TRASH TIER (Harsh? But it has a nice ring to it) 32. HOUSTON TEXANS: Do they need a tackle? Damn straight they do. Did they reach? Damn straight they did. I don't think it's as much of a reach as others think but I bet they were locked in at LT and didn't want to trade up, or were too hopeful. Tytus Howard is not the reason I have them this low though. I just don't really like any of their picks that much. Lonnie Johnson was okay I guess but I'm not his biggest supporter. Their best pick was probably Kahale Warring. 31. NEW YORK JETS: I really like their first pick but when you pick that early you aren't getting any bonus points on the basis of sucking all year to not miss on a top 3 pick in the draft. After that it is all very unimpressive. I'm lower than most on Polite and Edoga. Blake Cashman seems solid but do you expect me to bump them up for essentially just that? 30: DALLAS COWBOYS: The Cowboys avoid the bottom 2 because they get a slight bump from not having a first due to a successful Amari Cooper trade and because, although I really don't like their picks, they seemed to address their needs decently. I don't think there is a single player they took that didn't go a full round earlier than he should have. They got some much needed depth in the trenches with their first 2 picks and drafted 2 RBs when all they really have is Zeke. It seems like they'll need too many prospects to overachieve for this draft to be a success. 29: SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS: Bosa was a great pick and Samuel is a pretty good pick and fit but then what did they do? Kaden Smith may have been some good value but I don't see anything else. Their most useful pick outside the top 2 may have been the damn punter they drafted but that is no excuse to take one in the 4th round. They'd be lower on the list if it wasn't for the fact that the top of the draft just means more. UNIMPRESSIVE TIER 28. TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS: Devin White better be worth a top 5 pick. I am not saying he definitely isn't but they need him to be great. LB was one of this team's only strengths and they did not want to lose it. They think Winston is still the guy and rewarded him with no help what-so-ever. Tampa was thinking defense all the way and got quite a few boom or bust prospects. I like quite a few, just not where they took them with the value remaining. It almost appears as if they are hoping that they come out with a decent defense and that next year they can focus almost entirely on offense. This kicker pick has to work out right? 27. LOS ANGELES RAMS: I'll keep this short. I like their safety pick in Taylor Rapp but I am not too excited about the rest of their picks. I am lower on Henderson and Long than others plus I don't understand why they took a RB again. Are they that worried about Gurley? After rap and Long their best pick was probably Greg Gaines. I don't think they did much to address their needs either. 26. KANSAS CITY CHIEFS: The Chiefs are similar to the Rams. Hardman seemed like a big need pick and a slight reach for the type of WR they are looking for. I like Juan Thornhill but even if you swapped the order the two were drafted I still wouldn't like it too much. Saunders was a nice pick in the 3rd but beyond him and Thornhill I just don't really like their draft but I do think they did a better job addressing their needs than the Rams did. 25. DETROIT LIONS: T.J. Hockenson was a solid piece of the puzzle. I had them taking him after a slight trade down but they won't be losing any points on that. What they will be losing points on is the rest of their draft. I think they got a day 2 player late in the draft in Oruwariye and that Austin Bryant could be decent, but I don't like much else. This could be a little low because if you reverse their picks from 2-5 I might not bat an eye but as a whole it still is a bit unimpressive. 24. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS: Now McCoy was a solid player in a huge position of need. I gave him a 1st round grade. But, I can't grade this team in a bubble. They don't deserve it. They traded a future 2nd round pick. Why? Because they aren't disciplined. It's a never-ending cycle where they keep trading future picks for current ones because they are short on picks from trading them the year before. They have been lucky to get some solid players this way but eventually the buck will stop somewhere and it will hurt them. This team seems to love flirting with disaster with draft and cap management. They'll need their scouting to pull them out of the gutter again. I almost graded them about 10 spots higher because I really like McCoy and Gardner-Johnson, and consider Alize Mack solid value but I just feel like they've been flirting with disaster a bit too long and maybe should have focused more on corner than safety. 23. SEATTLE SEAHAWKS: I'll start off by saying that from a draft asset perspective the Seahawks did a great job of gaining more picks. I'll next say that it doesn't mean much if it hurts your class. They have more lottery balls but I don't really like their picks much. Collier is their Frank Clark? I think he's an alright player that could have gone on day 2 but the reach here was arguably bigger than the Texans' reach. Metcalf saved their draft in my opinion, going about a full round later than he probably should have. Of all the teams on this list they may be the one that could make the biggest jump up because they have a quantity of picks from day 3 and I graded most of them as a decent shot to make a roster. However, I need to weigh the top of the draft heavier. 