Written by Andy Hutchins at SB Nation.com
The first three rounds of the 2016 NFL Draft have come and gone. This means we’re under 24 hours away from the raft of draft grades that flood the Internet after the conclusion of the seventh round, and purport to scry players’ entire careers at a moment when few have even seen the NFL jerseys they will don.
Obviously, that efforts a bit of a fool’s errand. Everyone’s just taking their best guesses at what’s going to shake out from each NFL Draft, including SB Nation’s Dan Kadar and hisDay 2 pick-by-pick grades. But what we can learn from the first couple days of the draft and the analysis of it, is how most feel about certain teams’ hauls and approaches.
And even if all the judgments are wrong, that means there are winners to be celebrated and losers to be scrutinized. Here are some of each after Day 2 of the 2016 NFL Draft.
Winners
Jacksonville Jaguars
As is usually the case when teams take universally well-regarded players in bunches, the Jaguars are being praised far and wide for a two-man haul that includes Florida State defensive dynamo Jalen Ramsey and UCLA stud Myles Jack. Ramsey is arguably the draft’s most talented player regardless of position, and Jack should have a claim to that same title if he recovers fully from a season-ending injury suffered last fall.
Dan Kadar gave the Jaguars a B+ for Day 2, saying they “came away from the draft with two of the three best defensive players” in it, while Yahoo’s Eric Edholm awarded the Jags his only A for a second-round pick for their selection of Jack. SI.com’s Doug Farrar was more skeptical, giving the Jack pick a C, but he’s out on an island here.
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings have quietly rebuilt themselves as NFC North contenders — they did win the division over Aaron Rodgers and the vaunted Packers in 2015 — and a lot of that has to do with savvy drafting. They appear to have pulled together another excellent draft class, nabbing Ole Miss playmaker Laquon Treadwell in the first round and Clemson corner Mackensie Alexander in the second.
Kadar awarded the Vikes an A for their selection of Alexander, saying he “fell too far,” and Pro Football Focus handed out an A for the pick, too, noting that Alexander was more than 30 spots higher than his draft position on their pre-draft big board. Farrar loved the pick, giving it an A+, and Walter Cherepinsky of Walter Football concurred with that grade, beginning his analysis with, simply, “What a steal.”
Noah Spence
The former Ohio State defensive end could have been part of the Buckeyes’ incredible draft, but drug abuse issues sent him packing from Columbus before his playing days were done. After a remarkable rehabilitation at Eastern Kentucky, Spence was thought of as a mild risk, but maybe too big a risk for the early second round.
Yet, that’s where he went, to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the No. 39 pick, and everyone loves the fit. Kadar says Spence “can be a superstar,” and compares him to Super Bowl MVP Von Miller, while Farrar awards the pick an A+ and makes a comparison to the other side of the Broncos’ formidable pass rush, DeMarcus Ware. It’s impossible to find someone who doesn’t like the Bucs’ pick here, and that’s probably a good sign for Spence.
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