Honestly rate YOUR team's draft.

[Suffering_Bills]

Yes, I know.... -it's almost impossible to NOT be a homer for what your team did in the draft, especially since we haven't seen the performance on the NFL field yet. However, be realistic. Much as humanly possible, in any case.

Okay; I'll start this off with my team, the Bills. Oh, and let's do this by letter grade. I'll give our draft haul a solid B-plus. Couldn't have asked for anything better from our first two selections. Oliver was exactly what we needed to replace Kyle Williams, provided great value at his slot, and should be a difference-maker for years to come. Cody Ford was possibly even BETTER value, and should be a 10-12 year effective starter on the O-line. I'm just not entirely sure if he's a tackle in the league, though. I think he'd be a monster right guard, and that's just fine for the 38th pick. Singletary to me was merely okay-ish in the 3rd. I personally would have selected Hakeem Butler. Trading up for Dawson Knox was a gamble on potential, but we had a need at the TE position, so we'll just have to see how it works out. The picks of Joseph and Johnson in the 5th and 6th rounds, respectively, were pretty good depth selections. Even our two 7th-rounders, Johnson and Sweeney, have at least a decent chance to make the practice squad. Looks like an easy top-ten draft to me.

K. Let's see how you guys honestly and realistically grade your team's draft.

Edited May 3, 2019 by Suffering_Bills

[ET80]

Right now it's a C. I don't think anyone hates on picks outside of the 1st round, but that Tytus Howard pick has people freaking out - it may be a reach, he may not be ready to play immediately - or he could break into the lineup early and justify the pick. 

I'll play that game and err on the side of caution with the C. This being said, if the optimistic view on Howard plays out and he turns into a great LT, this becomes an A.

[SBLIII]

A/A- seems to be the consensus for the Pats draft and it's pretty much my grade as well. Rounds 1-4 is pretty much all I care about because 5-7 is an absolute crapshot and often don't even make the roster. Therefore I didn't dislike selecting the #2 punter in this draft with 2 high ceiling prospects who didn't put it together in college for different reasons. From 1-4 we acquired quality depth and starter potential at QB, RB, WR, OT, OG, DE and CB. I really like our draft.

[Suffering_Bills]

Just now, ET80 said:

Right now it's a C. I don't think anyone hates on picks outside of the 1st round, but that Tytus Howard pick has people freaking out - it may be a reach, he may not be ready to play immediately - or he could break into the lineup early and justify the pick. 

I'll play that game and err on the side of caution with the C. This being said, if the optimistic view on Howard plays out and he turns into a great LT, this becomes an A.

That seems to be pretty fair. Does kind of come down to Howard.

[ET80]

1 minute ago, Suffering_Bills said:

That seems to be pretty fair. Does kind of come down to Howard.

I personally like him - this is eerily similar to when Duane Brown was drafted, people going on about how he was a 2-3 round talent at best, then murmurings of teams having him higher on their boards than initially discussed, a raw but uber-athletic former TE turn LT...

There are some differences (level of competition, the drop-off from OL coach Alex Gibbs to Mike Devlin, the other OL on the roster) but - at face value, it's very similar. 

Last one worked out for Houston, maybe this one will too.

[BleedTheClock]

Based on my big board, I’d give the Browns a B-  

 But I fall into the category of people that think attaching draft grades to NFL teams before they ever play is ridiculous. Every NFL GM thinks they had an awesome draft. 

[AlNFL19]

I'm happy with the Pats' draft. This marks two years in a row they've drafted one of my favorite college running backs.

[Danger]

Andre Dillard - (A-) Really good pick, though he still needs to improve his run blocking, and he won't have an impact year 1 really. He's in a great situation learning from Jason Peters for a season and then taking over.
Miles Sanders - (B) Good runningback, with even better potential, however it still is taking a RB early in the draft. On the bright side both Clement and Howard are free agents next year so he could play an important role moving forward. He does have a shiftiness and pass catching ability that I do like.
JJ Arcega-Whiteside (C+) - Were probably other better choices that can be made. What he does, he does well, but can he round himself into a more complete receiver?
Shareef Miller (C-) - I'm from Penn State and had a much lower grade on Miller than he was drafted at. Best case scenario IMO he's a backup for his whole career, he has no power and is never going to go through guys in the NFL. If he can't get around the outside he'll never do anything. He's a 3rd down Wide 9 Rusher exclusively IMO.
Clayton Thorson (C) - We definitely could use a 3rd string QB, However with only 5 picks being made in this draft as well as the fact that his arm strength leaves a lot to be desired, It's relatively disappointing.