22. CLEVELAND BROWNS: Greedy Williams was a solid pick. Likely a BPA selection. I am not that high on Mack Wilson but I think they still got good value. Now, I like Takitaki but as a late draft pick and not on day 2. I don't really like any other of the picks and think they did a relatively poor job addressing their needs. The first pick and getting Odell give them a boost above the rest of the teams in this tier. INTRIGUING TIER 21. ATLANTA FALCONS: Here is a team that could have been ranked lower but this is where I think the good drafts start and as I think Atlanta had a good draft they are prevented from slipping any lower. I think the Chris Lindstrom pick is solid and early picks are more important. The trade up for Kaleb McGary was a bit odd but they did get ahead of the predictable early 2nd round run on linemen. Cominsky was also a solid pick but was it too late to address the defensive front 7? Addressing the offensive line was correct. It's not a sexy draft but this could end up being a top draft if the linemen work out. 20. NEW YORK GIANTS: The Duke Jones pick may not be that bad but something about the pick just speaks volumes about the team and GM. They love Eli too much. Jones isn't Eli. And Eli isn't Eli anymore either. However they needed a QB and got one. That I can respect and it's good that they didn't trade up for him. I also like their next 4 picks and they also made some later picks I like with Ballentine and Chris Slayton. Darius not so much. 19. CINCINNATI BENGALS: Not sexy at all but they got done what they needed. They got a solid tackle, a solid LB and it was even a good move to get a backup QB. They know what they needed and went after it, including more depth at OL and LB and getting multiple promising RBs. Honestly I like all their late picks on an individual basis. 18. LOS ANGELES CHARGERS: I think this is their ceiling before the class hits the NFL field. They did a decent job addressing their needs but probably should have taken an offensive lineman earlier than Pipkins in the 3rd. Tillery and Adderley are solid though. Tranquill and Stick are guys to keep an eye on too, although Stick needs more development. This draft could be a solid foundation for years to come. 17. GREEN BAY PACKERS: Their draft just misses out on being in the next tier thanks to my own personal rankings. I am not a fan of Rashan Gary and I question if he will make anything of himself at the next level. I also like the Savage pick but not the move up for him. However Jenkins and Sternberger seem like solid picks and Keke, Hollman and Williams are promising. This is one draft that could easily over-perform their ranking but at the moment I just consider it intriguing and prefer half the league's hauls over theirs.
SOLID TIER 16. OAKLAND RAIDERS: Raiders come in at #16 for the 2nd year in a row. Like the tier suggests, they had a solid draft. The first pick was very questionable but Ferrell is a very good player and surely on some team's top 10 lists. I gotta knock them a bit for the pick but after Bosa I think the next best edge rusher is up for grabs between a handful of players. The Raiders took two much needed players in Jacobs and Abram. One thing to point out though is if they really wanted Montez Sweat then they should have taken him before Jacobs because the biggest threat of sniping Jacobs was the Eagles who already traded ahead and took someone else. Mullen and Johnson are two solid CB prospects and they got their 2nd DE in the 4th with Maxx Crosby. I do wish they went tight end earlier. I don't know if Foster Moreau is the type of TE they need. I also think they should have addressed the linebacker position. I think they need one, maybe two but didn't take any. 15. CAROLINA PANTHERS: The Panthers are transitioning to a 3-4 defense so getting the right personnel was a priority. They did that with Burns and Miller in the 1st and 4th. They have the guys at inside linebacker on the roster already so if they pan out the transition should be relatively smooth. Will Grier was a solid choice. This doesn't really say anything about Cam Newton. They were simply one of many teams looking for a backup QB in the middle of the draft and the Panthers saw the value of taking Grier a little earlier than another prospect. Greg Little is a great tackle prospect as well. I don't care much for the back half of their draft but they took care of business in the top half. 14. PITTSBURGH STEELERS: They came into the draft with a clear target in mind and they did what they had to do to get him. Devin Bush could very well be the best ILB in the draft. They gave up their 2nd and a future 3rd but that was not much to fill their biggest need. The Steelers are still in their contention window and they needed to fill major holes. The loss of Antonio Brown and the picks acquired from him is basically a wash for me but I question the Diontae Johnson pick that early. Justin Layne and Benny Snell were great selections for talent and value. 