Have some draft grades. I'll also throw in their spot on the media
consensus big board for reference, as well as where they ended up on
mine.
Just to give you a sense of the scale, it's 1-10 where 1 is a disaster, 10 is a massive bargain & 5 is basically fine. I'll also be taking trades into account, which will impact some of the scores.
Carolina - #1 Bryce Young 6/10
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Consensus Big Board Ranking - 2
My Ranking - 5
I don't think it's possible to get a 10 for the first overall pick on draft day, and if you just look at this as Bryce Young at 1 this is probably a 7 or an 8, but if you look at this as Bryce Young for pick 9, pick 61, a 2024 first rounder, a 2025 second rounder & DJ Moore it feels a bit different. I think this was the right pick, and I do think he'll end up becoming a good player - I'd project him out as a slightly better version of Kyler because he's actually got his head in the game - but that's the level he needs to reach for you to be able to argue he's been worth everything it took to move up to get him.
Houston - #2 CJ Stroud 6/10 & #3 Will Anderson Jr 5/10
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Consensus Board Rankings - 4 (Stroud) & 1 (Anderson)
My Rankings - 12 (Stroud) & 2 (Anderson)
This looks harsh off the scores, but in general I think this is about as good as they could've done to get better this year.
I feel like Stroud is going to end up being Jared Goff, which appears to be a pretty common comp for him, so if that's what you're getting at 2 overall that's essentially fine but not exactly transformative for your franchise. Similarly, Will Anderson is awesome, and I think he's going to play out like another Lions guy in Aidan Hutchinson - phenomenal character guy, great for the culture, reliable every down player who can defend the run & will hover around 10 sacks but probably won't see 15+ very often - but it's the trade up that tanks the value of the pick. Will at 3 straight up is probably a 7, but Will for pick 12, pick 33, a 2024 first & a 2024 third feels like it's pushing the upper limit of his value.
Indianapolis - #4 Anthony Richardson 6/10
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Consensus Ranking - 13
My Ranking - 18
This one could be all sorts of numbers because Richardson is such a high variance prospect, but overall I think this is about right for such a rare physical specimen & someone who can probably step in on the Justin Fields plan straight away if that's what they want to do. The Colts seem like a good spot for him to develop & if he gets anywhere near his ceiling he's going to be an absolute monster.
Seattle - #5 Devon Witherspoon 6/10 & #20 Jaxson Smith-Njigba 8/10
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Consensus Ranking - 8 (Witherspoon) & 11 (JSN)
My Ranking - 9 (Witherspoon) & 5 (JSN)
Witherspoon is a bit of a surprise pick, but at the same time he's their kind of dude. I don't think I saw the best of him in the couple of games I watched, but he should be able to come in as their CB2 straight away.
JSN is a banger though - I'm trying not to call him Cooper Kupp but I guess I've just done it. Overall it's a fantastic first day for them.
Arizona - #6 Paris Johnson Jr 9/10
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Consensus Ranking - 9
My Ranking - 10
This one is the opposite of the Young/Anderson scores - if you just look at Paris at six it's fine, but to have moved back then jumped back up this ends up working out as them Paris, pick 33, pick 81 & Houston's 2024 first rounder & giving up pick 34 & pick 168, which is a huge win, and Kyler Murray will be delighted. Seems like the change at GM migh work out pretty well for them.
Las Vegas - #7 Tyree Wilson 6/10
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Consensus Ranking - 6
My Ranking - 11
I wasn't super high on Wilson, and it sounds like there's talk he might not be available for the start of the season because of his foot injury, but in general I think this is fine.
Atlanta - #8 Bijan Robinson 6/10
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Consensus Ranking - 5
My Ranking - 1
It feels weird for my top player in the class to go at eight & it only be okay, but that's running backs for you. There was talk the Falcons wanted to trade back a few spots & still take him, but maybe they didn't get any good offers or maybe there were vibes that they wouldn't have been able to have moved back & still got him. Bijan is amazing & he'll be incredible for them, but it does seem like this version of the Falcons just wants to grab big, freaky dudes & doesn't care what anyone else thinks.
Philadelphia - #9 Jalen Carter 8/10 & #31 Nolan Smith 9/10
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Consensus Ranking - 3 (Carter) & 18 (Smith)
My Ranking - 3 (Carter) & 16 (Smith)
Chicago - #10 Darnell Wright - 5/10
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Consensus Ranking - 23
My Ranking - 22
Surprised to see him off the board as OT2, and this feels a bit early for him, but at least they got a 2024 fourth rounder in the trade back.
Tennessee - #11 Peter Skoronski 7/10
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Consensus Ranking - 10
My Ranking - 6
Not sure if they considered Levis here, but their line is mega trash so grabbing a guy who can play all five spots feels like a pretty good decision.
Detroit - #12 Jahmyr Gibbs 4/10 & #18 Jack Campbell 4/10
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Consensus Ranking - 25 (Gibbs) & 44 (Campbell)
My Rankings - 8 (Gibbs) & 35 (Campbell)
Remember when we all loved everything the Lions did? I think the honeymoon phase is over now.
I think Gibbs is awesome, as you can see by how I've ranked him, and Campbell is solid enough, but this is early for both of them. Brad Holmes said he got lots of texts from other GMs after he took Gibbs saying he wouldn't have been there much longer, but I feel like he was a guy who belonged in the twenties. They clearly hate Swift, so hopefully he gets moved somewhere, and I'm not sure how this affects Montgomery, so it's all a bit weird & yet also very on brand for this version of the Lions.
Green Bay - #13 Lukas Van Ness 6/10
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Consensus Ranking - 17
My Ranking - 23
It turns out that trading away Aaron Rodgers didn't have any impact on the draft strategy for Green Bay, as this is a pretty classic Packers selection. I'm slightly concerned he'll end up going the way of AJ Epenesa, but hopefully he ends up more like his new teammate Rashan Gary.
Pittsburgh - #14 Broderick Jones 7/10
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Consensus Ranking - 14
My Ranking - 15
There was plenty of talk that the Steelers were trying to move up for a tackle, and in the end they managed to grab the last of the top tier guys, only giving up pick 120 to get in front of the Jets, who surely would've taken him. We're all still hoping for the Joey Porter Jr pick at the start of round two, but this has gone pretty well so far.
New York Jets - #15 Will McDonald 4/10
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Consensus Ranking - 33
My Ranking - 33
Feels like the Jets may have got sniped by Pittsburgh, struggled to find a trade back & had to reach a bit, but they do come from the 49er school of yeeting defensive lineman at you in waves so he'll probably still end up getting on the field & hopefully he'll work his way up to the first wave over time,
Washington - #16 Emmanuel Forbes 4/10
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Consensus Ranking - 36
My Ranking - 37
Yeah, he's the all time NCAA leader for pick sixes, and yeah he's had something like 30 INTs since high school, but he's 166lbs & Deonte Banks was right there. It's not too surprising to see Forbes got in the first round as he was regularly getting linked to the Bengals at 28, but this does feel early. He's gonna need to add some weight & hope that he continues to be able to get his hands on the football, but from what I've heard I'm not super confident about either of those things happening.
This is taking ages & I'm off out shortly so I'll do the rest later.