After all the mocks leading into the 2016 NFL Draft, it’s now time to break down and who had the best and worst Thursday, Friday and Saturday in Chicago. Who’s prime to take that step forward and who’s going to be sitting around their front office come December wondering what went wrong? So here you go, the 2016 NFL Draft grades!
Who Had The Best Draft
Baltimore Ravens
How can you not like what the Ravens did? They drafted 11 players and there’s no doubt in my mind that all 11 players will make the 53 man roster. Let’s start with the top of the draft. After taking Ronnie Stanley, they get two solid edge rushers with Kamalei Correa and Bronson Kaufusi. With five selections in the 4th round, they added a nickleback in Tavon Young, a solid defensive lineman in Willie Henry and their future starting running back in Kenneth Dixon. On top of it all, they finished stronger than they started. Adding Matt Judon — DE from Grand Valley State was a smart move as he’s got all the tools to become a great 3-4 edge rusher and Keenan Reynolds — RB from Navy is just that feel good story. In this draft, the Ravens didn’t reach on any players and addressed all of their needs.
Overall Grade: A
Who Had The Best Draft
Green Bay Packers
Of course they’re in here. They got my two favorite players in the entire draft with their first two selections, Kenny Clark and Jason Spriggs. They’ll both be day one contributors while in the third round they add Kyler Fackrell — OLB from Utah State. He’s a versatile player with great toughness and will do anything you ask him to do. He’ll be a solid rotational piece for the Packers defense. In the 4th round, they add two defensive rotational players in Blake Martinez and Dean Lowry.
The Packers don’t need to draft the best players on the board, they draft who they want and they make it work. Some of their picks will start from the beginning and others won’t start for at least another year. With a team as talented as theirs, they just got better after this draft.
Overall Grade: A
Who Had The Best Draft
Jacksonville Jaguars
Hands down the Jaguars get the best draft grade. They get the best player in the draft with Jalen Ramsey and then in the 2nd round, they got a potential top 10 pick in Myles Jack. Clearly he falls into that Jaylon Smith category but he’s got tremendous upside.
The Jaguars knew what their needs were in this draft and it was on defense. Yannick Ngakoue will be a nice edge rusher for their defense as Dante Fowler returns from injury and Sheldon Day is a day-one starter who is selected in the 4th round. Late in this draft, they get a developing pass rusher in Tyrone Holmes — OLB from Montana, who had 18 sacks last year. Brandon Allen — QB from Arkansas was the only offensive player selected for the Jaguars and it makes sense as they could use a backup quarterback to develop. It would have been nice to see the Jaguars take an offensive lineman or two but you still can’t knock them for this draft. It’s been their best in recent memory.
Overall Grade: A+
Who Had The Best Draft
Washington Redskins
They’re not getting the highest grades for their draft but I like what the Redskins did. Josh Doctson will become the steal of the first round and he makes a lot of sense because Desean Jackson and Pierre Garcon are set for free-agency after this year. Su’a Cravens is an OLB who will come into a hybrid edge rushing role that fits their defensive scheme. Behind Cravens, they get secondary help with Kendall Fuller and a rotational DT in the 5th round with Matt Ioannidis.
Their steal of the later rounds will be Keith Marshall — RB from Georgia, as he will compliment Matt Jones very well. The worst pick that the Redskins made was Nate Sudfeld — QB from Indiana but people forget that RGIII is no longer backing up Kirk Cousins.
The Redskins came into this draft, prepared for the worst. They added Josh Norman days before the draft and they added players at positions that have a lot of expiring contracts for next season.
Overall Grade: A-
Who Had The Worst Draft
Atlanta Falcons
Essentially, they got a need in the middle of the draft with Keanu Neal but I didn’t have him ranked higher than Karl Joseph or Vonn Bell. Neal is their best pick but he’s still a reach, especially if they’re expecting Neal to be the next Kam Chancellor.
