RosterWatch NFL Draft Grades and Notes
Byron Lambert, Rosterwatch.com

After a first round where all 32 teams deserved A or B grades, it was interesting to see how it shook out over the next six rounds, in an unbelievably deep draft crop. The dust settled with lots of good grades, only a few disasters, and a bunch of B’s and C’s, as outlined below.

Grade A

Houston Texans (A+)
Notable Picks- Jadeveon Clowney, Xavier Su’a-Filo, CJ Fiedorowicz, Louis Nix, Tom Savage, Jay Prosch
Remarks- Strong positional prospects who should contribute Day 1, got bigger and more physical

St Louis Rams (A+)
Notable Picks- Greg Robinson, Aaron Donald, Lamarcus Joyner, Tre Mason
Remarks- A grand slam in the first four rounds, Garret Gilbert and nuts and bolts late

San Francisco 49ers (A)
Notable Picks- Jimmie Ward, Carlos Hyde, Marcus Martin, Chris Borland, Brandon Thomas, Bruce Ellington
Remarks- Another huge year for Trent Baalke, won’t be able to roster all 12 picks, some of the late round selections should have been traded for better future picks.

Cleveland Browns (A)
Notable Picks- Justin Gilbert, Johnny Manziel, Joel Bitonio, Christian, Kirksey, Terrance West, Pierre Desir
Remarks- Misplayed the draft already having the Josh Gordon news, in a perfect world they would have landed Mike Evans, a corner, and a quarterback. Love Gilbert, Bitonio, Kirksey, West, Desir, and Crowell in free agency. Manziel the obvious wildcard.

Oakland Raiders (A)
Notable Picks- Khalil Mack, Derek Carr, Gabe Jackson, Justin Ellis, Keith McGill
Remarks- Got the #1 prospect on some boards at 5, landed arguably the best QB prospect in the draft, three additional defensive players in the last round, missed on a playmaking receiver and the tremendous depth of running back talent available.

Jacksonville Jaguars (A-)
Notable Picks- Blake Bortles, Marqise Lee, Allen Robinson, Brandon Linder, Aaron Colvin, Telvin Smith, Storm Johnson
Remarks- Love the bold move for the Bortles and a crack at the home run with Lee and Robinson, a coup of talent collected in mid to late rounds. Still, a bit of an uncertain crop.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (A-)
Notable Picks- Mike Evans, Austin Sefarian-Jenkins, Charles Sims, Robert Herron
Remarks- The Mike Evans haymaker, solid rounds two and three with Jenkins and Sims, also got two offensive lineman late

New York Giants (A-)
Notable Picks- Odell Beckham, Weston Richburg, Jay Bromley, Andre Williams
Remarks- Richburg our #1 center, Beckham an elite talent, Williams a tremendous fit, defense the rest of the way

Grade B

Tennessee Titans (B+)
Notable Picks- Taylor Lewan, Bishop Sankey, DaQuan Jones, Zach Mettenberger
Remarks- Lewan, Warmack, Levitre, Schwenke has the makings of a disgusting offensive line unit, Sankey could look like Gio Bernard, Jones and Mettenberger have upside

Detroit Lions (B+)
Notable Picks- Eric Ebron, Kyle Van Noy, Travis Swanson, Caraun Reid
Remarks- Didn’t get the impact DB they need, but they went with elite positional talent in Eric Ebron who will be a tremendous fit in Detroit, Kyle Van Noy is one of the most instinctive defensive players in the whole draft and will be paired with former teammate E.Ansah, Caraun Reid would have been drafted higher had he not been from Princeton- he has violent hands a good build and character/intelligence for miles

Minnesota Vikings (B)
Notable Picks- Anthony Barr, Teddy Bridgewater, David Yankey
Remarks- Like Barr and Yankey, Bridgewater the wild card- concerned his homes game will be outdoors the next two years, the rest of the Vikings draft is a bunch of questions marks.

