What...a...weekend that just was. The NFL Draft never seems to fail us fans, and delivered again in an action packed three days. A record 43 trades, a few surprise picks, and a whole lot of hope and confusion. Football really is king. Obviously, time will tell with these things, but we've got our winners, losers of the draft, plus grades for each team from the weekend. Here's what we're thinking:
Winners
-The Houston Texans: I don't think Demeco Ryans expected CJ Stroud and Will Anderson to be joining the ranks when he signed on as head coach in January, but wow...what an infusion of talent. The roster as a whole definitely still feels a year away from making a playoff push, but Houston's got their stalwarts on each side of the ball now.
-The New England Patriots: I'll pat myself on the back for predicting all month that New England would trade down from the 14th spot. I'd have never imagined it'd be to snag the free falling Christian Gonzalez at 17. He and Jonathan Jones should make for a ferocious tandem. Also loved the Keion White pick in the middle of round two.
-The Indianapolis Colts: Anthony Richardson personifies boom or bust, so this ranking depends heavily on how he pans out. But Julius Brents and Josh Downs were great values who should immediately help to replace the recently departed Stephon Gilmore and Parris Campbell. Defensive end Adetomiwa Adebawore was a steal in the fourth too.
-The Philadelphia Eagles: Not only did the top defensive line from last season get better, it feels like a dramatic improvement. Javon Hargrave bolting for San Francisco stung, but replacing him with Jalen Carter inside and Nolan Smith from the edge is an absolute coup by Howie Roseman. OT Tyler Steen gives some youthful offensive line depth and Kelee Ringo in the fourth adds a fun project to their secondary. Probably my favorite draft haul from the weekend. Georgia Bulldogs abound up in the Philly...
-The Vaughn Family: What a cool feeling it must've been for Dallas Cowboys' scout Chris Vaughn to call up and draft his son Deuce to the team. It's an awesome video if you haven't seen it yet. Deuce should be a nice fit with the Cowboys too, likely starting his career as the third down back behind Tony Pollard.
-Legion of Boom Fanatics: Devon Witherspoon and Tariq Woolen are a crazy duo at cornerback. With Coby Bryant in the slot and Jamal Adams/Quandre Diggs holding down the back end of the secondary, this could be the best group we've seen in Seattle since the early Pete Carroll days.
Losers
-The Detroit Lions: It's not that I didn't like the Lions selections...it's mainly the order of them. Jahmyr Gibbs would've almost definitely still been on the board at 18, as would've Campbell at 35. I do like LaPorta, Branch and Hooker, and felt like they got good value there, but it feels like Detroit missed an opportunity to acquire a true blue chip talent before getting these guys.
-The San Francisco 49ers: Safety was their biggest need, which they addressed with Ji'Aiyr Brown in the second round. But then they took a kicker and tight end with their two third round picks, addressing positions that they easily could've in later rounds. This team had the ability to make some luxury picks...but a place kicker in round three seems a bit rich.
-The Jacksonville Jaguars: All season, this team could score, but really struggled to prevent opposing teams from running up the scoreboards. So naturally they go offense with their first three selections of the weekend, failing to address their weakest group (cornerback) until the sixth round. Anton Harrison in round one may have been forced on them with the recent Cam Robinson PED blunder, but it feels like this draft didn't have the outcome Jacksonville was looking for.
-Will Levis: After all the rumors swirling that he may go as high as #1, Will Levis fell all the way out of round #1 entirely. Definitely a big shot to the wallet...let alone the pride. Tennessee is a great landing spot for him though, where he should be afforded a season behind Ryan Tannehill as he adjusts to the pro game.
-Tyler Allgeier and the Atlanta Falcons: Bijan Robinson is an incredible player, arguably the top in the whole class. But are the Falcons a running back away from competing?? There were a ton of other high end options available at eight and it feels like Atlanta didn't really improve their long term outlook with this pick. Tyler Allgeier was a nice story too last season; his relevance is all but gone with a new lead dog in the backfield.
-Deandre Hopkins: Hopkins requested out from Houston due to the franchise's inability to make a splash in the postseason. Now that he's in Arizona...it's pretty much the same shit, just a little further west. If the Cards' don't move their WR1 before the season, expect him to be pretty discontent throughout the 2023-2024 campaign.
-Safeties: None were taken in the first round Thursday. Consensus top safety Brian Branch went 45th overall to Detroit, a value that we loved at least. Three went in round one last year, making this feel like an uncommon occurrence, but we also had safety-less firsts in 2020 and 2021. The more you know!
Draft Grades
The criteria for these grades was based strictly on the players acquired in this draft in contrast to the timing of the picks. There was no consideration of pro players or future selections acquired in the process.
Reach out if you'd like us to provide any more rationale on these grades. We love interacting with our readers and will happily jump at the chance to defend our scores! Will be fun revisiting these a year+ from now.
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@Choppinglines
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