Angeles Chargers
7
(34.4 AV) | 58.81% | 5.9 | 3.77 | Grade:
C+
Best Pick –
Round 2, Pick 28 (60 Overall) – Nassir Adderley, S, Delaware
Adderley
got hurt at his pro day and turned into a steal for the Chargers giving them
two very good safeties in as many drafts. Adderley should be the perfect FS compliment
to Derwin James giving the Chargers the new version of Chancellor (James) and
Thomas (Adderley) with James being a better version of Chancellor and Adderley
being a 85% - 90% of Thomas.
Worst Pick
– Round 5, Pick 28 (166 Overall) – Easton Stick, QB, North Dakota State
I
didn’t see it with Stick, but QB is an incredibly tough eval and enough people I
trust saw much more than I did so I could be wrong.
Minnesota
Vikings
12
(41.7 AV) | 53.69% | 5.4 | 3.44 | Grade:
C+
Best Pick –
Round 1, Pick 18 (18 Overall) – Garrett Bradbury, OL, NC State
The
Vikings got what may be the best offensive lineman in the draft at 18. He
should slot in as the starter at center right away and be an above average
starter.
Worst Pick
– Round 4, Pick 12 (114 Overall) – Dru Samia, G, Oklahoma
Samia
isn’t a bad player but wouldn’t have been my interior pick at this point in the
draft, that said the Vikings clearly wanted to upgrade on the offensive line
and give Kirk Cousins some help and Samia at worst gives you solid OL depth
from a fourth round pick.
Indianapolis
Colts
10
(47.4 AV) | 54.90% | 5.7 | 3.5 | Grade: C
Best Pick –
Round 2, Pick 27 (59 Overall) – Parris Campbell, WR, Ohio State
Campbell
was my top rated receiver and the one whom I thought did the best job of
creating consistent separation. He ran a limited route tree at Ohio State, but
I think that says more about scheme and QB than it does about any consistent deficiency
in Campbell’s skill set.
Worst Pick
– Round 5, Pick 7 (109 Overall) – EJ Speed, OBLB, Tarleton State
With
small school players I want to be wowed; Show me domination or an elite athletic
profile and Speed gave me neither.
New
York Giants
10
(69.7 AV) | 55.66% | 5.4 | 3.79 | Grade:
C
Best Pick –
Round 4, Pick 6 (108 Overall) – Julian Love, CB, Notre Dame
I
really like Love when I watched him and for Gettleman, et. al. to get him in
the early 4th round was exceptional value.
Worst Pick
– Round 1, Pick 6 (6 Overall) – Daniel Jones, QB, Duke
No
more needs to be said about the Jones pick other than I hope the young man
proves us all wrong and I hope both he and Giants fans see this happen with a
GM that isn’t making decisions in 1986.
New
York Jets
6
(48.6 AV) | 58.82% | 5.7 | 3.56 | Grade:
C-
Best Pick –
Round 5, Pick 19 (157 Overall) – Blake Cashman, OBLB, Minnesota
Cashman
was a top 32 player on my board and should be able to slot in and provide an
athletic presence in the middle for the Jets; Why he fell so far is a mystery
to me.
Worst Pick
– Round 4, Pick 19 (121 Overall) – Trevon Wesco, TE, West Virginia
The
Wesco love never made much sense to me. You could see the subpar agility scores
in his play on tape. He’s a willing blocker and a fine player but his flaws
were clear.
Detroit
Lions
9
(48.7 AV) | 54.30% | 5.5 | 3.33 | Grade:
C-
Best Pick –
Round 4, Pick 15 (117 Overall) – Austin Bryant, Edge, Clemson
The
forgotten Clemson defensive lineman was good value in the fourth round and should
be a good depth piece early on in his career.
Worst Pick
– Round 3, Pick 17 (81 Overall) – Will Harris, CB, Boston College
Harris
isn’t a bad player but he was by far my least favorite mix of talent to draft
capital spent in the lions draft.
