Re-Grading your teams 2018 draft

[AkronsWitness]

1.1- Baker Mayfield QB- Showed flashes, lost confidence with injuries and slowly declined. Better than anyone before him in CLE, but still a lot to be desired. B-

1.4- Denzel Ward CB- Still one of the best man coverage CBs in the NFL. Multiple time Pro Bowler and was as good as advertised out of college. A lock for being a top 5-7 CB in the league for a decade. Hard to not say this was a great pick. Only thing holding this back from a added '+' would be his injury history. A-

2- Austin Corbett OG- Decent enough to be a starter but not good enough to be irreplaceable. Given where they drafted him, they expected more than a fringe starter. C+/B-

2. Nick Chubb RB- Drafting the best RB in football in the past 30 years with your 4th pick is something. Best draft pick relative to position since 99'. A++++++++

3. Chad Thomas - Cared more about his career as a rapper than actually playing football. All bark, no bite, contributed nothing. F+

4. Antonio Callaway - Like Chad Thomas, couldnt get out of his own way and lack of maturity caused his NFL downfall after a promising rookie year. D

5. Genard Avery - Nice rotational EDGE but the Browns never retained him and he went to the Eagles where he drifted away into anonymity. C

6. Damian Ratley- Speed WR that was not good at being a WR, but hey, its the 6th round. D+

7. Simeon Thomas - Who. F 

[bigbadbuff]

How can the number one pick in the draft that wasn’t good enough to warrant a second contact a B-?

[minutemancl]

Saquon was not a good pick. Great player when he is healthy, but you don't draft a RB 2nd overall. Should have taken Josh Allen.

Will Hernandez sucks. Went to Arizona and sucks there too. 

Lorenzo Carter is a replacement level edge. With Atlanta now.

BJ Hill was probably the best pick in this draft, and we traded him for Billy Price, who sucks. He's on his second contract with Cinci and he's a good player. 

Kyle Lauletta is most famous for being late to practice and getting in car accidents. RJ McIntosh never did anything. Neither are in the NFL anymore.

This was the draft that got Gettleman fired, IMO. Only problem was it took them a few years after this to do it. I'd rather forget this draft ever happened. 

[Louis Friend]

6 hours ago, General Tso said:

C Frank Ragnow - A+, stud, probably 2nd best Center in the NFC

RB Kerryon Johnson - C, was ok for us for a time before injuries and Matt Patricia got to him

S Tracy Walker - B, he's good, not quite Pro Bowl level, but he's the leader of our secondary

DE Dashawn Hand - F, injury riddled and didn't make an impact

OT Tyrell Crosby - F, didn't do much for us

FB Nick Bawden - F, see above

 

Bob Quinn strikes again. This draft was made worse because we traded up for Kerryon and also traded a 2019 third for Hand.

Agreed overall. Sucks because I think under any other coaching staff, Kerryon would still have a career. Maybe not in Detroit, but he'd still be able to play somewhere. For as awful as Quinn/Patricia were, Bob Quinn really did know how to draft OL. 

[DawgX]

1 hour ago, bigbadbuff said:

How can the number one pick in the draft that wasn’t good enough to warrant a second contact a B-?

Yeah, it's kind of hard to grade Baker as a Browns fan. He's obviously not here anymore, so not a great pick, but he showed flashes and helped our team win a playoff game for the first time since our return. Not a B-, but not an F either. Something like a C or D.

His grade for Corbett is a bit strange as well. He's become a decent starter elsewhere, but was a total failure for us considering where we took him. I'd give him a D.

Despite Ward's injury issues, I'd still give him an A. He's borderline elite when used properly.

