Grade Your Team's Draft

[LuckyNumber11]

Just the sheer quantity of picks is what has be excited about the Cardinals. Even though there were some reaches in the bunch, the whole of it all feels great. I give us a B+ 

 

1: Marvin Harrison Jr: A++ no comments on the matter

1: Darius Robinson: B I thought this was a tad bit of a reach but I like the player a lot so I wasn’t mad. Versatile and disruptive, feels like a perfect fit for JG

2: Max Melton: B More or less the same as the Darius Robinson pick. I like the player a lot but thought it was a tad early for him. I had him over Lassiter who went the pick before, and wasn’t in love with Dejean or Kool Aid.

3: Trey Benson: A My favorite running back in the class and we pick him up about where I thought he would go. He sits a year behind Conner and then takes over. Good situation for him and a great player

3: Isaiah Adams: C+ This is a “I don’t know a ton about him” pick but he has some glowing reviews. I just thought there were some better options on the board at the time but I certainly see the upside

3: Tip Reiman: D+ Athlete pick, feels very boom or bust type. It sounds like we’re going to try and make him a Jusczyk type. I honestly don’t hate the pick but it feels early to me. 

3: Elijah Jones: B I’d seen a little about him in the build up to the draft and this is about where I’d seen him mocked.

4: Dadrian Taylor-Demerson: A+ Loved this pick. Think he’s a great athlete, total ballhawk. Gets to sit behind Budda a year and ideally take over for him next year

5: Xavier Thomas: B+ Just feels like a great flyer at this spot to me. Great motor guy, feel like he can at least play teams for a while at the next level 

5: Christian Jones: A I think if you flip this pick and the Tip pick, this draft would look more right. Loved this pick, outstanding value 

6: Tejhaun Palmer: B Fast af type of guy. I wanted Rice at this pick 

7: Jaden Davis: B, Solid flyer take at this point 

[Dr A W Niloc]

     Here's my overview of the drafts in general:

=====  2024 NFL Draft Grades tiebroken by Draft Capital  ====

Rk Gr 2024 DC | Rk Gr 2024 DC | Rk Gr 2024 DC | Rk Gr 2024 DC
              |               |               |
1. A+ Phil 12 | 9. A- G.B.  7 | 17 B- Hous 25 | 25 C+ Clev 32
2. A+ Chic  3 | 10 B+ K.C. 28 | 18 B- Indi 19 | 26 C+ Seat 26
3. A  Detr 29 | 11 B+ Buff 20 | 19 B- Crla 18 | 27 C+ Rdrs 13
4. A  Rams 10 | 12 B+ Pitt 16 | 20 B- S.F. 17 | 28 C+ N.E.  5
5. A  Ariz  2 | 13 B+ LACh  4 | 21 B- Jkvl 14 | 29 C  Jets 27
6. A- Miam 31 | 14 B  Balt 23 | 22 B- Atla  6 | 30 D+ Dall 30
7. A- T.B. 24 | 15 B  NYGs 11 | 23 B- Minn  8 | 31 D  Cinc  9
8. A- Denv 21 | 16 B  N.O. 22 | 24 B- Wash  1 | 32 D- Tenn 15

      New Orleans may have had the most interesting ride last weekend:

Pix PFFR DraftBz 40Yd  New Orleans       College   Team Pstn Dif  Tall Lbs
 B       Rk-Rtng
14. 88.3  4-88.6 5.20  Taliese Fuaga     Oregon St N.O.  OT4 -21  6'6" 334
41. 88.8  4-88.4 4.55  KoolAid McKinstry Alabama   N.O.  CB5  -9  6'1" 195
150 77.6  7-83.7 4.78  Spencer Rattler   SCarolina N.O.  QB7 +51  6'0" 215
170 71.1 33-78.5 4.43  Bub Means         Pittsbrg  N.O. WR24 +70  6'1" 212
175 67.2  9-78.9 4.76  Jaylan Ford       Texas     N.O. LB14  +6  6'3" 242
199 88.1 34-80.5 5.10  Khristian Boyd    N Iowa    N.O. NT18 ---  6'4" 317
239 ---- 60-75.4 5.10  Josiah Ezirim     EKentucky N.O. OT31 ---  6'6" 329

