We're taking the first three days this week to break down the NFL Draft. Tuesday will consist of our AFC Draft Grades, followed by the NFC on Wednesday. Today however, we're looking at all seven rounds of the draft and identifying the best and worst picks made in each round. The Sports Guys will come up with a combined three picks in each round for each category. You agree?
First Round
Best
Pick 13: Aaron Donald to the Rams - While defensive tackle wasn't a perceived need for St. Louis, they picked up the third best defensive player in the draft that will make an immediate impact. Football is said to be won in the trenches, and with the pick the Rams may have the best defensive line in football now.
Pick 16: Zach Martin to the Cowboys - Jerry Jones shocked many and did the smart thing, not taking Johnny Manziel. The offensive line for Dallas has been terrible in recent years, but Martin can start immediately at multiple positions. Great value at 16 also.
Pick 32: Teddy Bridgewater to the Vikings - Many considered Teddy the top quarterback in the draft, yet he still slid the the bottom of the round. The Vikings gave up a fourth rounder to move ahead of Houston and take him. That's a great move considering they got a fifth rounder from Cleveland earlier to nearly offset it.
Worst
Pick 19: Ja'Wuan James to the Dolphins - Despite having a big need at offensive tackle, the Dolphins reached majorly for James, a guy with a clear second round grade.
Pick 26: Marcus Smith to the Eagles - Philly did trade back which gained them a little value, but Marcus Smith was a massive reach and defensive end wasn't the biggest need in my opinion either. Philly could have easily waited until the second round to take Smith.
Pick 29: Dominique Easley to the Patriots - Not only was Easley projected to go much later in the draft, he's coming off an injury and may not be able to contribute right away. For a team gunning for a Super Bowl, I would have thought getting an immediate contributor was paramount.
Second Round
Best
Pick 36: Derek Carr to the Raiders - Oakland clearly need a quarterback for their future, and they landed one of the four elite guys in the second round without having to move up. Patience paid off, just like it did in the first round when they landed Mack.
Pick 39: Marqise Lee to the Jaguars - After landing Bortles in the first round, they got him a target in Lee here. This was key considering they may be without Blackmon for the foreseeable future. Lee was a first round lock I thought heading into the draft. Adding Allen Robinson later in the round was great too.
Pick 56: Cody Latimer to the Broncos - With age and contract situations, the Broncos actually could use a young wide receiver, particularly after they lost Decker in the offseason. Latimer was great value as a late second rounder, and he'll be adored by Manning.
Worst
Pick 45: Paul Richardson to the Seahawks - Seattle traded out of the first round, then took a shaky WR prospect with their first selection. Kudos to them for targeting a receiver, but Richardson was an awful choice given who was available.
Pick 47: Trent Murphy to the Redskins - Just like Seattle, Washington traded back and made this guy their first pick. Not only was he not at one of their greatest position of needs, but he was a complete reach.
Pick 64: Justin Britt to the Seahawks - We're not picking on the defending champs, but Britt was a bad selection. He was a total reach, and a player that won't contribute in the near future. Seattle develops players well, but I'm doubting them on this pick.
Third Round
Best
Pick 79: Terrence Brooks to the Ravens - The Ravens picked up a starting safety in the third round. This is a player I thought would be gone about 40 picks prior. The Ravens (and the 49ers with Borland) cleaned up in this round by taking the best available player.
Pick 81: Gabe Jackson to the Raiders - Obviously, we're high on Oakland's draft. Jackson was tremendous value (second round grade) and he fills a need along the offensive line for the Raiders.
Pick 83: Louis Nix III to the Texans - Nix has first round talent, yet was acquired in the mid-third round. He will be a beast at the nose tackle for Houston, potentially playing between Watt and Clowney for years to come.
Worst
Pick 76: Travis Swanson to the Lions - Total reach for Detroit, who again neglected the secondary when quality players were available. This was a theme for the Lions, who will now get torched by Rodgers and Cutler in the NFC North.
Pick 78: Spencer Long to the Redskins - Terrible value in the third round, thankfully offset by the wonderful selection of Moses earlier in the round.
Pick 80: Dex McDougle to the Jets - This was a shocking pick actually. Not sure what Rex saw in this guy to pick him in the third round, particularly with so many other great options available at the same position.
