| Having found the perpetrators of the QB SHEDEUR SANDERS prank call and leveled large fines against the call’s unwitting collaborators (the Falcons and DC Jeff Ulbrich), it will be interesting to see if NFL Justice devotes its resources to tracking down those who made all the other prank calls that are surfacing. ESPN.com: New York Giants rookie pass rusher Abdul Carter also received a prank call during the NFL draft, agent Drew Rosenhaus told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Wednesday.The call came Thursday night when the Jacksonville Jaguars were on the clock after acquiring the No. 2 pick from the Cleveland Browns in a blockbuster trade. The caller said he was from the Jaguars and told Carter they were going to select him second overall.“It’s unfortunate that these private numbers are getting to the people making the prank calls,” Rosenhaus told Schefter. “Abdul and I knew it was B.S. and didn’t even tell his family about the call.”The Jaguars, of course, selected Travis Hunter with their pick, then Carter was picked at No. 3 by the Giants.The NFL fined the Atlanta Falcons $250,000 and defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich $100,000 on Wednesday after Ulbrich’s son made a prank call to now-Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders during the NFL draft.The NFL still is looking into the other prank calls made to players during the draft, but it said they are unrelated to the call made to Sanders.Other players who received prank calls during the draft include the Browns’ Mason Graham, the Indianapolis Colts’ Tyler Warren, the Philadelphia Eagles’ Kyle McCord and the Buffalo Bills’ Chase Lundt. Ulbrich took to the stage in Atlanta to denounce his son. @TheAthleticAtlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich spoke publicly for the first time about his son prank-calling Shedeur Sanders during the draft.“My son’s actions were absolutely inexcusable.” More from Marc Raimondi of ESPN.com: Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich has broken his silence after his son, Jax, conducted a prank call to Shedeur Sanders this weekend, tricking him into believing he was being drafted by the New Orleans Saints.“Obviously not happy, and shocked,” Ulbrich told the media on Wednesday of his reaction to finding out it was his son who was responsible for the viral call. “So I made the Falcons aware of the situation and our next course of action was to try to get ahold of the Sanders family so we could apologize in person, which we were able to do.” Just to be clear – the Falcons were fined for no reason other than that Jeff Ulrich is their employee and that his son peaked at an NFL email directly to his father. An email with SHEDEUR SANDERS NEW PHONE NUMBER all over the headline. And, of course, all Ulrich did was leave the email on the screen of his IPad. Mike Florio: In the aftermath of the NFL’s decision to fine the Falcons $250,000 and defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich $100,000 “for failing to prevent the disclosure of confidential information distributed to the club in advance of the NFL Draft,” the NFL has created the impression that the Falcons, not the league, gave Shedeur Sanders’s phone number to Ulbrich.That is not what occurred.The league sent the information directly to Ulbrich. Here’s what happened.The process began with the league sending a memo on Wednesday, April 23, to all General Managers, head coaches, player personnel directors, and club IT directors with a list of 45 player phone numbers: 16 who were personally attending the draft, 24 (including Sanders) who were participating virtually, and five who were part of the 2025 International Player Pathway Program and who would be in Green Bay for the draft. The memo was marked “Confidential” at the top.If that was the final communication that contained Sanders’s number, the notion that the Falcons created the problem by sharing the information with Ulbrich would hold water. However, the NFL sent a separate email after the “confidential” memo was distributed. The email was, for some reason, sent to all of the recipients of the NFL’s daily transaction report. That group includes all coaches and assistant coaches.In other words, the NFL sent the email to Ulbrich. PFT has obtained the email. It does not use the word “confidential.”The email, sent on April 23 to “All Waivers [NFL League]” said this: “Sheadeur [sic] Sanders has informed the NFL Player Personnel Department that he has a new cell phone number beginning today.” The email then identifies the new number.Given that Ulbrich’s son reached