13. MINNESOTA VIKINGS: Do you like that? Kirk Cousins does. Garrett Bradbury is some much needed protection as is Dru Samia. Irv Smith Jr gives another weapon on offense. A second solid TE is a great asset on any roster. Dillon Mitchell shows promise at WR as well. The Mattison pick was very questionable though. Cameron Smith and Kris Boyd were excellent value on defense and they needed that after focusing on offense so much. 12. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS: The Colts took some risky but high character picks. By risky I mean they have low floors and high ceilings. Ya-Sin, Campbell and Okereke all fit that description. Banogu may have been taken a bit early. I like Barton and Patterson as OL projects and they did well to double dip at safety. I don't think they needed a safety but if you are taking one that late and want one then might as well hedge your bet. The Colts also traded back and got a 2nd round pick in next year's draft. That gives them a bit of a boost. 11. BALTIMORE RAVENS: Baltimore's goal was to retool their offense for Lamar Jackson. They did that with Hollywood Brown, Miles Boykin and Justice Hill. Boykin and Hill were solid value. I consider Brown as more of a late 2nd/3rd round pick but I knew he'd be the first WR off the board. At least they traded back before finally taking him. Jaylen Fergusen was a very good pick and Marshall and Mack are interesting prospects for the defense. 10. CHICAGO BEARS: The Bears needed to replace Jordan Howard and get a playmaker at WR. They did both on day 2 after not having a 1st or 2nd rounder due to the Khalil Mack trade. Montgomery and Ridley should both make major contributions right away and it was definitely worth trading a future 4th to move up in the 3rd to get Montgomery, their first pick in the draft. Stephen Denmark is also an intriguing CB project with high upside. TERRIFIC TIER 9. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS: This seemed like a very Patriots draft including the reach for a defensive back early in the draft. Harry could be a deadly weapon for Tom Brady. JoeJuan Williams was a reach but Winovich seemed about right and seems like a perfect fit. Damien Harris was excellent value and another great system fit. Cajuste is a promising tackle and Stidham is the next guy to hold a clipboard and dream of being lucky for Brady to retire during his tenure. They also traded up for a punter but at least they also got a future 4th in another deal. And no, this tier is not named after Tom. 8. PHILADELPHIA EAGLES: Unlike most teams the Eagles weren't looking for too much immediate help but there were two positions that they have neglected that stood out and both were addressed with the first 2 picks. The Eagles needed a heir for Jason Peters, who could retire as soon as next offseason, and they needed a solid RB because they were struggling at the position. Trading up for Dillard was worth giving up 2 late picks as he was a steal and Miles Sanders may be the lead back the Eagles have been looking for. In the 3rd they got great value with JJ Arcega-Whiteside who may be needed in a larger capacity sooner than later depending on what they do with Nelson Agholor. Shareef Miller was a great pick at the end of the 4th that could have gone almost a round earlier. His value was about right but the talent at the position was disappearing as well. Thorson is just a backup QB but it was needed. They traded back before selecting him and used that pick to trade for Colts DT Hassan Whiteside. Had they drafted a LB or S this grade could be higher. They had many future picks to spare if they really wanted to. 7. WASHINGTON REDSKINS: When you trade away a future 2nd round pick in a trade not involving a franchise QB and still get a great grade you know you had a good draft. Actually they got a franchise QB without having to trade up. Haskins was a great pick and the lost 2nd to trade up for a quality player like Montez Sweat is a wash as far as grading goes as it was a good deal. McLaurin and Harmon were great weapons for Haskins. Bryce Love was a weird selection considering his injuries and those of Derrius Guice but it's not a bad gamble to hope you get the player that was once considered a 1st round lock. I actually like all their other picks except for Wes Martin but that's nitpicking. 6. JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS: The Jaguars essentially let the draft fall to them yet again. Everyone thought they'd take an OT like Jawaan Taylor in the 1st but Josh Allen fell to them at 7 so they scooped him up. They then go and take Jawaan Taylor in the 2nd anyways after a minor trade up. That is 2 of my top 10 players. They needed to give Nick Foles help and they got TE Josh Oliver to go along with Taylor. Quincey Williams, Quinnen's older brother, was an odd selection but I guess they love his genes. Armstead is a decent RB and Minshew is probably my favourite backup QB in this class and should fit well behind Foles. It may be getting picky but I would have liked for them to get a WR and maybe pick a bit more value in the back half of the draft outside of Minshew.
