Thought for today...
If you want to make God laugh, tell Him YOUR plan!
Best Drafts
1) Philadelphia Eagles
2) Seattle Seahawks
3) Pittsburgh Steelers
Worst Drafts
30) Detroit Lions
31) Denver Broncos
32) Miami Dolphins
Arizona Cardinals: B
OT Paris Johnson Jr. is likely one of the two best tackles in the draft. OLB BJ Ojulari can provide a speed rush on the edge.
Atlanta Falcons: B
RB Bijan Robinson is a versatile running back, and Arthur Smith will know how to use him. OT Matthew Bergeron provides much needed help for the offensive line.
Baltimore Ravens: B+
I really like WR Zay Flowers. He can get quick separation from defensive backs. LB Trenton Simpson should be a solid NFL player who gives you sideline to sideline hustle.
Buffalo Bills: B+
TE Dalton Kincaid was the best tight end in the draft, and the Bills traded up slightly in the first round to pick him ahead of Dallas. That was an excellent move. G O'Cyrus Torrence could turn out to be the best interior offensive lineman in the draft.
Carolina Panthers: B+
QB Brice Young will make or break the Panthers draft. If he can stay healthy, I really like him. WR Jonathan Mingo can be a good option for Young. I like S Jammie Robinson who the Panthers took in the fifth round. I thought he would be drafted a bit higher.
Chicago Bears: B-
OT Darnell Wright should be a great one. After that, it's mostly just a bunch of guys, but the Bears did pick 10 players, so the law of averages says at least three or four of them will hit.
Cincinnati Bengals: B
We will see if DE Myles Murphy can break the string of below average highly drafted Clemson defensive ends. I like him but don't love him. CB DJ Turner could have been a first rounder, and S Jordan Battle from Alabama should be a solid player.
Cleveland Browns: C+
The Browns didn't have a pick before the third round. That pick was Tennessee WR Cedric Tillman. He has a chance to be a good player. OT Dewand Jones is a massive right tackle from Ohio State. I don't know if he can block a lick in the NFL, but defensive ends will have to take a cab to get around him.
Dallas Cowboys: B
The Cowboys will never tell us if they would have taken TE Dalton Kincaid if the Bills had not traded to be one pick ahead of them and took him. I think they would have. They took Mazi Smith who is a talented but slightly underachieving defensive tackle. If they can rev him up a notch or two, they could have a very good player. Since they didn't get their tight end in the first round, they got a pretty good one in the second round, TE Luke Schoonmaker.
Denver Broncos: C-
The Broncos only had five picks thanks to trading away a lot for Russell Wilson. I do like third round pick LB Drew Sanders from Arkansas. He was in a close contest with Trenton Simpson to be the top inside linebacker in this draft in my mind.
Detroit Lions: C-
I like a few of the players the Lions got. I just don't like the positions in the draft where they took some of them. RB Jahmyr Gibbs from Alabama is very talented, but the Lions picked him with the 12th pick overall. They had another pick at number 18, and I'm almost certain Gibbs would have still been there. They took ILB Jack Campbell with pick 18, but I think they could have gotten him with a second round pick. TE Sam LaPorta is ok but not with the 3rd pick in the second round. They did get good value with S Brian Branch and QB Hendon Hooker.
Green Bay Packers: B
I said this last year, and I'll say it again... I think the Packers are being hard-headed by not drafting a wide receiver in the first round. They haven't taken one in about the last 20 years in the first round. They took a defensive end then proceeded to draft FIVE wide receivers and tight ends. I guess their philosophy is to draft a whole bunch of receivers and hope one or two work out. The Packers are one of the teams who broke the bank by drafting 13 players in this draft. I'll give them a good grade on quantity alone.
Houston Texans: A-
I have to give the Texans a very good grade just based on their top two picks which were QB C. J. Stroud and OLB Will Anderson Jr. Those are two of the very best players in the draft. Other than that, they drafted a guy named Juice and a guy named Tank. Sounds like football players to me!
Indianapolis Colts: B
Taking QB Anthony Richardson with the 4th overall pick scares me. The Colts need a quarterback who can play right now. Richardson only has 13 starts in college, and he's not the most accurate guy throwing the football at times. The Colts new head coach was the offensive coordinator of the Eagles last year, so I can assure you that he is trying to find a Jalen Hurts clone. I think Richardson should sit AT LEAST one year. If they throw him into the fray right off the bat, it could wreck his confidence. I doubt they have the patience to get their brains beaten out week after week with a backup QB, so I guess we will see what happens. The Colts drafted a total of 12 players, and I do like a few of them.
Jacksonville Jaguars: B+
The Jaguars drafted 13 players. They filled a lot of needs even though the players did not have highly recognizable names. OT Anton Harrison was their first pick. That made a lot of sense because they lost their starting right tackle to free agebncy and their starting left tackle faces a suspension to start the season.
Kansas City Chiefs: B
The Chiefs needed a speed rusher, a wide receiver and an offensive tackle. Those are the exact positions they drafted with their first three picks. DE Felix Anudike-Uzomah is the speed rusher. I like him a lot. Rashee Rice is the wide receiver. Wonder if he will be as good as another Rice I know with J as his first initial? Nah, but Rashee can still be a very good one.
Las Vegas Raiders: C+
The Raiders are going to keep drafting defensive ends until they get it right. Their latest try is Tyree Wilson. He looks pretty good, but I would have drafted CB Christian Gonzalez with their fist pick because they can't cover anybody.