Dallas
Cowboys
8
(23.7 AV) | 53.99% | 5.7 | 3.43 | Grade:
C-
Best Pick –
Round 4, Pick 26 (128 Overall) – Tony Pollard, RB, Memphis
Connor
McGovern should be here based on my draft day grades but the more I think about
it the more I love it. Pollard is the perfect compliment to Ezekiel Elliott especially
if they can create a effective facsimile of his role at Memphis. Pollard was used
as a compliment to Darrell Henderson and used in the passing game a bit more
than as a runner.
Worst Pick
– Round 5, Pick 27 (165 Overall) – Joe Jackson, Edge, Miami (FL)
Dallas’
class is good for the draft capital they had but Jackson was there most “meh”
pick so there your are.
Pittsburgh
Steelers
9
(45.1 AV) | 55.37% | 5.4 | 3.28 | Grade:
C-
Best Pick –
Round 4, Pick 20 (122 Overall) – Benny Snell, RB, Kentucky
I
went with Snell here because Bush at 10 seems like you can question the
positional value, and Sutton Smith shared a grade with the two but he was a 6th
round pick and Snell was a 4th. Snell is the pound him back that can
take some pressure off of James Conner.
Worst Pick
– Round 3, Pick 2 (66 Overall) – Diontae Johnson, WR, Toledo
I’m
gonna stick my neck out here and question the Steelers on a WR pick. Johnson is
a great route runner, but he’s not a superb athlete and this was a relative
reach. All that said I think the Steelers had a pretty nice draft but nothing
superb.
Buffalo
Bills
8
(49.2 AV) | 55.90% | 5.5 | 3.25 | Grade:
C-
Best Pick –
Round 1, Pick 9 (9 Overall) – Ed Oliver, INT, Houston
I
have zero qualms with saying this may have been the best value in the first
round and my favorite pick.
Worst Pick
– Round 5, Pick 9 (147 Overall) – Vosean Joseph, OBLB, Florida
Joseph
had an injury and an incomplete athletic profile and a good amount of
production but not enough to make up the difference.
Carolina
Panthers
7
(41.3 AV) | 55.19% | 5.4 | 3.40 | Grade:
D+
Best Pick –
Round 2, Pick 5 (37 Overall) – Greg Little, OT, Ole Miss
Little
needs to have a little more “Fuck you” in his run blocking but he’s a beast in
the pass game and was a good get early in the second.
Worst Pick
– Round 1, Pick 16 (16 Overall) – Brian Burns, Edge, Florida State
I
have the same problem with the Burns pick that I had with the Bruce Irvin pick
a few years back which is that he’s only a pass rusher right now and gets absolutely
dominated in the run game. If Burns can keep his weight up and stack and shed
TE at the next level, he’ll make me look stupid.
Atlanta
Falcons
7
(43.7 AV) | 56.36% | 5.3 | 3.18 | Grade:
D+
Best Pick –
Round 1, Pick 14 (14 Overall) – Chris Lindstrom, G, Boston College
Worst Pick
– Round 1, Pick 31 (31 Overall) – Kaleb McGary, OT, Washington
The
Falcons had an interesting first round because Lindstrom is a really good guard
who fits there scheme well but was probably taken a touch early but should be a
very good player for them. McGary had good testing for his size but when I
watched him I felt that he moved much better when run blocking on pulls then in
his kick set against a pass rush.
Houston
Texans
7
(42.6 AV) | 53.27% | 5.3 | 3.67 | Grade:
D
Best Pick –
Round 5, Pick 23 (161 Overall) – Charles Omenihu, DL, Texas
Omenihu
has the ability to play inside and out along the defensive line and went a round
or two after I thought he should have making great value.
Worst Pick
– Round 1, Pick 23 (23 Overall) – Tytus Howard, OT, Alabama State
Howard
isn’t a bad tackle, in fact he was my 10th rated tackle, but I didn’t
see a first or even high second round pick making this one of the bigger
reaches of the first round.
