2016 NFL Draft 1st Round Grades

With the First round in the books, let’s look at who had the best and worst night with some 2016 NFL Draft 1st Round Grades.

1. Los Angeles Rams(from Tennessee): Jared Goff, QB California
Grade: C-
Goff isn’t a blue chipper and probably will be like another Matt Ryan. Maybe worth the #1 pick, but worth that haul of draft picks for the Titans?

2. Philadelphia Eagles(from Cleveland): Carson Wentz, QB NDSU
Grade: D.
Giving up a ton of picks for an extremely raw QB when you have two decent QB options under contract. He has big boom/bust potential but like with Goff: you gave up all those picks for this risk?

3. San Diego Chargers: Joey Bosa, DL Ohio State
Grade: A
Looks like San Diego is going with a hybrid front. Bosa is best fit for the 6 in the C gap and that’s not really a 3-4 position except for in the subpackage.

4. Dallas Cowboys: Ezekiel Elliot, RB Ohio State
Grade: B
This was a sheer BPA pick. They just couldn’t resist the idea of teaming Elliott behind that offensive line, but I wonder if Bosa was here what they would have done.5. Jacksonville Jaguars: Jalen Ramsey, DB Jacksonville
Grade: A+
In my opinion, he’s the best prospect in this draft and is going to a team that will use him in a variety of roles.

6. Baltimore Ravens: Ronnie Stanley, OT Notre Dame
Grade: C
The Ravens reportedly tried to deal up to 4 to get Ramsey, so this was at least their second choice. I’m not a fan of Stanley hence the grade. The Ravens basically are replacing Eugene Monroe with a slightly better version of him.

7. San Francisco 49ers: Deforest Buckner, DL Oregon
Grade: A
He’s a great prospect to team with his former teammate Armstead and they’re clearly trying to recreate the old San Fran 3-4 front by having two big bodies to clog up offenses

8. Tennessee Titans(from Cleveland via Miami and Philadelphia): Jack Conklin, OL Michigan State
Grade: D
Bizarre pick by the Titans. They already have one slower footed young tackle with mechanical issues in Lewan. Now they have two. I understand wanting to set things up for a power running attack with Murray but this seems like a waste.

9. Chicago Bears(from Tampa Bay): Leonard Floyd, EDGE UGA
Grade: C-
They wanted to get in front of the Giants and did so cheaply. Floyd will need time but has amazing physical gifts. I just can’t get that excited over him even in that defense.

More from With the First Pick

10. New York Giants: Eli Apple, DB Ohio State
Grade: D
A sheer panic pick. The Giants were certain that Conklin or Floyd would be there and after they were taken and with Tunsil’s issues, they didn’t have a plan B. Apple has physical gifts but he’s A-a bad fit for that defense and B-will need several seasons to blossom.

11. Tampa Bay Buccaneers(from Chicago): Vernon Hargreaves III, DB Florida
Grade: B

Hargreaves is far from a perfect prospect but he has enough polish on him to trust as a starter for the next few years. The Bucs probably would have taken him at 9 but might as well sucker the Bears out of picks.

12. New Orleans Saints: Sheldon Rankins, DL Louisville
Grade: B
A solid if un-sexy pick. Rankins will be a cornerstone of their defense if he can develop correctly.

13. Miami Dolphins(from Philadelphia): Laremy Tunsil, OL Ole Miss
Grade: A
Tunsil has the talent, but he dropped because of red flag after red flag. And he certainly had himself an evening. But it looks like he’ll move to guard for the Phins.

Side note: Tunsil’s night means that the Ole Miss football program had the worst night in the draft.

14. Oakland Raiders: Karl Joseph, SS West Virginia
Grade: A
He should be back by October, but this is just a quality pick. Joseph is the relentless hitter that the Raiders have always coveted.15. Cleveland Browns(from Tennessee Titans via Los Angeles): Corey Coleman, WR Baylor
Grade: C
I would have taken Doctson here, but Coleman is a decent prospect. I would worry about his receiving intangibles but not about his speed. But they did get even more picks to moving down for him.

