2013 NFL Draft Grades: Evaluating All 32 Teams

Some coaches and general managers just know how to draft. It’s a skill inherent to NFL football, and it’s one of the biggest reasons for success and failure at football’s highest level.

But there’s a lot that goes into the selection process that we don’t often think about. From the hundreds of scouts who travel the country all year to owners with their own beliefs on who a team should take, there are a lot of opinions that have to be considered. One small oversight can be disastrous.

It usually takes some time to accurately assess draft picks, however. First-round players bust and late-round players impress. It’s the nature of the beast.

That uncertainty is what makes the NFL draft so exciting for fans and so demanding for talent evaluators. There is certainly an element of luck involved—though the league’s best personnel men seem to defy the odds year in and year out.

Let’s take a look at draft grades for every NFL team and touch on three teams whose GMs continued their draft-day success this year.

Team	Grade
New York Giants	B+
Dallas Cowboys	D
Philadelphia Eagles	A-
Washington Redskins	C+
Pittsburgh Steelers	B
Baltimore Ravens	A
Cleveland Browns	D
Cincinnati Bengals	B+
Green Bay Packers	A-
Detroit Lions	C-
Minnesota Vikings	B
Chicago Bears	C
Houston Texans	B
Indianapolis Colts	C-
Tennessee Titans	A-
Jacksonville Jaguars	B+
Atalanta Falcons	B
New Orleans Saints	B
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	C-
Carolina Panthers	D
Denver Broncos	D+
Kansas City Chiefs	C
Oakland Raiders	B-
San Diego Chargers	C+
Arizona Cardinals	B
Seattle Seahawks	C-
San Francisco 49ers	A+
St. Louis Rams	B+
New England Patriots	C
Buffalo Bills	B-
Miami Dolphins	B
New York Jets	C

Jerry Reese: New York Giants (B+)

There may not be a better-run organization in football than the New York Giants.

General manager Jerry Reese is a big part of New York’s success in the last decade, making the jump from a director of player personnel position that was instrumental in landing Eli Manning in 2004. Since 2007, the Giants have found a lot of quality talent in the draft courtesy of Reese’s forward-thinking approach to the selection process.

Filling needs with good value-based selections is the mark of a good draft, and Reese certainly did that this year. While Syracuse offensive lineman Justin Pugh seemed like a bit of a reach in the first round, Reese made up for it with two high-value picks in the second and third rounds in selecting Ohio State defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins and Texas A&M defensive end Damontre Moore.

Paired with Syracuse quarterback Ryan Nassib (who some considered the best quarterback in this draft), Reese found a trio of first-round talents on Day 2 and 3.

Thomas Dimitroff: Atlanta Falcons (B)

Thomas Dimitroff ascended through the ranks in New England next to Bill Belichick, eventually impressing the Atlanta Falcons enough to earn a general manager position in 2008. Since that time, Atlanta has experienced plenty of success both in the draft and on the football field.

Dimitroff loves to wheel and deal for players he targets in the evaluation process, and he did the same this year in moving up for Washington cornerback Desmond Trufant in the first round. Cornerback was a big need for the Falcons this year, and Dimitroff made sure it wouldn’t go unattended.

Dimitroff followed the Trufant selection with cornerback Robert Alford in the second round and added yet another in the seventh (Kamal Ishmael), giving the Falcons a trio of pass-defenders who they can develop into NFL starters.

The Falcons’ offense hasn’t been an issue in recent years, and Dimitroff focused almost exclusively on the defensive side of the ball with his picks. None stand out as high-profile value picks, but there’s no denying the potential for Atlanta to have a much-improved defense in 2013.

Mike Brown: Cincinnati Bengals (B+)

Cincinnati Bengals owner Mike Brown is often criticized for his unwillingness to hand over the reins to a general manager, but there’s not much reason to chastise him for his draft picks in the last few years. The Bengals are a team on the rise, and Brown is a big reason for that.

The 77-year-old did a tremendous job in this year’s draft, filling needs and taking advantage of some big value from the first round to the seventh.

Brown selected Notre Dame tight end Tyler Eifert with his first selection (No. 21), adding another talented weapon for Andy Dalton. That seemed to be an underlying theme for the Bengals’ draft this year.

