Agree to Disagree Draft Grades: NFC West
The NFL Draft has come and gone, and boy did it not disappoint, and now until the season starts, we are left to put the pieces together and project how it all fits. The first step in this is to evaluate each Team's draft class today we'll review the NFC West.
Los Angeles Rams
Joseph Notebloom, OT, 89th Overall
Brian Allen, C, 111th Overall
John Franklin-Myers, DE, 135th Overall
Micah Kiser, LB, 147th Overall
Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, Edge, 160th Overall
John Kelly,RB, 176th Overall
Jamil Demby, G, 192nd Overall
Sebastian Joseph, 195th Overall
Treveon Young, Edge, 205th Overall
Travin Howard,LB, 231st Overall
Justin Lawler, DE, 244th Overall
Chris: Look, Let's be honest here, this draft has more to do with two players who are not listed above. Sammy Watkins, who the Rams traded their 2nd round pick for, but were unable to re-sign after only one season; and Brandin Cooks, who the Rams used their 1st round pick to acquire from the Patriots to replace Watkins. This draft should be judged entirely based on whether or not they are able to re-sign Cooks. With that said the Rams ended up with a total of 10 picks, with the first not coming until nearly the End of day two. Notebloom and Allen are both solid developmental linemen, even if I thought Notebloom was a 5th round player and he is the higher rated of the two. Kiser is absolute steal at the 147th overall pick and could end up being a quality starter early in his career. The rest of these picks seem to be developmental depth pieces, which could be an asset as injuries begin to strike. Grade C-
Justin: The Rams had 10 picks this year, unfortunately only one of those picks was inside the top 110 picks. If you consider Brandon Cooks their 1st round pick, you have a guy with 1 year left on his contract, who is about to either disappear or become very expensive about the same time Goff is ready for his big contract extensions. In the 3rd round with pick 89, they draft Joseph Noteboom, the OT from TCU. As much as I want a Texas kid to succeed, Joseph is far too inconsistent for my taste. He doesn't play to his size, he struggles against power, he flashes great technique, but doesn't always use it. If McVay is confident in his OLine coach and Joseph's work ethic to become more aggressive as a blocker and more consistent as a technician, he can become a very good OT, but that's a tall order for anyone. After that, Brian Allen had pretty low grades by moat of us "experts", Lance Zierlein even had him as a 7th rounder. That said, I love his aggressiveness as a run blocker. He drives his feet and plays with power. He had a really good work ethic and should get better. He struggles in space, he's not the best mover and could struggle early in pass protection. Behind him, there's not very much to mention, the Rams have been very aggressive in the off-season, but they seemed to have lost that aggressiveness. By staying put and taking 10 guys in the later rounds of the draft, they missed out on adding anyone who will make a meaningful contribution to their team in 2018. I think the Rams know that they can't keep half of the guys they've added this off-season and are banking on having some of these late round guys groom into starters by 2019. Unfortunately, day 3 picks simply can't be counted on to start, just by giving them a learning year. Most of these guys will be lucky to make the team. Grade D
Seattle Seahawks
Rashaad Penny, RB, 27th Overall
Rasheem Green, DE, 79th Overall
Will Dissly, TE, 120th Overall
Shaquem Griffin, OLB, 141st Overall
Trey Flowers, S, 146th Overall
Michael Dickson, P, 149th Overall
Jamarco Jones, OT, 168th Overall
Jake Martin, EDGE, 186th Overall
Alex Mcgough, QB, 220th Overall
Chris: I'm Going start off with the things I really like from this draft from Seattle. Shaq Griffin will be an excellent fit with his brother on the Seahawks and the team will more than likely give him the best possible chance to succeed. Flowers should be a steal, as should Green, they could both end up with great playing time early in their rookie can't support a draft that overdrafts players, ignores it's biggest needs, and drafts a punter in the 5th round. Grade F
Justin: The Seahawks traded back in the 1st round to select.... RB Rashaad Penny... I have no problem with them trading back, but to pass on Landry, Hughes, and Jackson just didn't make sense. If they felt that the RB position was THAT big of a need, why take Penny? He's my #5 back, behind Sony, Guice, and Jones, all guys that they passed on. Not to mention the heap of offensive line talent, that, whether they know it or not, is actually their biggest need. Russell runs for his life every snap, now I get that he can do that very well, but just think what he could be if he didn't HAVE to. Moving on, DE Rasheem Green in the 3rd, to me is by far their best pick, I really like his potential. That said, they ignored the offensive line, taking a tackle in the 5th AFTER taking a PUNTER doesn't count, as well as the cornerback position, drafting a safety not named Minkah and calling him a corner doesn't count. The Seahawks did not help themselves in this draft. Im all for passing on needs for BPA, but they did not take the BPA, and they did not address their needs. Grade D+
