NFL Draft Grades: Jacksonville Jaguars, Washington Redskins Impress Draft Analysts
INFL draft grades are in for the first three rounds of the 2016 NFL Draft. Most NFL analysts are stating that the Jacksonville Jaguars and Dallas Cowboys came away as big winners during the first two days of selections. A report from Sports Illustrated gave the Jaguars an A+ for selecting Florida State defensive back Jalen Ramsey with the No. 5 selection. SI also gave the New Orleans Saints an A+ for picking Louisville defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins at No. 12.
Other impressive grades from SI included an A+ to the Washington Redskins for taking TCU receiver Josh Doctson at No. 22 and an A to the Carolina Panthers for taking Louisiana Tech defensive tackle Vernon Butler at No. 30. On the other side of those grades, the Seattle Seahawks got a C for selecting Texas A&M offensive tackle Germain Ifedi at No. 31. The Oakland Raiders got a C for taking West Virginia safety Karl Joseph at No. 14, the Atlanta Falcons got a C for taking Florida safety Keanu Neal at No. 17, and the Pittsburgh Steelers got a C for taking Miami cornerback Artie Burns at No. 25.
The 2016 NFL Draft grades were very low for the San Diego Chargers selecting Ohio State defensive end Joey Bosa with the No. 3 overall selection. Sports Illustrated gave the Chargers a D, Yahoo! Sports gave the Chargers a C+, USA Today went with a C, and NFL.comgave San Diego a B. The grades were mixed, but NFL analyst Chad Reuter stated that, “No matter what anyone says, Bosa is an explosive pass rusher who deserved to be picked here.”
The analysts at NFL.com released grades for each day of the draft, as well as a combined grade through the first three rounds. It gives some insight into the picks that have been made thus far and which teams are getting the most out of their respective selections. It takes into account teams getting great value from a pick as well as selecting a player that works well in the system that a franchise has already established. Below is a chart with the combined grade that each team was given through the first three rounds.Full NFL Draft Grades For Rounds 1-3
Arizona Cardinals: B
Atlanta Falcons: A
Baltimore Ravens: A-
Buffalo Bills: A-
Carolina Panthers: C-
Chicago Bears: B
Cincinnati Bengals: C
Cleveland Browns: A-
Dallas Cowboys: B+
Denver Broncos: B+
Detroit Lions: B
Green Bay Packers: B
Houston Texans: B
Indianapolis Colts: A
Jacksonville Jaguars: A
Kansas City Chiefs: A
Los Angeles Rams: B
Miami Dolphins: C
Minnesota Vikings: A
New England Patriots: B
New Orleans Saints: A-
New York Giants: B
New York Jets: A-
Oakland Raiders: B+
Philadelphia Eagles: C
Pittsburgh Steelers: A-
San Diego Chargers: B+
San Francisco 49ers: B+
Seattle Seahawks: A
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: B
Tennessee Titans: A
Washington Redskins: A
The last four rounds of the 2016 NFL Draft will take place on Saturday, April 30. The NFL Draft schedule switches to an earlier time on Saturday, with coverage beginning at 12 p.m. ET on ESPN, the NFL Network, and through the online apps. For rounds four through six, teams will be given five minutes for each pick, and then in round seven, teams will get just four minutes per pick. The NFL Draft grades are likely to shift again following the final pick of the seventh round, giving fans plenty of time to predict which franchise is going to “win” the 2016 draft.
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