Baltimore Ravens (B)
Notable Picks- CJ Mosley, Tim Jernigan, Terrance Brooks, Crockett Gilmore, Brent Urban, Lorenzo Taliefero, Keith Wenning, Michael Campanaro
Remarks- Nothing too flashy, Ozzie filled up on nuts and bolts, we aren’t completely sold on Mosley who was an underwhelming athlete throughout the draft process, good value on Jernigan in RD2, we are high on Brooks and Gilmore, Wenning our favorite deep sleeper QB in the draft

Philadelphia Eagles (B-)
Notable Picks- Marcus Smith, Jordan Matthews, Josh Huff, Jaylen Watkins, Taylor Hart
Remarks- Drafted for need, may have reached, got good players who fit the scheme, Kelly took a couple of his own in Huff and Hart

Atlanta Falcons (B-)
Notable Picks- Jake Matthews, Ra’Shede Hageman, Devonta Freeman
Remarks- Seven defensive picks, Hegeman is a questions mark, Jake Matthews is the instant impact offensive lineman Atlanta needed, Devonta Freeman a huge sleeper ready to play on three downs from day 1, Freeman and Matthews turn a C draft grade into a B for Dimitroff.

Cincinnati Bengals (B-)
Notable Picks- Darqueze Dennard, Jeremy Hill, AJ McCarron
Remarks- Also went DE/C/OLB/WR/CB, great value on Dennard who many scouts had as their #1 CB he will make a physical pairing with Dre Kirkpatrick, Jeremy Hill represents great value after the team passed on Eddie Lacy last year, AJ McCarron is a really good fit whom they got good value on in RD5

New Orleans Saints (B-)
Notable Picks- Brandin Cooks, Stanley Jean-Baptiste
Remarks- Went defense with 4 of 6 picks, Baptiste a nice fit for Rob Ryan as a big rangy physical CB, this is the best imaginable fit for Cooks which turned a C draft into a B- he could be a superstar in New Orleans.

Green Bay Packers (B-)
Notable Picks- Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Davante Adams, Richard Rogers, Jared Abredderis, Jeff Janis
Remarks- Ted Thompson STOLE Ha Ha- a player we rated as an elite positional talent worthy of a Top 10 pick, good value on Davante who could be a future stud in GB, Rogers a sleeper athletic tight end, Abbrederis and Janis solid contributors

Seattle Seahawks (B-)
Notable Picks- Paul Richardson, Kevin Norwood
Remarks- Focused on nuts/bolts prospects, Schneider and Carroll have such a strong track record- we give them the benefit of the doubt and turn a C grade into a B grade, Paul Richardson could be a dynamic DeSean Jackson type threat for Russell Wilson, Kevin Norwood is one of the biggest sleepers in the whole draft- he is Mr. Reliable

Pittsburgh Steelers (B-)
Notable Picks- Ryan Shazier, Stephon Tuitt, Dri Archer, Martavis Bryant, Jordan Zumwalt, Rob Blanchflower
Remarks- Drafted for speed, LB lynchpin of the Steelers defense good additions to that unit with Shazier and Zumwalt, Tuitt can play 5 tech, Archer and Bryant represent big time speed for Big Ben, Archer hopefully fills the role Chris Rainey was supposed to have

Grade C

New York Jets (C+)
Notable Picks- Calvin Pryor, Jace Amaro, Jalen Saunders, Shaq Evans
Remarks- Love the Pryor fit a year after Rex passed on Kenny Vacarro, Amaro a nice big receiving weapon for Geno, Saunders underwhelmed throughout the draft process, Shaq Evans was one of our very deep sleepers, Idzik gets negative marks though for drafting Saunders over Bruce Ellington and Evans over Martavis Bryant and Kevin Norwood

Dallas Cowboys (C+)
Notable Picks- Zack Martin, DeMarcus Lawerence, Ahmad Dixon, Devin Street
Remarks- Nothing sexy but attempted to fill critical holes, stayed the course and selected seven defensive players to fill need, Zack Martin a solid selection, Martin-Smith-Frederick is a pro bowl caliber offensive line trio for years to come, may have reached for Lawrence who is more of a rush OLB than prototypical 43 DE, Dixon and Street could prove to be nice late round values