Sanders, common sense says he used (wait for it) the new number. Which makes sense, since Ulbrich got the email that included one, and only one, number — the new number for Shedeur Sanders.So, basically, ignore any effort by the NFL to spread the word via captive and/or favorable reporters that the Falcons deserve the blame for choosing to share confidential information with Ulbrich. Ulbrich got it straight from the league, thanks to the email that was sent to far more people than those that needed to know it. And this surprising statement from Jemele Hill: @jemelehillMy general position has been that Shedeur Sanders wasn’t drafted higher because the NFL, right or wrong, did not see him as a franchise/starting QB. Had nothing to do with racism or collusion. |
| NFC EAST |
| PHILADELPHIAThe Eagles have declined the 5th year option on G KENYON GREEN, originally a selection of the Texans. Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com: The Eagles only made one first-round pick in 2022, but they wound up with three decisions to make about fifth-year options this offseason.Defensive tackle Jordan Davis was the player they picked and they later made trades for wide receiver Jahan Dotson and guard Kenyon Green. We learned this week that Davis had his option exercised, but neither of the other players are in the same position.Word of the Dotson decision came last week and NFL Media reports on Thursday that Green’s option will be declined as well. The option would have guaranteed Green $16.685 million.Green was acquired in March in a trade with the Texans that sent safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson to Houston. He missed the 2023 season with a shoulder injury and missed time with injury last season as well. He has started 23 games when healthy, but ended last season on the bench and that makes the Eagles’ decision a fairly unsurprising one. |
| NFC SOUTH |
| TAMPA BAYJason Licht on why the Buccaneers went with WR EMEKA EGBUKA. Mike Florio ofProFootballTalk.com: Buccaneers G.M. Jason Licht has been making the media rounds in the aftermath of the draft. Appearing with Rich Eisen, Licht made a fairly significant disclosure about Tampa Bay’s first-round pick, Ohio State receiver Emeka Egbuka.“He was super-high on our board,” Licht said of Egbuka, via JoeBucsFan.com. “You know, top-10 on our board, kind of stood out like a sore thumb.”The Buccaneers got Egbuka with the 19th overall pick. He gives them short-term insurance as receiver Chris Godwin continues to recover from a serious leg injury, and a long-term replacement for Godwin or veteran receiver Mike Evans.Evans was the seventh overall pick in the 2014 draft. Godwin arrived in Tampa with a third-round in 2017. |
| NFC WEST |
| ARIZONAJosh Weinfuss of ESPN.com on the Cardinals defensive-oriented draft: When the Arizona Cardinals went on the clock in the sixth round of the NFL draft on Saturday with the 211th pick, their previous five picks had all been defensive players.Despite picking Texas offensive lineman Hayden Conner, general manager Monti Ossenfort went right back to defense in the seventh round for the Cardinals’ final selection of this year’s draft, giving the Cardinals six of seven picks on the defensive side of the ball. When Ossenfort had a moment to breathe on Saturday evening and looked back at this year’s haul, he said the Cardinals didn’t skew heavily toward defense on purpose.“Really, it’s just how it worked out,” he said. “It wasn’t the plan at all. It’s one of those things where we stick to the philosophy of staying true to our board. I certainly would’ve loved to add some people on offense but just the way it worked out.“We were always going to take the guy who was higher on our board and it just so happened that six of seven guys were on defense. Who knows in the next draft, how that’ll go, but this draft just leaned towards defense.”While Arizona’s offensive needs — wide receiver and right tackle — were left untouched, the Cardinals addressed holes on defense with players who have the potential to make instant impacts, starting with first-round pick Walter Nolen. Ossenfort said the defensive tackle’s ability to disrupt led to his selection with the No. 16 pick over other potential first-rounders.It was a topic Ossenfort said was discussed at length internally.