rad Page 18 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
Grading the Commanders' Draft
Grade: A-,Best Pick: Josh Conerly Jr., No. 29 Overall,What We Liked: Great players all the way down. Conerly's explosive movement skills should make him a great fit for move-blocking and keeping a clean pocket for Jayden Daniels whether he chooses to scramble or not. Trey Amos deserved to be taken i...
Grading the Giants' Draft
Grade: C-,Best Pick: EDGE Abdul Carter, No. 3 Overall,What we liked: Carter is a great player. Pairing him with Brian Burns will turn a middling edge rusher unit into a force to be reckoned with. Focusing on the defensive trenches was a good decision for the Giants, who despite having lots of talent...
Grading the Vikings' Draft
Grade: B+,Best Pick: WR Tai Felton, No. 102 Overall,What We Liked: Felton should come in as a great WR3 to give J.J. McCarthy a really easy time finding open receivers. The two early picks put their new quarterback (coming off an injury last year) in a good space to continue the trajectory that Sam ...
Grading the Broncos' draft
Grade: C,Best Pick: CB Jahdae Barron, No. 20 Overall,What We Liked: Barron is a stud. His extreme versatility along with high-end tackling skills and coverage ability should make him a cornerstone of that defense for a while. In an era that's shifting more toward the idea of "positionless football,"...
Grading the Patriots' Draft
Grade: A+,Best Pick: C Jared Wilson, No. 95 Overall,What We Liked: Lots of rock-solid picks building in Mike Vrabel's first year as the head coach. The offensive line is molding into more of a unit than a series of disparate parts, the Patriots have a new running back in TreVeyon Henderson who can h...
Grading the Buccaneers' draft
Tampa Bay Buccaneers,Grade: A-,Best Pick: CB Jacob Parrish, No. 84 Overall,What We Liked: The Buccaneers are really ready to fix what didn't work for them last year, investing heavily in a barren cornerback room and new edge rotational players. Cornerback Benjamin Morrison (No. 53) and Parrish could...
Grading the Chiefs' Draft
Grade: A-,Best Pick: WR Jalen Royals, No. 133 Overall,What We Liked: The Chiefs managed to solve their offensive tackle problem thanks to the fall of Josh Simmons, which feels reminiscent of the Trey Smith pick from 2021. As usual, the Chiefs are playing to consensus, picking up talented fallers suc...
Grading the 49ers' draft
San Francisco 49ers: ,Grade: C,Best Pick: LB Nick Martin, No. 75 Overall,What We Liked: Coach Kyle Shanahan found some very good value outside of the first round. Martin was vastly underrated after getting injured early in the season, but he should bring sideline-to-sideline range that he couples wi...
Grading the Cowboys' Draft
Grade: C+,Best Pick: CB Shavon Ravel Jr., No. 76 Overall,What We Liked: The Ravel pick was impressive value for the spot. The once-incredible Cowboys cornerback room took a major step back and Ravel should be able to make it afloat again. Tyler Booker is a really good player who fits with the scheme...
Grading the Browns' Draft
Grade: B,Best Pick: Harold Fannin Jr., No. 67 Overall,What We Liked: Lots of talented guys made their way onto the Browns roster through this class. It's a very productive group that isn't lacking in potential. Mason Graham plays with a furor that should scare opponents, the new RB duo of Quinshon J...
Grading the Jets' draft
New York Jets,Grade: B,Best Pick: OT Armand Membou, No. 7 Overall,What We Liked: The Jets hit home runs with their first three selections. Membou can bring his athleticism to an offensive line that really needed only one more piece and create a rushing powerhouse for quarterback Justin Fields and ru...
Grading the Saints' draft
New Orleans Saints,Grade: D,Best Pick: OT Kelvin Banks, No. 9 Overall,What We Liked: Banks is a good tackle who fits the mauling mold the Saints seem to look for. He feels a lot like Trevor Penning, but with more experience facing NFL talent and less frenzy. Jonas Sanker (No. 93) can fill a safety s...
Grading the Seahawks' Draft
Grade: A-,Best Pick: S Nick Emmanwori, No. 35 Overall,What We Liked: Lots of jumping on the fallers, a strategy that will always get my approval. Emmanwori and Elijah Arroyo specifically feel like players who fell more based on happenstance than actual inferior play. I like this as a landing spot fo...
Grading the Bears' Draft
Grade: A-,Best Pick: OT Ozzy Trapilo, No. 56 Overall,What We Liked: The Bears kept a good balance of need and overall player value for much of the draft. Starting off with Colston Loveland was a welcome surprise, as much of the buzz was around the inferior (sorry) Tyler Warren. Continuing to support...
Grading the Rams' draft
Los Angeles Rams,Grade: D+,Best Pick: LB Chris Paul Jr., No. 172 Overall,What We Liked: Really great pick for Paul, who projects as an early starter and is adept in pass coverage. That's an absolute steal deep into day three. Jarquez Hunter profiles as lightning to Kyren Williams' rumbling thunder. ...
Grading the Eagles' draft
Philadelphia Eagles,Grade: B+,Best Pick: LB Jihaad Campbell, No. 31 Overall,What We Liked: Days one and two felt like a coup. Letting the Eagles get a weapon like Campbell in their second level, and maybe even get some reps on edge, feels like we're asking them to run back a second Super Bowl in a r...
Grading the Raiders' Draft
Grade: A+,Best Pick: RB Ashton Jeanty, No. 6 Overall,What We Liked: The Raiders got a blue-chip guy at six, hard to argue with that. Jeanty is a big-time impact player for a team that never really had an offense that chugged. However, one great pick does not make an A+ draft class. The Raiders knock...
Grading the Dolphins' Draft
Grade: C,Best Pick: DT Kenneth Grant, No. 13 Overall,What We Liked: Effort was made to replace the big-time players who have left Miami for greener pastures. Kenneth Grant is clearly meant to be the next force up the middle similar to how Christian Wilkins operated for the Fins, and Dante Trader Jr....
Grading the Chargers' Draft
Grade: B,Best Pick: WR Tre Harris, No. 55 Overall,What We Liked: The Chargers picked up lots of talented players. The Omario Hampton pick should help the Chargers offense play more toward Harbaugh's strengths as a coordinator who loves to pound the rock. Tre Harris helps build out a wide receiver ro...
Grading the Steelers' draft
Pittsburgh Steelers,Grade: C- ,Best Pick: DT Derrick Harmon, No. 21 overall,What We Liked: Lots of big, strong men in this draft. Harmon and Yahya Black (No. 164) shore up the defensive tackle room, giving quick fixes to one-tech and three-tech, hopefully opening up edge rusher T.J. Watt and linebac...