Best and Worst Classes

Dantés

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Let's see how much mileage we can get out of this draft! Which teams did you think came away with the best haul of players and which did you think came away with the worst?

Best:
  1. Baltimore: Humphrey has some issues when the ball is in the air, but athletically he is exactly what you want in a corner. Plus he's spent years in the most sophisticated defense in college football. I loved the value of Bowser and Wormley in the 2nd. And while I've never been a big Tim Williams guy, it was a great pick for round 3. He could work well along side Brandon Williams. Siragusa capped off a string of picks that I really loved.
  2. New Orleans: If healthy, the Saints landed the best corner in the draft. Ramczyk isn't incredible but he's fine. I also love the Marcus Williams, Alvin Kamara, and Trey Hendrickson picks. Anzalone is great when healthy. Because this is NO, all these guys will probably be injured forever, but in a vacuum I thought it was a great haul.
  3. Cleveland: Start with the best player in the draft. I don't like Peppers, but Njoku is great. Kizer at #52 was far and away the best QB value in the draft. After that, I dig Ogunjobi and Howard. To get the best overall pass rusher, and the best value at quarterback is a pretty nice couple of days.
  4. Arizona: I love Haason Red****, Budda Baker, and Will Holden. Dorian Johnson is probably a starter, and T.J. Logan should be a dangerous change of pace back. None of these picks blew me away, but the amount of quality swayed me to include Arizona.
  5. Pittsburgh: I had a really hard time figuring out the last two spots. But the Steelers' consistency won out. I love Watt, and I like the Smith-Schutter, Sutton, Dobbs, and Allen picks. So on the basis of volume, I lean towards PIT.
Also in consideration were CAR, CIN, GB, IND, SF, and TB. For the Packers, I love King, Biegel and Jones and I like Jones, Adams, and Dupre. But I don't consider myself objective on them.

Worst:
  1. Chicago: Forget the trade up-- Trubisky was a big reach at #2. Then you take a big TE from Ashland, a guard from Kurtztown, and a scat Pack from Carolina A&T. Everyone's favorite pick is an Alabama DB who didn't even play most of last year. That's a rough weekend.
  2. Jacksonville: Kicking things off with a back who may be limited in terms of skill set wasn't great in my opinion. I'm not a fan of Cam Robinson, Duwane Smoot, or Dede Westbrook. Blair Brown was the only pick of theirs that I liked.
  3. Kansas City: I don't understand how anyone can get a good read on Mahomes to the point that you spend multiple first round picks on him. I thought they then reached on Kpassagnon and Chesson. Kareem Hunt is fine, but I don't seem to like him as much as others.
  4. Detroit: If you're going to draft an off-ball linebacker with some injury concerns, why not the one who is vastly superior in Foster? Then they turned around and took a corner who runs in the high 4.6/low 4.7 range, and an NIU receiver when there were tons of options on the board. I like Roberts, but overall I thought this class was poor.
  5. Atlanta: This one starts at the top for me because I've never been a big McKinley fan. I don't like stiff pass rushers as a rule unless they play with ++ power (e.g. Clowney). Takk doesn't. Duke Riley is fine, but I'm not in love with Harlow or Kazee. Brian Hill was a good pick. But this one underwhelms at the top, where it matters most.
Also considered: DEN, NYG, and NYJ
 

sschind

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I can't comment on this specifically as I honestly don't have a clue about any of these rookies other than what I have read about them. I do have one kind of funny story about a Patriots fan that I was talking to the other day. He was saying how the Patriots had such a great draft and he was including Cooks and all the other guys they got in trades for draft picks which i don['t really agree with but if you want to use it fine. Anyway, a few minuted later the vikings came up and he mentioned that its too bad the vikings din't have a first round pick. I said "what about Bradford, they traded a pick for him" and he flat out said "traded picks don't count" I've seen similar accounts on draft grade websites. They all seem to give credit to the Patriots for trading their picks for players but very few of them mention the vikings. Just thought that was kind of funny.
 

Patriotplayer90

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Didn't Jacksonville win the draft last year? Then ended up losing more games than the previous year?
 
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Dantés

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Didn't Jacksonville win the draft last year? Then ended up losing more games than the previous year?

A lot of people liked their draft because they got both Ramsey and Jack, who were both considered top 5 talents. Jack hasn't done much, but Ramsey proved to be worth the hype and Ngakoue surprised. They weren't very good, but it wasn't because of their draft class.
 
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Dantés

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I can't comment on this specifically as I honestly don't have a clue about any of these rookies other than what I have read about them. I do have one kind of funny story about a Patriots fan that I was talking to the other day. He was saying how the Patriots had such a great draft and he was including Cooks and all the other guys they got in trades for draft picks which i don['t really agree with but if you want to use it fine. Anyway, a few minuted later the vikings came up and he mentioned that its too bad the vikings din't have a first round pick. I said "what about Bradford, they traded a pick for him" and he flat out said "traded picks don't count" I've seen similar accounts on draft grade websites. They all seem to give credit to the Patriots for trading their picks for players but very few of them mention the vikings. Just thought that was kind of funny.