San
Francisco 49ers
8
(61.3 AV) | 52.74% | 4.8 | 3.47 | Grade:
D
Best Pick –
Round 1, Pick 2 (2 Overall) – Nick Bosa, Edge, Ohio State
The
most profound truths in life are often not the most exciting ones. This is true
for draft picks as well. The pick of Bosa wasn’t a surprise pick but he should be
the pass rush piece they need to pair with Thomas, Buckner, and the recently
added Dee Ford.
Worst Pick
– Round 4, Pick 8 (110 Overall) – Mitch Wishnowsky, P, Utah
A
high 4th round pick used on a specialist is suboptimal.
Cleveland
Browns
7
(27.0 AV) | 51.10% | 5.1 | 3.56 | Grade:
D-
Best Pick –
Round 2, Pick 14 (46 Overall) – Greedy Williams, CB, LSU
Cleveland
absolutely nailed their first pick of the draft with Greedy Williams falling to
them. Greedy has concerns about his tackling but he’s an impressive athlete who
can stay with and shut down even the most athletic receivers.
Worst Pick
– Round 5, Pick 32 (170 Overall) – Austin Seibert, K, Oklahoma
There
worst pick of the draft for Cleveland was a kicker in the 5th which is
just a low upside lottery ticket
Kansas
City Chiefs
6
(25.2 AV) | 52.76% | 5.1 | 3.39 | Grade:
D-
Best Pick –
Round 2, Pick 31 (63 Overall) – Juan Thornhill, S, Virginia
Worst Pick
– Round 2, Pick 24 (56 Overall) – Mecole Hardman, WR, Georgia
Kansas
City was a roller coaster of emotions in round 2 with a shaky start in what
looks like a forced pick for a Tyreek replacement in Hardman. He’s a burner with
elite athletic traits, a small stature, and below average production. There
second pick of the round was a very good one. Juan Thornhill is what you want from
an early pick at DB, he’s strong, versatile (can play some CB as well as safety),
and a ridiculous athlete.
Miami
Doplhins
6
(28.9 AV) | 55.90% | 5.5 | 3.25 | Grade:
F+
Best Pick –
Round 1, Pick 13 (13 Overall) – Christian Wilkins, INT, Clemson
Wilkins
is a starting caliber player with penetration skills as a three tech and versatility
to provide value across the line. This is one of those a pick doesn’t have to
be sexy to be good type situations.
Worst Pick
– Round 3, Pick 14 (78 Overall) – Michael Dieter, OL, Wisconsin
I
hate to say something bad about a Wisconsin lineman, and I hope Dieter proves
me wrong, but in the third round this just seemed like a bit of a reach for me.
That said, Dieter provides some positional flexibility and should provide some
stability in the two-deep along the offensive line but that’s not a day 2 pick
in my opinion.
Chicago
Bears
5
(12.1 AV) | 48.01% | 4.9 | 2.86 | Grade:
F-
Some
clarification for this grade, it does not take into account anything outside of
picks with a slight adjustment for draft day moves, i.e it does not include the
Mack trade. That aside they had 5 relative low value selections and almost all
of those five picks were alright but only one could be seen as relatively high
value.
Best Pick –
Round 7, Pick 25 (238 Overall) – Stephen Denmark, CB, Valdosta State
Denmark
was well worth a dart throw in the 7th round a big athletic (6’ 2 ½”,
220 lbs, 4.46 40) corner is the kind of gamble you take and hope you hit big
on.
Worst Pick
– Round 5, Pick 32 (205 Overall) – Duke Shelley, CB, Kansas State
With not a lot of picks to chose
from I chose the Shelley pick because the two in rounds that matter (Montgomery
& Ridley) were alright but Shelley in the 5th is a gamble on a fairly
productive undersized and under-athletic CB.