“We wanted to have a more disruptive defensive unit,” he said. “We think we’ve added guys that can help us do that.”Ossenfort said there was “no question” the Cardinals wanted to upgrade their defensive front this offseason. And that’s what they did, both through free agency with the additions of edge rusher Josh Sweat, and defensive tackles Dalvin Tomlinson and Calais Campbell; and through the draft with Nolen, pass rusher Jordan Burch and linebacker Cody Simon. That’s on top of the players returning who “have really high ceilings,” coach Jonathan Gannon said.In the past, Arizona has discussed moving away from its philosophy of sticking with its board in favor of taking a specific position, Ossenfort said. But, he added, it’s hard to go wrong taking the player the team had valued higher.That led to Arizona stocking up its defensive front and adding two more cornerbacks to an already deep room.Heading into OTAs and minicamp, the Cardinals have eight edge rushers on the roster — and nine if Mack Wilson Sr., who’s traditionally inside but has played off the edge at times, is counted — with the addition of Burch.With Sweat already penciled in as a starter on one side, there’ll be a summer-long battle between the other seven to find snaps. But don’t tell Ossenfort that the Cardinals have an overabundance of edge rushers.“The next time I hear somebody say we have too many edge rushers, it’ll be the first time,” he said. “That’s a good problem to have. The more the merrier here. We’re excited to put those guys all in the room, let them loose and see what we can do.”Ossenfort also created a log jam at cornerback by adding second-round pick Will Johnson and fifth-round pick Denzel Burke, the 11th and 12th corners on the roster, respectively. Arizona has now picked five corners in the last two drafts.With all four corners who started last season on the roster, Arizona will be forced to decide at some point during training camp: stick with the same unit as last year or insert another player into a starting slot.“I think there’s a lot of competition there, as well,” Ossenfort said. “We added a bunch of guys last year in last year’s draft, we added the guys this year. I think that’s going to be a really highly competitive group.“We talk about it all the time: You can never have enough corners that can run and cover and take the ball away. It’s a passing league, there’s always going to be stress on those guys. I think that competition is really going to shake out and then whoever can rise to the top of that’s going to put us in a good situation.” |
| SAN FRANCISCOLike the Cardinals, the 49ers went all in on defense in the draft which Nick Wagoner ofESPN.com traces to the influence of returning DC Robert Saleh: Over the course of the three-day NFL draft, five of the San Francisco 49ers’ key decision makers reflected on their choices in news conference settings.Coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch did a daily debrief while directors of player personnel Tariq Ahmad and RJ Gillen and director of scouting Josh Williams recapped the draft when it was done. Absent from that group, however, might have been the man who had the greatest influence on the team’s haul: defensive coordinator Robert Saleh.For evidence, one need only to take a look at the list of players the 49ers selected. For the first time since 1981, the team spent its first five picks on defenders. It added one more in the fifth round to bring the total to six — and there’s a real chance all will start or play key roles right away.It was the culmination of a collaborative process that began on the first day Saleh returned to the building in January.“It was right when we hired him,” Gillen said. “When he came in, he sat down with us and he kind of talked about how he’s evolved and his time away from here and he also heard from us how we’ve evolved and how we see players, how he sees players. And then we came together and took a consensus in terms of the plan and type of players and skill sets and fits moving forward.”The 49ers were always going to need to devote significant draft resources to the defense. That reality set in during the early days of free agency in March when San Francisco said goodbye to starting cornerback Charvarius Ward, safety Talanoa Hufanga, linebacker Dre Greenlaw, defensive tackles Javon Hargrave and Maliek Collins and end Leonard Floyd.When the Niners didn’t answer those departures with more than bargain priced additions, it became clear that they were going to need to use the draft to find replacements. But a closer inspection of the players the Niners drafted revealed plenty of direct ties to Saleh and his previous stint running the defense.After the team selected Western Kentucky slot cornerback Upton Stout with the 100th pick in the draft Friday night, Shanahan and Lynch were asked if Stout reminded them of former Niners cornerback K’Waun Williams. Williams was one of the first free-agent additions under Saleh and one of his favorite players because his toughness far exceeded his 5-foot-9, 185-pound frame. Without missing a beat, Shanahan and Lynch instantly responded with a resounding “yes.”A similar situation played out on Saturday after they used a fourth-round pick on Indiana defensive tackle CJ West, who they agreed bore a striking resemblance to former Niners defensive tackle D.J. Jones.It’s not a coincidence that Williams and Jones were brought in by Saleh, filled specific roles on some of his best defenses in San Francisco and became prototypes for what he would seek in his return to the Bay.