Overall - (B-)

[MWil23]

The Browns are really hard to evaluate because of their traded 1st rounder, but I'll do my best:

Round 2 • Pick 14 (46) • CB Greedy Williams: They got a 1st round projected value in the 2nd. His athleticism and man/press man coverage can't be questioned, but his effort and tackling sure can be. That said, to trade a 5th to move up and select him was great value for the Browns, who need a CB opposite Ward.

Round 3 • Pick 17 (80) • LB Sione Takitaki: Great SPARQ athlete who was probably a reach

Round 4 • Pick 17 (119) • S Sheldrick Redwine: Good player at a position of need. He's not a bad athlete and will be a box contributor in all likelihood.

Round 5 • Pick 17 (155) • LB Mack Wilson: LB for Alabama who fell for a variety of reasons. I'm glad they rolled the dice on him.

Round 5 • Pick 32 (170) • K Austin Seibert: Their kicker situation is terrible, but rookie kickers are always a question mark at best

Round 6 • Pick 17 (189) • T Drew Forbes: Project X, very high upside and SPARQ potential

Round 7 • Pick 7 (221) • CB Donnie Lewis Jr.: Typical late round flier

They ultimately addressed their needs, aside from DT depth. I give them a B- to B

[Suffering_Bills]

2 minutes ago, MWil23 said:

The Browns are really hard to evaluate because of their traded 1st rounder, but I'll do my best:

Round 2 • Pick 14 (46) • CB Greedy Williams: They got a 1st round projected value in the 2nd. His athleticism and man/press man coverage can't be questioned, but his effort and tackling sure can be. That said, to trade a 5th to move up and select him was great value for the Browns, who need a CB opposite Ward.

Round 3 • Pick 17 (80) • LB Sione Takitaki: Great SPARQ athlete who was probably a reach

Round 4 • Pick 17 (119) • S Sheldrick Redwine: Good player at a position of need. He's not a bad athlete and will be a box contributor in all likelihood.

Round 5 • Pick 17 (155) • LB Mack Wilson: LB for Alabama who fell for a variety of reasons. I'm glad they rolled the dice on him.

Round 5 • Pick 32 (170) • K Austin Seibert: Their kicker situation is terrible, but rookie kickers are always a question mark at best

Round 6 • Pick 17 (189) • T Drew Forbes: Project X, very high upside and SPARQ potential

Round 7 • Pick 7 (221) • CB Donnie Lewis Jr.: Typical late round flier

They ultimately addressed their needs, aside from DT depth. I give them a B- to B

Agree. The Browns are a tough one to call. The one thing for SURE, though, is that nobody available at #17 would be anywhere NEAR as good as OBJ. Great trade.

[Forge]

For the 49ers...I think a lot will hinge on Hurd and the health of picks. I was a fan of the way it started out, but then it did lose some of it's luster on the back end. 

Bosa is largely a no brainer pick. He and QW were on their own tier separate from the rest of this class for most, and he played the bigger need. It's an easy A pick to me. 

Deebo was a guy I was a fan of, and I knew we were going to be as well. I commented in the Packers thread forum forever ago that I thought he was going to be the target at 36, and stuck with that throughout most of hte draft process. I thought maybe there was a chance we would like Brown more, but obviously that was not the case. Deebo was a fine pick for me, as I also liked Deebo, though I will admit that I did like Brown more. It's a solid B / B+ type  pick for me because the value was right, the player made a ton of sense, etc etc etc. 

Hurd in the third is where this gets interesting. He's a bit of a project, no doubt, but also, this is potentially one of the best landing spots in the NFL for him with Shanny. This is going to be a very intriguing pick. The question for me comes on how the roster construction comes, whether or not he's ready to contribute, etc. Selecting him in the third locks up his roster spot, and if we keep only 5 receivers, this becomes very interesting because I didn't think that Hurd was ready to come in and make a huge impact from an on field standpoint. I thought he would take a year or so. So if that is the case and we are only carrying 5, and as many as 3 of the others are potentially injury prone (Goodwin for sure, Pettis / Deebo certainly have some concern), that receiver corps could thin out in a hurry. So I get this pick...there is potentially huge upside in it, but for the immediate season, it does come with concern. 

