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 NFC East
- Winners – Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins
- Losers – Philadelphia Eagles
New York Giants
Immediate Needs – OT / ILB / WR
Long-Term Needs – CB
Depth Possibilities – OG / RB
First-round pick Eli Apple was a reach, to put it very plainly. There were plenty of other good players out there, several the Giants could have very easily picked for need, or they could have traded back and still got Apple. Most of their other picks, although crossing off needs, were obtained with fine to good value. Receiver Sterling Shepard, a second-round pick, will be a jack-of-all-trades type of player, and the Giants will be sure to manufacture touches for him. Darian Thompson, a safety from Boise state, had a very good grade on him, but he still managed to slip to the third round. Sixth-round pick Jerell Adams was probably the best value – he had a draft grade of round two. In the end, they did their best to draft for both need and value.
FantasyPros Draft Grade: C+
Dallas Cowboys
Immediate Needs – DE / CB
Long-Term Needs – SS / LB / RB
Depth Possibilities – QB / DT / OG
All the rage of the Cowboys’ draft is Ezekiel Elliott. On the surface, their running game seemed capable with Alfred Morris and Darren McFadden. However, the Cowboys got one of the most explosive playmakers in the draft, and at one of the most important positions in football. That’s called drafting the best player available. However, Jerry Jones claims to have lost sleep over not choosing Paxton Lynch, instead getting quarterback Dak Prescott in round four, and rightly so. Still, even without getting the playmaking heir to Romo in round one, the Cowboys got great value with their next pick in Jaylon Smith, who could have been a top-five selection if not for his injury. Although unconfirmed, word on the street is that the Cowboys’ team doctor was the one that did the surgery on Smith. Regardless of that, Smith, and defensive end Charles Tapper, will be the most important picks of this draft, aside from Elliott of course.
FantasyPros Draft Grade: A-
Philadelphia Eagles
Immediate Needs – CB / OG
Long-Term Needs – RB / QB / OT
Depth Possibilities – OLB / WR
The Eagles are taking a huge risk on Carson Wentz, who is from a small school and unproven. If you look at their picks, they checked off a lot of the major boxes, including cornerback Blake Countess in the sixth round, running back Wendell Smallwood in the fifth round, and center/guard Isaac Seumalo in the third round. However, none of their picks came at exceptional value. The entire draft hinges on Wentz being a star.
FantasyPros Draft Grade: F
Washington Redskins
Immediate Needs – DT / DE / C
Long Term Needs –WR / S / RB
Depth Possibilities – TE / ILB
Josh Doctson seems to be the heir apparent to Pierre Garcon, and it will be sooner rather than later before that transition happens. Their receiving game wasn’t the problem last season, as they were pretty terrible on defense. They used picks on Su’a Cravens, a linebacker/safety hybrid, Kendall Fuller, a cornerback, and defensive lineman Matthew Ioannidis in rounds three through five. If Fuller is able to return healthy sooner than later, he will be a good value for where he was selected. All in all, Washington got good value from top to bottom of their draft, hitting most of the notes they needed to without reaching too far at any point.
FantasyPros Draft Grade: B
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.