San Francisco 49ers
Mike Mcglinchey, T, 9th Overall
Dante Pettis, WR, 44th Overall
Fred Warner, OLB, 70th Overall
Tavarius Moore, S, 95th Overall
Kentavius Street, DE, 128th Overall
D.J Reed, CB, 142nd Overall
Marcell Harris,S, 184th Overall
Jullian Taylor, DT, 223rd Overall
Richie James, WR, 240th Overall
Chris: Man, I love the fact that the 49ers had a plan and committed to it. It was obvious that protecting their Franchise QB, was their top priority with McGlinchey. I'm torn as to how to rate this pick as I'm not a big fan of this tackle class but, it was an obvious need, and they did land the best available. McGlinchey should wind up a starting caliber right tackle and eventually a quality starter on the left. I really like the selection of Pettis and he should immediately be one of their top three players at the position. Warner is a candidate to be the steal of this draft and could end up being an instant starter with the issue's that Rueben Foster has been dealing with as of late. Moore, Street, and Reed could all end up earning playing time this season. B
Justin: I love that the 49ers committed to their new QB early by upgrading their offensive line. I'm a big fan of McGlinchey. He's my #1 offensive tackle and the ONLY offensive tackle in this draft that I think can actually step in and be a good starting OT from day 1. Most guys project to Gaurd, or are considered a project to groom into a Gaurd, no, McGlinchey will come in day 1 and be a very good OT with upside. Dante Pettis is a guy I wrestled with when I made my top 5 receivers, I didn't put him on there, but if I did it the way Mayock does, I would've had him tied for 5th. Trading up for him obviously isn't ideal, but it is well worth it. He's 6'1" and a nightmare with the ball in his hands, he's a very good punt returner and can do a lot of things to keep a defensive coordinates up at night, if he can add about 10 pounds, he'll be a really good receiver in the NFL. The versatile Fred Warner is another guy who came really close to making my top 5. There's a lot of things he offers to a defense. Tavarious Moore brings a a lot of potential to the table, you can simply look at his measurables and get goose bumps, he's 6'2", is explosive and has next level speed. Not sure how he didn't get an invite to the combine, he would've really opened some eyes had he been there. He had a 4.32 40 at his pro day, I don't need to tell you that for a 6'2" safety who is an aggressive tackler, that's rare. Kentavious Street tore his ACL during a pre draft work out and was still drafted in the 4th round even though, he will clearly need a full year or more to recover, that should tell you what kind of player he is. You can go down the list and see that the 49ers added lots of good telent while simultaneously filling positions of need. Grade A-
Arizona Cardinals
Josh Rosen, QB, 10th Overall
Christian Kirk, WR, 47th Overall
Mason Cole, C, 97th Overall
Chase Edmonds, RB, 134th Overall
Chris Cambell, CB, 182nd Overall
Korey Cunningham, OT, 254th Overall
Chris: The Cardinals pulled off a Miracle in Dallas, they were able to move up to select the most Pro-Ready QB in this draft, and only gave up a 3rd and a 5th to do it. That move alone, would get them an A in this draft, as they desperately needed someone with a high ceiling, and was ready to play early with Bradford's chronic injury issue's. With their 2nd pick, they selected a dynamic route runner, with the ability to line up all over the field. Having a player like Larry Fitzgerald, to learn from is a luxury that should help him make an early impact. Cole can probably step in play right away at Center. The Cardinals brass knocked this one way out of the park. Grade A++
Justin: The Cardinals did what I didn't think they would be able to do, they traded away a meager 3rd and 5th round pick to go up and get themselves a franchise QB. No denying that I wasn't a big fan of signing Bradford, but now if he goes down, they have the most NFL ready QB in this draft. Rosen is the best pocket QB in this draft and if he pans out, that will be the only thing anyone remembers about this draft class. After that, they landed some good players that I think will contribute early. Starting with a REALLY good player in Christian Kirk. He will consistently get open and be a top target for Rosen for years to come. Cole should step in and compete to be their starting Center, Edmonds could contribute early, and Campbell should groom into a really nice defensive back. Grade A