As for the rest of the draft, they got a need with Deion Jones in the 2nd round but he’s still two years away from being a solid contributor to any defense. The problem with Jones is that he’s a small linebacker but is fast. It’s almost as if the Falcons drafted back-to-back safeties. If you could mark any of their picks as a steal, it would be Austin Hooper — TE from Stanford. The kid can ball but he can’t block. Either way, he helps spread the field for Matt Ryan. In the 4th round, the Falcons make a questionable move by taking De’Vondre Campbell — OLB from Minnesota. I understand the need at linebacker but Hassan Ridgeway, Pharaoh Cooper, Juston Burris, Andrew Billings and Jerald Hawkins were all in play at this selection. I believe those five guys will have a better career than Campbell so I have to give that their worst grade in the draft.
The Falcons reached on a lot of their players and when there was so much more talent on the board, it really leaves you scratching your head.
Overall Grade: D+
Who Had The Worst Draft
San Francisco 49ers
It makes sense for the 49ers to draft another Oregon player but they really need an edge rusher. DeForest Buckner isn’t an edge rusher and I think Leonard Floyd would have made more sense. On top of all that, the 49ers gave up three draft picks to move back into the 1st round to draft a guard. Joshua Garnett has great upside for being a guard but he was my 3rd ranked guard in the draft and there’s no way you give up three picks for that selection. The 49ers grabbed cornerbacks in the middle rounds of this draft and I’ve got low grades on them. Will Redmond is coming off a torn ACL and Rashard Robinson is extremely raw and too grabby down field for my liking. The 49ers are getting steals with Kelvin Taylor — RB from Florida and Aaron Burbridge — WR from Michigan State in the 6th round. Overall, they’re rolling the dice on too many players and that doesn’t normally pay off for many teams.
Overall Grade: D
Who Had The Worst Draft
Seattle Seahawks
Say what you want about moving back in the 1st round to gather extra picks I don’t agree with the selection. Germain Ifedi had a 2nd round grade and was selected over Jason Spriggs who was a better fit for their offensive scheme. The worst part about the Seahawks draft is that they took three running backs. Why? I know you lost Marshawn Lynch and I understand that Thomas Rawls is coming back from an injury but it doesn’t make much sense to me.
If you had to label one of their draft picks a steal, it would be Jarran Reed. He was the last Alabama player with first round talent taken in the draft but he was taken in the 2nd round. I was never sold on Reed but I think he’s their best pick. Overall, they added a lot of depth between their offensive and defensive line but I think they reached on Germain Ifedi and Rees Odhiambo. Much like the 49ers, the Seahawks rolled the dice on a few players and drafted three running backs. That’s a draft strategy I can’t agree with.
Overall Grade: D+
Who Had The Worst Draft
Dallas Cowboys
There’s a lot to like about Ezekiel Elliot but the position takes a beating every week. Clearly there’s a risk with that but if it pays off, then the Cowboys make running back one of the most coveted positions again.
Now, I love Jaylon Smith and what he brings to the table. However, taking him this early, doesn’t make much sense. Especially when they were looking for a quarterback. The nice thing about Smith are the skills but the doctor that performed his surgery is the Cowboy’s team doctor. Clearly, they’ve done their research. As for the rest of the draft, they get solid additions to their defensive line in rounds three and four but neither player will be a steal.
Later in the 4th round, the Cowboys get their quarterback in Dak Prescott. He fits their system but will he be successful? I don’t think he will be. He struggles with deep passes and has a hard time reading defenses. Clearly he can get better but I have to go with the known and he struggles with all of that. The steal for the Cowboys will be Anthony Brown — CB from Purdue. He has good length and height and his potential is through the roof. The rest of their draft was filled with too many raw talents like another running back and tight end who just got done losing to Yale in the NCAA Basketball Tournament. It was a very Jerry Jones like draft, again and I’m sorry but it’s not 1992.
Overall Grade: C-