2014 NFL Draft Results: Rounds 1-3 Grades, Updated Selection Order, Storylines

The first round is a party. The second and third rounds are where surprising stars can be unearthed. After that, teams are looking for diamonds in the rough or depth players. 

And the whole thing is a blast, isn't it?

Below, we'll cover all of the bases in this year's draft, from grading the first three rounds to going over the major storylines thus far and taking a look at the remaining picks. Stay glued to those couches, folks, we still have over half of the draft to go! 

Let's start by reviewing the draft grades for every team after the first two days.

Team	Selections	Grade	Analysis
Houston Texans	Jadeveon Clowney, Xavier Su'a-Filo, C.J. Fiedorowicz, Louis Nix	A	One of the steadiest, strongest drafts thus far. Clowney is obviously a potential superstar, while Su'a-Filo was the best available guard and many had Nix projected as the best 3-4 nose tackle in this draft. At least on paper, a great start to Bill O'Brien's regime.
St. Louis Rams	Greg Robinson, Aaron Donald, Lamarcus Joyner, Tre Mason	A	Another strong draft from the Rams. Started with the best tackle and interior defensive lineman, added the versatile Joyner to the secondary and a bit of lightning in Mason to pair with the thunder of Zac Stacy.
Jacksonville Jaguars	Blake Bortles, Marqise Lee, Allen Robinson, Brandon Linder	A-	The Bortles pick still feels like a slight reach, but the Jags identified what they wanted to improve—the passing game—and did just that. Getting Lee and Robinson in the second round was a coup.
Buffalo Bills	Sammy Watkins, Cyrus Kouandjio, Preston Brown	B	Watkins is dynamic, but did the Bills give up too much to get him? Kouandjio and Brown were nice value picks.
Oakland Raiders	Khalil Mack, Derek Carr, Gabe Jackson	A	How often do you find yourself agreeing with every decision the Raiders have made in a draft? They nabbed a future star in Mack, their future starter at quarterback in Carr and a mauler at guard in Jackson. Oakland is killing this draft.
Atlanta Falcons	Jake Matthews, Ra'Shede Hageman, Dezmen Southward	B+	Atlanta nabbed one of the safest prospects in Matthews, then got an intriguing, if inconsistent, talent for the defensive line in Hageman. Southward offers versatility in the secondary.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Mike Evans, Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Charles Sims	B+	Well, the Bucs look a lot scarier on offense, huh? Evans is going to be a stud, and if Seferian-Jenkins can remain motivated, he really upgrades the tight end position. Sims gives the Bucs good depth behind Doug Martin at running back.
Cleveland Browns	Justin Gilbert, Johnny Manziel, Joel Bitonio, Christian Kirksey, Terrance West	A-	It's hard to argue with any of the selections the Browns have made—they've taken good players and nice values across the board—especially when you consider they also secured Buffalo's first-round pick next year. But you have to wonder if bypassing the receiver position with Josh Gordon potentially facing a season-long ban was wise.
Minnesota Vikings	Anthony Barr, Teddy Bridgewater, Scott Crichton, Jerick McKinnon	B+	A lot of upside and projects in this draft, with the exception of Bridgewater, who is a day one starter. The Vikings have certainly nabbed some intriguing talents.
Detroit Lions	Eric Ebron, Kyle Van Noy, Travis Swanson	B	The Lions got good players, but didn't address arguably their biggest need at corner. Tight end in particular felt like a luxury pick, though Ebron is a special talent. Interesting draft from the Lions.
Tennessee Titans	Taylor Lewan, Bishop Sankey	B+	Lewan was an excellent value, even if he wasn't a huge need. Sankey certainly was a big need, and will likely be a huge part of Tennessee's offense next season.
New York Giants	Odell Beckham Jr., Weston Richburg, Jay Bromley	B	Beckham gives Eli Manning another weapon to work with in the passing game. Richburg continues the revamping of the offensive line. Not the sexiest draft from New York, but a steady one.
Chicago Bears	Kyle Fuller, Ego Ferguson, Will Sutton	B-	Fuller certainly has a ton of upside, though corner didn't seem like the team's biggest need. Defensive tackle was, and they addressed that with Ferguson and Sutton, though the former was a huge reach in the second round.
Pittsburgh Steelers	Ryan Shazier, Stephon Tuitt, Dri Archer	B	Was Shazier a reach? Perhaps a slight one, but he's a versatile player at linebacker. Tuitt could be one of the steals of the draft if he stays motivated. Archer gives the Steelers some sizzle to pair with Le'Veon Bell's steak.
Dallas Cowboys	Zack Martin, Demarcus Lawrence	B-	Martin's versatility on the line makes him a plug-and-play starter, while Lawrence is an intriguing edge-rusher. Still, you wonder if the Cowboys could have done more to improve the defense thus far.
Baltimore Ravens	C.J. Mosley, Timmy Jernigan, Terrence Brooks, Crockett Gillmore	B+	The Ravens really improved defensively with their first three picks. All should make an impact next season, and all were nice values. Gillmore gives them a tight end to work in with Dennis Pitta.
