PML First Round Draft Grades!

There were a lot of suspenseful coaches awaiting as the draft approached and thankfully we were able to get through it without any glitches. We put out a revised mock draft just hours before the PML draft and we are going to take a look at how my mock draft was compared to how the actual draft went down. There were 32 selections in the first round, however, Bacon and I were both only able to predict 4 of the 32 selections. I was able to predict 7 of the same position group for the selections made, and out of the 32 players that I had going in the first round, 24 of them were actually drafted. There were 10 teams with a draft grade of A+ and 5 teams with an A. 10 teams were given a B+ draft grade and 5 teams were given a B. There were 2 teams that were given a C+ draft grade. The first round of the second draft of the cycle was a lot better than the first draft. Just about every team got better with their draft pick and the ones that may haven’t gotten better right now, definitely have the potential to get better as the season progresses because of their selection.

Pick #	Team	Projected Player	Actual Player	Draft Grade
1	Titans	QB Bryce Young	QB Bryce Young	A+
2	49ers	WR Kayshon Boutte	CB Eli Ricks	B+
3	Ravens	OLB Will Anderson Jr	WR Kayshon Boutte	A+
4	Jets	OT Paris Johnson Jr	OLB Will Anderson Jr	A+
5	Vikings	CB Kelee Ringo	CB Kelee Ringo	A+
6	Bengals	CB Eli Ricks	QB DJ Uiagalelei	A
7	Bengals	QB DJ Uiagalelei	HB Byjan Robinson	A+
8	Texans	LB B.J Ojulari	DT Bryan Bresee	A+
9	Browns	WR Jaxon Smith Njigba	WR Jaxon Smith Njigba	A+
10	Panthers	QB CJ Stroud	TE Darnell Washington	B+
11	Jets	TE Michael Mayer	DT Jalen Carter	B
12	Chargers	DE Myles Murphy	OT Paris Johnson Jr	A+
13	Panthers > Dolphins	FS Kenderick Duncan Jr	WR Arik Gilbert	B+
14	Cardinals	C Matt Bockhorst	OT Logan Brown	B
15	Football Team	CB Brian Branch	S Kenderick Duncan Jr	B+
16	Seahawks	MLB Noah Sewell	OT Anton Harrison	B
17	Patriots	OLB Keontra Smith	OLB Keontra Smith	B+
18	Dolphins > Panthers	HB Byjan Robinson	DE Myles Murphy	A
19	Falcons	OG Peter Skoronski	LB B.J Ojulari	B+
20	Patriots	WR Jordan Addison	S Gurvan Hall Jr.	B+
21	Cowboys	MLB Nick Anderson	TE Michael Mayer	A+
22	Giants > Seahawks	WR Rakim Jarrett	QB CJ Stroud	B+
23	Eagles > Raiders	TE Grant Calcaterra	LB Jaiden Lars-Woodbey	B+
24	Chargers	OT Logan Brown	LB Trenton Simpson	B
25	Ravens	CB Storm Duck	CB Emmanuel Forbes	A
26	Colts	DT Jalen Carter	QB Anthony Richardson	C+
27	Browns > Packers	OT Anton Harrison	TE Grant Calcaterra	B+
28	Seahawks > Giants	DT Gervon Dexter	OG Peter Skoronski	A
29	Buccaneers > Seahawks	DE Myles Murphy (NC)	S Malachi Moore	B
30	Bears > Cowboys	LB Drew Sanders (Edge)	S Antonio Johnson	A
31	Bengals > Texans	CB Emmanuel Forbes	CB Brian Branch	A+
32	Broncos	LB Jaiden Lars-Woodbey	CB Cordale Flott	C+

Biggest Steal of the Draft –

The Cincinnati Bengals had a helluva first round. They drafted the second best quarterback with the most raw talent, the best halfback and highest overall rated player, and traded back into the first round to draft the third best ranked cornerback in the draft and potentially the best cornerback with the highest potential for an upgraded development trait.

Biggest Dud of the Draft – 
The San Francisco 49ers addressed a need with their selection of cornerback Eli Ricks out of LSU but they gave up a lot to draft the second best corner in the draft in a loaded class for cornerbacks. I don’t hate the selection, I just hate what they gave up, and the potential to draft an explosive receiver unlike any other and still get better at the corner position in the later rounds of the draft. Oh and Saints fans are still reeling from missing out on WR Kayshon Boutte.

Boom or Bust Potential – 

Safety Kenderick Duncan Jr. was one of the most anticipated safety prospects throughout the collegiate season. He is 6’3” and 226 pounds. He was known in college to be a hybrid type of player and tormented unsuspecting ball carriers across the middle of the field with booming hits. Then, March hit.. and Kenderick Duncan Jr. had one of the worst combines out of all of the potential top tier draft selections. He was predicted to be drafted in the top 10, but his 4.65 40 yard time scared most teams away. He improved slightly at his pro day but he still ended up running just over a 4.60. Kenderick ended up having 84 speed, 86 acceleration, 79 jumping, and a disheartening 71 hit power. The Washington Football team took a chance on him at pick 15 and while he was rated a 74 overall, he had the potential to be one of the best players coming out of the draft. Washington had no other choice but to turn him into a linebacker, where he will compete for the starting job. Washington addressed a need at the end of the day, but only time will tell if Kenderick will turn into the superstar that Washington is hoping he will become.