 Needs:  CB3  DT  OT |  Wants:  OG  LB

A+ OT Taliese Fuaga -  Best run blocking OT on the board by a lot.  15th against the pass.
A  CB Koolaid McKinstry - Average in man coverage, very good in zone and run defence.
C- QB Spencer Rattler - Too early for luxury picks, especially with Jeremiah Trotter Jr. available.
B- WR Bub Means - Taken for his 17.7 (!) yard Average Depth of Target but what does he add to Rashid Shaheed?
C- LB Jaylan Ford - Run defender.
B  DT Khristian Boyd - Good value at this position.
A+ OT Josiah Ezirim -  Quite good (10th among OTs drafted) at run blocking and excellent (5th) in pass protection.

     I suspect Mickey Loomis had Ezirim's name in his *** pocket all the while.  Me?  I'd have panicked and taken a second OL earlier.

 

 

 

 

 

[Warhorse]

Colts.....

 

Drafting the best defensive player in the draft at #15......A+. The fact that it was for pressure off the edge, which is what the team need BIG time.....A+ to the 2nd power.

 

Drafting Adonai Mitchell at 52. Serious weapon to add to Pittman, Downs, and Pierce. The fact that is was by trading down 6 spots for 2 picks....and one of those turns out

to be Anthony Gould from OSU....makes this a ridiculously good move.

 

Chis Ballard dropping an F bomb in draft presser....priceless. 

 

Who knows what the future brings.....right now, I'm giggling with offseason giddiness. 

 

[BStanRamFan]

On 4/28/2024 at 3:34 PM, Dbrog24 said:

I'll say right now some of yall in here have Homer glasses. Not everyone can have an A ranked draft haha!

Round 1, Pick 12: Bo Nix, QB

Grade: ??? Probably not what people would want to see here but I just don't know how to grade this until we see how it works in Seans system. Was it a reach? Yes, and no. Rams basically confirmed they were going to take him if we didnt and for better or worse, this is Sean's draft. This will be the defining move of the twilight of his coaching career.

 

You got a link for this? I never saw anything about it.

[Dbrog24]

19 minutes ago, BStanRamFan said:

You got a link for this? I never saw anything about it.

Lots of smoke. I suppose I was hyperbolic in saying "basically confirmed"

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10117973-schefter-links-rams-to-bo-nix-on-nfl-draft-day-1-amid-matthew-stafford-contract-buzz

https://theramswire.usatoday.com/2024/04/25/mel-kiper-jr-rams-have-some-interest-in-bo-nix-wouldnt-be-surprised-if-picked-by-la/

https://fansided.com/posts/latest-bo-nix-rumors-rams-nfl-draft-plans-broncos

Sean Payton also made reference to Rams in interview where he said he didn't think Bo would be there if Broncos dropped back.

[MaddHatter]

Overall B-

Many had Cowboys taking Guyton at 24 so to get him + a 3rd with a trade down is a nice perk.  2nd round Kneeland shares traits with DLaw and after losing both our back up DE's makes sense and shows we went BPA over need.  3rd I like the Beebe pick if they project him to C and he seems capable of it.  Long term he might be kicked out to replace Zach after his contract ends.  Later 3rd, I can't stand Liufau over Wright and think it was the worst pick we had.  Carson, Flournoy, Thomas and Rogers are all "meh" special teamers/fringe roster guys but don't see any major reaches or steals

[onejayhawk]

Chiefs

1 (28): WR Xavier Worthy, Texas
2 (63): T Kingsley Suamataia, BYU
4 (131): TE Jared Wiley, TCU
4 (133): S Jaden Hicks, Washington State
5 (159): C Hunter Nourzad, Penn State
6 (211): CB Kamal Hadden, Tennessee
7 (248): G C.J. Hanson, Holy Cross

This is not the massive haul of 2022 but it's better than last year's solid-but-not-great class. 

