Grades are based on player talent, team needs, and players/trades that were available at the time of the pick. Let’s get started.
CIN 1) Joe Burrow QB LSU . The Bengals were rewarded the 1st pick due to 2019s worst record (not the quarter decade of misery they’ve endured). However, during that quarter decade, a local kid was born in (Ames) Ohio and quickly became a QB prodigy, breaking most every FBS passing record in 2019. A similar thing happened in the NBA with some guy named LeBron. Hopefully Joe doesn’t jettison his home state at the 1st chance he gets, and brings the Bengals the Super Bowl they’ve been waiting for. A+
WASH 2) Chase Young, edge, Ohio St. – The Redskins need many areas to improve and pass rusher is certainly one of them. Young was always in the opponents backfield disrupting things, and an easy pick at #2. GRADE A
DET 3) Jeff Okudah CB Ohio State. Detroit wanted and needed Okudah , but seemingly wanted to trade down with MIA/LAC figuring they could get some additional capital and get their guy anyway. For whatever reason, they couldn’t make it happen, and took their guy at 3 anyway. Right choice, probably should have taken any deal MIA or LAC offered to slide and still get their guy. A-
NYG 4) Andrew Thomas LT Georgia- The Giants needed help all over the defense, on the oline, & WR.. I thought trading back would have been a good idea since there were a consensus BIG 4 of OT’s and WR’s and some DEF players highly thought of. They stayed put and did choose the safest LT they could to protect their #6 overall QB and #2 overall RB in the past 2 drafts GRADE B
MIA 5) Tua Tagovailoa QB ALA- Miami fans invoked “Tank for Tua” at the set of 2019 season, however the team played too well. Luckily for them, Tua had an injury shortened season,Joe Burrow went bananas, and DET and NYG didn’t need a QB and didn’t trade down. Tua has been compared to a LH Drew Brees, but does have an injury risk to him. So for now they now can invoke the “Thanks for Tua” chant. GRADE B+
LAC 6) Justin Herbert QB Oregon, With the end of the Philip Rivers era finally arriving as he left the Bolts for the Colts. Tyrod Taylor is the listed starting QB for the Chargers @ the moment. It was not a secret that the Chargers were going to to QB early, and they did with Herbert. He can be absolutely great at times and be pretty bad at times also. He was considered by most ‘experts” as 2 and 2a with TuA as far as QBs went. I’m not one of those experts. GRADE B-
CAR 7) Derrick Brown- DT Auburn. Carolina is cleaning house with new coach Matt Rhule, changing the guard and releasing Cam Newton in favor of new QB Teddy Bridgewater. He went best on his board with the best dlineman on the board in DT Brown. GRADE B+
ARZ 8) Isaiah Simmons LB Clemson- while this surprised most, who thought ARZ would go OT, Simmons is a game changer on a defense that needs help. Simmons lined up at every defensive position on the field for Clemson and runs 4.38 40. ARZ basically gets the queen on the chessboard and will use him in every direction. GRADE A-
JAX 9) CJ Henderson CB Florida– Henderson was considered the 2nd best CB in the draft, slightly behind Okudah and a good bit ahead of the next tier of CBs. After trading Jalen Ramsey, Henderson can come in and cover like Ramsey, but not be the headache he became. GRADE A
CLE 10) Jedrick Wills OT ALA- The Browns needed a new OT and Wills will come in and be that guy from day 1. The Browns backfield of Mayfield and Chubb will enjoy his run/pass blocking. GRADE A-
NYJ 11) Mekhi Becton, OT Louisville- The Jets need protection and weapons for Sam Darnold. With 2 of the BIG 4 of OTs off the board, and no WRs gone, the Jets take the monstrous sized LT Mekhi Becton. At 6’8 350lbs he is still athletic enough to play basketball and throw down a reverse dunk. I think this was an excellent pick for the Jets. GRADE A+
LV 12) Henry Ruggs II, WR ALA – the speed was the difference between Ruggs and the other BIG 4 members abd he is the 1st off the board. The Raiders needed a WR after the AB experiment imploded last year. They got one who will take the top off of the defense and have Vegas moving more quickly toward the playoffs. GRADE B+
13 TB) Tristan Wirfs OT, Iowa- Tampa Bay was @ 14 , but it’s biggest need was an OT to help protect Brady. With 1 of the big 4 left, TB moves up 1 pick to ensure they get him. I thought Wirfs was gonna go @4, so this is a steal for TB who keep turning up Aces with Brady, Gronk and now Wirfs to add to the potentially lethal Bucs offense. GRADE A+
SF 14) Javon Kinlaw DT S.Carolina– SF traded DeForest Buckner for this pick, which made some wonder why they would trade away such an impactful player. It seems that they traded him for a younger, and possibly even better(and certainly less expensive) DT. While D.Brown was the highest ranked DT, Kinlaw was 2nd and everyone else was 3rd. He’s a ridiculously strong athlete and will make the SF dline even scarier. My only criticism is that SF needs CB and WR upgrades most, but there are plentt of those remaining. GRADE A
DEN 15) Jerry Jeudy WR ALA – Denver has many needs and WR is right at or near the top of that list. I like Jefferson and Lamb over Jeudy, but the Broncos and many others had Jeudy as the #1 WR, so it’s a great pick at 15. GRADE A-
ATL 16) AJ Terrell Clemson- The Falcons need defensive help, CB and Edge rusher at the top of the list. I think ATL could have easily traded down to 20-25 range, probably even further and still had Terrell there. I like him as a CB, but had 3 others I liked more or as much. ATL could have gained much more by trading back. GRADE C
DAL 17) Ceedee Lamb, WR OKL– The Cowboys get the top ranked WR @ 17 is an absolute steal! Lamb is very good for sure, but was this the right move? They just paid Amari Cooper $100M and Lamb is a very similar type WR. Would Bossman have paid Cooper if he would have known Lamb would have been his pick? Or would he have brought back pro bowl CB Byron Jones and given Dak a long term deal? Would he have been smarter to trade back from 17 and get a 1st rd CB/ C/ DE? Food for thought. GRADE A+ player and B for the fit.