[MonserinNC]

Bears had kind of a weird draft, lots of really good players on here that we either couldn't afford or just got better offers

• First round, 8th overall: Roquan Smith, LB, Georgia-A, we all know his story and the Baltimore trade....highest paid off-ball LB in the League now, good for him
• Second round, 39th overall: James Daniels, C/G, Iowa-B, he was a starter his whole whole rookie contract and played all over the line, just needed a change of scenery. He reached his ceiling here of being and average swing guy, spot starter
• Second round, 51st overall: Anthony Miller, WR, Memphis-C, Same as Daniels, reached his ceiling of backup slot guy...like Daniels also, just needed a change, 2nd rounders have high expectations
• Fourth round, 115th overall: Joel Iyiegbuniwe, LB, Western Kentucky-C, once again a guy who was a regular contributor but kind of JAG...still was good though
• Fifth round, 145th overall: Bilal Nichols, DT, Delaware-A, This dude was a beast for us...haven't followed his Raiders career though, guy we couldn't afford again

[INbengalfan]

9 hours ago, bigbadbuff said:

How can the number one pick in the draft that wasn’t good enough to warrant a second contact a B-?

Getting them over the palyoff win hump was important enough to give the grade a bump.  He definitely had flashes of brilliance, followed by WTF moments.

[Raves]

For the Saints F

14.  Marcus Davenport - Traded up for him using a future 1st when other guys like Derwin James, Lamar Jackson, and others were still on the board.  When he was healthy he was very disruptive even if it didn't show up on the stat line.  The problem was his availability was definitely the worst stat of his stat line. F

91.  Tre'Quan Smith - Super inconsistent WR that has had moments where you think he finally is going to put it together, only to not be that guy again for the rest of the season.  Hope him the best in his next team.  F

127.  Rick Leonard - Who? F

164.  Natrell Jamerson - Who?  F

189.  Kamrin Moore - Who?  F

201.  Boston Scott - Apparently a 3rd or 4th RB for Philly since the 2018?  F

245.  Will Clap - He's a depth IOL and has been solid in a few starting situations even.  For the pick and what he is, A+

 

Thank god 2017 was so epic it carried another 1-2 draft classes.

[SmittyBacall]

1. Billy Price - F - Over drafted. Terrible starter. League back up.

2. Jessie Bates - A - Pro Bowl safety. Huge contributor.

3. Sam Hubbard - A- - Very solid edge. Great run defender, huge locker room guy. Adds a bit as a pass rusher.

3. Malik Jefferson - F - Just an athlete. Quickly waived. Contributed nothing.

4. Mark Walton - D - Another poor pick at the time. Poor athlete, legal issues. Pretty sure he's no longer in the league. Contributed nothing.

5. Davontae Harris - C - Didn't do much for us, but pretty sure he latched on elsewhere and started some games. Contributed very little.

5. Andrew Brown - F - Never saw the field. Quickly waived. Contributed nothing.

5. Darius Phillips - C+ - Could never crack our lineup but had talent. Still floating around the league. Contributed very little.

7. Logan Woodside - F - Pretty sure he's an XFLer-type now. Contributed nothing.

7. Rod Taylor - F - Practice squad and injured. Contributed nothing.

7. Auden Tate - C+ - Could never crack our lineup but had talent and flashed. Still floating around the league. Was hoping he saw targets in Atlanta, never happened.

 

OVERALL: C

One of our worst drafts in recent years. Bates was a homerun. Hubbard a long term starter. Other than that, pretty terrible.

 

[THE DUKE]

Bengals

1 (18). Billy Price, C, Ohio State - D - We panic reached after missing out on Ragnow by 1 pick when it was clear that we desperately needed a starting center, and then we didn't even pick the right one as Daniels went 15 picks later and was a much better player.  Injured at the combine and then oft injured after that.  Occasionally flashed average play, but was bad more often than not.  The saving grace of this grade was that we were able to trade him straight up for BJ Hill who has been a very solid DT for us the past couple of years.

