NFL Draft Grades 2017: Team-by-Team List of Scores and Overall Analysis

This year's NFL draft has a more positive vibe to it than normal. 

Maybe it's the awesome presence of the fans at the venue. Or maybe it's the overwhelming depth of the class.

More likely, though, it's teams making great decisions. Look at Day 2, where the Green Bay Packers swiped defensive back Kevin King, the Cleveland Browns got a potential franchise quarterback with DeShone Kizer and the Dallas Cowboys plucked defensive back Chidobe Awuzie out of a fall, to name a few.

Whatever it is, this has been the most entertaining draft in years, and few fans of teams can come away angry so far. Even iffy decisions made by teams like the Chicago Bears have potential when viewing the moves through a long-term lens.

Below, here's a look at some full team grades through two days and instant analysis.

2017 NFL Draft Results and Grades

Team	Grade	Analysis
Arizona Cardinals	A	A freak athlete like Haason Reddick in the hands of Bruce Arians is a problem for the NFC, especially on the same unit as Chandler Jones and Tyrann Mathieu.
Atlanta Falcons	B	Trading up for Takkarist McKinley seems risky given his slight injury history, but pairing him with Vic Beasley is a good way to prevent a Super Bowl hangover.
Baltimore Ravens	B	Conventional wisdom said the Ravens wanted a boundary wideout. With the main targets there gone, the front office attacked another premier position with boundary corner Marlon Humphrey, who could be the best corner from the class.
Buffalo Bills	B	The effort to compensate for the loss of Stephon Gilmore begins with Tre'Davious White, a high-upside, mirror-man cover corner who can run with the best.
Carolina Panthers	A+	It doesn't get much better than this—Christian McCaffrey is a modern NFL back who will feast in the same backfield as Cam Newton and Jonathan Stewart.
Chicago Bears	B	Chicago gave up entirely too much to move one spot. But the Bears wanted a franchise quarterback and weren't going to settle for anyone else.
Cincinnati Bengals	B	On paper, John Ross is the perfect fit in Cincinnati because the offense hasn't had his sort of speed in the Andy Dalton era. The team just has to hope his medical issues don't pop up again.
Cleveland Browns	B	Can a team get an A+ for a no-brainer? The Browns do here with the top slot. No. 25 is a different story, as Jabrill Peppers is a project player still learning his position who didn't force any notable turnovers during his time with Michigan. He's got potential, but he probably would've been on the board in the second round. Trading back up for David Njoku smooths things over, as he's a monster yards-after-catch tight end ready to go right away.
Dallas Cowboys	B	Dallas needs help on the edge of the defense, which it has lacked since the Greg Hardy days. Taco Charlton can help right away thanks to quality speed and power.
Denver Broncos	A	This was the easiest pick to project in the draft after the first. Garett Bolles is a monster who fits the zone scheme in Denver perfectly.
Detroit Lions	C	Detroit needed to address losses like Stephen Tulloch and DeAndre Levy over the past few years. Jarrad Davis isn't a bad player by any means, but character concerns or not, Reuben Foster was still on the board.
Green Bay Packers	A	Green Bay hits a huge need with Kevin King at great value.
Houston Texans	A+	Bill O'Brien and Houston weren't going anywhere with Tom Savage. Now the offense has a pro-ready player to pair with DeAndre Hopkins and others.
Indianapolis Colts	A	The Colts wait around and get one of the draft's best players and a guy often compared to a collegiate Ed Reed. Not bad, provided he stays healthy.
Jacksonville Jaguars	B	Jacksonville's defense is underrated, and if the front office didn't like this quarterback class, getting a mauler like Leonard Fournette is a win.
Kansas City Chiefs	A+	The Chiefs targeted who they wanted and got him. Patrick Mahomes' mechanical issues didn't hurt his play, and Andy Reid is the perfect quarterback to mold him into a franchise player.
