Live NFL Draft Grades 🚨

1) Carolina Panthers (from Chicago)

The Pick: Bryce Young Quarterback, Alabama

It's the right pick in this draft for a team that traded up to #1. Now we just hope that he can stay healthy.

Grade: A

2) Houston Texans

The Pick: CJ Stroud Quarterback, Ohio State

If you're looking for a QB (as the Texans have been), he's the second-best prospect as of now. I'm generally underwhelmed, but he's my QB2.

Grade: A-

3) Houston Texans (from Arizona)

The Pick: Will Anderson EDGE, Alabama

My top player in the class. Still waiting to hear what they gave up for this spot, but the pick is a no-brainer.

Grade: A (factoring in the cost)

4) Indianapolis Colts

The Pick: Anthony Richardson, Quarterback, Florida

He has wild upside, and they need a QB. I'm still skeptical that he's an NFL-caliber passer.

Grade: B+

5) Seattle Seahawks (from Denver)

The Pick: Devon Witherspoon Cornerback, Illinois

The first WHOA pick of the night in terms of what the pre-draft whispers were suggesting versus what happened. He's a nice player, and the Seahawks now have a scary, young secondary as they attempt to reincarnate the days of the Legion of Boom. He's my CB3, and I honestly think they could have gone other directions to better their roster besides cornerback in the first place.

Grade: B+

6) Arizona Cardinals (from Detroit)

The Pick: Paris Johnson Jr.

Offensive Tackle, Ohio State

My favorite offensive line prospect in this draft. The Cardinals were rumored to be high on him, and they end up essentially netting an extra 2024 1st while still landing their preferred target. Slick moves from rookie GM Monti Ossenfort.

Grade: A+ (factoring in the moves leading to the pick)

7) Las Vegas Raiders

The Pick: Tyree Wilson

EDGE, Texas Tech

The medical concerns had me dropping him on my board. Still, he has the frame and movement skills to form a formidable pass-rush duo alongside star DE Maxx Crosby for years to come. If it comes together, this is a genius pick.

Grade: B

8) Atlanta Falcons

The Pick: Bijan Robinson

Running Back, Texas

He's the best RB in the draft, and he's a unique talent at the position. That doesn't make him a great top-10 pick.

Grade: C+

9) Philadelphia Eagles (from Chicago)

The Pick: Jalen Carter

Defensive Tackle, Georgia

Blue-chip talent getting added to the Eagles' defensive front. As if they needed more help there. Absolutely outstanding pick, because they have the organization that can get the best out of him despite his red flags.

Grade: A+

10) Chicago Bears (from Philadelphia)

The Pick: Darnell Wright

Offensive Tackle, Tennessee

Even if the Bears were staunch in not taking Carter at 9, I'm still underwhelmed by their return (a 2024 4th-round pick) for sliding back, and I am not as high on Darnell Wright as they clearly are. Listen to our podcast episode to hear my extended reaction to this entire sequence.

Grade: C- (factoring in the board when they were initially on the clock)

11) Tennessee Titans

The Pick: Peter Skoronski

Offensive Lineman, Northwestern

They needed help across the whole OL, and they landed the highest-floor OL prospect in the draft without having to move up.

Grade: A

12) Detroit Lions (from Arizona)

The Pick: Jahmyr Gibbs

Running Back, Alabama

What. On. Earth. Are. The. Lions. Doing.

Grade: F

13) Green Bay Packers (from N.Y. Jets)

The Pick: Lukas Van Ness

Defensive End, Iowa

Love it so much when the Packers always draft my favorite Iowa players. Can't wait for him to absolutely cook Darnell Wright twice a year for the next five years. This is a classic "Packers get roasted in the short term by dumb NFL media members for not drafting a WR and the guy they drafted becomes a perennial All-Pro" pick.

Grade: A

14) Pittsburgh Steelers (from New England)

The Pick: Broderick Jones

Offensive Tackle, Georgia

My highest-rated OL prospect left on the board. He has major upside, and the Steelers nabbed him for relatively minimal cost (though more than what the Bears got for Jalen Carter...) ahead of the Jets, who had made it apparent that they loved Jones leading up to the draft. Solid work.

Grade: A-

15) New York Jets (from Green Bay)

The Pick: Will McDonald

EDGE, Iowa State

The Jets end Iowa State's 50+ years of not having a Round 1 Draft pick. Congrats to the Cyclones for finally getting a player in R1, even if Iowa got a player at the same position drafted even earlier in the exact same draft. At least you beat Spencer Petras this year. Also, this pick is a massive reach (and I like McDonald a more than most).

Grade: C+

16) Washington Commanders

The Pick: Emmanuel Forbes

Cornerback, Mississippi State

I don't know why the Commanders decided to continue being incompetent after Dan Snyder sold the team, but this pick suggests they're prepared to continue carrying that tradition on. He's tiny, and there are still multiple blue-chip CB talents (in my opinion) on the board that the Commanders could have targeted. Big-time reach.