Chicago Bears (C+)
Notable Picks- Kyle Fuller, Will Sutton, Ka’Deem Carey, David Fales
Remarks- Fuller a very nice talent who fills a major position of need, Sutton is literally a big question mark, Carey and Fales make for nice backups

Carolina Panthers (C+)
Notable Picks- Kelvin Benjamin, Kony Ealy, Trai Turner
Remarks- The jury is out on this one, Ealy and Turner could be nice value picks, Gettleman swung for the fences with Benjamin- who if he pans out could be one of the biggest steals in the draft- he appears to have landed in the perfect spot

Arizona Cardinals (C+)
Notable Picks- Deone Bucannon, Troy Niklas, Logan Thomas
Remarks- Also went with two big defensive ends, prospects of a Bucannon, Peterson, Mathieu, Cromartie defensive back field are just downright scary, Niklas is the exact type of Heath Miller-ish tight end Bruce Arians dreams of and opines for, Thomas the obvious wildcard who landed in a great situation- he looks like Cam Newton and has a rocket launcher arm but is wildly inaccurate

Buffalo Bills (C+)
Notable Picks- Sammy Watkins, Cyrus Kounajido, Cyril Richardson, Seantrel Henderson
Remarks- Went LB and CB with other selections, Watkins was our #1 overall prospect so the Bills get credit for that- but we hate the fit in Buffalo- they would have been better off making a less costly move up for Mike Evans who would have filled a more glaring need, Richardson and Henderson are marshmallow men

Denver Broncos (C+)
Notable Picks- Bradley Roby, Cody Latimer, Michael Schofield, Lamin Barrow
Remarks- Good specimens at the top with Roby and Latimer, Schofield and Barrow two sleepers, drafted quality at the top then drafted for need

San Diego Chargers (C)
Notable Picks- Jason Verrett, Jeremiah Attaochu, Marion Grice
Remarks- San Diego started off hot with Verrett, questionable whether they got impact playmakers after that, no pop or sizzle to this draft for Chargers fans, lots of nuts and bolts collected

New England Patriots (C-)
Notable Picks- Dominique Easley, Jimmy Garoppolo, Bryan Stork, James White, Jeremy Gallon, John Halapio
Remarks- Rolling the dice on an injured but potentially elite talent in Easley, Garoppolo a nice developmental talent that doesn’t make a ton of sense in RD2 for New England, nothing hot about Stork-White-Gallon-Halapio but all are potential contributors

Washington Redskins (C-)
Notable Picks- Trent Murphy, Morgan Moses, Lache Seastrunk
Remarks- Not a compelling draft but many of the core cogs Washington needs to fill roster holes, Moses may end up being an absolute steal once he locks down the right side of the offensive line- Phil Savage director of the Senior Bowl loves him and calls him the “Great Wall of China”, Seastrunk may be a sneaky good complement to Alfred Morris

Grade D

Miami Dolphins (D+)
Notable Picks- Ja’Wuan James, Jarvis Landry, Billy Turner
Remarks- Draft lacks impact players, addressed offensive line early, Landry a nice player but a real curveball out of Miami who can’t even use the receivers they have to fullest extent

Kansas City Chiefs (D)
Notable Picks- Dee Ford, Phillip Gaines, De’Anthony Thomas, Aaron Murray
Remarks- Like and understand the Dee Ford pick but not a pressing area of need for a player that does have questions marks when projected as an NFL pass rusher, Ford has speed, power, and is a good teammate. Passed on Dennard, Verrett, and Roby for Ford. Replacing McCluster with Thomas should not have been a top priority- Thomas was a reach in RD4, Murray a nice developmental QB who fits the Andy Reid mantra of drafting a QB every year- Chase Daniels and last year’s rookie QB Tyler Bray are already on the bench.

Grade F

Indianapolis Colts (F)
Notable Picks- Jack Mewhort, Donte Moncrief
Remarks- Only five total selections, only two selections in the first four rounds, Mewhort is decent but was reach in RD2, and Moncrief is a boom or bust prospect who reminds us a lot of Da’Rick Rogers who is already on the roster, WR not  the biggest position of need for Indy. This draft was especially horrible if you account for the first round pick given up for Trent Richardson