New York Jets	Calvin Pryor, Jace Amaro, Dexter McDougle	A-	I love the first two picks. Pryor is a Rex Ryan guy, and he'll be an excellent safety at the next level. Amaro isn't an in-line blocker at tight end, but he'll be an excellent receiver and security blanket as the Jets continue to improve the offense.
Miami Dolphins	Ja'Wuan James, Jarvis Landry, Billy Turner	C	James was the biggest reach of the first round. Turner is a project, though he has upside. The Dolphins knew they needed to rebuild the offensive line, but did they find the right guys to do it? Landry will give Ryan Tannehill another nice weapon in the passing game.
New Orleans Saints	Brandin Cooks, Stanley Jean-Baptiste	B+	Only two players, but two very, very intriguing players. Cooks is a dynamo after the catch and will take over the Darren Sproles role in this offense, while Jean-Baptiste is a bigger corner that will likely be in vogue now, given the success of Richard Sherman.
Green Bay Packers	Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Davante Adams, Khyri Thornton, Richard Rodgers	B+	The Packers have addressed their biggest needs, and Clinton-Dix and Adams in particular were strong selections. A nice draft thus far.
Kansas City Chiefs	Dee Ford, Phillip Gaines	C	Ford was a surprise, with Tamba Hali and Justin Houston already on the edge. Gaines has talent but feels like a project. These are picks that could make a ton of sense in three years, but don't seem to help the Chiefs a ton in the short term.
Cincinnati Bengals	Darqueze Dennard, Jeremy Hill, Will Clarke	B	Dennard falling into their laps was nothing short of a blessing. Hill is an intriguing pick and likely signifies the end of the road for BenJarvus Green-Ellis. Clarke will be added to the defensive line rotation.
San Diego Chargers	Jason Verrett, Jeremiah Attaochu, Chris Watt	B+	Quietly a strong draft from the Chargers. Verrett is a plug-and-play starter and Watt was a nice value in the third round that will upgrade the offensive line. Attaochu is a project, but his upside is immense and he was easily the best 3-4 OLB remaining in this draft.
Philadelphia Eagles	Marcus Smith, Jordan Matthews, Josh Huff	C+	A bit of a curious draft from the Eagles. Smith was a reach, but the Eagles did add a pick when they traded back and he addresses a huge need off the edge. Matthews was an excellent selection and should be this team's slot receiver immediately. Huff will be a special-teamer early on, but does a little bit of everything for you at receiver. Will they address the secondary in day three?
Arizona Cardinals	Deone Bucannon, Troy Niklas, Kareem Martin, John Brown	B	Interesting players across the board. Not finding Carson Palmer's eventual replacement a bit curious. Brown is hardly known and tiny, but very explosive at wide receiver. Could be a reach, or could be the "Where did this guy come from?" pick of the draft.
Carolina Panthers	Kelvin Benjamin, Kony Ealy, Trai Turner	B	Benjamin fills a huge need, though he's a project. Turner is another player with talent but in need of some polish. Ealy was a great value for where he was selected.
New England Patriots	Dominique Easley, Jimmy Garoppolo	B-	Easley has top-15 talent. He's also torn the ACL in each of his knees in the past three years. Huge risk, potentially huge reward. Garoppolo was clearly drafted to be Tom Brady's heir apparent, but was it wise to go that route in the second round for a team competing for the Super Bowl?
San Francisco 49ers	Jimmie Ward, Carlos Hyde, Marcus Martin, Chris Borland, Brandon Thomas	B+	Such an interesting draft. Ward fills a need, as the Niners see him initially as a slot corner. Hyde may have been the best running back on the board, but he joins a pretty crowded backfield. Martin may be the best center in this draft. Borland isn't very big or athletic, but he's here to play. Thomas will have to sit a year due to injury, but his upside is big. Hard to judge this draft in the present, but sure looks like the Niners added a lot of quality players.
Denver Broncos	Bradley Roby, Cody Latimer, Michael Schofield	B	Roby and Latimer have big upside, though both may be projects, and Schofield gives them added depth on the offensive line. Solid start for the Broncos.
Washington	Trent Murphy, Morgan Moses, Spencer Long	C-	Moses was a great value, but both Murphy and Long were reaches. Add in the fact that they didn't have a first-round selection (though that RG3 guy is pretty good) and this has been a disappointing draft for Washington.
Seattle Seahawks	Paul Richardson, Justin Britt	C	Question Seattle's draft at your own peril—their unorthodox picks at the time seem to always turn to gold down the road—but both selections carry question marks. Richardson is lighting in a bottle at wide receiver given his blazing speed, but he is very slight. Britt was a bit of a reach given some of the other offensive lineman on the board. Still, Seattle has been right more than they've been wrong in recent years, so time will tell.
Indianapolis Colts	Jack Mewhort, Donte Moncrief	B-	Mewhort is very versatile on the offensive line and could contribute immediately. Moncrief is more of a project and will probably be buried on the depth chart at wide receiver, a pretty deep position in Indy.