2 (54). Jessie Bates, S, Wake Forest - A - Bates started from day 1 and was a very good safety for 5 years in Cincinnati.  We let him go just now in free agency as the looming contracts of Burrow, Higgins, and Chase and making them look ahead at how they want to allocate money to what positions, but Bates time here was nothing but a success and even after he signed in Atlanta, both sides have still been very complementary of the other.  Was a 2nd team all pro his 2nd year, and never quite got back to that form, but he's something like the 3rd or 4th highest paid safety in the game now for a reason.

3 (77). Sam Hubbard, DE, Ohio State - A- - Hubbard got a good mid tier 2nd contract here already and has been uber reliable as a run defender and also has the occasional outbursts of sacks.  Not flashy, but one of the hard workers that makes Lou Anarumo's defense work like it does.  Tops out grade wise here because he's just average as a pass rusher, so I can't give anything higher than an A-, but literally every other part of his game is exactly what you want from one of your locker room leaders which is why I went with A- over a B or B+.

3 (78). Malik Jefferson, LB, Texas - D - The Bengals had a lot of hope on Jefferson coming out as a plus athlete at LB and while he was ok as a special teams player, he never did much of anything as a LB.  Didn't even make it through his rookie contract and was outplayed by guys drafted far lower than him.  To my knowledge I think he is out of the league at this point.

4 (112). Mark Walton, RB, Miami - F - Was only on the roster one year, hung around one more year in Miami and was out of the league before he even turned 23 years old.  Mid 4th round is too early to whiff on a pick this hard.

5 (151). Davontae Harris, CB, Illinois State - F - Not going to lie, I don't even remember this guy.  Apparently was only on our roster in 2018, bounced around the league for a few years after and only dressed for 3 games last year in Tennessee.

5 (158). Andrew Brown, DT, Virginia - D- - I do vaguely remember Brown, but he was only on our roster for another year and a half after being injured his rookie year and missing the whole year.  Still in the league, but hasn't dressed more than 7 games a year in the last three years, was apparently on Chicago last year.

5 (170). Darius Phillips, CB, Western Michigan - C - There was a couple years where a lot of Bengals fans though Phillips was going to be a stud, he showed some real flashes early on with 4 picks in only 8 games his 2nd year, and was also electric as a return man.  Injuries and non development slowed him down and he moved on to Denver in 2022 where he didn't do much of anything.  I remember the hype though.

7 (249). Logan Woodside, QB, Toledo - C- - Grading on a curve here this late in the draft, but not too much.  Never made the roster in Cincinnati, but is still bouncing around the league dressing for Tennessee and Atlanta a combined 12 games the last three years.  That's more than most late 7th round picks.

7 (252). Rod Taylor, G Mississippi - D - Who?  That said, still hard for me to give any late 7th rd pick an F

7 (253). Auden Tate, WR, Florida State - C - Tate got a little bit of burn when injuries forced him into the lineup, but never amounted to too much.  Still in the league though, which is saying something for a guy who was close to being Mr Irrelevant.

Not much of anything after the top 3 picks, but if they could have got Ragnow (or even Daniels) instead of Price it would have been a fondly remembered draft for those top three picks.  Hubbard and Bates were home run picks, but the rest of the draft was a whole lot of nothing.  So despite the two good starters, I have to give the draft as a whole a C- for that whiff in round 1, and nothing long term of value from day 3 at all.

Edited March 20, 2023 by THE DUKE

[NinerNation21]

18 hours ago, adamq said:

Round 1: Ninth Overall - Mike McGlinchey, T, Notre Dame

A-. While he didn't earn a 2nd contract from SF, he played out his 5 years as a solid starter. OT was a huge need and he was the best one they could have gotten there

 

Round 2: 44th Overall (from Washington) - Dante Pettis, WR, Washington

Big fat F. They traded up for this joker and he was just a massive disappointment.

 

Round 3: 70th Overall (from Chicago) - Fred Warner, LB, BYU

A+++++++++. 'Nuf said.