Los Angeles Chargers: B-
WR Quentin Johnston has a lot of boom or bust possibility. He has lots of talent and more than a few drops. I didn't think the Chargers needed a wide receiver in the first round. I think they should have tried to beef up their defense. I suppose they have decided if you can't stop the Chiefs, maybe you can outscore them. I do like fifth rounder Jordan McFadden if you move him inside to guard as opposed to tackle.
Los Angeles Rams: C
The Rams didn't have a first round pick but made up for it by drafting 14 players overall. They took G Steve Avila in the second round. He should start right away. They took Georgia QB Stetson Bennett in the fourth round. Some think Bennett will never amount to anything in the NFL. I happen to think he can be a solid backup and win a game in a pinch. That's the least expected for a QB drafted in that round.
Miami Dolphins: D
The Dolphins only had four picks. The only one I like is RB Devon Achane. He prevents them from getting an F.
Minnesota Vikings: C-
WR Jordan Addison should be able to give Justin Jefferson some relief by being another good receiving target. Other that that, I was not impressed with the Vikings picks.
New England Patriots: B+
After completely blowing it with last year's picks, the Patriots seem to have redeemed themselves to some degree. They let the Pittsburgh Steelers move up to their spot because they knew the Steelers would draft the offensive tackle that the Jets wanted, so the Patriots stuck it to their division rival Jets. The Patriots got good value with CB Christian Gonzalez in the 17th overall position. I thought Gonzalez would go in the top 10. A lot of people thought second round pick DE Keion White would go in the first round, and the Patriots drafted a total of 12 players.
New Orleans Saints: B
The Saints first round pick was DT Bryan Bresee. While Clemson defensive ends have struggled in the NFL, the same is not true for their defensive tackles. From William "The Refrigerator" Perry to Chester McGlockton to Dexter Lawrence, the DT position has definitely panned out in the NFL. Bresee has the talent to warrant being picked much higher. He had a lot going on during his last college year, but I think the Saints got a very good player. I like DE Isaiah Foskey from Notre Dame, too.
New York Giants: B
CB Deonte Banks and C John Michael Schmitz are good picks. WR Jalin Hyatt is worth a shot. The Giants draft wasn't spectacular, but it was solid in my opinion.
New York Jets: C+
The Jets won the draft last year. I thought they did ok this year by taking OLB Will McDonald IV and C Joe Tippmann. However, they really wanted Broderick Jones who is the player the Steelers traded up and stole from the Jets. Instead of taking the next best tackle, they took McDonald. I like him, but his position was not a position of need for the Jets at all. They need to keep Aaron Rodgers upright.
Philadelphia Eagles: A
I think the Eagles won this year's draft due to one thing. They needed help on defense, so they picked one Georgia Bulldog defensive player after another. They already had Bulldog players Jordan Davis and Nakobe Dean on their defense, then they added DT Jalen Carter and OLB Nolan Smith in the first round. The Eagles kept thinking why ruin a good thing when you're on a roll, so they took CB Kelee Ringo in the fourth round. That's a lot of Bulldogs! They got two other players that I like in OT Tyler Steen and DB Sydney Brown.
Pittsburgh Steelers: A-
When you can get the player in the second round that most people thought you would take in the first round, you have the makings of a great draft. That's what happened when the Steelers took Joey Porter Jr. in the second round. They had already traded up to draft excellent OT Broderick Jones. They got good value with TE Darnell Washington and LB Nick Hartig, too.
San Francisco 49ers: C
Starting with taking kicker Jake Moody in the third round, I just wasn't overly impressed with the draft of the 49ers. Granted, their first picks were in the third round, but still, nothing special that I can see.
Seattle Seahawks: A
I really like the first four picks made by the Seahawks. They got the best cornerback in the draft when they took CB Devon Witherspoon, and they got the best wide receiver in the draft when they took WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Combine those two with LB Derick Hall from Auburn and RB Zach Charbonnet from UCLA, and you have a great draft. That makes two very good drafts in a row for the Seahawks.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: B
The Buccaneers took super quick DT Calijah Kancey with their first round pick. The only problem I have with him is that he's a little light in the rear end. If the Buccaneers can have a couple of good run stuffers around him, then they might have something. OT Cody Mauch is a different kind of dude. He looks like an offensive lineman or maybe a hockey player. He got his two top front teeth knocked out, and he has a beard with long hair. The guy has surprising athleticism and speed for his size. The only knock from me would be that he has rather short arms. The Buccaneers can always move him inside to guard, but he might have the skill to play tackle. DE YaYa Diaby is a player who might stick with the team.
Tennessee Titans: C+
Most people will give the Titans a good draft grade for getting QB Will Levis in the second round. I just don't much like Levis. I think he has the physical tools, but I don't think his head is in the right place to be a highly successful quarterback in the NFL. He thinks too highly of himself, especially when the season he had in 2022 didn't come close to the good one he had in 2021. I just hope he is humble enough to work seriously on his flaws. If so, he has a chance. Mel Kiper really likes him. Todd McShay doesn't. I'm with McShay on this one. The only thing saving the Titans from a grade of D is their first round pick of OT Peter Skoronski. I think he is a very versatile offensive lineman who can play guard or tackle.
Washington Commanders: B-
The Commanders drafted the male counterpart of Twiggy when they took CB Emmanuel Forbes in the first round. He's 6'0" and weighs 166 pounds. That's right... a buck 66! I'll have to say that his production is excellent. He has an FBS record six pick-sixes in his career. Maybe the opposing quarterbacks can't see him! If he can stay healthy, I'll give the Commanders the benefit of the doubt. Their other players as a group are solid if not special.
May God always be your number 1 draft pick!
Draftman Rick