16. Detroit Lions: Taylor Decker, OL Ohio State
Grade: A
The Lions needed a tackle option because Reiff might be a free agent soon, Decker is hardworking, nasty and should play well.

17. Atlanta Falcons: Keanu Neal, FS Florida
Grade: D
Maybe a round too high, but it might make some sense if he plays the Will for them. He’s a hitter, that’s for sure.

18. Indianapolis Colts: Ryan Kelly, OL Alabama.
Grade: A
They needed to protect Luck more and Kelly was one of the best linemen in this one. Good, solid pick that will pay dividends for years.

19. Buffalo Bills: Shaq Lawson, DL Clemson
Grade: C-
A lot of teams think he needs shoulder surgery. I hope the Bills aren’t one of those teams. When healthy, this fit could work since there will be good tackles to clog up the lines for him.

20. New York Jets: Darron Lee, Lb Ohio State
Grade: B
The consensus on Lee is that he wasn’t a 3-4 linebacker because of his size. He needs a big defensive line to keep blockers off of him, but if there’s one 3-4 team with the defensive line to accomplish this it’s the Jets.

21. Houston Texans(from Washington): Will Fuller, WR Notre Dame
Grade: C
I realize that they wanted another weapon for Osweiler to use and that Fuller is a good speed compliment to Nuk Hopkins, but Fuller would have been there in 10 picks.

22. Washington Redskins(from Houston): Josh Doctson, WR TCU
Grade: B+
This is on sheer value. I had him as a top 10 prospect and he’ll replace Desean Jackson or Garcon in a season. My only concern is that he wouldn’t appear to be a good fit for Gruden’s YAC attack.

23. Minnesota Vikings: Laquon Treadwell, WR Ole Miss
Grade: B+
Treadwell had himself a big fall. But he’s going to a good situation: he starts immediately and they need a big short/medium level target.

24. Cincinnati Bengals: William Jackson III, DB Houston
Grade: C
This is the third 1st round pick that the Bengals have used a 1st round pick on in recent years. The previous 2 haven’t done that well. Jackson is a good prospect but I don’t know if he’s a good fit for the Bengals’ defense.

25. Pittsburgh Steelers: Artie Burns, DB Miami
Grade: D+
The only rational explanation for this pick that I can think of is that the Steelers believed that the problem with their corners is a lack of speed. Burns has that and good ball skills. As to other qualities, I’m doubtful.

26. Denver Broncos(from Seattle): Paxton Lynch, QB Memphis
Grade: B-

Denver needed a quarterback to develop behind Sanchez, but they didn’t want to pay a lot for him. Giving up a third is borderline but at least they didn’t give up a lot of Kaepernick.

27. Green Bay Packers: Kenny Clark, DT UCLA
Grade: C+
The Packers wanted a 5 or 3 tech tackle to reinforce their defensive line. Everyone had them taking one of the Alabama defensive line but Clark might be a better fit. My quibble with this pick is that they could have dropped back into the 2nd and still gotten him.

28. San Francisco 49ers(from Kansas City): Joshua Garnett, OG Stanford
Grade: A
Garnett is a throw back to the old Harbaugh offensive lines: power, power, and more power. And Chip Kelly loves that. Solid, smart pick that didn’t cost them that much.

29. Arizona Cardinals Robert Nkemdiche, DL Ole Miss
Grade: A
A really strong pick: they needed a running mate for Calais Campbell and got a very talented one. He’s risky off the field, but the structure and leadership did wonders with Campbell and the Honey Badger.

30. Carolina Panthers: Vernon Butler, DL La Tech
Grade: B
The Panthers scoff at your need based predictions, they just take the best player available regardless of talent. Im not a fan of Butler, but the Panthers will get good play out of him.

31. Seattle Seahawks(from Denver): Germain Ifedi, OT Texas A&M
Grade: A

They love their offensive linemen nasty and mobile. Ifedi needs better footwork but his versatility makes him a good target since he can play 4 line spots.

Home/NFL Draft News