 

Round 3: 95th Overall (from New England) - Tarvarius Moore, DB, Southern Miss

C. Talented dude but just never healthy. I wanted him back this year, but he has moved on to Cinci I believe

 

Round 4: 128th Overall (from Pittsburgh) - Kentavius Street, DL, N.C. State

D. Solid enough depth player, but spending a 4th rounder on a guy who already tore his ACL wasn't a great move.

 

Round 5: 142nd Overall (from Washington) - D.J. Reed, CB, Kansas State

C+. Wasn't a fan of him while he was on our team, but DJ has made a nice career for himself since leaving.

 

Round 6: 184th Overall - Marcell Harris, S, Florida

B. Converted to LB, he belongs in the league which is better than most 6th rounders

 

Round 7: 223rd Overall (from Miami) - Jullian Taylor, DT, Temple

No grade. I do not remember this person

 

Round 7: 240th Overall (from Kansas City) - Richie James, WR, Middle Tennessee State

 

A. Solid kick returner and made a decent 3rd/4th receiver before his injury... great pick for a 7th rounder. Rooting for him in NY

To add to this:

Jullian Taylor was a training camp/pre-season stud that had some promise but had a pretty bad knee injury that derailed his career. 

Also, the 49ers had some hits in the UDFA ranks:

• Emmanuel Moseley, CB: Quality starting corner on the outside and would've made bank this offseason if he didn't tear his ACL early in the year last year. 
• Jeff Wilson Jr., RB: Excellent rotational back that picked up the load multiple times when guys in front of him got hurt.
• Ross Dwelley, TE: Decent #3 TE that has show flashes of talent but just never excelled in one area. OK all around TE as a backup. 
• Coleman Shelton, C : Never really did much with the 49ers, but went on to have a pretty good career with the Rams as their starting center. 

[Daniel]

18 hours ago, -Hope- said:

1.22 rashaan evans- D. showed some flashes but ultimately was a bust and didn't get a second contract

2.41 harold landry- A. has blossomed into a really good pass rusher- not THE guy off the edge, but a very high end #2 edge or low end #1, plus he's versatile enough to drop into coverage, play the run, etc. got a well-deserved extension and then sadly blew out his ACL in training camp, but he's been a very worthwhile pick.

5.152 dane cruikshank- B. for what he was, a 5th rounder, he was solid value. for a couple of years he was a really effective role player on defense covering TEs, and was always a good special teamer. didn't get a 2nd contract from us and is now a backup with the bears.

6.199 luke falk- F. don't think he even made the roster, either way never did anything.

pretty much the quintessential jon robinson experience. completely whiffing on the first rounder, finding solid value elsewhere, and having an annoyingly low amount of draft capital.

I'd agree, more or less.  Might add a plus or minus here or there.

But I'd also add:

Aaron Stinnie, UDFA: B+  Was he great?  No, of course not, but he played in some games, even starting a few, and doing an OK job of it for a guy who wasn't supposed to be there.  And that's solid value for a UDFA.

Josh Kalu, UDFA: A  Still kicking around the team, and actually a good depth safety.  Great find in UDFA.

[big_palooka]

Raiders:

1 (15) Kolton Miller - B: looked like a reach at the time. Rounded into a quality starting LT

2(57) P.J. Hall - F: Small school reach. Never developed. Playing in the XFL

3 (65) - Brandon Parker - D-:Another Small school reach. Serviceable swing tackle

3 (87) - Arden Key - C+: Token "draft steal" forced into action after Mack Trade. Gruden gave up on him, has made a nice career as a rotational piece in the league

4 (110) - Nick Nelson - F: Drafted, waived, PS, active roster, IR, futures contract, failed physical, PUP list, waived

5 (140) - Maurice Hurst - F: The other "draft steal". Never amounted to anything. Injured and eventually waived. Hasn't shown progress anywhere else

5 (173) - Johnny Townsend - F: Gruden's panic pick after 3 punters were selected. Terrible punter. One and done with Raiders. Bounced around and is in the XFL

5 (216) - Azeem Victor F: Waived after pre-season and was out of the league by October

7 (228) - Marcell Ateman - D - 20 catches with 1 TD. Didn't offer much else. 

