Ranking or grading teams immediately after the NFL draft is never easy. Let's face it -- we are passing out grades and analysis for general managers, coaches, and players when the next wave of rookies haven't even played a NFL game yet. So, obviously, putting together a ranking or grade for draft classes so quickly can be very tricky.
Since I've watched tape and assigned grades to almost all of the prospects that were selected (save a small handful in the late rounds), I have a mathematical starting point for how I think teams fared in this draft. In compiling these rankings, I took into account my personal grades for each player, how teams addressed priority needs and I made adjustments based upon the amount of picks a team had since teams with more picks have more total chances for success. Trades for veteran players were not taken into consideration for these rankings -- we're focused on the 2018 draft hauls here.
I will tell you that I was very surprised with how closely bunched many of these teams were and there seemed to be a relatively small amount of high-end and low-end drafts according to how I structured my overall grading scale. Keep in mind -- teams like the Texans, Rams, and Chiefs were hurt a little bit by not having an early pick.
NOTE: Click through the tabs above to see the rankings for every team.
**Analysis:** Remember that the
Giants dealt away
Jason Pierre-Paul and dealt for
Alec Ogletree, which helped to shape this draft somewhat. They stayed still and added Barkley before selecting a top-notch mauler at guard in Hernandez to fortify the offensive line. Carter is a mega-athlete who flashed his senior year and was a good value in Round 3. While I'm not as high on the Lauletta pick, there are some smart people that believe the fourth-rounder could become a starter in the league.
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**Analysis:** I think the
Cowboys really knocked it out of the ballpark with their draft. Vander Esch could become a future star at linebacker and Williams will help to make the rushing attack elite again as a left guard. Schultz won't be the next
Jason Witten, but he was a safe option on Day 3. Wideouts Gallup and Wilson have a chance to make noise for the
Cowboys and landing Scarbrough in the seventh round is a steal.
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**Analysis:** GM Chris Ballard was looking for pass rushers on defense, speed at the skill positions and enforcers on the offensive line. That's how he drafted. Nelson has generational talent and is wired with toughness that should permeate that offensive line. Leonard is a highly underrated playmaker with range and versatility at linebacker. Turay has huge potential, but needs to unlock it at DE. Hines, Fountain and Cain offered tremendous Day 3 value and potential.
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**Analysis:** One of the reasons that I like the Bucs' draft so much is that they clearly had a vision to make their team tougher and they drafted accordingly. Vea is a potentially dominant interior defender, but I was also a fan of adding strong, aggressive cornerbacks like Davis and Stewart in the second round. On offense, Jones offers a slashing playmaker at running back and many teams see Watson as a potential fifth-round steal.
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**Analysis:** In his final draft as GM, Ozzie Newsome was very shrewd in moving back and still picking up his target in Hurst. In addition, he had ammunition to move back up into the first round to add Jackson to get the fifth-year option that's only available for first-round picks. Brown and Andrews are productive options he didn't have to reach for. Sieler is going to surprise people.
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**Analysis:** I like what Cleveland did, but I didn't
*love* it. Obviously, anytime you pass on the top-rated players for a need position like QB it can come back to haunt you, but when you do it again for an undersized (but talented) cornerback in Ward, it opens you up for second guessing. Corbett and Chubb are solid ballers. The upsides of Callaway and Ratley have me excited.
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**Analysis:** I mean ... they got Chubb with the fifth pick. That's
*huge*. They didn't trade the pick -- they stayed still and took an elite defender. I give them credit for that. While I might not see Sutton or Hamilton reaching the heights of
Demaryius Thomas or
Emmanuel Sanders, they can step into those roles at some point. Freeman could take on a starter's workload in 2018.
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**Analysis:** The
Bears added a potential future Pro Bowler in Smith and nabbed the top-rated center in this draft (on my board) in the second round in Daniels. Several teams had their sights set on the gritty Miller, and the
Bears likely broke those clubs' collective hearts when they jumped up to get him. They grabbed upside guys the rest of the way.
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Follow Lance Zierlein on Twitter @LanceZierlein.
