NFL Draft Grades 2023: Top Experts' Scores for Every Team's Final Results

It's always difficult to immediately evaluate how NFL teams fared during the draft. A strong group of prospects could go on to underperform. A class of players that doesn't look quite as talented on paper now may end up having a plethora of future stars.

But experts still try their hand at grading draft classes, including this year following the 2023 edition of the draft, which took place Thursday, Friday and Saturday in Kansas City. The league's 32 teams combined to pick 259 players over the three-day event.

Which teams appear to have fared the best? Which others may not have done as well?

Let's break down the grades from ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr., NFL.com's Chad Reuter and Pro Football Focus to see how they believe each NFL franchise performed in this year's draft.

ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr.

AP Photo/Matt Slocum

Newly drafted Philadelphia Eagles' Jalen Carter, left, and Nolan Smith pose for a photo after a news conference at the NFL football team's training facility, Friday, April 28, 2023, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Philadelphia Eagles: A

Seattle Seahawks: A

Arizona Cardinals: A-

New York Giants: A-

Baltimore Ravens: B+

Chicago Bears: B+

Cincinnati Bengals: B+

Cleveland Browns: B+

Green Bay Packers: B+

New England Patriots: B+

Pittsburgh Steelers: B+

Tennessee Titans: B+

Buffalo Bills: B

Carolina Panthers: B

Dallas Cowboys: B

Denver Broncos: B

Detroit Lions: B

Houston Texans: B

Indianapolis Colts: B

Jacksonville Jaguars: B

Kansas City Chiefs: B

Los Angeles Chargers: B

Los Angeles Rams: B

Miami Dolphins: B

Minnesota Vikings: B

New York Jets: B

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: B

Washington Commanders: B

Atlanta Falcons: B-

Las Vegas Raiders: B-

New Orleans Saints: B-

San Francisco 49ers: B-

Kiper graded two teams higher than the rest: the Eagles and the Seahawks.

Philadelphia "crushed Round 1," Kiper wrote, praising the team for its selections of a pair of Georgia defenders, defensive tackle Jalen Carter and edge rusher Nolan Smith. Kiper thought Smith could have gone as high as No. 8 to the Falcons, so the Eagles got tremendous value when they added him at No. 30.

Seattle also had a pair of first-round picks, taking Illinois cornerback Devon Witherspoon at No. 5 and Ohio State wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba at No. 20. Kiper wrote that the Seahawks "hit a home run" by coming away with both.

Kiper was also high on the draft classes constructed by the Cardinals and Giants, as they were the only two teams he gave an A- grade. He handed out a B+, B or B- to 28 of the league's 32 teams.

NFL.com's Chad Reuter

David Eulitt/Getty Images

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - APRIL 27: (L-R) Anthony Richardson poses with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after being selected fourth overall by the Indianapolis Colts during the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft at Union Station on April 27, 2023 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by David Eulitt/Getty Images)

Arizona Cardinals: A

Baltimore Ravens: A

Buffalo Bills: A

Indianapolis Colts: A

Pittsburgh Steelers: A

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: A

Atlanta Falcons: A-

Chicago Bears: A-

Cincinnati Bengals: A-

Green Bay Packers: A-

Los Angeles Rams: A-

Minnesota Vikings: A-

New England Patriots: A-

New York Giants: A-

Philadelphia Eagles: A-

Seattle Seahawks: A-

Tennessee Titans: A-

Dallas Cowboys: B+

Houston Texans: B+

Jacksonville Jaguars: B+

Kansas City Chiefs: B+

Las Vegas Raiders: B+

New Orleans Saints: B+

Carolina Panthers: B

Cleveland Browns: B

Denver Broncos: B

New York Jets: B

Washington Commanders: B

Los Angeles Chargers: B-

Miami Dolphins: B-

San Francisco 49ers: B-

Detroit Lions: C+

Reuter gave six teams an A grade. Among that group was the Colts, who took their potential new franchise quarterback in Florida's Anthony Richardson at No. 4, and the Cardinals, who entered the draft with the No. 3 pick but made multiple trades and eventually took Ohio State offensive tackle Paris Johnson Jr. at No. 6.

While there were also 11 teams that got an A- from Reuter, not every franchise graded highly. And it was clear which team he though fared the worst in this year's draft.

The Lions got a C+ from Reuter, who wrote that the team "made two surprising picks in the first round" by taking Alabama running back Jahmyr Gibbs at No. 12 and Iowa linebacker Jack Campbell at No. 18. Reuter also thought Detroit "seemed a bit impatient" by trading multiple picks in order to get Western Kentucky defensive tackle Brodric Martin at No. 96.

Even though Reuter (and other draft analysts) may not be high on the Lions' 2023 class, we'll have to see how these incoming rookies fare during the upcoming season and beyond before knowing whether Detroit actually made any mistakes with its selections.

Pro Football Focus

David Eulitt/Getty Images

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - APRIL 27: (L-R) Paris Johnson Jr. poses with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after being selected sixth overall by the Arizona Cardinals during the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft at Union Station on April 27, 2023 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by David Eulitt/Getty Images)

Arizona Cardinals: A+

Indianapolis Colts: A+

New York Giants: A+

Philadelphia Eagles: A+

Pittsburgh Steelers: A+

Buffalo Bills: A

Cincinnati Bengals: A

Seattle Seahawks: A

Tennessee Titans: A

Cleveland Browns: A-

Los Angeles Chargers: A-

Los Angeles Rams: A-

New England Patriots: A-

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: A-

Atlanta Falcons: B+

Carolina Panthers: B+

Chicago Bears: B+

Denver Broncos: B+

Detroit Lions: B+

Green Bay Packers: B+

Baltimore Ravens: B

Jacksonville Jaguars: B

Washington Commanders: B

Houston Texans: B-

Kansas City Chiefs: B-

Las Vegas Raiders: B-

Miami Dolphins: B-

Minnesota Vikings: B-

New Orleans Saints: B-

New York Jets: B-

Dallas Cowboys: C+

San Francisco 49ers: C-

As previously mentioned, it's clear the draft analysts believe the Cardinals, Colts and Eagles were among the teams that did the best. But Pro Football Focus also has the Giants and Steelers on that level, giving all five of those teams an A+.

Pro Football Focus was a fan of New York's selection of Minnesota center John Michael Schmitz at No. 57 in the second round. It thought the Giants could have taken Schmitz in the first round, so nabbing him in the second was a steal by its standards.

PFF referred to Pittsburgh's draft as "incredible." That included trading up to take Georgia tackle Broderick Jones at No. 14 and coming away with Penn State cornerback Joey Porter Jr., who was the first player selected in the second round at No. 32.

While the consensus by some was that Philadelphia had the best draft showing, it will be interesting to see if these teams actually fared just as well. Of course, the Eagles' class will also have to prove themselves moving forward.