[Ty21]

Bears 2018. Oh jeez. 
1.8 Roquan Smith LB - there was no denying his ability, but he was overdrafted. Quality player with occasional weird mental issues. I’m happy he is catching on in BAL and that he got us a 2nd round pick and we could replace him with two quality LB’s for the price of just him. I’ll give the pick a B since he didn’t outlast his rookie contract and that around 9 of the ensuing 15 or so picks would’ve been much better selections. B
2.39 James Daniels OG - he had flashes of being good, but has settled into average, maybe above average territory. Which isn’t quite what you want from a high 2nd rd guard. He didn’t get another contract from us but it sounds like he was one of Pittsburgh’s better linemen last year. Is that a good thing though? C+
2.51 Anthony Miller WR - sigh. Made worse by the fact we traded up for him. He had flashes of brilliance with a couple deep catches, some pretty challenging. But overall a disappointment, couldn’t do the routine stuff routinely. It felt like we were stuck with him way longer than we were and eventually managed to get a 5th for him, but I would’ve been fine with giving someone a 5th so they’d take him from us. F

4.115 Joel Iyiegbuniwe LB - I have it in my head that if we still had the 3rd we traded to trade up for Trubisky, we’d have taken Fred Warner with how many LB’s we drafted. But we didn’t, and we took this guy instead. F

5.145 Bilal Nichols DT - I actually liked him when he was here, for a 5th round DT. He signed a $5.5/yr deal with LVR last year but I imagine with how roughshod our DL is now, we wouldn’t mind having him, even if he is approximately JAG. C

6.181 Kylie Fitts DE - dudes not even in the league anymore but these late round guys seldom ever stay. F

7.224 Javon Wims WR - lol..I hated this guy so much. Another player that felt like he played for us for an incredibly long time and took forever to leave. CJ Gardner Johnson may be playing for a division rival now, but I’ll always be thankful to him for the part he played in getting this sad sack off our team. F

2018 draft overall yielded one surefire starter, one decent starter, and an okay rotational piece. Is a C- too high? D+

Doing this did little to reassure me that this upcoming draft will go better than I’m used to, but with the new regime, anything could happen. I can’t let myself get optimistic. 
 

 

[AFlaccoSeagulls]

19 hours ago, wackywabbit said:

Hurst didn't leave in free agency, he was trade to the falcons for a 2nd round pick (became Dobbins) after two years in Baltimore. "C" is fine.

Anthony Averrett filled in respectively as a starting outside CB the year Peters got hurt. That's at least a "B+" for a 4th round pick.

Kenny Young flashed enough to be part of the Marcus Peters trade. Can't give that an "F" for a 4th round pick. I'd say "B-"

Zach Sieler is an A to A+ for a 7th rounder as a draft pick. The decision to not keep him on the 53 the next year was the mistake. 

This was a great draft and definitely the best Ravens draft since the 2000s. 

Good point about Hurst, I had completely forgotten we traded him and turned that into Dobbins. C is about all you can possibly give him. He probably would've been a solid starting TE for us for years but Andrews just completely outshined him and made him expendable.

I mean, Averett had a couple of stretches here and there where we thought he was good, but on the whole he was just a mediocre depth CB, which I think is what you would expect from a 4th round pick?

A B- for a guy who started 3 games and showed like 1-2 flashes before getting traded? Meh. Idk, I could be convinced to make it a C- but still.

Yeah Sieler was a home run pick (I hated the pick and I was very vocal about that, can't remember why tho) but we fumbled the bag and just gave him away. It's crazy looking at our draft in 2018 compared to most other teams, we did quite well lol