NFL Draft Grades

Written by Pete Prisco at CBSSports.com

If you are reading this, you know I like to pick things apart. Drafts, situational coaching and players — you name it.

But somehow, as I did the grades for this year’s NFL Draft, I had to stop for a second because I think many teams did a good job handling their board.

I didn’t give out one “F” this year. I handed out five “A” grades.

What is wrong with me? Call me Mr. Softy.

The five teams that earned “A” grades in my mind were the Arizona Cardinals, Cincinnati Bengals, Green Bay Packers, San Francisco 49ers and — surprise, surprise — the Cleveland Browns.

As chic as it has become to rip the Browns, there is no denying they did a great job with their draft. They had a lot of picks and made the most of those picks, with the only knock being a first-round move down to land Michigan safety/hybrid player Jabrill Peppers. That was a reach, but they did a nice job the rest of the way.

They ended up with three first-round picks, landing Texas A&M pass rusher Myles Garrett with the first overall pick, Peppers with the 25th pick and Miami tight end David Njoku with the 29th pick. They moved up to get both Peppers and Njoku thanks to extra draft picks they acquired in recent years.

If second-round quarterback DeShone Kizer is a hit — and he is talented — the Browns will look back on this draft as the one that turned around the franchise. That’s how good their draft was this year.

Maybe all those analytics work after all. Or maybe they finally got somebody who can simply put on the tape and find good football players.

Now here are the rest of the grades.

They landed a future star in first-round pick Haason Reddick. He will add speed and versatility to their defense. I love second-round pick Budda Baker, the safety from Washington. He will help offset the loss of Tony Jefferson. Third-round pick Chad Williams, a receiver from Grambling, could be a steal where he was drafted, adding much-needed speed, and I love fourth-round pick Dorian Johnson. It was a really good draft.

Grade: A

The Falcons wanted to get an edge rusher, and they got a good one in UCLA’s Takk McKinley in the first round, which was an outstanding pick. They came back and added a speed linebacker in LSU’s Duke Riley in the second round and a much-needed guard in Sean Harlow from Oregon State, who should be the starting right guard. They got faster on defense, which is not a good thing for NFC South quarterbacks.

Grade: B+

Did they really need a corner in the first round? I know they stuck to their board by taking Alabama corner Marlon Humphrey, but I thought they had bigger needs. They came back to make up for it by taking Houston edge rusher Tyus Bowser in the second round and Michigan defensive tackle Chris Wormley in the third. Fourth-round rusher Tim Williams could be a pass-rush star — if he can stay out of trouble.

Grade: B-

I think they made really good picks with their first two, trading down in the first before taking LSU corner Tre’Davious White, then landing East Carolina receiver Zay Jonesin the second. Their other second-round pick, Dion Dawkins, will probably be the starting right tackle. Fifth-round quarterback Nathan Peterman could end up being a potential starter down the road.

Grade: B

They were linked to Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey in the first round, and it played out that way. I think it’s too high to take him at No. 8, but he will help in a lot of ways. Second-round pick Curtis Samuel can do a lot of the same things, and will likely be their slot receiver. I love the pick of Texas A&M pass rusher Daeshon Hall in the fourth. He will develop into a quality pass rusher. Fifth-round corner Corn Elder will be a good nickel corner.

Grade: B-

They made a strange move to give up so much to move up a spot to No. 2 overall and draft North Carolina quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. They could have stayed in their third spot and landed him, but gave up too much to move up a spot. If he’s a star, they will be laughing at all us. But why give Mike Glennon that contract if this was what you planned to do? Second-round tight end Adam Shaheen from Ashland is a big, physical tight end. But this is all about Trubisky and that trade.

Grade: D

I thought the Bengals had as good draft as any team in the league. Taking receiver John Ross with the ninth pick is a bit of a risk, but you can’t coach speed. They took a different type of risk with Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon in the second round, but the kid is the best runner in the draft. They clearly looked past the assault video to take him. They then landed two good pass rushers in Kansas State Jordan Willis and Auburn’s Carl Lawson, two players who will compete to start at right end. Fourth-round receiver Josh Malone from Tennessee can fly. There are some risks here, but I think they will pay off big.

Grade: A

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