“We’ve been here nine years and Saleh was first to come with us,” Shanahan said. “We’ve changed coaches a few times. But our system, not just schematically, but the way we do the draft, that doesn’t change. … We’ve been doing this for nine years together and having a new coordinator that’s not a new coordinator because he’s been here in the past kind of made it a very smooth, easy deal for us.”Indeed, Saleh’s impact on the draft and what the 49ers were looking for came to life in more practical ways than simply player comparisons. The Niners used four of their first five picks on front-7 defenders they hope can improve a run defense that was regularly gashed in 2024. Under coordinator Nick Sorensen in 2024, the 49ers were 17th in the NFL in yards per carry allowed (4.4) and 28th in expected points added on defensive rush plays (minus-2.38). That contributed to a dip in pass rush productivity as they tied for 23rd in sacks (37) and were 15th in pass rush win rate (41.2%).One of Saleh’s primary coaching points has always been that his defenses have to earn the right to rush the passer by first stopping the run. In Saleh’s first four seasons in San Francisco, the 49ers were sixth in the NFL in yards per carry allowed (4.1) and third in EPA on defensive rush plays (132.29).Which explains why the Niners’ top picks were made with an eye toward returning to the days of shutdown run defense. Lynch called first-round defensive end Mykel Williams “the best edge setter in the draft,” a trait he said before the draft was a top priority when evaluating defensive ends. |
| AFC WEST |
| DENVERA tragedy in the Denver athletic community with legendary John Elway involved has come to light. The AP: Jeff Sperbeck, a business partner and former agent for NFL Hall of Famer John Elway, died Wednesday after suffering an injury last weekend at a Southern California golf resort community. He was 62.No cause of death was released, but the Riverside County coroner’s office said Sperbeck was injured Saturday and the address listed for the incident belongs to The Madison Club in La Quinta.The Riverside County Fire Department said the agency was called to that location on Saturday after someone fell out of a golf cart. The person, who wasn’t identified, was taken to a trauma center, said department spokesperson Maggie Cline De La Rosa.The sheriff’s department said it is investigating the golf cart incident.Elway was at the scene of the crash, witness Ali Simon told KESQ-TV of Palm Springs. Simon said she did not see the accident occur but saw a man lying on the ground surrounded by people and Elway on the phone.“I am absolutely devastated and heartbroken by the passing of my close friend, business partner and agent Jeff Sperbeck,” Elway said in a statement Wednesday. “There are no words to truly express the profound sadness I feel with the sudden loss of someone who has meant so much to me. My heart and deepest sympathies go out to Jeff’s wife, Cori; his children Carly, Sam and Jackson; and everyone who knew and loved him. Jeff will be deeply missed for the loyalty, wisdom, friendship and love he brought into my life and the lives of so many others.”Elway’s statement did not address his presence at the scene.Sperbeck began managing Elway in 1990, when Elway was quarterback for the Denver Broncos. He represented more than 100 NFL players during a three-decade career as an agent and business adviser.He was best known as Elway’s longtime friend, business partner and agent who helped manage the Hall of Famer’s extensive off-field business empire, which included restaurants, car dealerships and a winery. A deeper look from TMZ.com: NFL legend John Elway was right in the middle of the golf cart accident that left his longtime friend on life support, and he might have been driving … TMZ Sports has learned.Law enforcement and other sources tell us Elway was on the golf cart Saturday evening in La Quinta, California when Jeff Sperbeck — John’s business partner and