Brown also added North Carolina running back Giovani Bernard (No. 37), Nebraska running back Rex Burkhead (No. 190) and Arkansas wide receiver Cobi Hamilton (No. 197) to shore up an offense that already possesses a good deal of firepower.

Offense wasn’t Brown’s only focus, though. With three exceptional picks in the second, third and fourth rounds, Cincinnati found a trio of talented defenders who could have an immediate impact in 2013 (Margus Hunt, Shawn Williams and Sean Porter).

The balance of power in the AFC North is shifting, and the Bengals are in increasingly better position to claim the division title this year.

Round 1

Pick	Team	Player	Position	School
1.	Chiefs	Eric Fisher	OT	Cent. Michigan
2.	Jaguars	Luke Joeckel	OT	Texas A&M
3.	Dolphins*	Dion Jordan	DE	Oregon
4.	Eagles	Lane Johnson	OT	Oklahoma
5.	Lions	Ezekiel Ansah	DE	BYU
6.	Browns	Barkevious Mingo	DE	LSU
7.	Cardinals	Jonathan Cooper	OG	UNC
8.	Rams*	Tavon Austin	WR	West Virginia
9.	Jets	Dee Milliner	CB	Alabama
10.	Titans	Chance Warmack	OG	Alabama
11.	Chargers	D.J. Fluker	OT	Alabama
12.	Raiders*	D.J. Hayden	CB	Houston
13.	Jets*	Sheldon Richardson	DT	Missouri
14.	Panthers	Star Lotulelei	DT	Utah
15.	Saints	Kenny Vaccaro	S	Texas
16.	Bills*	EJ Manuel	QB	Florida State
17.	Steelers	Jarvis Jones	OLB	Georgia
18.	49ers*	Eric Reid	S	LSU
19.	Giants	Justin Pugh	OG	Syracuse
20.	Bears	Kyle Long	OG	Oregon
21.	Bengals	Tyler Eifert	TE	Notre Dame
22.	Falcons*	Desmond Trufant	CB	Washington
23.	Vikings	Sharrif Floyd	DT	Florida
24.	Colts	Bjoern Werner	DE	Florida State
25.	Vikings*	Xavier Rhodes	CB	Florida State
26.	Packers	Datone Jones	DE	UCLA
27.	Texans	DeAndre Hopkins	WR	Clemson
28.	Broncos	Sylvester Williams	DT	UNC
29.	Vikings*	Cordarrelle Patterson	WR	Tennessee
30.	Rams*	Alec Ogletree	OLB	Georgia
31.	Cowboys*	Travis Frederick	C	Wisconsin
32.	Ravens	Matt Elam	S	Florida

Round 2

Pick	Team	Player	Position	School
33.	Jaguars	Johnathan Cyprien	S	FIU
34.	Titans*	Justin Hunter	WR	Tennessee
35.	Eagles	Zach Ertz	TE	Stanford
36.	Lions	Darius Slay	CB	Mississippi St.
37.	Bengals*	Giovani Bernard	RB	North Carolina
38.	Chargers*	Manti Te'o	ILB	Notre Dame
39.	Jets	Geno Smith	QB	West Virginia
40.	49ers*	Cornellius Carradine	DE	Florida State
41.	Bills	Robert Woods	WR	USC
42.	Raiders*	Menelik Watson	OT	Florida State
43.	Buccaneers	Johnthan Banks	CB	Mississippi St.
44.	Panthers	Kawann Short	DT	Purdue
45.	Cardinals*	Kevin Minter	ILB	LSU
46.	Bills*	Kiko Alonso	ILB	Oregon
47.	Cowboys	Gavin Escobar	TE	San Diego St.
48.	Steelers	Le'Veon Bell	RB	Michigan St.
49.	Giants	Johnathan Hankins	DT	Ohio State
50.	Bears	Jon Bostic	ILB	Florida
51.	Redskins	David Amerson	CB	NC State
52.	Patriots*	Jamie Collins	OLB	Southern Miss
53.	Bengals	Margus Hunt	DE	SMU
54.	Dolphins*	Jamar Taylor	CB	Boise State
55.	49ers*	Vance McDonald	TE	Rice
56.	Ravens*	Arthur Brown	OLB	Kansas State
57.	Texans	D.J. Swearinger	S	South Carolina
58.	Broncos	Montee Ball	RB	Wisconsin
59.	Patriots	Aaron Dobson	WR	Marshall
60.	Falcons	Robert Alford	CB	SE Louisiana
61.	Packers*	Eddie Lacy	RB	Alabama
62.	Seahawks*	Christine Michael	RB	Texas A&M

