1. Houston Texans – DE Jadeveon Clowney, South Carolina – B+ - It’s hard to give a team a really good grade for taking the consensus overall best player. We think there is some bust potential in Clowney but overall Houston did the right thing by taking the best athlete in this draft.
2. St Louis Rams – OT Greg Robinson, Auburn – B+ - Another pick of the consensus best player available. We weren’t as high on Robinson and Clowney as most. That said most scouts are closer to the situation than we are. The 2 consensus best players in the draft went 1 and 2. No surprises here, both players will probably be very good but I don’t think they will quite live up to the hype.
3. Jacksonville Jaguars – QB Blake Bortles, Central Florida – B – Bortles may have gone too high but any time you can get a QB that you think might be a franchise player you do it. That’s what the Jags did and who can blame them?
4. Buffalo Bills – WR Sammy Watkins, Clemson - C+ – Don’t get me wrong Watkins is an excellent pick at #4. I think the price the Bills paid to get him was way too high. I would never give up a future 1st Round pick unless I was a really good team. Watkins definitely improves the Bills but I think they will regret giving up their 1st Rounder this time next year.
5. Oakland Raiders – OLB Khalil Mack, Buffalo – A+ - Most teams would get an A for this pick but I had to add the + because it’s the Raiders. With Mike Evans still on the board and rumors floating around that a team in the top 5 coveted Evans over Watkins I was sure Evans would go here. Didn’t happen. Instead the Raiders took the best player available and the player who we have rated 3rd in the draft.
6. Atlanta Falcons – OT Jake Matthews, Texas A&M – A- - Atlanta gets the 2nd rated OT in the draft. Matthews is probably the safest pick of any of the OT’s. You really want to make sure you get a sure fire solid pick if you’re picking a Lineman this high. The Falcons did that.
7. Tampa Bay – WR Mike Evans, Texas A&M – C+ - Tampa gets a young WR who can eventually replace Vincent Jackson. Hopefully the Bucs get the same player that Evans was in College. They need him to be that to justify taking him this high. Evans may not have as much upside as you might think. He will certainly find it harder to dominate NFL competition.
8. Cleveland Browns – CB Justin Gilbert, Oklahoma St. – A – It didn’t really matter who Cleveland got here. Getting Tampa Bay’s #1 next season gets an A grade here. Honestly Gilbert would probably get a low B grade on his own and Watkins probably would have gotten an A. When you consider Cleveland has another likely high #1 next season the grades are reversed. The Browns filled a need and got an explosive player. I do think there were better players available.
9. Minnesota Vikings – OLB Anthony Barr, UCLA – C+ - Barr fills a need but was inconsistent in College. The Vikings are hoping to coach Barr up to his high ceiling. If they do this is more like a B+ grade. When you pick a player this high you would expect him to play and be productive right away. I’m not sure the Vikings got that kind of a player.
10. Detroit Lions – TE Eric Ebron, North Carolina – B- – The Lions get a good player here but is it a player they need? Ebron is very confident and if he lives up to his own hype the Lions won’t regret this pick. The Lions used to take a WR with their 1st every year. Not that they are taking TE’s with their 1st’s every year, but they do have Brandon Pettigrew and Joseph Fauira on their team. This seems like excess from a decent team with holes to fill.
11. Tennessee Titans – OT Taylor Lewan, Michigan – A – The Titans get a highly rated OT outside of the top 10. Lewan fills a big need for the Titans. Not only does he fill a position of need but he gives them a nasty side they don’t really have.
12. New York Giants – WR Odell Beckham, LSU – C+ - The Giants get a good player who will fill a need. I’m not crazy about picking Beckham this high. This was one of the deepest WR drafts in recent memory. Plenty of WR’s who went lower were more valuable picks where they were made. The Giants would have loved to get Lewan here and that would have been a much better pick.
13. St. Louis Rams – DT Aaron Donald, Pittsburgh – A+ - This may be the steal of the 1st Round. The Rams get the player who we had rated #1 overall at #13. Anytime you can do that you are going to get a high grade. The Rams have done a great job of adding to their talent along both lines. In the division they play in that was a must.
14. Chicago Bears – CB Kyle Fuller, Virginia Tech – B- - Fuller fills a need for the Bears and should be able to play right away. Fuller is an aggressive tackler and has a similar skill set to Bears star CB Charles Tillman. I like the player and the fit but I think this is too high for Fuller and there were better CB prospects available.
15. Pittsburgh Steelers – OLB Ryan Shazier, Ohio State – B – I wouldn’t have liked this pick as much if it were made by a different team. Pittsburgh has a long history of having great pass rushing OLB’s. Shazier may be the most athletic one they’ve had. We had a lot of players still on the board rated higher than Shazier. A few years from now this will probably look like one of the best picks in the 1st Round.
16. Dallas Cowboys – OT Zack Martin, Notre Dame – B+ - The NFL and ESPN got exactly what they wanted when Johnny Football was available with the Cowboys on the clock. I’m sure Jerry Jones wanted Manziel. He was obviously talked out of it and that was the right move. Instead the Cowboys got a player that is about as far from Manziel as possible. Martin is a solid steady O-Lineman who can play G and T. He will fill a need right away. The Cowboys did well to avoid becoming a circus here.
