Grade the draft

[JAF-N72EX]

Mainly C grades and I agree.

 

 

[JAF-N72EX]

This is from an article on the athletic. Read more below.

https://theathletic.com/3286462/2022/05/01/nfl-draft-steals-reaches-consensus/

2022 Consensus Board Draft Return

 

 

Edited May 1, 2022 by JAF-N72EX

[JAF-N72EX]

[soulman]

Two starting DB in round 2 that closed gaping holes in the secondary.  Once Logan Hall a player they might have coveted was off the board and the remaining OL and WR did not jive with their own valuations Poles did the smart thing and drafted his boards BPA and came away with great value.  Both Gordon and Brisker might have gone much higher than they did.  Poles gets an A for this round.

Jones in round 3 may have been a slight reach but we lacked a 4th round pick so Poles feeling that Jones would no longer be available when his next pick came in round 5 took him.  It's hard to understand how Bears fans can't appreciate the value of such a dynamic player with KR/PR excellence as well as having true skills as a WR.  Hell, we spent a 2nd round pick on Devin Hester who should make the HOF as a return specialist but his skills as a WR never materialized.  Jones is already a better WR than Hester ever was.  Grade B+.

Round 5 got us two project linemen.  Robinson can probably handle some sub work as a rotational pass rusher day one whereas Braxton may push for playing time this summer but he's more than likely to need a year or maybe two before he's ready for more than a backup or Swing OT role.  He's got the right tools but he's never faced even top level college talent before let alone NFL Edge Rushers so it may take awhile for him to adapt to NFL speed and power.  Both were BPA picks that made sense there.  Grade B-.

From that point on there's really no telling what we have other than 3 more OL to compete for roster spots or the PS.  Two picks I like though are Doug Kramer the OC out of Illinois and Elijah Hicks the DB from Cal.  Kramer looks like a lunchbucket type grinder much like Lucas Patrick whom he may end up backing up if he can beat out Mustipher.  Hicks is a guy who looks the part of a capable DB with enough versatility to play at both Safety and as a Slot CB and/or Nickel/Dime DB.  We added key competition and potential depth at positions of need as well as a punter for competition.  Rounds 6-7 are our "mystery box".  Grade C+ to maybe a B-.

Overall I'd give this draft a B grade with upside depending on how may of the draftees stick on the 53 man roster.

[soulman]

27 minutes ago, JAF-N72EX said:

Does this guy work for Faux Sports by chance.  Seems like it.

[Epyon]

What's weird to me is I see Packers fans talking about how GB hates Rodgers for not going WR early when they ended up with Watson and Doubs from the draft. I'd have been ecstatic with that result for us.

My personal overall grade for the draft, versus how I would have done it, is a D-  They got   a WR, and some OL prospects but I'm simply not a believer in the WR they got, and all of the OL are complete random shots in the dark. This whole season to me should have been entirely about throwing blocking and weapons at Fields to take weight off his shoulders and see what we got in him... I think we failed to do that.

THAT ALL BEING SAID, if I was to drink the cool aid for a moment.:

1+2.  The first two picks where really good value. I like Gordon more than I liked Jaylon Johnson coming out, and JJ has been a stud.  The safety I didn't know as much about, but I actually like the pick more and more. The back end of the defense got pretty nicely boosted, and it was frankly needed. HOPEFULLY this also lets EJAX get back to playing ball, and if not makes it easier to drop him.

3. I'm warming up to the pick on Velus. His age kind of sucks, but meh... he's got decent size, great speed, and YAC ability we'd be missing had we gone with my personal choice for that area (Calvin Austin)...  I'd add, I get the impression the plan is to grab a FA next year, if Fields proves enough this year... so I'm a little less concerned with being a bit thinner there this season.

As for the rest, I mean, Borom and Jenkins just became our two most important wildcards for this season. IF they both hit, we can be decent, if they both bust, Fields will be carted off in a body bag and the offense will be Nagy level bad.... I'd like to believe that out of the like 9 other dudes we brought in, that at least one of them can not suck long enough to play RG, but we'll see.  We survived an entire season with Mustipher last year..