Round 3

Pick	Team	Player	Position	School
63.	Chiefs	Travis Kelce	TE	Cincinnati
64.	Jaguars	Dwayne Gratz	CB	Connecticut
65.	Lions	Larry Worford	OG	Kentucky
66.	Raiders	Sio Moore	OLB	Connecticut
67.	Eagles	Bennie Logan	DT	LSU
68.	Browns	Leon McFadden	CB	San Diego St.
69.	Cardinals	Tyrann Mathieu	CB	LSU
70.	Titans	Blidi Wreh-Wilson	CB	Connecticut
71.	Rams*	T.J. McDonald	S	USC
72.	Jets	Brian Winters	OG	Kent State
73.	Buccaneers	Mike Glennon	QB	NC State
74.	Cowboys*	Terrance Williams	WR	Baylor
75.	Saints	Terron Armstead	OT	Arkansas-Pine Bluff
76.	Chargers	Keenan Allen	WR	California
77.	Dolphins	Dallas Thomas	OG	Tennessee
78.	Bills*	Marquise Goodwin	WR	Texas
79.	Steelers	Markus Wheaton	WR	Oregon State
80.	Cowboys	J.J. Wilcox	S	Georgia Southern
81.	Giants	Damontre Moore	DE	Texas A&M
82.	Saints*	John Jenkins	DT	Georiga
83.	Patriots*	Logan Ryan	CB	Rutgers
84.	Bengals	Shawn Williams	S	Georgia
85.	Redskins	Jordan Reed	TE	Florida
86.	Colts	Hugh Thornton	OG	Illinois
87.	Seahawks	Jordan Hill	DT	Penn State
88.	49ers*	Corey Lemonier	DE	Auburn
89.	Texans	Brennan Williams	OT	North Carolina
90.	Broncos	Kayvon Webster	CB	South Florida
91.	Patriots	Duron Harmon	S	Rutgers
92.	Rams*	Stedman Bailey	WR	West Virginia
93.	Dolphins*	Will Davis	CB	Utah State
94.	Ravens	Brandon Williams	DT	Missouri Southern St.
95.	Texans	Sam Montgomery	DE	LSU
96.	Chiefs	Knile Davis	RB	Arkansas
97.	Titans	Zaviar Gooden	OLB	Missouri

Round 4

Pick	Team	Player	Position	School
98.	Eagles*	Matt Barkley	QB	USC
99.	Chiefs	Nico Johnson	ILB	Alabama
100.	Buccaneers*	Akeem Spence	DT	Illinois
101.	Jaguars*	Ace Sanders	WR	South Carolina
102.	Patriots*	Josh Boyce	WR	TCU
103.	Cardinals	Alex Okafor	DE	Texas
104.	Dolphins*	Jelani Jenkins	OLB	Florida
105.	Bills	Duke Williams	S	Nevada
106.	Dolphins*	Dion Sims	TE	Michigan State
107.	Titans	Brian Schwenke	C	California
108.	Panthers	Edmund Kugbila	OG	Valdosta State
109.	Packers*	David Bakhtiari	OT	Colorado
110.	Giants*	Ryan Nassib	QB	Syracuse
111.	Steelers*	Shamarko Thomas	S	Syracuse
112.	Raiders*	Tyler Wilson	QB	Arkansas
113.	Rams	Barrett Jones	C	Alabama
114.	Cowboys	B.W. Webb	CB	William & Mary
115.	Steelers	Landry Jones	QB	Oklahoma
116.	Cardinals*	Earl Watford	OG	James Madison
117.	Bears	Khaseem Greene	OLB	Rutgers
118.	Bengals	Sean Porter	OLB	Texas A&M
119.	Redskins	Phillip Thomas	S	Fresno State
120.	Vikings	Gerald Hodges	OLB	Penn State
121.	Colts	Khaled Holmes	C	USC
122.	Packers	J.C. Tretter	OG	Cornell
123.	Seahawks	Chris Harper	WR	Kansas State
124.	Texans	Trevardo Williams	DE	Connecticut
125.	Packers*	Johnathan Franklin	RB	UCLA
126.	Buccaneers*	William Gholston	DE	Michigan State
127.	Falcons	Malliciah Goodman	DE	Clemson
128.	49ers	Quinton Patton	WR	Louisiana Tech
129.	Ravens	John Simon	DE	Ohio State
130.	Ravens	Kyle Juszczyk	FB	Harvard
131.	49ers	Marcus Lattimore	RB	South Carolina
132.	Lions	Devin Taylor	DE	South Carolina
133.	Falcons	Levine Toilolo	TE	Stanford