1. Worthy is the WOW factor. One often overlooked aspect is his age--just turned 21. If he follows Tyreek Hill's path, XW will make an impact in kick and punt returns and occasionally play the slot or even RB.
2. Suamataia (sua ma ta ee ah) is a player the Chiefs targeted. I think he slid because there is doubt he can play OT at this level. I'll take it. He's even younger than Worthy, ie not yet 21, and he's freaking huge.  Chris Jones commented on Kingsley's size. 
3. None
4. Wiley is someone I have seen through local Big XII coverage. He's a receiver much more than a blocker. Hicks is a big S and hits like one. I see nickel-backer in his future. 
5. Nourzad seems earmarked to replace Nick Allegretti. He has also played C so he could back up three positions.
6. Hadden is an oddity. I don't know where he fits other than ST. He has good ball skills and sticky fingers but the measurables are weak. 
7. Hanson is the opposite. He has no relevant experience but is an athletic stud, with the best RAS score in the group. In three years he could be a starter or out of football

In hindsight, the plan is clear. They wanted youth and speed at receiver and to anticipate needs on OL. Two late picks in the secondary are Veach being Veach

[Folesadelphia]

1. Quinton Mitchell CB Toledo A+

Eagles were able to select any CB in the draft at 22 and without moving up. Based off consensus rankings 

2. Cooper Dejean DB Iowa A

I think he will be a safety primarily but he should be excellent at that. Can learn from CJGJ to try to prove his versatility in the NFL.

3. Jalyx Hunt Edge Houston Christian C-

Intriguing player, but I would've liked to see a player drafted here who could make an impact year one. Fangio reportedly loves him as a prospect so he has that and excellent athleticism right now to work with. 

4. Will Shipley RB Clemson C-

Don't know that much about him. I would have liked to get Jaylen Wright but the Eagles were able to turn a 4th into a 3rd in next years draft so that has to be taken into consideration. 

5. Ainias Smith WR Texas A&M B

I preferred Malik Washington to Ainias Smith as far as slot WRs go. However, the Eagles clearly really like Smith. They met with him multiple times in the leadup to the draft and they had to be well aware of Washington as they tend to value senior bowl week as a tool to vette players. 

5. Jeremiah Trotter Jr. ILB Clemson B-

I will certainly be rooting for him and he was a productive player at Clemson. I'm not convinced he can be more than STs and depth in the NFL. Its tough to grade 5th round picks harshly unless I think there is an obvious player who I want them to draft 

5. Trevor Keegan G Michigan B+

I think Keegan has a good chance to stick around and be a depth piece with the Eagles. He can provide a little bit of competition for Steen and Hennessy but is unlikely to unseat a starter year one. 

6. Johnny Wilson WR FSU B-

Huge WR with good speed. His hands are questionable as well as his route running prowess. By consensus, he was supposed to go at least a round before this pick but I wasn't as high on him. 

6. Dylan McMahon C/G N.C. State B

Athletic IOL for Stout to try to develop and the Eagles hope can become at least a decent backup. Honestly, I'm not super familiar with him nor his game. 

 

I'd give the Eagles a B, in this futile exercise, for their overall draft. No real headscratchers but a I would have drafted differently in round 3 and 4. Really like the first two selections but I would've gone in a different direction with Hunt and Shipley. I hope they prove me wrong. While I thought Washington was the better player, I think Smith has a chance to be an excellent complement to Brown and Smith.  Trotter Jr. is mostly just a feel good story but a lot of people think he should've been picked earlier and I hope he can at least carve himself out a role on the Eagles over the next few years. Keegan I think will be solid depth. Wilson is an intriguing prospect but unlikely to make an impact. McMahon I think is a worthy project for Stout. B or B+ would make sense as an overall grade to me.

