Grade your divisional rivals draft class 2024

[Danger]

I'll start with Washington as they were first on the clock.

1) QB Jayden Daniels (B-)
To me Drake Maye was easily the better prospect. But I understand Kliff Kingsbury probably has certain proclivities that Jayden Daniels was more of a fit for. I'm not a fan of 24 year old Rookie QBs, or late bloomers, but with all of those things considered, he was easily the best prospect under that umbrella. My main concerns with him are his weight, and how much is he the beneficiary of the system in play at LSU and the weapons around him? I'm by no means writing him off, but this wasn't the best move they could have made in my opinion.

2) CB Mike Sainrisitil (C+)
He's a smaller guy who isn't overly impressive athletically, and I don't think drafting someone who pretty much is exclusively a nickel in the first two rounds is good resource allocation. He's good at what he does, but to me this is similar to drafting a RB high. In their defense they had a fair amount of picks to play with.

2) DT Johhny Newton (A+) 
DT1 for me and a top 20ish guy in the draft. He should slide in and be immediate starter (presuming they're running a 3-4?), and be there for a decade at least.

2) TE Ben Sinnott (B-)
I like the guy and his athleticism, but I didn't have him going quite this early. I'd presume he takes over as a starter full time in the 2025 season with Zach Ertz retiring. 

3) OT Brandon Coleman (C-)***
They announced him as an OT and I don't think he is going to have success as a tackle in the league. If they put him at Guard I'd change this to a B+

3) WR Luke McCaffery (D+)
Huge reach IMO, still a plethora of other wideouts were available that I had ranked higher than him. Had him pegged as a late 5th guy.



Last 3 picks I won't comment on because I don't know enough about them.

Overall.... I give it somewhere between a B- to a B 
 

[RaidersAreOne]

I'm not going to pretend to know a lot of their lesser known mid-late rounders so will do ones I am familiar with:

Chargers:

• Alt - A+. I said for months leading up to the draft that my biggest nightmare for the Chargers was to solidify their team with All-Pro bookends for the next 10+ years. Sure their weapons are iffy but Alt > any of the WRs imo. Homerun pick.
• McConkey - B-. I'm pretty meh on him but the consensus is this was a good pick for them. They NEEDED weapons and I am sure Herbert can make almost anyone look good (Not Johnston). 
• Colson - B+. I think he's going to be a pain to play against for a long time.

Chiefs:

• Worthy - C+. 165 lb WR who can fly, meh. Kermit will make some enormous splash plays to him no doubt but I don't think this moves the needle for them much, and trading up to do it was worse. I figured they would go a different route if they wanted a WR given they just signed Hollywood. 
• Suamataia - B. T was a huge need and they got a decent one. I thought they should have gone that route in round 1 however.
• Hicks - B. He looks like a steal where they got him and they always develop nice secondary players.

Broncos:

• Nix - F. I was vocal of hating the idea of the Raiders drafting Nix at 13 and was hoping the Broncos would do what they did. They quite clearly panicked after the better 5 QBs went and pulled the trigger on an old QB who did not deserve to see the 1st round imo. Payton quickly better make this work or else he is starting off his Denver career with two train wreck seasons.
• Franklin - B+. They got great value here and quite frankly needed this pick. He'll have chemistry with Nix at the very least.

[MikeT14]

I liked what the Eagles did, I thought the Cowboys were actually solid, and outside of Nabers, I didn't care for what the Giants did. 

[General Tso]

Eager to see how much less kool aid is in this thread

[PossibleCabbage]

Lions B+: They aggressively addressed their biggest weakness (CB) and got tremendous value on guys like Vaki and Mahogany.  Very good draft.

Vikings: C-:  Now that the hype cycle of the draft is over, I think we can realize that J.J. McCarthy was never a "top 5 value" or anything, and in retrospect trading for the extra first was a mistake.  They ended up trading a 2nd, a 5th, a 6th, a 2025 2nd, a 2025 3rd, and a 2025 4th for Dallas Turner and a 7th.  Turner had better be great because that's giving up about 2 first round picks worth of value for one guy.  Not only that but because they consummated the "get an extra FRP" deal a month and a half before the draft, the Jets kind of had them over a barrel and they got fleeced out of a 4th and a 5th to move up one spot.  It's just an atrocious way to squander a limited resource.  They are literally looking at picking in the first round next year then not picking again until the 5th round.   If either McCarthy or Turner turns out to be anything short of great, they're going to regret not having more darts to throw.  I do not understand why a team that is likely to be the favorite to finish 4th in the division conducts business like this.