former agent — fell off the back of the moving vehicle, rolled and hit his head on asphalt … suffering a traumatic injury.John, Jeff and their wives had been at the Stagecoach music festival earlier in the day in nearby Indio, and were leaving a post-party when the accident happened.We’re told John is the one who made the call to 911 immediately after the accident … and when paramedics arrived, Jeff was unconscious but still breathing. The 61-year-old was transported to Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs.Now, multiple sources tell us John was actually driving the golf cart, however, we have not been able to confirm that with Elway. There’s no indication he did anything wrong.No one else was injured in the accident — which happened on the grounds of a private golf community — and we’re told cops did not respond to the scene. So, as we piece one possibility together we might have four people and a two-seat golf cart. Elway and the wives crowd into the seat and Sperbeck volunteers to hang on to the back and then takes a tumble. |
| AFC NORTH |
| BALTIMOREThe Ravens are so good they can decline the fifth year option on a two-time Pro Bowler. Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com:The Baltimore Ravens declined the fifth-year option on Tyler Linderbaum on Wednesday, but they intend to retain the two-time Pro Bowl center.The decision to not pick up Linderbaum’s option is based on the unusually high financial commitment and not performance. Linderbaum’s fifth-year option would have been $23.4 million in 2026, which would have been $5.4 million more than the NFL’s highest-paid center in terms of average per year.Linderbaum, 25, has quickly become one of the NFL’s best centers as well as one of Baltimore’s top leaders. He is now entering the final year of his rookie contract and can become an unrestricted free agent in March if the Ravens don’t sign him to a contract extension.“It is our intention for him to remain a Raven long term,” Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said in a statement.The fifth-year options in the NFL are the same for all offensive linemen even though the compensation between the positions on the line are usually different. The highest-paid center is Kansas City’s Creed Humphrey at $18 million, which is significantly less than the highest-paid left tackle (Tampa Bay’s Tristan Wirfs at $28.1 million).On the first day of the Ravens’ offseason conditioning program, Linderbaum said he had not yet had any conversations with Baltimore about a contract extension.“Honestly, I’m really not even focused on that right now,” Linderbaum said on April 21. “I’m giving my all to the team right now, and that’s my focus, and that’s how it should be.”The Ravens also announced they are exercising the fifth-year option for Pro Bowl safety Kyle Hamilton. He will make $18.6 million in 2026.DeCosta said in the statement that the Ravens picked up Hamilton’s option “with the goal of working toward a multi-year contract extension.”Baltimore selected Hamilton and Linderbaum in the first round in 2022. The Ravens drafted Hamilton at No. 14 and then chose Linderbaum with the No. 25 pick, which was acquired in a trade with the Arizona Cardinals for wide receiver Hollywood Brown. |
| AFC EAST |
| BUFFALOGM Brandon Beane likes RB JAMES COOK, but not as much as James Cook likes James Cook. Bills General Manager Brandon Beane said this week that the team wants to have running back James Cook on the team beyond the 2025 season, but making that happen will require the use of a franchise tag or an agreement on a long-term contract.Cook made his desired salary of $15 million a year known early in the offseason and Beane said in March that he didn’t see a deal coming together anytime soon, so it wasn’t surprising to learn that Cook is not taking part in the voluntary portion of the team’s offseason program. During an interview with Tyler Dunne of Go Long, Beane said he isn’t concerned about Cook’s absence because he’s confident that the running back knows what he needs to do in 2025 in order to get the kind of contract he wants.“You’d love for everyone to be here,” Beane said. “Who wouldn’t? You’d love them to be around and start forming that bond. But James is working. I know he’s down there training in South Florida. He’s working. First of all, he’s competitive. And sure, everyone wants to get paid and he knows he’s got to still show he’s James Cook — the guy we saw — if he wants to get that pay day. Either from us or someone else. That’s any player that doesn’t currently have their contract extensions yet.”Beane said “there’s very few” running backs on the tier of Saquon Barkley, Christian McCaffrey, and Derrick Henry when asked about his view on big investments in running backs in general. Cook’s target suggests he feels he is in that tier after 2,834 yards from scrimmage and 24 touchdowns over the last two seasons. Beane’s comments suggest that the third time will have to be the charm. |