 

 

[Tugboat]

On 4/28/2024 at 10:39 AM, Jeezla said:

CB Quinyon Mitchell  (A) Very good pick
DB Cooper DeJean   (A) Very good pick
EDGE Jalyx Hunt (C) We could have taken some good players at 78 who could help this year. We traded down and took a project who won't help for a year or 2, if he actually hits.
RB Will Shipley (C+) He's quick and smooth, but goes down too easily from minimal contact.
WR Ainias Smith (C) 
LB Jeremiah Trotter Jr (D) Don't see him being anything more than STer.
G Trevor Keegan (D) Never heard of him.
WR Johnny Wilson (D) He is not good at football.
G Dylan McMahon (B+) I think he has starter potential. 

Overall. Howie gets an A for his first 2 picks, but they will likely be the only 2 players from this draft that are still on the roster in 3 years, so a B overall.

Ainias Smith there would be an A for me.  He's so good.  Hopefully the Eagles can figure out how to use him properly as a weapon.

The only thing that makes it a little bit weird to me...is the Shipley pick preceding it.  They're really just two flavors of the same sort of player.  Smith being more of a "WR who can play a bit of RB and gadget role" with Shipley being more of a "RB who can play a bit of WR and gadget role".  Coming at it from different angles...but effectively, i think you want to use both of them in a pretty similar manner for most effectiveness.  So that's a little weird to double up on imo.

 

But Ainias Smith is definitely one of my biggest draft crushes.  I think he's got the potential to be one of those guys that everyone looks back at in a few years and wonders how the heck he slipped so far.

[Forge]

On 4/27/2024 at 8:35 PM, Forge said:

It was fine 

So I'll expound on just some of my own thoughts. Not going to give letter grades or anything. 

#31 Ricky Pearsall - I was a fan before the draft. A tick early for me, but if he's #41 on the board, you don't have to extricate every ounce of value possible in a draft. Like, that's fine. They considered a trade down, looked at the board, decided not to risk it. I can't say that they were wrong given that the next 3 picks were receivers, including Ladd. Especially when you remember that not every receiver is going to be a team's cup of tea. Like for me, I can say "who cares if I miss out on Pearsall, I'll just grab Keon Coleman". Well, I'd imagine that there's a good chance that the 49ers and Shanny didn't like Coleman anywhere near as much, tbh. Mitchell? May not have even been on the board if the reports were true. I already liked Pearsall more than Worthy and Franklin (though Worthy will probably kill it with Mahomes) and Roman Wilson 

I think that the initial response that some people may be have is due in part that he was a hard coded second rounder. Don't think I saw him in a single one round mock draft, and that really programs our minds, to be honest. If this pick had been Ladd McConkey, I don't think it would have gotten nearly the selection shock that Pearsall got, because we had started to be prepped that Ladd may go late in the first. Hell, I posted a 9er beat writer saying that the pick could be McConkey that morning. Pearsall is every bit the Shanny receiver McConkey is. I basically had the two right next to each other. He killed on deep crossers and his number one route is probably in breakers. He's a good route runner and has a really good athletic profile.  The 49ers had 22 first round grades and it sounds like Pearsall wasn't one of them...so it really seems like they had the same evaluation that most had, they were just in an awkward spot of the draft for them. I don't think that you make this pick with the idea that you're looking for a guy like Christian Kirk, but if that's what you get at 31, it's totally fine. 
 

He wasn't my top rated player on the board or anything, but I'm fine with it. 

Biggest concern with Pearsall is the age / late breakout and why wasn't he targeted more? I don't watch enough of Florida game in and game out, but a 20% target rate on routes run is really low, tbh. And when  you watch, he's clearly adept at creating separation. 

 

#64 - Renardo Green: Interestingly, for all the shock that came from Pearsall being a first rounder, this is the one that was the biggest curveball from consensus for the 49ers. I think people didn't realize that because he's a favorite of the twitter evaluators and he's the type of players that fans love. Blue collar, plays hard...aggressive, physical. People always love that. The big guys though? Weren't huge fans. 