Bears: B-.  Thought about making this a C+, but I think Rome and Caleb are good players.   But it was seriously a mistake to not trade down from 9 in order to get more draft picks.  There were good receivers taken on all three days of the draft and the team would have been better served with the opportunity to make more picks.  Also, when you're only slated to make four picks why do you draft a punter?  You can say "oh the Bears didn't have very many picks since they traded those picks for players" but that's fundamentally misunderstanding the point of the draft- the primary value of the draft is economic.  To wit, draft picks are for acquiring the players the caliber of which you simply cannot acquire in free agency at any cost for their position, or for getting similar quality of players for much cheaper compared to what they would cost on the free market.  For example, you cannot get a Josh Allen(QB) in FA at any price, and you're better off drafting Cooper Beebe in the 3rd than paying John Runyan Jr. $10m/year.  I like the Yale tackle.

[Sugashane]

DET - B

Arnold and Rakestraw are both solid prospects, and Manu is a prospect I liked a lot. Fraley is a damn good OL coach and he should be able to work with him, but he is still a project. 

 

GB - B+

I actually like the Morgan pick for GB. I don't think his ceiling is as high as someone like Bak but he has a pretty high floor and Stenavich is one of the best in the league at developing OL (I've wanted to poach him since before he became OC). It wouldn't surprise me if Glover and Monk both became a solid depth pieces due to that as well. Cooper and Bullard are both solid prospects as well. Lloyd is a guy I wasn't a fan of but I can see the appeal of some traits. 

 

MIN - B+

I'm not really a fan of JJ but he definitely has plus tools and KOC is a damn good playcaller, so it was a logical move. Also it wasn't Nix, so it was the smartest move and bumped the grade up some. I'm highly annoyed at the Turner pick, moreso than any of the other division rivals' picks. ATL screwing up by taking Penix made MIN's trade for the 2nd 1st round pick a significantly better move, as Turner is the best player of all three teams IMO and they got him in the middle of the first. Jackson was a CB I liked too, he could flop hard but he has some really good gifts that could make him a CB1 sooner than later. I dodn't care for Rouse or Jergens but being that late it isn't really a big deal. 

[tyler735]

Atlanta- D 

It’s no secret they had the most questionable 1st round pick in this draft. I actually like Penix and thought he was a top 15 caliber pick, but to draft him 8th overall a couple months after signing Cousins to a huge deal is just terrible resource management. The only reason this draft isn’t an F is because I actually like Penix as a prospect, but the decision making to draft him is truly bizarre. 

Ruke Orhorhoho was a big reach and even worse trading up for him and passing on Jer’Zhan Newton for him. Bralon Trice was a decent pick but I’d have preferred just going with some of the other options on the board. Some quality WR and LB’s that were better caliber players that I thought could have helped them out more. Felt like Jeremiah Trotter, Jaylan Ford, and Edefuan Ulofoshio were better options than JD Bertrand at LB in the 5th round. I would have taken Brenden Rice over Casey Washington.

Overall, it really was just  puzzling draft to many on many different levels. 

Carolina- C

Carolina was without their 1st round (1st overall pick) this year due to the Bryce Young trade last year, which is weighed here in their grade for me as they missed out on one of the top QB prospects in decades because of that trade for a guy that underwhelmed quite a bit in year 1. They traded up for Xavier Legette. I do like the player. Tons of athleticism and production this past season. I think I preferred Adonai Mitchell, but there clearly must have been some character concerns with how many teams passed on him, so hard to hold that against the Panthers. 

I was a lot lower on Jonathon Brooks than many were. Coming off an ACL injury and not thinking he was a top 3 RB in this class I didn’t like the pick, but I expect many will like it more than I did. I think beefing up the OL or even adding Adonai Mitchell at WR would have benefited the development of Bryce Young more than Jonathon Brooks. Feel like drafting Corum, Benson, or Wright in round 3 would have been a better option. Ja’Tavion Sanders was a great value in the 4th round. 