ELITE TIER 5. MIAMI DOLPHINS: They almost traded their first pick away but stayed and took Christian Wilkins. He is one of my favourite players in the draft so I think it was the right call. They then traded back in the 2nd to get a future 2nd from the Saints and gave that demoted 2nd (and a future 5th) to the Cardinals for Josh Rosen. That deal was too good to pass up even if it means abandoning their #TankForTua. They also got him protection from Michael Dieter and a solid bang for their buck RB in Myles Gaskin. The other picks are a little uninspiring and as a whole their draft class was not better than Jacksonville but they essentially turned their 2nd into a future 2nd and Josh Rosen. This was resource mastery and that along with the top 2 picks moves them into elite draft territory. 4. ARIZONA CARDINALS: Ironically the team above the Dolphins is the team that shipped Rosen to them on the cheap. It was an awkward situation but after the new regime identified Kyler Murray as their QB they had to do it. They probably should have traded him earlier though. They did an excellent job of setting their new QB up for success with 3 WR selections including 2 great ones in Isabella and Butler. Byron Murphy and Zach Allen were excellent picks on defense and Deionte Thompson was a steal at the top of the 5th round. Their final 4 picks are all depth pieces that have a great chance of making the cut, especially Lamont Gaillard. 3. DENVER BRONCOS: The Broncos took advantage of the strength of the first round by trading back from #10 to #20 and picking up a 2nd and a future 3rd. They made the most of it. Noah Fant could have possibly been their man at #10. In the 2nd they took OT Dalton Risner and then traded up a little bit with that newly acquired 2nd rounder and took Drew Lock. They were smart not to reach for him in the 1st round. He could be their new franchise QB. Dre'Mont Jones in the 3rd was a steal and Justin Hollins is solid depth. That's 4 out of 6 amazing picks and another solid one plus a future 3rd. They also acquired linebacker Dekoda Watson from the 49ers. Great job! 2. TENNESSEE TITANS: I do not believe the Titans made a single trade during the draft. They just let the entire draft fall to them and it went unbelievably well. Jeffery Simmons was a great pick in the 1st and then every single pick they made after that except one was a guy I had ranked at least a full round higher. The lone exception is Nate Davis who I felt went about a round early but I still like him. Any other year they would have easily been the top ranked draft. 1. BUFFALO BILLS: The Titans gave them a run as they continued the draft really strong as the Bills slowed down but they hold onto the top spot. The Bills are one of two teams to draft two of my top 10 players. Like the Jags, they also moved up a couple spots in the 2nd to secure their offensive lineman. I don't think they expected Ed Oliver to be there for them at 9, nor that Cody Ford would be in range on day 2. They then got one of my top RBs and top TEs in the 3rd round. These weren't value picks as far as when they would be drafted but these were surely players that wouldn't last much longer, and most importantly they are players that should help the Bills transition over the next few years. The Bills needed another TE and got a good one late in Sweeney and they got great value at LB with Vosean Joseph and even Jaquan Johnson. Some people may ask why they didn't draft a WR but they had many holes and they knew that and just took the best guys on their board. It feels like the Bills saved a year of rebuilding with this draft and that is huge considering all the holes they had.
My main thoughts on the first half is that you plagiarized my 49ers breakdown. LoL Or it was just that obvious. I enjoyed your thoughts on the Buccs draft. I had them a bit higher but probably gave their scouting benefit of the doubt more than you. I don’t love either CB and already mentioned I don’t personally see Devin White as a top 7 prospect. I enjoy how different our views of the Texans draft were. Maybe the truth is somewhere in the middle. Short of the Texans and Chiefs we appear to be seeing eye-to-eye quite a bit.