Pearsall's selection was mainly that big of a shock because he didn't make his way into 1 round mocks. But Connor Rogers had him 36. DJ had him 40. Brugler and Sikkema had him 45. The consensus board had him forecasted to go pick 42. So honestly, that's not that big of a deal. Green? Kiper had him as a 4th round guy. Brugler too. Sikkema was kind and had him rated as a late third rounder (#89) while DJ didn't even have him in his top 150 lol. Consensus forecast had him 98 with a talent eval just outside the top 100. 

Personally,  this was a reach to me. He's a pure man cover guy and I assume that we will continue to run heavy zone schemes which is an odd fit. The 49ers were a heavy press team last year, but we chanced coordinators, so I have no idea if we'll continue to do that or not. I'm not sure if he's going to play outside or in...I would leave him outside, but we'll see. He's very handsy and going to be a penalty machine. 

I get why NFL teams love this dude. Old school mentality and had big games in big games. Made life difficult for Nabers. The niners had one of the worst tackling secondaries in the league last year and this is a selection that definitely seems designed to help that. I wouldn't mind giving him a look at safety, but I don't think that is the plan out of the gate. 

 

#86 Dominick Puni - I actually love this pick. I almost took him in the second round of my shadow draft (close enough that I even commented on it when making my actual pick). I'm a big short shuttle guy for offensive lineman, and he hit the magic number. I think that he does have some potential at center, though I assume that he's going to be a guard. Love his pulls and he's got some very good awareness. There's a play against I think Kansas St where he blocks his guy, sees a stunt from the DT coming around his backside and he circles back around and gets in position to block him head on. Dude can move. Wouldn't at all surprise me if he's starting by mid season given the struggles of our guards. He most really 

#124 Malik Mustapha -Not my cup of tea in terms of what I look for at safety, but he had a lot of supporters. This dude is a missile and plays fast. Consensus had him at like 110, evaluators at 128. He would definitely have a case as best safety in the draft against the run, but obviously this is a passing league and being an excellent run defender is almost a niche role at this point in time. I'm not sure he's got coverage skill to survive in the deeper part of the field. There are physical deficiencies (short, small arms) and I think you can set him up in coverage. He should be a special teams nightmare though. Ultimately, what he is will be determined by how his coverage ability evolves, I think. He may just be a role player as special teams standout and dime blitzer. 

#129 Isaac Guerendo -  I don't think there's much creativity when running. I'm not sure what his vision and rushing IQ is, and if he's hesitant to hit holes behind the line, he's going to have a very short career with Shanny. As I said in our forum, he's a bullet. You aim the gun, and that is where the bullet goes. For all his traits,  they don't always show up and it's weird that he didn't just grip a full time gig. Runs high and sometimes he's inconsistent with the power of his running. Sometimes he goes down too easily, and sometimes he'll just try and throw a dude off him. I do like that he's pretty good in pass pro, so you don't have to limit him. He's competent enough catching the ball. I could see a very Mostert like nfl comp for him. Obviously this is a guy that seems built for a Shanny scheme, and I wouldn't be surprised if he's a success and I totally get the pick. The guy who turns a 30 yard gain into a 70 yard touchdown; causes defenses to take horrible angles and make an 8 yard gain a 30 yard touchdown.  Another older selection, but barely 200 carries on his ledger (but again, that's weird given his traits). His selection was slightly ahead of consensus (142 forecast / 152 eval) but in the middle rounds, that's not much. 