Fourth Round
Best
Pick 106: Bruce Ellington to the 49ers - Mel Kiper had Ellington going in the late first round, so that gives an idea of the value here. Ellington gives the 49ers something they don't have with any other WR on the roster... speed!
Pick 127: Pierre Desir to the Browns - In our last mock we had Desir going in the second round, so it's shocking that he fell this far. The Browns needed depth at corner, so this made sense. He's a good character guy too, as well as a hard worker. Loved this pick.
Pick 131: Brock Vereen to the Bears - More than any other position, the Bears needed to address safety. After passing on good safeties four times, we were pleasantly surprised when they traded back into the fourth and nabbed this guy. He could easily start for them this season.
Worst
Pick 104: Jalen Saunders to the Jets - Saunders isn't the type of prospect Geno Smith (or Vick) can rely on. New York should have invested a higher pick on someone a little safer, or with more upside.
Pick 120: Logan Thomas to the Cardinals - Thomas is a solid QB prospect, as he possesses a lot of raw talent. The reason we deem this a bad pick is based on who was on the board. Tom Savage was taken fifteen spots later, Murray and McCarron were taken in the fifth round, and Mettenberger was taken two rounds later.
Pick 130: James White to the Patriots - To get this out of the way, I like James White and think he could be a good player down the road. But there were better prospects available here, and the Patriots had more pressing needs. Similar to what I said earlier, they should have been picking to help them win right now.
Fifth Round
Best
Pick 145: David Yankey to the Vikings - This was tremendous value for a guy that could contribute sooner, rather than later. This selection was also made with the pick they picked up from Cleveland in the first round by moving down a spot. Great work!
Picks 163/164: Murray/McCarron to the Chiefs/Bengals - Great value here for two winners with nice arms, mental makeup, and team players.
Pick 176: Jared Abbrederis to the Packers - Although he won't likely contribute right now, this was a good selection. He can win 50-50 balls, which any great QB like Rodgers loves.
Worst
Pick 142: Ryan Grant to the Redskins - Another pick by Washington they may have wasted. He's too weak and struggles with drops too much to be an every day NFL player.
Pick 149: Kevin Pamphile to the Buccaneers - This guy had the lowest grade by scouts of any player in this round. I also wished the Bucs would have went defense here, as they addressed the offense plenty in the first few rounds.
Pick 166: Jonathan Newsome to the Colts - Maybe the Colts see something in this guy we don't, as he seems too undersized to be an effective edge rusher.
Sixth Round
Best
Pick 178: Zach Mettenberger to the Titans - We think that Jake Locker isn't the long-term guy in Tennessee. Therefore, getting a QB to "groom" was key. Mettenberger has a big arm, and a sixth round steal for sure.
Pick 184: David Fales to the Bears - When McCown left in free agency for the Bucs, the Bears were left without a backup. And despite a new contract, the leash may be shortening with Cutler. Fales has the talent to be a nice developmental QB for Coach Trestman.
Pick 186: Lache Seastrunk to the Redskins - Naturally talented and very quick, he brings dimensions to running that none of the backs on the Redskins currently bring.
Worst
Pick 203: Andrew Jackson to the Colts - The Colts had a bad draft, and this is just another example of it. Jackson has a better chance of bringing unwanted attention to the team for character issues than on-field production.
Pick 213: Tajh Boyd to the Jets - They drafted Geno last year, and they just brought in Michael Vick. How many more flawed, running quarterbacks do they need? I don't mind Boyd as a player, but he's a poor man's version of the two current guys.
Cleveland Browns - Didn't have a sixth rounder... in fact, didn't have a 5th either, nor did they have a 7th. Not great for a franchise who needed some more bodies, particularly at WR.
Seventh Round
Best
Pick 217: Ted Bolser to the Redskins - I watched him at IU. Nice upside for a tight end.
Pick 244: Jeremy Gallon to the Patriots - The Patriots have tried to stockpile some young wideouts in hope that one of them sticks. Gallon is a wildcard but he did lead Michigan in receiving each of the last two seasons.
Pick 249: Michael Sam to the Rams - This guy was the co-POY in the SEC. I don't care if he's not a perfect prospect, it's great value in the 7th round.
Worst
None - Tough to go wrong in the 7th round because they are all hopefuls at this point. Any of these guys could be flops, so no point in picking three worst picks here.
By: The Sports Guys
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