Post by Juggs on Feb 3, 2015 11:28:35 GMT -5
NFC West:
Seattle Seahawks: After the draft: Thumbs down. Now: C-
Paul Richardson was the Seahawks top draft choice, and he was taken at the very top of round 2. That proved to be a mistake and a reach, as several receivers drafted later outplayed Richardson, who barely saw the field. They get some points for trading down, but not really when they blew the selection, at least it looks that way after year 1. The Hawks more than made up for their first selection with Justin Britt, a steal at the very end of the second round. Britt did not move to guard as expected, instead he stayed at right tackle the majority of snaps and was one of the best at his position from the 2015 class, despite being drafted pretty late. Maybe it’s just a sign of how good the Seahawks are, but none of their other picks saw any playing time, while two were cut from the roster. This draft is low upside and did not contribute enough in 2015. I don’t think it will improve much either.
San Francisco 49ers: After the draft: Thumbs way down. Now: D+
The 49ers had an astonishing 12 picks, and they really messed up. First round pick Jimmie Ward moved to corner and did not play well. He lost his spot and was moved back to safety where he sat on the bench behind two far superior options in Antoine Bethea and Eric Reid. San Fran seems to have given up on him already. I thought second round pick Carlos Hyde wasn’t a good choice when he was drafted, and I was somewhat vindicated. Hyde showed flashes but failed to make an impact his rookie year, and rumors are already flying that San Francisco will draft a runningback again next year. Center Marcus Martin played and was one of the worst centers in the league this season. The 49ers did find one great gem in MLB Chris Borland of Wisconsin, who was among the best linebackers drafted. He is the only reason this grade is not an F. The 49ers line was awful in 2015 and Brandon Thomas couldn’t even crack the rotation, which he should have been able to. The rest of the 49ers draft class failed to help on a roster that needed young talent.
Arizona Cardinals: After the draft: Thumbs down. Now: C-
I was confused why Arizona took Deone Bucannon in round 1 and knew they would regret not taking a quarterback. I was proven completely right. Bucannon is a linebacker playing safety. He plays alright in the box, but was the most thrown at safety in the league in 2014, and was absolutely eviscerated. At this stage, he looks like a sure bust. Troy Niklas caught just three passes in 2014 and looks like he is another missed spin of the roulette wheel in Arizona’s quest for good flex tight ends. At very least, the Cardinals scored big at the end of round 3 with WR John Brown of Pittsburgh State. The productive young receiver outplayed his draft stock and was the second best weapon the Cardinals had this year. The rest of the class was not productive and is hard to grade, but the class had little upside to begin with. The biggest failure here is not drafting Bridgewater, Carr or Mettenberger. Now Arizona enters 2015 without a franchise quarterback and without a realistic option of how to get one.
St. Louis Rams: After the draft: Thumbs up. Now: A-.
The Rams draft class looks amazing at first glance, and it looked even better on draft day, but it has two major short falls. First, they didn’t take a QB when they ended up needing one, but more importantly, the Rams appear to have whiffed on Greg Robinson. The big man was touted as the next Orlando Pace for his strength and size, when in reality, he graded better in pass blocking than he did against the run according to Pro Football Focus, and probably should not have been drafted by a team looking for a guard. Robinson struggled overall and looks like a really bad choice when the Rams could have had almost anyone in the draft at 1.02. After that, the Rams draft was phenomenal. Aaron Donald earned DROY and consistently played very well. He’s a top 5 rookie from the entire class and was taken outside of the top 10. Obviously he should have been the pick at 1.02, not Robinson. It doesn’t end there though, Lamarcus Joyner and EJ Gaines both stepped in and contributed right away for St. Louis, with Gaines playing especially well before suffering a nasty injury inflicted by his own teammate against the Giants. Tre Mason outplayed his draft spot as well, and was one of the best rookie backs in 2015. The Rams lose a few points because several guy failed to make the roster, including QB Garrett Gilbert, tackle Mitch Van Dyk, and Michael Sam. The class will be remembered for the successes, but no class gets an A if it misses on a top 3 pick.