| THIS AND THAT |
| 2025 DRAFTUsing his superior analytic skills, Austin Mock of The Athletic dispassionately grades the drafts:You can read more about our process at the bottom, but here’s the brief synopsis:First, we assigned a dollar value to each draft slot. Think about the rookie wage scale for each draft pick. For the 2025 class, the first pick has a total contract value of almost $49 million, while the 32nd pick has a value of just under $15 million. The 100th pick? About $6 million. And so on. Our trade analysis accounted for the value gained or added based on the picks traded.The next step is grading the actual player picked, which we’ll do by comparing their draft slot to where he finished on our consensus big board. So, if a player is drafted higher than his consensus board placement, that’s considered a “reach” and a loss of value.Finally, there is the positional adjustment. To calculate which positions hold the most value, we took the current top-10 salaries for the position determined by the NFL free agency market to quantify how each position is valued compared to the league average. For example, edge rushers have a top-10 average annual value of $27 million, whereas running backs come in at $12 million. This is the league telling us which positions it values most. We can apply that adjustment to each pick’s value. For example, an edge rusher drafted at No. 3 has considerably more value than a running back would have if picked in the same spot.Lastly, before we get to the grades, remember this is a relative grading scale. Not all teams can be winners. Browns A+ Giants A+ Titans A Panthers A Falcons A Packers A- Buccaneers A- Cardinals B+ Steelers B Patriots B Chiefs B Bears B- Cowboys B- Ravens C+ Commanders C Eagles C Seahawks C Texans C Colts C- 49ers D+ Bills D Jets D Raiders D Rams D Bengals D- Broncos D- Chargers D- Vikings D- Dolphins F Jaguars F Saints F Lions F Mock explains why the top five drafts were WINNERS: WinnersCleveland BrownsThe Browns made the biggest trade of the draft and came away from it huge winners, according to our formula. How big? The value added in that trade, which included securing an extra second-round pick and Jacksonville’s 2026 first-rounder, is equal to the 10th pick. Now, reaching for quarterback Dillon Gabriel in the third round while drafting Shedeur Sanders in the fifth round knocked down their value in terms of the actual players drafted. But the deal with Jacksonville, paired with drafting Mason Graham with the No. 5 pick, has Cleveland firmly in the top spot.New York GiantsAs mentioned above, owning more valuable picks is a sure-fire way to produce the best draft results, and the Giants didn’t disappoint. What’s interesting here is that they lost the equivalent of a fringe first-round pick by trading back into the first round for quarterback Jaxson Dart. He was a reach from a consensus standpoint, but similarly to Ward, the upside of drafting a potential QB1 is immense.Tennessee TitansWard was technically a “reach” by our consensus board, but the value upside of drafting a quarterback with the No. 1 pick is tremendous. Outside of Ward, the Titans selected premium position players with four of their first six picks, and the two picks that weren’t at premium positions — safety Kevin Winston Jr. and tight end Gunnar Helm — were viewed as “steals” on the consensus board.Carolina PanthersThe Panthers picked three of the first 77 players drafted, and they went after premium positions with all three. Furthermore, the Panthers almost exclusively took players who rated higher on the consensus board, gaining value at each spot.Atlanta FalconsThe Falcons had a top-five draft? Really? I don’t necessarily agree with it, but I understand how we got there. So, our formula saw their controversial trade back into the first round for James Pearce Jr. as giving up the equivalent of a late first-rounder. That’s not great, but they managed to overcome it overall.It starts with their selection of Jalon Walker, who plays a premium position and was drafted below consensus. Pearce also plays a premium position, so that helped the Falcons’ cause. Still, I can’t get over how “same-y” they appear to be, with each playing the same position and weighing less than 250 