17. Baltimore Ravens – C.J. Mosley, Alabama – B+ – Mosley isn’t as fast as you would like but you have to like Baltimore picking him here. The Ravens are still looking for that Ray Lewis type leader for their defense. They may have landed him here. This is another pick that gets a high grade due to the team and fit.
18. New York Jets- FS Calvin Pryor, Louisville – B+ – This isn’t the flashy pick New York fans normally want but it is a good one. Pryor will be a difference maker at the next level. He makes your defense different. WR’s will not like watching game film and then going over the middle against the Jets. Pryor is the hardest hitting safety to come out recently. That is always a great thing to add to your defense.
19. Miami Dolphins – OT Ja’Wuan James, Tennessee – C- - James will probably be a nice pro but this is too high to take him. We’re not sure what the Dolphins approach is here. We think there were better Lineman available. They obviously see something we don’t and James will have a chance to prove us wrong right away.
20. New Orleans Saints - WR Brandin Cooks, Oregon State- B+ - Cooks was a great college player who should be a solid pro. He could be spectacular in the Saints wide open passing game. This is a talent Drew Brees hasn’t had. I think there were lots of good WR’s who could have gone here. I think the Saints got the guy who best suits their needs.
21. Green Bay Packers - S Ha Ha Clinton Dix, Alabama – B - Clinton-Dix covers a lot of ground and is all over the field. Good in coverage and run support. This is a solid pick and will help the Packers. I think it’s important for playoff teams to fill needs in the draft. The Packers did that here.
22. Cleveland Browns – QB Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M – A- - Johnny Football is the biggest star to come into the league that I can remember. Cleveland traded up for him and did well to do so. The Browns were the talk of the league because of this pick. When was the last time you could say that about Cleveland? Johnny Football has rejuvenated a franchise that desperately needed it. This will be fun to watch.
23. Kansas City Chiefs – DE Dee Ford, Auburn – D - This is a curious pick by the Chiefs. They already have Tamba Hali and Justin Houston in toe. Are they preparing for pending Free Agency? It just seems odd to reach for a player who plays a position of two of your best players. I think Ford would have been there for their 2nd Round pick.
24. Cincinnati Bengals – CB Darqueze Dennard, Michigan State – B – We weren’t as high on Dennard as some but this is a good pick at #24. The Bengals needed to upgrade at CB over Pac-man Jones and the ancient Terrance Newman. They were able to do that.
25. San Diego Chargers – CB Jason Verrett, TCU – C+ - Verrett is a freakish athlete. The Chargers needed to add that to the back end of their defense. We like this player but he may have gone a little too high. I think the Chargers get a player they are going to like but there may be a lot of guys they regret passing on.
26. Philadelphia Eagles – DE/OLB Marcus Smith, Louisville – C - Smith looks great rushing the passer but is very raw. This really seems like a reach here. The Eagles do need a pass rusher and got one with great upside. I thought he could be a mid-round sleeper and a team might reach for him in the 2nd Round. Taking him in the 1st is a risk.
27. Arizona Cardinals – S Deone Bucannon, Washington State – A – Bucannon is a great prospect who we have as the highest rated safety in the draft. Deone looks great on film in both pass coverage and against the run. He can play Strong or Free safety and can cover slot guys and TE’s man to man. The Cardinals are going to be very happy with this pick.
28. Carolina Panthers – WR Kelvin Benjamin, Florida State – B – The Panthers get good value here and a player that could fill their most glaring need. The Panthers picked the WR with the most upside but he is also very raw. I’m not sure if Benjamin can be an every down player at this point but he should fit in nicely with the veteran WR’s the Panthers have accumulated. He will give Cam Newton an excellent red zone and 3rd down target from day 1.
29. New England Patriots – DL Dominique Easley, Florida – C – Normally when a team reaches for a player like this they will get a very low grade. It’s a little different when the Patriots do it. Easley definitely has his moments on film. He is a big injury concern and didn’t produce much in college. The Pats clearly see something in him and it wouldn’t surprise me to see them be correct.
30. San Francisco 49ers – S Jimmie Ward, Northern Illinois – B - The 49ers desperately needed to add an athlete to their secondary. In Ward they certainly did that. Ward played Strong Safety in college but looks like he can play CB on film. The 49ers will find a spot for him right away and they should end up with a solid starter out of this pick.
31. Denver Broncos – CB Bradley Roby, Ohio State – B+ - This is somewhat of a boom or bust type pick but getting Roby at #31 is a great value. Roby looks great and awful on film. You would think a coaching staff like the Broncos have will have a positive effect on him. This is a great scheme fit for the Broncos. Denver may have gotten a Pro Bowl caliber CB late in the 1st Round.
32. Minnesota Vikings – QB Teddy Bridgewater, Louisville – B+ - I’m not very high on Teddy. He is not a prototype NFL QB. That said getting a QB who has a chance to start at pick 32 is a good value. There was talk of Bridgewater in the top 10. I think that would have been crazy but were in an era where QB’s like Christian Ponder are drafted way too high. Getting Bridgewater here is almost a steal when you look at it from that prospective.