Tampa Bay- B

I liked the Graham Barton pick. Tons of versatility to play different spots on the OL and was the best OL left on the board when they picked. Chris Braswell seems like a solid pick. Thought Troy Franklin would have been a better option at WR than James McMillan. Bucky Irving is a solid change of pace option, but Will Shipley was on the board still and I think a better option there.

Overall just some minor nitpicks on the Tampa Bay draft. No bad trades or puzzling picks hindering their overall draft. Didn’t land anyone I think is going to be a superstar, but I do think Barton should be a good starting OL for years to come and then expect some role players with the other picks.

Edited May 1 by tyler735

[SteelKing728]

14 hours ago, PossibleCabbage said:

Lions B+: They aggressively addressed their biggest weakness (CB) and got tremendous value on guys like Vaki and Mahogany.  Very good draft.

Vikings: C-:  Now that the hype cycle of the draft is over, I think we can realize that J.J. McCarthy was never a "top 5 value" or anything, and in retrospect trading for the extra first was a mistake.  They ended up trading a 2nd, a 5th, a 6th, a 2025 2nd, a 2025 3rd, and a 2025 4th for Dallas Turner and a 7th.  Turner had better be great because that's giving up about 2 first round picks worth of value for one guy.  Not only that but because they consummated the "get an extra FRP" deal a month and a half before the draft, the Jets kind of had them over a barrel and they got fleeced out of a 4th and a 5th to move up one spot.  It's just an atrocious way to squander a limited resource.  They are literally looking at picking in the first round next year then not picking again until the 5th round.   If either McCarthy or Turner turns out to be anything short of great, they're going to regret not having more darts to throw.  I do not understand why a team that is likely to be the favorite to finish 4th in the division conducts business like this.

Bears: B-.  Thought about making this a C+, but I think Rome and Caleb are good players.   But it was seriously a mistake to not trade down from 9 in order to get more draft picks.  There were good receivers taken on all three days of the draft and the team would have been better served with the opportunity to make more picks.  Also, when you're only slated to make four picks why do you draft a punter?  You can say "oh the Bears didn't have very many picks since they traded those picks for players" but that's fundamentally misunderstanding the point of the draft- the primary value of the draft is economic.  To wit, draft picks are for acquiring the players the caliber of which you simply cannot acquire in free agency at any cost for their position, or for getting similar quality of players for much cheaper compared to what they would cost on the free market.  For example, you cannot get a Josh Allen(QB) in FA at any price, and you're better off drafting Cooper Beebe in the 3rd than paying John Runyan Jr. $10m/year.  I like the Yale tackle.

Minnesota is in line for a 3rd comp pick and maybe more with Atlanta's tampering.

[Spartacus]

DET - A

Really like the rebuilding of the secondary with Arnold , Rakestraw (Don't love him but once again good value here), and Vaki. Mahogony, Manu, and Wingo add some good depth and competition in places where they need them. A- because I would have liked to see more picks but the picks they got were impactful and unlike the Bears who I have the same issues with they are in win now mode. 

Bears - B

On one hand Williams and Odunze are pretty much no brainers. I'm not a big fan of taking a punter or Booker frankly so I don't like there later round selections but what I think brings there grade down is just the lack of picks. Like it or not even good drafts only come away with just 3 or 4 starters. These guys fail just as much as they do well and I just don't like the amount of bites of the apple for a team I think is in the later stages of rebuilding and probably a year or two from win now mode of the Lions or Packers. 

MIN - C-

I've never liked Kwesi drafts and frankly this one is sort of the same way. This team seems to be drafting like they are in win now mode when they should be rebuilding full of young talent. JJ is a 2nd round talent IMO but with the QB tax its a given they are over-drafted. I just think the 2 QBs drafted before him (Not counting Williams) are in a different tier. I may be in the minority here but in a stronger pass rush draft class I see Turner going mid to late 1st and the trade up is CRAZY for a guy I think is pretty one dimensional right now. I'm also not a fan of Jackson or any stiff hipped CB that Kwesi loves. I don't really like the players, I don't really like the strategy, and for that I think they are one of my least favorite classes. 