Miami Dolphins	A	Miami sprinted to the podium (almost literally, the NFL Network broadcast was caught off guard) for Charles Harris. For good reason, as he's a quick-twitch rusher who opens things up for Ndamukong Suh.
Minnesota Vikings	D	The Vikings look a bit flustered so far, getting a running back with a checkered past and otherwise not doing much with the picks available over the first two days.
New England Patriots	A+	Who needs first-round picks? New England crushed both picks on Day 2, grabbing high-upside players sure to blossom in their system.
New Orleans Saints	C+	The Saints waited around and landed one of the draft's top corners. Not bad for a team in need of a serous defensive overhaul. Drafting a Wisconsin offensive lineman is always an amazing idea, especially here as a means to help prolong Drew Brees' career.
New York Giants	C	Eli Manning needed another weapon besides Odell Beckham Jr. and Brandon Marshall. Evan Engram is a nice versatile piece, but David Njoku is a better prospect with better big-play ability.
New York Jets	A+	The Jets luck into arguably the safest player in the draft thanks to chaos above them in the order. Not bad.
Oakland Raiders	B	Gareon Conley is arguably the top corner in the draft, but it's hard to ignore the giant off-field issue surrounding him right now. He's a lockdown player provided he stays on the field.
Philadelphia Eagles	C	Derek Barnett isn't an overly athletic rusher. He'll be a productive pro, but it's hard to see where he fits into the rotation over the first one or two years of his career.
Pittsburgh Steelers	A	T.J. Watt is much more than a little brother. He's a freak athlete and edge presence who makes the Pittsburgh defense nastier and more effective rushing the passer right away.
San Francisco 49ers	A+	Not bad for John Lynch—he picks up several future-leaning picks and one of the surest prospects in the draft at No. 3. He then turns around grabs a top-five player at No. 31. Though marred by character concerns, Reuben Foster teams with Solomon Thomas to give the 49ers defensive franchise cornerstones.
Seattle Seahawks	A	Getting Malik McDowell to help make life easier on the Legion of Boom is where most will focus, but Ethan Pocic might finally be the long-awaited answer to the loss of Max Unger.
Los Angeles Rams	C	The goal here is clearly trying to get better around Jared Goff, but taking a project at tight end and a surefire route runner at wideout only goes so far in the current scheme and on the current depth chart.
Los Angeles Chargers	B	Mike Williams' arrival might mean the end for Keenan Allen. Viewed a different way, he'll be around to help the quarterback after Philip Rivers.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	A+	This is how you make sure a franchise quarterback succeeds. Jameis Winston now has Mike Evans, DeSean Jackson and one of this draft's surest things, O.J. Howard.
Tennessee Titans	B+	There's no such thing as "overdrafting" Corey Davis, the best wideout in the class, who will help Marcus Mariota right away. Adoree' Jackson wasn't the consensus top corner on the board, but the pick makes sense given his explosive versatility.
Washington Redskins	C	The problem with Jonathan Allen is he was in a free fall for a reason. He has a questionable injury outlook due to arthritis in his shoulders and played on a stacked defense, which made his life easier.

Winner: New England Patriots

Want to stop seeing Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots compete for Lombardi Trophies? 

Tell the rest of the NFL to do a better job on draft day.

The Patriots didn't have a pick until No. 83 in the third round and still knocked it out of the park, getting Youngstown State's Derek Rivers. Two picks later, the front office plucked Troy offensive tackle Antonio Garcia out of fall.

Bleacher Report's Ian Wharton put it best:

The line of thinking applies to both, but it is especially the case for Rivers.

We're talking about a 6'4", 248-pound edge defender who can rush the passer well and has plenty of room to grow. He's an especially dangerous fit in New England, where Belichick can line him up at linebacker and let him pin his ears back and go, or do the same thing along the line with his hand in the dirt.