Round 5

Pick	Team	Player	Position	School
134.	Chiefs	Sanders Commings	CB	Georgia
135.	Jaguars	Denard Robinson	WR	Michigan
136,	Eagles	Earl Wolff	S	NC State
137.	Seahawks*	Jesse Williams	DT	Alabama
138.	Seahawks*	Tharold Simon	CB	LSU
139.	Colts*	Montori Hughes	DT	Tenn-Martin
140.	Cardinals	Stepfan Taylor	RB	Stanford
141.	Jets	Oday Aboushi	OG	Virginia
142.	Titans	Lavar Edwards	DE	LSU
143.	Bills	Jonathan Meeks	S	Clemson
144.	Saints	Kenny Stills	WR	Oklahoma
145.	Chargers	Steve Williams	CB	California
146.	Broncos*	Quanterus Smith	DE	Western Kentucky
147.	Buccaneers	Steven Means	OLB	Buffalo
148.	Panthers	A.J. Klein	ILB	Iowa State
149.	Rams	Brandon McGee	CB	Miami (FL)
150.	Steelers	Terry Hawthorne	CB	Illinois
151.	Cowboys	Joseph Randle	RB	Oklahoma State
152.	Giants	Cooper Taylor	S	Richmond
153.	Falcons*	Stansly Maponga	DE	TCU
154.	Redskins	Chris Thompson	RB	Florida State
155.	Vikings	Jeff Locke	P	UCLA
156.	Bengals	Tanner Hawkinson	OT	Kansas
157.	49ers*	Quinton Dial	DE	Alabama
158.	Seahawks	Luke Wilson	TE	Rice
159.	Packers	Micah Hyde	CB	Iowa
160.	Rams*	Zac Stacy	RB	Vanderbilt
161.	Broncos	Tavarres King	WR	Georgia
162.	Redskins*	Brandon Jenkins	OLB	Florida State
163.	Bears*	Jordan Mills	OT	Louisiana Tech
164.	Dolphins*	Mike Gillislee	RB	Florida
165.	Lions*	Sam Martin	P	Appalachian St.
166.	Dolphins	Caleb Sturgis	K	Florida
167.	Packers	Josh Boyd	DT	Mississippi St.
168.	Ravens	Ricky Wagner	OT	Wisconsin

Round 6

Pick	Team	Player	Position	School
169,	Jaguars	Josh Evans	S	Florida
170.	Chiefs	Eric Kush	C	California (PA)
171.	Lions	Corey Fuller	WR	Virginia Tech
172.	Raiders	Nick Kasa	TE	Colorado
173.	Broncos*	Vinston Painter	OT	Virginia Tech
174.	Cardinals	Ryan Swope	WR	Texas A&M
175.	Browns	Jamoris Slaughter	S	Notre Dame
176.	Texans*	David Quessenberry	OT	San Jose State
177.	Bills	Dustin Hopkins	K	Florida State
178.	Jets	William Campbell	DT	Michigan
179.	Chargers	Tourek Williams	DE	FIU
180.	49ers*	Nick Moody	OLB	Florida State
181.	Raiders*	Latavius Murray	RB	Central Florida
182.	Panthers	Kenjon Barner	RB	Oregon
183.	Saints	Rufus Johnson	DE	Tarleton State
184.	Raiders*	Mychal Rivera	TE	Tennessee
185.	Cowboys	DeVonte Holloman	OLB	South Carolina
186.	Steelers	Justin Brown	WR	Oklahoma
187.	Cardinals*	Andre Ellington	RB	Clemson
188.	Bears	Cornelius Washington	DE	Georgia
189.	Buccaneers*	Mike James	RB	Miami (FL)
190.	Bengals	Rex Burkhead	RB	Nebraska
191.	Redskins	Bacarri Rambo	S	Georgia
192.	Colts	John Boyett	S	Oregon
193.	Packers	Nate Palmer	OLB	Illinois State
194.	Seahawks	Spencer Ware	RB	LSU
195.	Texans	Alan Bonner	WR	Jacksonville St.
196.	Vikings*	Jeff Baca	OG	UCLA
197.	Bengals*	Cobi Hamilton	WR	Arkansas
198.	Texans*	Chris Jones	DT	Bowling Green
199.	Lions*	Theo Riddick	RB	Notre Dame
200.	Ravens	Kapron Lewis-Moore	DE	Notre Dame
201.	Texans	Ryan Griffin	TE	Connecticut
202.	Titans	Khalid Wooten	CB	Nevada
203.	Ravens	Ryan Jensen	OG	Colorado St.-Pueblo
204.	Chiefs	Braden Wilson	FB	Kansas State
205.	Raiders	Stacy McGee	DT	Oklahoma
206.	Steelers	Vince Williams	ILB	Florida State