#135 Jacob Cowing - I mean, sure, okay. Super tiny dude. Good separator with some ability deep which is nice. As someone in our forum said, I think this is Shanny's new Taylor Gabriel? He's a niche player who will probably make big plays but not really do much otherwise. I have no interest in seeing him return punts even though he can do it.  Nothing wrong with the pick, its pretty whatever. Also, between this selection and the Pearsall selection, it's very clear that the Kansas City loss is very much in their head. Deebo couldn't do jack against man and never has been able to. Aiyuk historically is better, but if there's an elite corner who clamps him, the 49ers don't have much of a response. Cowing and Pearsall are a very direct responses to that. His selection is also in line with consensus (152 forecast / 135 Eval). 
 

#215 Jarrett Kingston - I believe that they are looking at him for a project center. 4.47 shuttle, so yep, I'll do this every time as a late round flier. Another super old prospect. He was viewed mostly as a UDFA around consensus, but I would have drafted him on the shuttle alone as well. 

#251 Tatum Bethune - Small, slow. Plays with a charge though, which may help with the lack of actual footspeed. Comes downhill really well, and he could serve as a decent blitzer, but I don't know that I want him turning and running with anyone. I mean, he's a 7th round pick. If you get him to be a special teams player and a #6 linebacker who never has to play, its fine. 

[Tugboat]

18 minutes ago, Forge said:

 

#86 Dominick Puni - I actually love this pick. I almost took him in the second round of my shadow draft (close enough that I even commented on it when making my actual pick). I'm a big short shuttle guy for offensive lineman, and he hit the magic number. I think that he does have some potential at center, though I assume that he's going to be a guard. Love his pulls and he's got some very good awareness. There's a play against I think Kansas St where he blocks his guy, sees a stunt from the DT coming around his backside and he circles back around and gets in position to block him head on. Dude can move. Wouldn't at all surprise me if he's starting by mid season given the struggles of our guards. He most really 

 

When i saw this one, my reaction was really just, "oh no...they just go a stud".  Really talented player, and just a perfect seeming landing spot for him and his skillset and traits.  Whether it's at G or C or even swapping between them here and there...he seems just perfectly built for that sort of Shanny offense.  Particularly just in that awareness and ability to thrive while playing on the move.  He's gonna get out there and eat some souls.

 

 

Really good points about the Pearsall pick too.  It certainly surprised me, and he's not necessarily my favorite receiver to have picked there...but i really agree with what you're saying there.  If he's the guy they wanted, it makes plenty of sense to just take him there.  No reason to get super cute with it trying to trade back.  Even if you think he's a "2nd round prospect"...if you're sitting there very late 1st and have run out of "1st round talents" to look at...that was sort of the way this draft set up.  Anything from the mid-20s into the 50s was a bit of a toss up on "value" really.  First round also gives you that "5th year option" which, given the way WR salaries seem to be headed...could end up actually being valuable if he really "hits".

[Kiwibrown]

S. 

For sad

 

[General Tso]

On 4/27/2024 at 9:08 PM, Sugashane said:

 

Tory Taylor- B    I like Taylor a lot, I still wish they had signed Araiza, then this could have gone elsewhere like Manu Giovanni.  

First person who's made this comment LOL

A lot of Lions fans are perplexed by the Manu pick

[Tugboat]

36 minutes ago, General Tso said:

First person who's made this comment LOL

A lot of Lions fans are perplexed by the Manu pick

I don't think that Manu pick is that perplexing.  It's a rare athlete with potential at a premium position.  Where the Lions are getting older.

 

Think...Jordan Mailata...but coming in with more actual football background.  Enormous project, but it's a mega big "homerun" type swing.  Where even if it doesn't get hit out of the park, there's still a pretty wide range of outcomes that are still very solid for where he was drafted.

 

Makes sense to me.

[Sugashane]

52 minutes ago, General Tso said:

First person who's made this comment LOL

A lot of Lions fans are perplexed by the Manu pick

He's someone who just fits the old Parcells Planet theory. You throw in that Fraley seems to be one of the best OL coaches in the league and you give him time, Manu could be a steal. Same reason I drafted Mailata in real time before PHI did.

 

Edit - or @Tugboat could say it before me and I'll basically just echo what he said. Whatever. lol

Edited April 30 by Sugashane