MIA 18) Austin Jackson OT, USC – The Dolphins use the 2nd of 3 1st rd picks to protect their 1st one, and Jackson can be an excellent OT in the NFL but he is in the 2nd tier of OTs, and MIA has many needs. I think with Justin Jefferson on the board and some defensive players who could come with less risk, they could have went another direction here and still picked Jackson @ 26. GRADE C+
LV 19) Damon Arnette- CB Ohio St.- The Raiders address another area of need and got another pick right. With Okudah being the top CB in college football, teams threw at the other CB (Arnette) often, and he did a great job. He’s not the natural talent that Okudah is, but he’s tough as nails and takes every play personally. GRADE B-
JAX 20) K’Lavon Chaisson, edge, LSU- The Jags came in with many needs, got 2 of them right in the 1st rd. While Yannick Ngakoue is a pro bowl DE, he is playing unhappily on a franchise tag. Chaisson can come in and fill that role if/when they move on from him. Chaisson is a speed rusher, who has size and strength. Once he learns a little more technique – watch out! GRADE A-
PHI 21) Jalen Reagor WR, TCU- Eagles surprised noone by going WR, as they went into their playoff game with a underperforming 2nd rd rookie, 2 practice squad players, and 2 WRs who were unemployed in part of the 2019 season. But there was a consensus BIG 4 WRs, 1 was remaining, and Reagor wasn’t him. Justin Jefferson of the National Champion LSU Tigers had 111 rec. 1540yds. and 18 TDs. Reagor, while playing with a much less talented QB, had 43, 555, 5. I think the Eagles missed hitting a HR here with Jefferson, but may have got enough for an extra base hit in Reagor. GRADE B-
MIN 22) Justin Jefferson WR LSU Vikings had this one fall in their lap and didn’t drop it. See stats above. GRADE A+
LAC 23) Kenneth Murray LB OKL- The Chargers moved up with NE to get this pick and got a very good LB and one who will help their defense get better immediately. Not sure if they needed to move up because there are other LBs as good or almost as good that will be there in RD 2 & later. Overall, a good pick. GRADE B+
NO 24) Cesar Ruiz C, Michigan- Ruiz is the best C in the draft, but tbe Saints had much more pressing needs. They also just drafted a C last year who started every game for them. Kind of a confusing pick to me for a team that is a Super Bowl contender. GRADE C
SF 25) Brandon Aiyuk WR, ARZ ST.- The 49ers moves up a few slots to get a WR one of the positions they needed to improve most, and did. Aiyuk can come in and help right away to take Emmanuel Sanders’ previous role and conpliment George Kittle and Deebo Samuels. GRADE B
GB 26) Jordan Love, QB, Utah St.- The Packers moved up to take a QB? Yeah. Isn’t Aaron Rodgers their QB? Yup. Is he hurt? Nope. WTF? That was the gist of most conversations on this pick. However, another way of thinking is, how many QBs play every game? How many teams have backup QBs that can come in and keep the team winning, but not cost much on the cap? That could be the Packers line of thinking, Only problem is, even if Love is that good, they needed more help at other positions to give up 2 picks to obtain a backup QB here. GRADE D
SEA 27) Jordyn Brooks LB Texas Tech– The Seahawks needed to upgrade the defense and start right in the middle. Brooks will be a great fit in Seattle’s run D, but may not be the best in pass coverage. GRADE B-
BALT 28) Patrick Queen, LB LSU- Baltimore has a few areas to sure up and Queen has the ability to help inside or outside. He’s not Ray Lewis, but can be very effective. In one of the best LB classes in years, Baltimore gets a top 5 LB @28. GRADE B+
TEN 29) Isiah Wilson OT, Georgia- Tennessee needed to replace Jack Conklin above all other needs. Mission conplete. GRADE B-
MIN 31) Jeff Gladney CB TCU- The Vikings rebuild their secondary, and this is a very good piece. Gladney is fast and an excellent in any coverage. GRADE A-
MIA 30) Noah Igbinogehere CB Auburn- The Dolphins moved down and still got the player they would have taken @26. I like a few CBs better, but many CBs need to be in the right system, so that could be the case here. GRADE B+
KC 32) Clyde Edwards-Helaire, RB, LSU- The Chiefs won the Super Bowl despite never seeming to have a #1 RB since Kareem Hunt’s release. Clyde will be that #1 back they’ve been missing. The rich get richer. GRADE B+
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