Yeah, varying standards make it difficult.

The other example would be factoring need. A lot of people have crushed Baltimore's draft for not adding receivers. I understand that critique, but I'm looking at the classes from the perspective of who brought in the most talent overall. So I have Baltimore #1 because they drafted a bunch of studs relative to draft slot, but many of the grades I've seen on their class are less than complimentary.
 

PikeBadger

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Didn't Jacksonville win the draft last year? Then ended up losing more games than the previous year?
They were the flavor of the month until the season started and reality reared it's ugly head. It's the same old stuff. It becomes fashionable to coronate some ne'er do well as the "up and comer". Always interesting to see who gets to be Cinderella for the summer.
 

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Didn't Jacksonville win the draft last year? Then ended up losing more games than the previous year?
They had Jacksonville top 5 in 2014-2016 with 2013 being #8. That's turned out well for them.
Read the 2012 Seahawks review. The he is Jason Cole of Yahoo sports.: "As for Wilson, he essentially said he’ll be lucky to be Seneca Wallace"
Yep this is no more than clickbait.
 

Pokerbrat2000

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I'm giving the 49'ers the top grade, mainly just for the way they got Chicago to panic and give away what they did, just to trade up one spot to take Trubisky, who most likely would have still been there at #3 for the Bears to still pick. On top of that, Lynch claims they still got the guy they wanted at #3, Solomon Thomas. Then to be able to grab Foster at the end of round 1. I liked Joe Williams in the 4th and the rest of their picks seemed to be steady, with nobody that has people scratching their heads. except maybe Bethard.
 
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sschind

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Yeah, varying standards make it difficult.

The other example would be factoring need. A lot of people have crushed Baltimore's draft for not adding receivers. I understand that critique, but I'm looking at the classes from the perspective of who brought in the most talent overall. So I have Baltimore #1 because they drafted a bunch of studs relative to draft slot, but many of the grades I've seen on their class are less than complimentary.

Yeah, most draft analyzers tend to focus on whether or not the team got the positions they needed rather than the players they got. A reach at a position of need is better than a great value at a position of lesser need.
 

Poppa San

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Yeah, most draft analyzers tend to focus on whether or not the team got the positions they needed rather than the players they got. A reach at a position of need is better than a great value at a position of lesser need.
Only if the draft analyst thinks it's a position of need. IMO the Packers didn't NEED OG this draft after signing one yet I saw that as a need during the draft.
 

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Anyone drafting a QB early had me puzzled. Next year should be very strong for QBs. NFLN disscussion was that there will be at least 4 or 5 QBs rated higher than Trubisky or any other QB in this draft. And another 4 or 5 who will be rated about the same.
 

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Anyone drafting a QB early had me puzzled. Next year should be very strong for QBs. NFLN disscussion was that there will be at least 4 or 5 QBs rated higher than Trubisky or any other QB in this draft. And another 4 or 5 who will be rated about the same.
It made me feel good to know there is still no shortage of desperate GM's out there. Bodes well for our future imo.
 
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Dantés

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Anyone drafting a QB early had me puzzled. Next year should be very strong for QBs. NFLN disscussion was that there will be at least 4 or 5 QBs rated higher than Trubisky or any other QB in this draft. And another 4 or 5 who will be rated about the same.

In Chicago and Houston's cases, I think it's a situation where the GM is making a play to save his job and doesn't feel like they have time to wait. I would guess that the only way that Pace/Smith keep their gigs past 2017 is if they field promising rookie QB's. I think it will work for Houston and flop for Chicago.
 

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In Chicago and Houston's cases, I think it's a situation where the GM is making a play to save his job and doesn't feel like they have time to wait. I would guess that the only way that Pace/Smith keep their gigs past 2017 is if they field promising rookie QB's. I think it will work for Houston and flop for Chicago.
Perhaps. But none of the QBs drafted will be ready to play at a high enough level to make a difference in helping a team win. Perhaps the anticipation of a developing QB is enough to buy them an extra year.
 

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In Chicago and Houston's cases, I think it's a situation where the GM is making a play to save his job and doesn't feel like they have time to wait. I would guess that the only way that Pace/Smith keep their gigs past 2017 is if they field promising rookie QB's. I think it will work for Houston and flop for Chicago.
Ah yes, vulnerable GM's should always be targetted for some plundering and pillaging.:)
 
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Dantés

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Perhaps. But none of the QBs drafted will be ready to play at a high enough level to make a difference in helping a team win. Perhaps the anticipation of a developing QB is enough to buy them an extra year.

I agree except for Watson. I think that if BOB can design a bridge offense for him that includes concepts similar to what he did at Clemson, I believe he can be ok.
 

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