The rankings are all up. I had to use an extra post due to character limits so I had RT repost his post at the bottom and delete the ones in-between my 2nd and 3rd post. Thanks for cooperating.
Well we’re actually pretty close overall. Texans, Chiefs, and Raiders I had much higher. But otherwise we viewed most drafts about equally. Seems to come down to how we accounted for trades and personal views on a few players. I like mine better
Couple of questions... 1. NYJ get the best player by many in the draft and fill other needs w a pass rusher(many had Josh Allen mocked) and get an OT that Darnold is very familiar w at USC 2. What does OBJ and the Browns draft have anything to do w the rankings 3. How can you knock Balt for getting the best WR in the draft and you even mentioned he would be the first off the board Nice job just wanted to ask a few questions...good breakdowns
1. As I said the Jets picked at 3 and couldn't really miss. I didn't like the rest of their draft so they get a low score. 2. It doesn't have to do too much at all and I didn't really account for it except that with it being an offseason trade it essentially is a pick they had during draft season so it was partially made with the strength of the draft in mind and they were comfortable giving up that asset. Basically I am saying that not having that 1st didn't hurt them and it was a good allocation of resources with the draft in mind. It was a very slight boost but I hardly account for pre-draft trades. 3. I never said he was the best WR in the draft. I actually said he was ranked well lower by myself. What I said was that I expected him to be the first on to go in real life. I thought Manziel was going to go in the 1st. No way in hell did I think he was worth that.
My reply is they were rumored to want to trade down from 3, but failed. They gave a pick away at one point to move up one spot. And for a team who finished with the third worst record in the league and started with 7 picks they reduced to 6, how can you afford to draft a fullback in the 4th round? I know they listed him as a TE, but I’m just not sold on him. I like their first two picks. But on the whole, based on the six players they got here, I’m not convinced they’re a better team.
I was saying many experts rated him as the best...I know you had him down on ur list...Balt definitely added speed which was much needed so teams can’t just stack the box or take a chance on getting beat over the top often
I know what you are saying now but why the hell would I take that into account if I clearly say I don't?
(This is both in reference to both team ranking posts. I'm not trying to complain too much, I really enjoyed reading both of them) Okay I've feel like I've gotta come in on this now, I didn't want to do the usual thing and complain about my teams ranking on both your boards because you've both done some really great writing and I respect people have different opinions on my team. I'm obviously biased. That said I disagree with A LOT of this and I'm not even the biggest fan of this Jets draft. 1. Why is not trading down seen as a bad thing? Jets obviously tried to drum up interest before the draft, they would be dumb not to. The market didn't materialise because there aren't as many QB needy teams and this years crop is average at best. The fact that the Jets didn't trade down is one the most sensible things they've done this draft in my opinion, they reportedly had offers but didn't take them because they weren't good enough. Understanding your market and then making a decision from there is just common sense. Trading down would have favoured us but it took a lot of restraint to not give in to bad offers and select who very well might turn out to be the best player from this draft. Now, if you want to critique the Williams pick I would say the thing to point out is that he doesn't really fit into our front. Henry Anderson and Leonard Williams collectively take up over $20 million of our cap so will see the field a lot and I'm seriously worried Quinnen will see the majority of his snaps at Nose Tackle (that was his listed position when he was selected). This really doesn't work to his strengths, you want him as a 3-tech. He's not big enough for the position and it minimises one of his biggest strengths, pass rushing. I'm sure personnel will switch around often but that's the overall concern with the pick, not that we didn't trade down. 2. Personally I'm a big fan of the Polite pick, I totally understand why people would not be, but after picking Quinnen for the interior in the first we still needed 100% an edge rusher and Polite was the best on the board at that point. The pick comes with some risk, sure, but it's the exact kind of pick we need. I'm sick of our GM picking high-floor, low-ceiling guys in the middle round. If he keeps his head straight, Polite could come in his rookie year and be our sack leader and it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest. 3. Even if you don't like Edoga, I seriously hate the critique of moving up one spot in the draft. If you really like the player and you think the team ahead might take them, go for it. For reference the team ahead were the Vikings and they blatantly needed