pounds. I have concerns about how those players will fit together into the same scheme outside of passing situations. And the five LOSERS! LosersDetroit LionsIt’s fair to question whether I should doubt the Lions’ draft strategy after the run they’ve been on the past few years, but out of their seven picks, four were considered reaches by our consensus board, including all three in the top 70. They also lost quite a bit of value in the trade market, highlighted by their big move up for board for wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa. They lost the fourth-most value in trades during the draft, and the three teams below them either gained a first-rounder or had the chance to draft Travis Hunter. The players may wind up being good fits, but I still think this was bad process.New Orleans SaintsTeams that avoid “reaches” on the consensus board put themselves in a much better position to succeed in the long term. The Saints reached on their first four picks, with two of those coming at non-premium positions, including ninth overall pick Kelvin Banks Jr, who we are grading as a guard even though New Orleans is going to try him at tackle first. If second-round quarterback Tyler Shough hits, however, we can ignore this. But the rest of the draft class’ potential brings down the positional upside of drafting a quarterback.Jacksonville JaguarsWell, if the Browns were the biggest winners, almost solely based on the return from their trade with the Jaguars, then it’s no surprise to see Jacksonville down here. Sure, Travis Hunter might be a unicorn, and maybe he blossoms into a generational player, but this is a steep price to pay for someone who’s never played an NFL snap, especially one who doesn’t play quarterback. The Jaguars tried to make up for it a bit, however, by making additional trades to recoup some draft capital.Miami DolphinsMiami only made two selections in the first 142 picks, so again, it isn’t shocking to see the Dolphins down here. And according to the consensus board, they reached for the players they took at Nos. 13 and 37. Now, I think the consensus was criminally low on Kenneth Grant, but the pick that doomed them was “reaching” for interior offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea with the 37th pick. Ideally, teams should stay away from reaching for players at non-premium positions.Minnesota VikingsThe Vikings entered the draft with the fewest picks in the league — and ended up only making one top-100 pick — so it’s not shocking they ended up as a loser. Still, they didn’t make the most of the picks they did have. Their first three picks were all “reaches” by the consensus board, and their first-round selection wasn’t at a premium position, though at least it was for an interior offensive lineman, which was a big need. And these specials: Wait, why are they so high/low?We added this category after seeing how high (or low) other graders were on these three teams.Green Bay PackersI might disagree slightly with the numbers here. The Packers benefited from drafting two wide receivers in the top 100 picks, including their first-round selection. And with so many wide receivers on the roster already, it’s fair to question how much value they’ll gain on the field. However, if a team isn’t satisfied with its current situation, it’s best to keep firing away at premium positions, and that’s what Green Bay did. All eight of the Packers’ picks were at premium positions, which is a big reason they rank so highly here.Seattle SeahawksThere’s been plenty of love for Seattle’s draft, and while I don’t think it was bad, it wasn’t anything special, either. A lot of this grade depends on Nick Emmanwori’s impact on the defense. He’s a safety, but he can do a lot more, so that makes his positional adjustment a little tougher to gauge. Projections go both ways, so as much upside as there is, you have to wonder about how it looks if he doesn’t hit. Pair that pick with an interior offensive lineman in the first round, and the ceiling on this class is capped for Seattle.Los Angeles ChargersAt first glance, the Chargers drafted five players at premium positions, which should have kept them out of the cellar. However, they paired two poor strategies together when it comes to securing long-term value in a draft. First, they picked a running back in the first round; second, they consistently “reached” for players versus the consensus. Yes, RB Omarion Hampton fits the Jim Harbaugh system, but what’s the long-term upside here? The board also saw wide receiver Tre Harris and defensive tackle Jamaree Caldwell as reaches within the top 100. |