Major Storylines

Elsa/Getty Images

Once Jadeveon Clowney was selected with the top overall pick, most folks probably thought Johnny Manziel's landing spot would become the major talking point. And while it eventually would, a few other surprises superseded the Johnny Football circus.

For starters, the Jacksonville Jaguars selecting Blake Bortles surprised most folks. Give the Jags credit—they hid their intentions expertly, though some folks thought Khalil Mack or Sammy Watkins would have represented better value. But the Jags came into this draft knowing they wanted to upgrade the passing game and did just that, also adding wide receivers Marqise Lee and Allen Robinson in the second round.

Gus Bradley may be a defensive coach, but he certainly has an improved offense now.

Things heated up even more at No. 4, when the Bills traded the No. 9 pick and first- and fourth-round picks in 2015 to the Cleveland Browns for the right to move up to No. 4 and select Sammy Watkins (the team would later get that fourth back by trading Stevie Johnson to the San Francisco 49ers).

It was about that point that the Browns became the center of this year's draft. When it was their turn to pick at No. 8 (they traded with Minnesota to move up a spot), everyone eagerly anticipated the selection of Manziel. Instead, it was Justin Gilbert who was selected.

And thus began Manziel's slide. When he was available at No. 16 for the Dallas Cowboys, the Internet basically imploded. Would Jerry Jones do it? Would he add the Manziel circus to the Cowboys circus?

No, he wouldn't. Neither would Chip Kelly at No. 22, as the Eagles traded the pick to the Browns, who finally ended Manziel's slide and capped off a huge day for Cleveland. Gilbert, Manziel and a 2015 first-rounder—could life get any better for the Browns?