 

As for a season prediction based on what we have now? I mean we have a very easy schedule, and I'm expecting to have a top 10 defense... That alone is going to keep us in games, but I just have no idea what to expect with this OL.... We could legitimately be a 2 win team if Jenkins, Borom, and whooever the hell plays RG all suck. Fields and Monty could get destroyed, and we wouldn't have time for any passing game beyond 5 yards..... On the other hand, if Borom, Jenkins, and "RIGHT GUARD" all play at least at an average level, and if Velus can provide say 400+ yards on top Mooney/Pringle each doing 800+ I feel like we might end up going as high as 10 wins.... but it's gonna be a very tough road and a TON of single score games, imo (and the odds of winning those consistently isn't great)

[dafreak]

Most of the draft grades I have read are more based on who they should have taken to help Fields instead of the actual picks themself....Grade a draft on the players taken, not on who you think they should have taken...

[JAF-N72EX]

5 minutes ago, Epyon said:

What's weird to me is I see Packers fans talking about how GB hates Rodgers for not going WR early when they ended up with Watson and Doubs from the draft. I'd have been ecstatic with that result for us.

Agreed. They did it right an I'd hate to say that.

3 minutes ago, Epyon said:

3. I'm warming up to the pick on Velus. His age kind of sucks, but meh... he's got decent size, great speed, and YAC ability we'd be missing had we gone with my personal choice for that area (Calvin Austin)...  I'd add, I get the impression the plan is to grab a FA next year, if Fields proves enough this year... so I'm a little less concerned with being a bit thinner there this season.

See I don't agree about the age thing. IMO it doesn't matter too much. 25 isn't old....it just means he may not have as high of a ceiling and it'll make it harder for him to get a good 2nd contract at the age of 29. But all I really care about is how he plays in the next 4 years because if he, Fields, and others don't pan out then we're starting from scratch anyhow.

8 minutes ago, Epyon said:

As for the rest, I mean, Borom and Jenkins just became our two most important wildcards for this season. IF they both hit, we can be decent, if they both bust, Fields will be carted off in a body bag and the offense will be Nagy level bad.... I'd like to believe that out of the like 9 other dudes we brought in, that at least one of them can not suck long enough to play RG, but we'll see.  We survived an entire season with Mustipher last year..

This is true. Especially the bolded part. Even before the draft, I wasn't as worried about the OL as others. Can it be bad? Yes. If Borom and Jenkins don't work out. But we have to give them a chance.

[soulman]

29 minutes ago, dafreak said:

Most of the draft grades I have read are more based on who they should have taken to help Fields instead of the actual picks themself....Grade a draft on the players taken, not on who you think they should have taken...

Exactly.  To do otherwise is as senseless as complaining about a test a teacher or professor gave as being crappy because it didn't contain questions you knew the answers to.  Poles had a tough deal going in with only six picks yet he managed to draft two staring DB we badly needed plus the most dynamic all purpose WR/RB/KR/PR in the draft and he may actually become the steal here.

[JAF-N72EX]

Ross is the only one left and I can't believe no team has given him a chance when there's really no risk. Especially teams like the Bears that need help.

[BeaReylo]

I came into the draft apathetic and came out of it with the same laodicean.  In a bubble all the picks were solid but in terms of the big picture of helping Fields they're underwhelming.  I'll give it a C.

[Epyon]

1 hour ago, JAF-N72EX said:

Ross is the only one left and I can't believe no team has given him a chance when there's really no risk. Especially teams like the Bears that need help.

Ross's medicals scared me too much too draft him, but I agree, there's no risk now.  I'd add that, without his spinal injury, he's probably a 2nd round talent for this draft, and the exact kind of receiver we don't have right now on  this roster. 

[JAF-N72EX]

2 hours ago, FosterTheSkins said:

I came into the draft apathetic and came out of it with the same laodicean.  In a bubble all the picks were solid but in terms of the big picture of helping Fields they're underwhelming.  I'll give it a C.

That's how I feel too and why I give it the same grade. 