Mitch Wishnowsky. We needed a punter, and he has been the best in college football. I hate older prospects, though it's not quite as bad when dealing with a punter. At least they moved down once to pick up some extra capital, but man, from a value standpoint, it's so hard to justify a punter in the 4th. And I was one of the few in the 49er forum advocating that we should spend a pick on a punter at some point in the draft. If it's a generational punter type prospect, I can understand a 5th (Dickson was a good example), but a 4th? Ugh. I mean, at best i'd give them a D from the value perspective, maybe a C- if you want to account for the trade down, but value wise, not a pick I can get behind. A 4th isn't the end of the world or anything, and if he's a legit punter, most really won't care in the end, but for right now? Just kind of blech. 

Dre Greenlaw in the 5th. Great dude. I'll start by saying that. Everything I have read about him just shows that he's got great character. But I did not like him as a prospect at all. There were others I preferred for sure. He's small, plays small. No attack dog to him at all. Chases the action rather than initiating it. Obviously, not going to be crushing a lot of fifth round picks in general, but just nothing to love here. 

Kaden Smith in the 6th was solid. Not great, but the pick makes a lot of sense. Hopefully will be a great red zone target in a niche role to start off. My hope is that maybe he can become sort of a poor man's Cameron Brate. 

Justin Skule in the 6th round. I'll never hate on adding to the trenches in the back rounds for projects. He's got a lot of experience, so there's that. Seems like a typical 6th round pick, nothing more or less. 

Tim Harris in the 6th round. Again, makes sense. Older than I like to draft, bad injury history (just like everyone else the 49ers acquire), but he's got an athletic upside you take shots on. 

So largely, if we are weighing the earlier picks heavier (as shoudl probably be the case), it's solid, and a lot will sway based on what Hurd can do at the next level. Rounds 4/5 were very questionable to me, and Round 6 was largely picks that made sense. 

[Suffering_Bills]

1 minute ago, Forge said:

For the 49ers...I think a lot will hinge on Hurd and the health of picks. I was a fan of the way it started out, but then it did lose some of it's luster on the back end. 

Bosa is largely a no brainer pick. He and QW were largely on their own tier separate from the rest of this class for most, and he played the bigger need. It's an easy A pick to me. 

Deebo was a guy I was a fan of, and I knew we were going to be as well. I commented in the Packers thread forum forever ago that I thought he was going to be the target at 36, and stuck with that throughout most of hte draft process. I thought maybe there was a chance we would like Brown more, but obviously that was not the case. Deebo was a fine pick for me, as I also liked Deebo, though I will admit that I did like Brown more. It's a solid B / B+ type  pick for me because the value was right, the player made a ton of sense, etc etc etc. 

Hurd in the third is where this gets interesting. He's a bit of a project, no doubt, but also, this is potentially one of the best landing spots in the NFL for him with Shanny. This is going to be a very intriguing pick. The question for me comes on how the roster construction comes, whether or not he's ready to contribute, etc. Selecting him in the third locks up his roster spot, and if we keep only 5 receivers, this becomes very interesting because I didn't think that Hurd was ready to come in and make a huge impact from an on field standpoint. I thought he would take a year or so. So if that is the case and we are only carrying 5, and as many as 3 of the others are potentially injury prone (Goodwin for sure, Pettis / Deebo certainly have some concern), that receiver corps could thin out in a hurry. So I get this pick...there is potentially huge upside in it, but for the immediate season, it does come with concern. 

Mitch Wishnowsky. We needed a punter, and he has been the best in college football. I hate older prospects, though it's not quite as bad when dealing with a punter. At least they moved down once to pick up some extra capital, but man, from a value standpoint, it's so hard to justify a punter in the 4th. And I was one of the few in the 49er forum advocating that we should spend a pick on a punter at some point in the draft. If it's a generational punter type prospect, I can understand a 5th (Dickson was a good example), but a 4th? Ugh. I mean, at best i'd give them a D from the value perspective, maybe a C- if you want to account for the trade down, but value wise, not a pick I can get behind. A 4th isn't the end of the world or anything, and if he's a legit punter, most really won't care in the end, but for right now? Just kind of blech. 

Dre Greenlaw in the 5th. Great dude. I'll start by saying that. Everything I have read about him just shows that he's got great character. But I did not like him as a prospect at all. There were others I preferred for sure. He's small, plays small. No attack dog to him at all. Chases the action rather than running toward it. Obviously, not going to be crushing a lot of fifth round picks in general, but just nothing to love here. 