Grade: D+

17) New England Patriots (from Pittsburgh)

The Pick: Christian Gonzalez

Cornerback, Oregon

Getting Gonzalez at 14 would have been a tremendous pick. Netting an extra pick in this draft and still landing him at 17 is high-level stuff. This move is what lots of Bears fans will delude themselves into thinking Ryan Poles pulled off. The problem is that the Patriots traded down and got the blue-chip talent. The Bears didn't.

Grade: A+

18) Detroit Lions

The Pick: Jack Campbell

Linebacker, Iowa

In general, I do not like drafting off-ball linebackers in the first round at all. Jack Campbell is an exception. He fills an immediate need for a team that is ready to contend in the playoffs, and now he's going to terrorize the Bears for the next decade as one of the best LBs in the league. As a Bears fan who also loves the Iowa Hawkeyes, I'm clearly thriving right now watching this draft unfold

Grade: A

19) Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Pick: Calijah Kancey

Defensive Lineman, Pittsburgh

I think he fits well as a 3-4 DE if the Bucs are planning to maintain the 3-4 in the upcoming season. He's a nice player that gets compared to Aaron Donald way too much. Aaron Donald doesn't fall to this pick in the draft. Strong pick for the Bucs, though.

Grade: A-

20) Seattle Seahawks

The Pick: Jaxon Smith-Njigba

Wide Receiver, Ohio State

The best receiver in this class by far, in my opinion. I'm surprised he dropped this far, but the Seahawks cash in. Slotting him alongside DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett is supremely intriguing.

Grade: A+

21) Los Angeles Chargers

The Pick: Quentin Johnston

Wide Receiver, TCU

YUCK. Justin Herbert needs to demand a trade.

Grade: F-

22) Baltimore Ravens

The Pick: Zay Flowers

Wide Receiver, Boston College

Best player available at a position of need for the Ravens. I don't think he'll flash too much in that offense, though. He'll be coveted as a trade target in three years that might thrive on his second team. Still not a huge fan of drafting him quite this high.

Grade: B-

23) Minnesota Vikings

The Pick: Jordan Addison

Wide Receiver, USC

Not a bad pick in terms of rounding out a receiving corps that possesses Justin Jefferson. I like Flowers as prospect more than Addison, but I like the fit of this pick quite a bit more.

Grade: B+

24) New York Giants (from Jacksonville)

The Pick: Deonte Banks

Cornerback, Maryland

A crazy athlete that I had as my CB2 behind Christian Gonzalez. The Giants have been making some smart draft moves these past few years. People will say they need pass-catching help, but there's nobody remotely worth taking at this point, and Banks is a potential shutdown corner.

Grade: A

25) Buffalo Bills (from Jacksonville)

The Pick: Dalton Kincaid

Tight End, Utah

The Bills upgrade at the TE position, an area where they've been lacking consistent production, with my TE1. Josh Allen gets a security blanket that can also stretch the field in an offense that suits a pass-catching tight end (like Kincaid) quite well.

Grade: A-

26) Dallas Cowboys

The Pick: Mazi Smith

Defensive Tackle, Michigan

The massive Michigan tackle finds his home on the Cowboys, who continue to build one of the more imposing defensive fronts in the league. Really smart pick from a team that was rumored to potentially be looking into landing a TE (which they do not need as much as people think they do).

Grade: A-

27) Jacksonville Jaguars (from Buffalo)

The Pick: Anton Harrison

Offensive Tackle, Oklahoma

The best tackle on the board at this point from my perspective, and they traded down a couple times before landing him. Harrison is very smooth in pass protection, and the Trevor Lawrence can rest a little easier knowing he'll have time to find his relatively stacked group of skill position players this year.

Grade: A-

28) Cincinnati Bengals

The Pick: Myles Murphy

EDGE, Clemson

Smart move here for the Bengals, who have a really well-constructed roster overall. Murphy has strong upside as a pass-rusher, and he'll contribute right away as a legit threat on passing downs with upside to be a 10+ sack per-year guy down the road. I'm surprised he fell this far, and the Bengals take advantage.

Grade: A

29) New Orleans Saints (from San Francisco)

The Pick: Bryan Bresee

Defensive Tackle, Clemson

The other major Clemson DL product gets snapped up one pick later. Bresee was a mega-recruit that flashed big potential early during his time at Clemson, though he had an underwhelming final season with the Tigers. He's still a plug-and-play DT with upside to be a true disruptor in the future. These teams just keep making smart moves.

Grade: A

30) Philadelphia Eagles

The Pick: Nolan Smith

Outside Linebacker, Georgia

This pick is going to be overrated by most media members and fans, but it's still a worthwhile swing by the Eagles. I don't think Smith has a defined position in the NFL, but the Eagles are so stacked in their defensive front that the can afford to take a player that might only be used in a situational capacity as an OLB.

Grade: B+

31) Kansas City Chiefs

The Pick: Felix Anudike-Uzomah

Defensive End, Kansas State

This is a guy I really wanted the Bears to get in Round 2, but he's still a fine pick at the end of Round 1. He'll bring more punch specifically to the Chiefs' pass rush, which was much-improved already last season. The underrated aspect of the Chiefs las year was a big step forward in their defense's quality, and this pick helps to sustain that improvement as they gear up for another potential Super Bowl run.

Grade: A-