help on the O-line (they took 3 throughout the draft) so it's not out of the realms of possibility that this was their pick. Also, it might not even be the Vikings they were worried about. The Jets could have had info on another team having interest for Edoga, this was the general area he was expected to be taken. My general point is that, as fans, we don't know the reasons behind a team moving up, so to say it is stupid when all that we gave up was a 7th rounder seems silly to me. I don't even think seventh rounders are particularly valuable, it's basically just to make sure you get a guy that could become an UDFA and you want to make sure he "picks" you. On recent drafts, the Jets 7th rounder probably wouldn't have even been on the roster so I think this was a sensible decision to make. 4. Let me start this by saying I really really like Wesco as a prospect, I'm probably gonna overestimate his worth. That said, HE IS NOT A FULLBACK. He saw some snaps at FB and H-Back at West Virginia and the Senior Bowl sure but the most of his snaps came as the Y. His versatility in this regard is only a good thing, I think his best position is the Y but Gase will experiment with this early on. Wesco is a ridiculously good blocker, seriously, go watch some of his tape and see how many linebackers and edge rushers he literally knocks to the ground. The dude is vicious. He makes both our pass protection and run blocking SO much better straight away, I think he sees a lot of snaps during his rookie season. Please, I don't want to see any more Eric Tomlinson. In terms of his pass catching, I seriously don't think West Virginia appreciate how good he was until the last few games where he saw considerably more usage and created some seriously "wow" moments. He's not perfect sure, his route running is pretty piss poor, but I think he's gonna surprise a lot of people when he comes into the league. He's got reliable hands and is deceptively shifty with the ball in his hands. Expect him to make a lot of shorter routes while Herndon runs the deep routes. My closest comparison would be a better version of Will Dissly from last years draft who I was also super high on (fun fact, they were taken only one pick apart). I know his season got cut short early but Dissly look GREAT at the start of last season and surprised a lot of people. 5. Blake Cashman is a good pick, shows a lot of potential. Blessuan Austin is a true boom/bust pick, he's literally been injured for the past two years, but in the sixth round it's not the worst risk if his medical is good enough (which I assume it must be). He looked good when he actually played. I'm not a massive fan of his pick but this didn't really come up in either rankings so I'll mostly ignore it. 6. The biggest problem with the Jets draft is something neither have you has even mentioned, they didn't fill their biggest need. The only hole we desperately needed to fill was Center and we completely ignored it. I know our GM sticks rigidly to a BPA approach, it strikes me as complete incompetence to ignore the position both in free agency and the draft. Unless we trade for one now, I'm going to be left extremely disappointed. It was our biggest problem last year with Spencer Long and it looks like it's going to be completely ignored again despite all the problem it gave us. Jonathon Harrison is our current starter on the depth chart and having him as anything more than a depth piece is super worrying. You don't want to be taking any chances at the position with a star young QB. Overall I'd give the draft a B-, not great but a lot better than "trash tier" as it was so eloquently put. We got the best player in the draft and a first round talent in the third, that alone makes it pretty decent. I understand people are going to have different opinions on later round players but there was some misinformation and unfair treatment of a couple of our selections (in my opinion) so I just wanted to give some counter points.
Well I think I already answered parts 1-5. I didn't say anything wrong about Quinnen, nor did I say they should trade down. I didn't even account for the trade up of one spot later. Those things are more RT things. I just don't like Polite. Personal opinions and all that. I did say I like Cashman, but he just doesn't move the needle in the grand scheme of things. As for #6, I didn't mention it but yes they did need a center. It's fair if you think they did better. If I put more weight on Quinnen Williams they would not be in the trash tier. I just didn't think it deserved kudos from a management perspective. He alone should make the class quality about 10 spots better than their rankings if he's only 3/4 as good as expected.
Paddy it was a great post and I'd like Lyman's post if it didn't sound like a shot at me. lol Your detail was excellent. I really enjoyed it.
Yeah sorry, my post was kind of a weird mix of targeting things said by different people so not everything will be relevant. Not ideal. Can totally understand not liking Polite, wasn't trying to start an argument or anything I just didn't agree in general. Analysis I disagree with obviously isn't necessarily bad analysis. I'm wrong far more than I would like, particularly with the Jets