[PossibleCabbage]

1 hour ago, SteelKing728 said:

Minnesota is in line for a 3rd comp pick and maybe more with Atlanta's tampering.

I just don't like it any time you come out of a draft cycle with fewer picks for next year's draft cycle.  Particularly when it's significantly fewer picks.  History shows that volume drafting is probably a more reliable strategy than "our front office is smart enough to find good players where others don't" so coming into any draft with fewer than seven picks would make me uncomfortable.

[Ray Reed]

PIT - A

CIN - B

CLE - C-

[NudeTayne]

1 hour ago, Ray Reed said:

😢

Go 'lers

😯

[Armbar]

PIT- C+

BAL- C+

CIN- C+

CLE- D+ (my team)

[Daniel]

38 minutes ago, Armbar said:

PIT- C+

BAL- C+

CIN- C+

CLE- D+ (my team)

These are criminal.

[CWood21]

Always think it's more interesting to see how rival fans' feel about your teams' draft than your own opinion.

Chicago - A
I thought Chicago nailed their first two selections.  Obviously, Caleb Williams was pretty clearly always going to be 1.1 in the draft, and the only question was going to be who was going to end up with the pick.  Fortunately, the Panthers' stupidity in 2023 is in Chicago's favor.  I didn't think the Bears would take Rome Odunze at 9, and I thought they'd prioritize moving down to get more picks but grabbing what was my BPA at that pick shows me that maybe Ryan Poles has finally figured out the whole GM spot.  Because his first 2 years on the job have been borderline comical to me as a Packers' fan.  I did like the gamble of Kiran Amedgadje in the third even if he's nothing more than a swing tackle at the next level.  Personally, I don't like taking pure ST players before the 4th round so while I get the point of taking Tory Taylor I don't like the value.  If you're drafting him that high, you better be 100% confident he's in the upper echelon of punters in the NFL almost immediately.  I did like the gamble on Austin Booker and getting him for taking a future pick in the same round seems like pretty good value.  But I'm not sure Booker doesn't end up out of the league before his rookie contract is up.

Detroit - C+
I don't think Detroit did poorly but I also don't think Detroit did anything well.  Trading up ahead of Terrion Arnold seemed like Detroit was pretty desperate to jump Green Bay and the Packers probably weren't all that interested in him to begin with but he's good value at that pick.  Maybe it was prospect fatigue but feels like Ennis Rakestraw went backwards the longer the draft process drew out.  I thought he was a potential FRP early in the process, but smallish corners that aren't particularly athletic usually aren't very successful in the NFL.  The skillset says boundary corner, but the physical limitations say slot.  Trading a future 3rd round pick for Giovanni Manu is very odd even if his upside may be tremendous.  There's probably a better chance he's on the practice squad than of him starting in the next 2 years.  I did like Sione Vaki, although I'm not sure where you play him.  I think the concept of those utility players makes a ton of sense, but they don't seem to turn out to much outside of Taysom Hill.  Grabbing Mekhi Wings and Christian Mahogany who were talked about potential Day 2 picks in the 6th round was really good value even if they don't amount to much.

Minnesota - A-
It's incredibly risk of Minnesota to pretty much put all their eggs in the basket of JJ McCarthy and Dallas Turner, but I at least get what they're going for.  This could be the draft that sets their future for the next decade or it could be the one that sets them back for the next decade.  This whole draft is tied to JJ McCarthy and if he's successful than the Vikings potentially have one of the best offenses in the NFL for a while.  But they also need to correct their IOL play.  If Dallas Turner can be what Will Anderson was of the Texans, that pick and all the future draft capital they gave up to get him will be easily forgiven.  I wasn't really a fan of Khyree Jackson and probably feel his future is as a backup safety and/or core ST player.  If we're being honest, I preferred Evan Williams to Khyree Jackson if we're comparing the two.  I didn't think Walter Rouse is anything more than a potential swing tackle at the next level, and never really impressed me at Oklahoma.  I didn't see the need to take Will Reichard has Greg Joseph didn't seem like that he was the issue, although you don't hate competition.  Michael Jurgens and Levi Drake didn't do anything for me and were more UDFA fodder.