Kaden Smith in the 6th was solid. Not great, but the pick makes a lot of sense. Hopefully will be a great red zone target in a niche role to start off. My hope is that maybe he can become sort of a poor man's Cameron Brate. 

Justin Skule in the 6th round. I'll never hate on adding to the trenches in the back rounds for projects. He's got a lot of experience, so there's that. Seems like a typical 6th round pick, nothing more or less. 

Tim Harris in the 6th round. Again, makes sense. Older than I like to draft, bad injury history (just like everyone else the 49ers acquire), but he's got an athletic upside you take shots on. 

So largely, if we are weighing the earlier picks heavier (as shoudl probably be the case), it's solid, and a lot will sway based on what Hurd can do at the next level. Rounds 4/5 were very questionable to me, and Round 6 was largely picks that made sense. 

Very well-written and thought out. So what would be your overall grade for the entire draft for the Niners? To me, it's somewhere between a C-plus and a B-minus.

[Forge]

3 minutes ago, Suffering_Bills said:

Very well-written and thought out. So what would be your overall grade for the entire draft for the Niners? To me, it's somewhere between a C-plus and a B-minus.

I'd lean more toward B-, if only because I get the Hurd pick, even if my own eval differed slightly from the teams. I love round 1, like round 2, hate 4/5 (I don't hate the selection of Wishnowsky in a vacuum, just hate it in round 4), and the late round picks are fine. Smith probably has a legit shot to make the roster this year as the TE2; Garrett Celek, our current TE2, had more penalties than catches last year, which is probably not ideal lol. 

But the Hurd pick is the swing vote. Assuming I'm right (which I have to do), then yeah, B- because I don't think that Hurd can come in and play very well right away. I think that there's going to be a transition period where we figure out where best to use him and he develops as a receiver. If he's more ready than I think and can actually legitimately contribute in a meaningful way right away, it can easily be a B+ because those top three picks are fare more important than the bottom rounds 4-6. 

[Duffman57]

For he Chargers I'd give it a B+ mostly because of the bigtime early picks.

Tillery is a guy who we've wanted for forever, he's exactly who everyone wanted Malik McDowell to be.  He's an explosive, length and strength defender who knows how to get to the QB and can 2 gap vs the OG. Perfect for Gus Bradley's D. 

Adderley is another perfect fit.  Has a lot of similar qualities to Tashaun Gipson, where he's not the fastest guy, but his instincts, fluidity and explosiveness give him some crazy range on the back end for a team that plays a TON of single high.

Pipkins is interesting and there isn't a whole of him out there, but he's an elite athlete at the position who is a nearly identical athlete to smaller school guys who have succeeded in the past in Terron Armstead (save for the sprint speed, which goes from good to elite with Armstead, their numbers are nearly identical) and Veldheer. Could be a similar type of upside OT.  We're betting on high character big upside guys which I can never really discount. Especially for the scheme we have, that requires a LOT of movement and blocking at the 2nd level (and aggressive pass sets that ask you to be quick off the ball and recover if beat), this could end up being a home run pick, or not much of anything, but worth the gamble IMO in the 3rd. 

Drue Tranquill is a guy who perfectly fits the scheme. Explosive, straight line athlete that plays with no fear, and pulls the trigger and goes when he sees a lane to shoot.  Think he can be the signal caller for this defense post Davis/Perryman deals.

Stick is interesting, and has some upside. They're hoping for him to be a Nick Foles (or hopefully Dak/Jimmy G) type of development project where worst case, we can have a short term, average QB at the helm post Rivers IMO. 

Emeke Egbule is a PHYISCAL player with some exploisveness and speed. Guy sets a hard edge and just works his butt off.  Not going to be special, but will be a very solid backup OTTO (Hybrid 4-3 and 3-4 LB) and STer.

Broughton is a guy a few people are really high on ( @jrry32, I believe is one).  Explosive, straight ahead penetrating type of 3T with some upside, but needs to actually use his hands to disengage from time to time.  Basically doesn't win if it's not on the snap.  So developmental 3T prospect.

All in all, a crazy boost in athleticism for this team and a lot of guys who have upside but not really low ceilings (oustide of Pipkins IMO).  So we'll see how it works out.

 

 

[tom cody]

I thoughts the Colts had a good draft. Campbell at WR gives Luck another target to throw to. Seemed to be a more defensive oriented draft for the team with 3 linebackers picked, have to see how it all pans out.