Round 7

Pick	Team	Player	Position	School
207.	Chiefs	Mike Catapano	DE	Princeton
208.	Jaguars	Jeremy Harris	CB	New Mexico St.
209.	Raiders	Brice Butler	WR	San Diego State
210.	Jaguars*	Demetrius McCray	CB	Appalachian St.
211.	Lions	Michael Williams	TE	Alabama
212.	Eagles*	Joe Kruger	DE	Utah
213.	Vikings*	Michael Mauti	ILB	Penn State
214.	Vikings*	Travis Bond	OG	North Carolina
215.	Jets	Tommy Bohanon	FB	Wake Forest
216.	Packers*	Charles Johnson	WR	Grand Valley St.
217.	Browns*	Armonty Bryant	DE	E. Central Oklahoma
218.	Eagles*	Jodran Poyer	CB	Oregon State
219.	Cardinals*	D.C. Jefferson	TE	Rutgers
220.	Seahawks*	Ryan Seymour	OG	Vanderbilt
221.	Chargers	Brad Sorensen	QB	Southern Utah
222.	Bills*	Chris Gragg	TE	Arkansas
223.	Steelers	Nick Williams	DT	Samford
224.	Packers*	Kevin Dorsey	WR	Maryland
225.	Giants	Eric Herman	OG	Ohio
226.	Patriots*	Michael Buchanan	DE	Illinois
227.	Browns*	Garrett Gilkey	OG	Chadron State
228.	Redskins	Jawan Jamison	RB	Rutgers
229.	Vikings*	Everett Dawkins	DT	Florida State
230.	Colts	Kerwynn Williams	RB	Utah State
231.	Seahawks	Ty Powell	OLB	Harding
232.	Packers	Sam Barrington	OLB	South Florida
233.	Raiders*	David Bass	DE	Missouri Western
234.	Broncos	Zac Dysert	QB	Miami (Ohio)
235.	Patriots	Steve Beauharnais	ILB	Rutgers
236.	Bears*	Marquess Wilson	WR	Washington State
237.	49ers	B.J. Daniels	QB	South Florida
238.	Ravens	Aaron Mellette	WR	Elon
239.	Eagles	David King	DE	Oklahoma
240.	Bengals	Reid Fragel	OT	Ohio State
241.	Seahawks	Jared Smith	DT	New Hampshire
242.	Seahawks	Michael Bowie	OT	NE Oklahoma State
243.	Falcons	Kemal Ishmael	CB	Central Florida
244.	Falcons	Zeke Motta	S	Notre Dame
245.	Lions	Brandon Hepburn	ILB	Florida A&M
246.	49ers	Carter Bykowski	OT	Iowa State
247.	Ravens	Marc Anthony	CB	California
248.	Titans	Daimion Stafford	S	Nebraska
249.	Falcons	Sean Renfree	QB	Duke
250.	Dolphins	Don Jones	S	Arkansas State
251.	Bengals	T.J. Johnson	C	South Carolina
252.	49ers	Marcus Cooper	CB	Rutgers
253.	Giants	Michael Cox	RB	Massachusetts
254.	Colts	Justice Cunningham	TE	South Carolina

Note: An asterisk (*) indicates that a trade was made for the pick