Garcia? He's one of the draft's best-kept secrets along the offensive line in a weak class. He stands at 6'6" and 302 pounds with plenty of the traits teams seek in left tackles, not to mention the fact he didn't allow a sack over 900 snaps, per Troy's Twitter account.

"There's some significance to this move. Garcia has starting left tackle traits, but he's a great fit. He plays nasty through the whistle. He's a little grabby in pas protection. They'll straighten him up in New England," NFL Network's Mike Mayock said.

Fans will see both these guys on the field sooner or later, and with the ecosystem in New England, they'll both likely pan out. Who needs first round picks? 

It Could Work: Cincinnati Bengals

From a strictly on-field perspective, the Cincinnati Bengals have an A+ draft through two days of drafting. 

If only it were that easy with head coach Marvin Lewis and his Bengals.

On paper, Washington wideout John Ross at No. 9 is a game-breaking presence the Bengals have been unable to find for years. His 4.22 40-yard dash at the combine gets the attention, but it overshadows the fact he's a complete all-around wideout whose ability opens up the field for other weapons such as A.J. Green and Tyler Eifert in a big way.

The problem with Ross is his medical history. He had problems staying on the field at Washington until his final year, and as everyone knows, the NFL is even bigger and faster.

Then there's second-round pick Joe Mixon. He's the draft's biggest character concern after Oklahoma suspended him for a season after he punched a female student in 2014. Feel free to add in an altercation with a parking attendant recently for good measure.

On the field, Mixon was probably the best running back prospect in the class. It doesn't need much explanation—he's a do-it-all guy who earned a comparison to Le'Veon Bell by NFL.com's Lance Zierlein for a reason. For reinforcement, Pro Football Focus compared him to Matt Forte.

PFF's Steve Palazzolo really summarized Cincinnati's draft well:

Even third-round pick Jordan Willis classifies as a first-round talent in most circles. He's a 6'4" and 255-pound edge player who ran a 40-yard dash in 4.53 seconds and busted out a three-cone drill 6.85 seconds, relying on his incredible athleticism and swim move to get around the edge and pressure quarterbacks. But if he doesn't become more versatile and adapt quickly, he'll fall flat, because the Bengals need his help on the edge across from Carlos Dunlap right away.

One can see the moral of the story here. Cincinnati has a scary offense, maybe the best in the league, if Ross can stay healthy and Mixon out of trouble. It's encouraging the Bengals are looking outside of their normal archetypes, finally getting a speedy wideout and a smaller, faster edge rusher. But if it doesn't work, the front office could fall back into its old ways in a hurry.

Winner: Carolina Panthers

Tired of seeing Cam Newton smile so much? 

Too bad.

The Carolina Panthers just went out of their way to make sure their franchise player stays happy. Christian McCaffrey at No. 8 was clearly simply the beginning of the plan.

Fans know all about McCaffrey, the 5'11", 202-pound running back who embodies everything a back must be at the NFL level these days thanks to his homerun ability every time he touches the ball—on the ground and through the air.

But the Panthers kept this theme of offensive versatility going in Round 2 with Ohio State wideout Curtis Samuel at No. 40. The offense has needed a deep speed threat for years, and the 5'11", 196-pound Samuel brings it in a big way with his 4.31 40-yard dash speed.

By then, the theme wasn't hard to see, as illustrated by Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer:

The Panthers rounded off the offensive-minded approach with Western Michigan guard Taylor Moton at No. 64 in the second round, a great value and player who can step in and defend Newton right away.

Carolina has a much better cast of weapons around Newton now. McCaffrey pairs well with Jonathan Stewart or otherwise handles the load well on his own. Samuel immediately stretches the field for him, as well as Greg Olsen, Kelvin Benjamin and perhaps even Devin Funchess, who could still pan out if the offense opens up.

If the Panthers have dreams of being the next high-octane attack in the same vein as New Orleans in the NFC South, it has done well to stick well in the race with Tampa Bay this offseason.

Stats courtesy of NFL.com. All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus.