PML Draft Grades!

The annual PML Draft has come and gone but as we inch our way through the pre-season, most of the rookies that were drafted or signed in free agency have taken the field in pre-season week 1. I 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, I was only able to predict 3 of the 32 selections. I was able to predict 8 of the same position group for the selections made, and out of the 32 players that I had going in the first round, 27 of them were actually drafted. There were 6 teams with a draft grade of A+, 2 teams with an A-, and 7 teams with an A. 9 teams were given a B+ draft grade and 4 teams were given a B. There were 2 teams that were given a C+ draft grade, 1 team that was given a C, and 1 team that was given a C-.

Pick #	Team	Player (Mock Draft)	Actual Pick	Grade
1	Giants	DE Kayvon Thibodeaux	DE Kayvon Thibodeaux	A+
2	Browns	QB Malik Willis	QB Desmond Ridder	B
3	Jets	CB Derek Stingley	CB Derek Stingley	A+
4	Steelers	QB Desmond Ridder	DT Jordan Davis	B+
5	Football Team	FS Kyle Hamilton	QB Malik Willis	A+
6	Jets	LT Evan Neal	FS Kyle Hamilton	A
7	Falcons	LE Aidan Hutchinson	LT Evan Neal	A
8	Texans	CB Kaiir Elam	LOLB Drake Jackson	A
9	Bengals	LOLB Drake Jackson	LE Aidan Hutchinson	A
10	Texans	RG Kenyon Green	WR Chris Olave	B+
11	Panthers	QB Matt Corral	LE Zach Harrison	B
12	Football Team	TE Jahleel Billingsley	TE Jalen Wydermyer	B+
13	Steelers	DT Demarvin Leal	CB Ahmad Gardner	B+
14	Vikings	QB Kedon Slovis	LG Ikem Ekwonu	C+
15	Patriots	HB Breece Hall	DT Demarvin Leal	A-
16	Eagles via Raiders	C Tyler Linderbaum	CB Andrew Booth Jr	B+
17	Texans	WR Chris Olave	RG Kenyon Green	A+
18	Jaguars	LE George Karlaftis	TE Jahleel Billingsley	B+
19	Saints	QB Spencer Rattler	QB Spencer Rattler	A-
20	Buccaneers	DT Jordan Davis	C Tyler Linderbaum	A
21	Chiefs	RT Charles Cross	SS Jordan Battle	C
22	Cowboys	TE Jalen Wydermyer	CB Kaiir Elam	A
23	Lions via Panthers	CB Andrew Booth Jr	WR Garrett Wilson	A+
24	Dolphins	WR Garrett Wilson	MLB Christan Harris	B+
25	Chargers	LG Ikem Ekwonu	RT Charles Cross	B+
26	Panthers	MLB Christian Harris	MLB Owen Pappoe	B
27	Football Team	QB Sam Howell	LT Jaxson Kirkland	A
28	Broncos	LE Zach Harrison	LOLB DeAngelo Malone	C-
29	Titans	CB Ahmad Gardner	CB Josh Jobe	B
30	Panthers via Lions	SS Jordan Battle	CB Tariq Woolen	C+
31	Packers	LT Jaxson Kirkland	LE George Karlaftis	A+
32	49ers via Eagles	LOLB Adam Anderson	RT Rasheed Walker	B+

Biggest Steal of the Draft –

The Washington Football team was able to trade away the first overall selection and still nab the best quarterback in the draft. Malk Willis is as good as advertised. He has elite throw power, speed, and acceleration. His change of direction rating is a mindblowing 91. Good luck to those defenders in the NFC East trying to get after this quarterback. Malik Willis was not expected to fall to number 5, but the biggest steal of the draft was left end George Karlaftis out of Purdue. It is unlikely that George will receive an upgraded development trait, which could have hurt his draft stock, but he has all the characteristic traits that you want to see in a defensive linemen. He is an instant upgrade to the Green Bay Packers front 7, and to get him at pick 31 was unexpected. I originally had him being selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars at pick 18. 

Biggest Dud of the Draft –

The Denver Broncos prioritized speed over quality and it remains to be seen whether or not their team will suffer for it. The Broncos drafted linebacker DeAngelo Malone. Malone has 88 speed and 91 acceleration, but that’s about all that he has going for him. The Denver Broncos will have to pump content points into him to improve his coverage and tackling skills. DeAngelo Malone could make for an interesting player to user, but you’d have to user him every single play for him to truly make an impact.