NFL Draft Grades: Scoring Every General Manager's Draft-Day Decisions

It's no secret that the best teams in the NFL are also more often than not the best drafting teams in the league.

Decisions made on draft day shape the landscape of the NFL. Teams like the Baltimore Ravens, Green Bay Packers and New England Patriots consistently replenish their stock of young talent by making savvy decisions in April.

Other teams, like the Buffalo Bills and the Oakland Raiders, can usually be counted on to make at least one or two head-scratching decisions every year.

This year, Jerry Jones took the cake as the general manager who made the most outrageous picks, and his lack of discernment as it pertains to personnel decisions is fast becoming a real problem for the Dallas Cowboys as a competitive franchise. 

Here's a snapshot of the early grades for each team's general manager. After the grades, I'll focus on three teams for a deeper look into why they earned those grades.

GM	TEAM	GRADE
Jerry Reese	New York Giants	B
Jerry Jones	Dallas Cowboys	C-
Howie Roseman	Philadelphia Eagles	B
Bruce Allen	Washington Redskins	B
Kevin Colbert	Pittsburgh Steelers	B+
Ozzie Newsome	Baltimore Ravens	A
Michael Lombardi	Cleveland Browns	C
Mike Brown	Cincinnati Bengals	A-
Ted Thompson	Green Bay Packers	A
Martin Mayhew	Detroit Lions	B
Rick Spielman	Minnesota Vikings	B+
Phil Emery	Chicago Bears	C+
Rick Smith	Houston Texans	B
Ryan Grigson	Indianapolis Colts	C+
Ruston Webster	Tennessee Titans	B+
Dave Caldwell	Jacksonville Jaguars	B+
Thomas Dimitroff	Atlanta Falcons	B+
Mickey Loomis	New Orleans Saints	B
Mark Dominik	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	B-
Dave Gettleman	Carolina Panthers	B
John Elway	Denver Broncos	C
John Dorsey	Kansas City Chiefs	B-
Reggie McKenzie	Oakland Raiders	A-
Tom Telesco	San Diego Chargers	B
Steve Keim	Arizona Cardinals	A-
John Scheider	Seattle Seahawks	B
Trent Baalke	San Francisco 49ers	A+
Les Snead	St. Louis Rams	A-
Nick Caserlo/Bill Belichick	New England Patriots	C+
Buddy Nix	Buffalo Bills	C
Jeff Ireland	Miami Dolphins	B-
John Idzik	New York Jets	B+

Jerry Jones: Dallas Cowboys (C-)

Travis Frederick? Really? In the first round, Jerry Jones?

Jones knows he made waves by selecting Frederick in the first round when many experts had him pegged as a third-round player. Team beat writer Clarence Hill spoke to Jones about the pick:

The sad thing about this particular pick is that Jones initially looked like he was making a smart move when he traded down with the San Francisco 49ers, who jumped up to No. 18 to snag safety Eric Reid. 

The fact that Frederick was the team's only offensive lineman selected is a travesty in itself. The fact that Jones drafted him instead of selecting Matt Elam or Jonathan Cyprien to improve his secondary is just as horrid. 

Sadder still is the fact that Jones' first mistake wasn't his last.

Gavin Escobar might turn out to be a nice player for the Cowboys, but he's going to be a backup tight end for the next few years until Jason Witten retires. Terrence Williams is a nice receiver, but selecting another receiving target for Tony Romo is crazy in light of the team's horrific offensive line.

Honestly, there isn't any real logic to what Jones did in this year's draft. His selections defy reason, and it's clear that Jones is becoming the league's next Al Davis. 

Ozzie Newsome: Baltimore Ravens (A)

After losing two future Hall of Famers in Ed Reed and Ray Lewis, trading Anquan Boldin to the 49ers for a sixth-round pick and watching a few of their best free agents leave town, the Ravens looked doomed.

Newsome never panicked, however. And after watching him reel in quality player after quality player in the draft, it's not hard to see why.

Not only did Newsome land replacements for Reed and Lewis, but he improved his defensive line and provided Joe Flacco with a couple of potential new targets late in the draft.

Landing Matt Elam at the end of the first round wasn't a shocker, but the fact that Newsome was able to select linebacker Arthur Brown towards the end of Round 2 was stunning. Furthermore, Brandon Williams will be a stud in the middle of the team's defensive line playing next to Haloti Ngata. 

Bleacher Report's Matt Miller, who was covering the draft live, took the time to comment on this trio in the middle of his broadcast:

It's clear Newsome is one of the best talent evaluators in the NFL, and because of his efforts, the Ravens could be stronger on defense this year than they were a year ago.

Scary thought for the rest of the teams in the AFC.

Trent Baalke: San Francisco 49ers (A+)

The overused term "the rich get richer" doesn't even come close to defining what Baalke did in this year's draft.

My jaw just kept hitting the floor. 

And I wasn't the only one. 

Aaron Schatz of Football Outsiders summed up Baalke's draft succinctly:

The only questionable decision Baalke made was when he traded up for Reid. But Reid was the team's top-rated safety, and Baalke wanted to make sure he landed his man. 

Trading back in the second round and landing Tank Carradine was a brilliant move to secure the team's defensive line for the future, as was drafting pass-rushing specialist Corey Lemonier out of Auburn in the third round.

Tight end Vance McDonald will fill in nicely for Delanie Walker, who left town this winter, and Marcus Lattimore will be Frank Gore's heir-apparent after likely sitting out the entire 2013 season on the team's PUP list.

Oh, and just for fun, Baalke landed one of the top receivers in this year's draft class late in the fourth round. Quinton Patton has a legitimate chance to beat last year's first-round pick A.J. Jenkins on the team's depth chart this year. 

The 49ers are absolutely loaded heading into the 2013 season, and it's a guarantee that this team will be forced to cut a few players this summer that will contribute in major ways for other teams.

That's how you build a championship roster.

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*	Jordan 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

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