I do believe that a good defense can help a QB. Rookie or not. But I don't see the defense being much better this year than it was last year (for a myriad of reasons) and I don't see any reason to believe the offense will be better either. Better offense sure, maybe, (because topping Nagy isn't a hard accomplishment) but not significantly better....especially with worse weapons.

Again, I'm a firm believer that a good defense can help a QB, but there needs to be balance in the process. If you only have a couple of missing tools on defense to make them really good in order to carry the team for a short term while your still developing your QB then that's fine. But you need balance. You can't just go defense, defense, defense and put the offense on the back burner and that's what it feels like Poles did here.

That's why I was fine with the Brisker pick as a player, but didn't care for the selection, OR the big reach for a gadget KR in the 3rd.

To Poles credit though, I think he did one and a half things well in this draft;

1) Maximized his limited capital by flipping 6 picks into 11 and playing the odds late in the draft hoping for lottery. Belichick has never been the greatest at drafts but he has done this same thing his entire career by stockpiling late picks and several GMs have been following this very same path for years too.

2) He got really good value with most of his picks in terms of upside. I'm excited to see what Brisker can do. And guys like Robinson and Braxton have a lot of potential.

But that's going to take time. This where the half (things) come in. I only wish Poles didn't ignore the injury and lack of experience factor while valuing those late round picks as much as he did. Because it seemed like he and his staff ignored those factors. Guys like Braxton, Thomas, Carter are very raw/or injury prone and will take time to develop into anything useful, if at all.

I'm always okay with GMs taking a late-round risk on a player or two who fall in the draft because of injury concerns, character, lack of experience, etc.  But not THAT many risks. Especially when your only dealing with a select few picks in the 5th and early 6th. And especially when your future franchise QB only has 1 legit WR to throw to next season while going into his 2nd year in his 2nd system. EDIT: I'LL SAY IT AGAIN....BALANCE!

Sorry @FosterTheSkins . This turned more into a rant/explanation than a response to your post. I just had alot to say that hadn't and your post was the unfortunate victim here lol.

2 hours ago, Epyon said:

Ross's medicals scared me too much too draft him, but I agree, there's no risk now.  I'd add that, without his spinal injury, he's probably a 2nd round talent for this draft, and the exact kind of receiver we don't have right now on  this roster. 

His upside is just too hard to pass up. He has everything you look for in a true #1.  Like you said, this dude would've went early if not for the injuries.

Edited May 2, 2022 by JAF-N72EX

[Sugashane]

Overall I can give it a B to B- just off the players and traits I read from them. Really like Gordon and Brisker, Jones seems to have a clear role immediately and may become one hell of a safety net. Jones, Thomas, Kramer, and Carter are all later picks with traits that I like, so even if I don't know them outside of Jones I can see the rationale for them. Until the Combine I don't think I ever heard of Robinson but that athleticism is crazy for a DE (as a converted WR should be), and admittedly I used Henry Melton to talk myself into liking the pick immediately  lol. IDK anything about the RB or last S but what was posted in their threads.

 

The only pick I actually really dislike was Gill. I actually did some real digging - on freaking punters 0 when POD was released. Four punters drafted, and he was one? Not Turk, not Hayes, not Stonehouse, or even the 'Butter Blur" (trademarked by me, eat it) Wright? Not even Di**er from Texas? The Toledo kid? You picked the likely crappiest punter of a lot of like 10... and drafted him? lol.

 

Its such a late pick I'm not concerned too much but I wouldn't be shocked if they booted him before the preseason. Be cool to see him prove me wrong and be a really good punter but meh.

[brownie man]

In regards to the thread I made. No I don’t believe I was trolling. I’m an Ohio State alum and Justin is the most talented QB to ever come out our program. 
 

I told you guys I would be here as soon as he was drafted. And based on the lack of assets devoted to the position your FO is setting him up for failure. And this is past a draft grade. You all didn’t do anything in Free Agency either. 
 

You guys finally have the opportunity to build around a young franchise QB and it looks like you’re setting him up to go through unnecessary challenges.