Best pick of the division: Aaron Donald, DT, St. Louis Rams
Worst pick of the division: Jimmie Ward, CB/S, San Francisco 49ers
Seattle Seahawks: After the draft: Thumbs down. Now: C-
Paul Richardson was the Seahawks top draft choice, and he was taken at the very top of round 2. That proved to be a mistake and a reach, as several receivers drafted later outplayed Richardson, who barely saw the field. They get some points for trading down, but not really when they blew the selection, at least it looks that way after year 1. The Hawks more than made up for their first selection with Justin Britt, a steal at the very end of the second round. Britt did not move to guard as expected, instead he stayed at right tackle the majority of snaps and was one of the best at his position from the 2015 class, despite being drafted pretty late. Maybe it’s just a sign of how good the Seahawks are, but none of their other picks saw any playing time, while two were cut from the roster. This draft is low upside and did not contribute enough in 2015. I don’t think it will improve much either.
San Francisco 49ers: After the draft: Thumbs way down. Now: D+
The 49ers had an astonishing 12 picks, and they really messed up. First round pick Jimmie Ward moved to corner and did not play well. He lost his spot and was moved back to safety where he sat on the bench behind two far superior options in Antoine Bethea and Eric Reid. San Fran seems to have given up on him already. I thought second round pick Carlos Hyde wasn’t a good choice when he was drafted, and I was somewhat vindicated. Hyde showed flashes but failed to make an impact his rookie year, and rumors are already flying that San Francisco will draft a runningback again next year. Center Marcus Martin played and was one of the worst centers in the league this season. The 49ers did find one great gem in MLB Chris Borland of Wisconsin, who was among the best linebackers drafted. He is the only reason this grade is not an F. The 49ers line was awful in 2015 and Brandon Thomas couldn’t even crack the rotation, which he should have been able to. The rest of the 49ers draft class failed to help on a roster that needed young talent.
Arizona Cardinals: After the draft: Thumbs down. Now: C-
I was confused why Arizona took Deone Bucannon in round 1 and knew they would regret not taking a quarterback. I was proven completely right. Bucannon is a linebacker playing safety. He plays alright in the box, but was the most thrown at safety in the league in 2014, and was absolutely eviscerated. At this stage, he looks like a sure bust. Troy Niklas caught just three passes in 2014 and looks like he is another missed spin of the roulette wheel in Arizona’s quest for good flex tight ends. At very least, the Cardinals scored big at the end of round 3 with WR John Brown of Pittsburgh State. The productive young receiver outplayed his draft stock and was the second best weapon the Cardinals had this year. The rest of the class was not productive and is hard to grade, but the class had little upside to begin with. The biggest failure here is not drafting Bridgewater, Carr or Mettenberger. Now Arizona enters 2015 without a franchise quarterback and without a realistic option of how to get one.
St. Louis Rams: After the draft: Thumbs up. Now: A-.
The Rams draft class looks amazing at first glance, and it looked even better on draft day, but it has two major short falls. First, they didn’t take a QB when they ended up needing one, but more importantly, the Rams appear to have whiffed on Greg Robinson. The big man was touted as the next Orlando Pace for his strength and size, when in reality, he graded better in pass blocking than he did against the run according to Pro Football Focus, and probably should not have been drafted by a team looking for a guard. Robinson struggled overall and looks like a really bad choice when the Rams could have had almost anyone in the draft at 1.02. After that, the Rams draft was phenomenal. Aaron Donald earned DROY and consistently played very well. He’s a top 5 rookie from the entire class and was taken outside of the top 10. Obviously he should have been the pick at 1.02, not Robinson. It doesn’t end there though, Lamarcus Joyner and EJ Gaines both stepped in and contributed right away for St. Louis, with Gaines playing especially well before suffering a nasty injury inflicted by his own teammate against the Giants. Tre Mason outplayed his draft spot as well, and was one of the best rookie backs in 2015. The Rams lose a few points because several guy failed to make the roster, including QB Garrett Gilbert, tackle Mitch Van Dyk, and Michael Sam. The class will be remembered for the successes, but no class gets an A if it misses on a top 3 pick.
Best pick of the division: Aaron Donald, DT, St. Louis Rams
Worst pick of the division: Jimmie Ward, CB/S, San Francisco 49ers