Some of us would have enjoyed high school math a whole lot more if the grades had been as gentle as the ones that typically summarize team performances during and immediately following the NFL draft.
Too early for grades, but here's what to like (and dislike) about the draft
On the NFL: Good grades are handed out way too easily when the draft is analyzed. The best time to hand out finals grades won't be for a few years.
May 3, 2021 at 11:36AM
A brief perusal of grade sheets on Sunday morning suggested nary a general manager will be wearing a Trubisky-sized dunce cap when this draft can be truly graded in early 2024.
One grade sheet handed out A's to 19 teams. Houston's C was the only grade lower than a B-minus.
ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr., the man who birthed the beast that is the mock draft, gave only three grades lower than B-minus. The Colts, Saints and Steelers got C-pluses from Mel.
No grades other than incomplete will be distributed here, but here are some still-too-early "likes" and "dislikes":
Likes
• Chicago having the guts (and desperation) to trade up for another blockbuster swing at QB. Justin Fields is worth it.
• Dave Gettleman trading down for the first two times as Giants GM and scoring picks in 2022's first, third and fourth rounds.
• Someone convincing Jerry Jones to sign off on the Cowboys using their first six picks and eight of 10 on defense.
• The need-everything Lions staying put at No. 7 and getting top tackle Penei Sewell to help protect lead-footed QB Jared Goff.
• The Packers going defense and taking Georgia's Eric Stokes, a corner with 4.29 speed and a 78-inch wingspan at No. 29.
Related Coverage
• The Patriots getting Mac Jones without having to trade up, and then moving up for DT Christian Barmore, a second-round steal.
• The 49ers seeing Trey Lance's superstar ceiling and giving up on Jimmy Garoppolo, who has 30 starts in four years as a 49er.
• The Eagles trading out of the top 10, back into the top 10, picking up a 2022 first-rounder and still landing DeVonta Smith.
• The Falcons adding Kyle Pitts to Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley. That 26th-ranked red-zone offense got a lot better.
• The Browns trading up in the second round when Notre Dame linebacker and first-round talent Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah fell.
• The Vikings turning their trade with the Jets into a starting left tackle, a potential starting guard and a QB to develop.
Dislikes
• The Jets giving up on 23-year-old Sam Darnold. Pitts or Ja'Marr Chase could have joined the Jets' offensive windfall.
• Broncos GM George Paton trading for Teddy Bridgewater before the draft and then not taking Fields ninth overall.
• The Rams not having a first-round pick for a fifth straight year and then using a second-round pick on a 155-pound receiver.
• Carolina using the eighth overall pick on cornerback Jaycee Horn when it could have given Darnold a top tackle or receiver.
• Cincinnati taking Chase fifth overall instead of spending that pick on a tackle to keep Joe Burrow off IR.
• The Jaguars and Steelers for picking running backs in the first round. Especially the Jags, who had bigger needs there.
• Washington for letting the Bears jump them for Fields and then going defense at No. 20 when OTs were there.
• Seattle having three picks and no first-rounder. Slot receiver D'Wayne Eskridge had better pan out as a second-rounder.
• The Raiders doing what they normally do: Raising eyebrows by reaching on another first-rounder, tackle Alex Leatherwood.
• The Cardinals not taking a cornerback at 16 or trading down and grabbing either Caleb Farley or Greg Newsome II.
• The Colts going defensive end with their first two picks when left tackle was such a huge need. Poor Carson Wentz.
Mike Conley was in Minneapolis, where he sounded the Gjallarhorn at the Vikings game, on Sunday during the robbery.
