Hackenberg is joining a Jets’ offense with future question marks at QB
How did your team do in the NFL draft? FantasyPros expert Brian Riedmiller has the review on all 32 NFL teams, complete with winners, losers, and draft grades. All teams are graded on an A through F scale, where “C” is average. So what are the grades? Read on to find out!
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Grading the AFC East
Winners: None
Losers: New York Jets, New England Patriots
Buffalo Bills
Immediate Needs – OLB / DE
Long Term Needs – FS
Depth Possibilities – OT / QB
Last season’s defense, which was supposed to be a lot better than it was, will definitely be helped with the first three picks of the Bills all going towards that goal. Defensive end, Shaq Lawson and inside linebacker, Reggie Ragland, should both be solid starters for a long time, while third round pick, Adolphus Washington, though not an overly great value pick, should be a good rotational player. Fourth round pick, Cardale Jones, has a very high ceiling, but also a very low floor. I am a big believer in Tyrod Taylor, so this pick confuses me, but apparently the Bills aren’t sold, or at least aren’t sold on E.J. Manuel as his backup. Cardale Jones just screams EJ 2.0 to me, but that point could be made moot if Taylor plays well this season.
FantasyPros draft grade: C+
New York Jets
Immediate Needs – OT / OG / OLB / KR-PR
Long Term Needs – ILB / QB
Depth Possibilities – NT
The Jets had a whole bunch of needs, and when you compound that by not wanting to pay Ryan Fitzpatrick, the team needs to draft perfectly to address them all. Darron Lee is a good candidate for a playmaking linebacker, but there were other better linebackers in this draft ahead of him. Penn State quarterback, Christian Hackenberg, was selected in the second round, but for his own developmental sake, the Jets should pay Ryan Fitzpatrick for at least one year to allow him to develop. Despite having a few needs on the offensive line, they drafted only one offensive lineman in tackle Brandon Shell, and reached on him at that. In the end, the Jets set themselves up for failure by going into the draft with so many needs. Instead of strengthening a few parts of their team, this draft looks like they threw darts at random positions.
FantasyPros draft grade: D
New England Patriots
Immediate Needs – RB
Long Term Needs – OT / WR
Depth Possibilities – CB / DE
Although the Patriots didn’t draft an immediate need of a running back, Dion Lewis, can definitely handle the load next season. New England has proven they can find capable complimenting backs through waivers. Everybody remembers why they don’t have a first-round pick, but a majority of their other picks on days one and two seemed to disappear as well. Offensive and defensive linemen Joe Thuney and Vincent Valentine both have grades well below their round, and third round quarterback, Jacoby Brissett, also feels like a forced deflate gate pick. Fourth round pick, Malcolm Mitchell, a receiver out of Georgia, isn’t an extraordinary value but also fits the Patriots scheme like a glove and could be a contributor on special teams as well. Past the fourth round, most of the contributors look to be very “Belichick-y” – that is, players who don’t grade great but could play a specific role.
FantasyPros draft grade: C-
Miami Dolphins
Immediate Needs – CB / OG
Long Term Needs – LB
Depth Possibilities – RB / DE
All joking aside, the Dolphins were fortunate enough to land the highest graded player in the draft at nearly halfway through the first round. Tunsil will give Miami good depth on the offensive line. Xavien Howard, in the second round checks off their need for a cornerback, but he’ll need to be coached correctly or it will be a wasted pick. In the latter portion of their draft, they did add a necessary complimentary running back in Kenyan Drake, but the rest of the skill position players, to me, were unnecessary. Leonte Carroo, has the talent and a seemingly cultish following online, but he joins an already talented receiving corps, which makes the pick of him, and receiver, Jakeem Grant, in round six, almost wasted. Seventh round pick, Brandon Doughty, simply doesn’t have the tools to make it.
FantasyPros draft grade: C
Here are Brian’s draft grades for other divisions:
Brian Riedmiller is a fantasy correspondent for FantasyPros.com. He has been playing fantasy football for over a decade, and is an avid Eagles fan. You can catch him on Twitter under the handle @FantasyCouncil.
