In the heat of the moment, when your team’s draft pick has just been announced, a lot of thoughts can go through your mind: “That choice is perfect!” “A fine pick, ol’ chap! I can see him contributing to our goals this year.” And, of course: “WHAT THE HELL WHERE THEY THINKING?!?”
2015 NFL Draft grades: Most picks in Round 1 solid, but a few were downright confusing
The first round of the 2015 NFL Draft has come and gone and fans everywhere are left considering their team’s choice. For some, like Tampa Bay, the pick was expected and obvious. For others, like Denver, the decisions were a bit more confounding.
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Depending on the selection your team made Thursday in the opening round of the 2015 NFL Draft, you either went to bed happy, a little worried or downright upset. After a night's sleep and a solid breakfast this morning, maybe your feelings on the matter have changed, or maybe not. Or maybe you just need a non-biased point of view to help get your mindset settled on just how well your team did with their first-round pick.
Tampa Bay gets high marks
The consensus on the choice of Jameis Winston is pretty clear: He's going to help the Buccaneers improve. Some might shrug and say that ANY selection would have done the same, but the pundits are all in agreement that Winston was the right choice. Our own grades here at SB Nation gave this selection an A, with Dan Kadar writing that Winston "has a chance" to be the franchise quarterback the Bucs have never had.
The other early grades were similarly good. CBS Sports writer Pete Prisco assigns an A-minus, saying "I don't think Winston is in the Andrew Luck class," but calling him the best quarterback in this draft. Bleacher Report matches that mark with their own A-minus, and Bryan Fischer of NFL.com weighs in with a B-plus. Doug Farrar at SI.com is a little harsher: His grade is a B, and also comes with a comparison to Jay Cutler.
Prisco pans Titans’ tabbing of Mariota
The reviews for the Tennessee Titans’ no-brainer selection of Marcus Mariota — after Winston came off the board, Mariota was clearly the best QB available — were generally positive: Bleacher Report awarded an A-plus, SI.com an A-minus, and both SB Nation and NFL.com graded the pick as a B-plus.
But the cantankerous Prisco was having none of this praise. His grade? A C-minus, with a withering assessment of the decision to pick a quarterback:
Why? Why not take the best defensive player in the draft? What if Mariota doesn't beat out Zach Mettenberger?
That’s certainly an opinion!
Jets profit from Williams’s plummet
Leonard Williams, regarded by many as the best defensive player in the 2015 NFL Draft, wasn't projected to last past the No. 3 pick, with both the Titans and Jaguars linked to him, and Washington primed to pick him up if he lasted to the fifth pick. Instead, Williams ended up falling to sixth, where the Jets pounced.
That formula — player projected to go high in mock drafts falls to team that makes obvious pick — always produces high grades, and this pick was no exception: NFL.com and Bleacher Report went with an A-plus, SI.com with an A, and CBS Sports with a B-plus. But our Dan Kadar was less impressed, and handed out a B-minus while wondering about how Williams fits a defense already overstocked with talent:
Look, Williams is the best player in the draft and it was a surprise he was available at No. 6. But even if Muhammad Wilkerson is traded, how much better is Williams making New York?
Bears, Dolphins grade well for filling need
The Bears needed another outside wide receiver to go with Alshon Jeffrey after trading away Brandon Marshall, and snagged West Virginia's Kevin White. The Dolphins needed a complement to Jarvis Landry on the outside after trading away Mike Wallace, and grabbed Louisville's DeVante Parker. Both are smart, sensible moves.
And that’s probably why everyone loved them. Kadar’s B-plus for the Bears, which comes with a note that White is “the right direction,” was the lowest grade of the five sites surveyed for either pick.
Broncos ripped for going higher for Ray
Denver could use another pass rusher, sure: The Broncos have had 41 sacks in each of the last two seasons, and that’s just near the top of the middle of the pack. And Shane Ray would be a pass rusher, certainly. But the price the Broncos paid to jump just five spots for Ray was steep: Their No. 28 pick, fifth-round picks in this and the 2016 draft, and guard Manny Ramirez, who has started every game for the Broncos over their last two seasons.
And most graders didn't find that wise. Kadar's D-plus was the lowest grade assessed, and there was just one grade above a B-minus; the highest mark, a B-plus from Farrar at SI.com, hinged on a comparison of Ray to Seahawks madman Bruce Irvin.
(Psst: This thing is not like this thing.)
Patriots do right, boring thing
The Patriots released Vince Wilfork after more than a decade of having him fill holes inside this offseason. They needed a replacement for him. They kept their No. 32 pick. They drafted Texas defensive tackle Malcom Brown, who a) most thought would go higher and b) is not to be confused with Texas running back Malcolm Brown.
The prickly Prisco gave out the lowest grade for the move: A B-plus.
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