Heck, Johnny Football even answered every question he was presented with at his first team press conference with aplomb. Here are a few highlights, via the Browns' official Twitter account and Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com:

But things got worse before they got better. Before the second round began on Friday, it leaked that Josh Gordon could be suspended for an entire season for violating the league's substance abuse policy, via SportsCenter on Twitter:

Yikes. And the Browns upper echelon knew about this well before the draft, yet decided against drafting a receiver in the first round. That was somewhat understandable, given the depth at the position this year. But surely the Browns would draft a receiver at some point in the second or third round then, right?

Well, no, they didn't. And now, the team's need for a player at the position is one of the biggest storylines remaining in the draft. 

In general, those are the types of storylines that remain. Will the Cowboys continue to get help on defense? Will the Arizona Cardinals draft Carson Palmer's eventual replacement? Will the Texans draft a quarterback at all to compete for the starting job?

Depth is now the name of the game for most teams. But, as always, it will be fascinating to see which teams unearth those hidden gems. 

Remaining Picks

Pick	Overall	Team
Round 4
1	101	Philadelphia Eagles (from Houston)
2	102	Washington Redskins
3	103	Atlanta Falcons
4	104	New York Jets (from Tampa Bay)
5	105	New England (from Jacksonville)
6	106	San Francisco (from Cleveland)
7	107	Oakland Raiders
8	108	Seattle Seahawks (from Minnesota)
9	109	Buffalo Bills
10	110	St. Louis Rams
11	111	Seattle Seahawks (from Detroit)
12	112	Tennessee Titans
13	113	New York Giants
14	114	Jacksonville Jaguars (from Baltimore)
15	115	New York Jets
16	116	Oakland Raiders (from Miami)
17	117	Chicago Bears
18	118	Pittsburgh Steelers
19	119	Dallas Cowboys
20	120	Arizona Cardinals
21	121	Green Bay Packers
22	122	Tennessee Titans (from Philly)
23	123	Cincinnati Bengals
24	124	Kansas City Chiefs
25	125	Miami Dolphins (from San Diego)
26	126	New Orleans Saints
27	127	Cleveland Browns (from Indianapolis)
28	128	Carolina Panthers
29	129	San Francisco 49ers
30	130	New England Patriots
31	131	Denver Broncos
32	132	Seattle Seahawks
33	133	Detroit Lions (compensatory)
34	134	Baltimore Ravens (compensatory)
35	135	Houston Texans (compensatory)
36	136	Detroit Lions (compensatory)
37	137	New York Jets (compensatory)
38	138	Baltimore Ravens (compensatory)
39	139	Atlanta Falcons (compensatory)
40	140	New England Patriots (compensatory)
Round 5
1	141	Philadelphia Eagles (from Houston)
2	142	Washington Redskins
3	143	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
4	144	Jacksonville Jaguars
5	145	Minnesota Vikings (from Cleveland)
6	146	Detroit Lions (from Oakland via Seattle)
7	147	Atlanta Falcons
8	148	Minnesota Vikings
9	149	Buffalo Bills
10	150	San Francisco 49ers (from Detroit via Jacksonville)
11	151	Tennessee Titans
12	152	New York Giants
13	153	Buffalo Bills (from Rams)
14	154	New York Jets
15	155	Miami Dolphins
16	156	Chicago Bears
17	157	Pittsburgh Steelers
18	158	Dallas Cowboys
19	159	Jacksonville Jaguars (from Baltimore)
20	160	Arizona Cardinals
21	161	Green Bay Packers
22	162	Philadelphia Eagles
23	163	Kansas City Chiefs
24	164	Cincinnati Bengals
25	165	San Diego Chargers
26	166	Indianapolis Colts
27	167	New Orleans Saints
28	168	Carolina Panthers
29	169	New Orleans Saints (from New England via Philadelphia)
30	170	San Francisco 49ers
31	171	Miami Dolphins (from Denver via San Francisco)
32	172	Seattle Seahawks
33	173	Pittsburgh Steelers (compensatory)
34	174	New York Giants (compensatory)
35	175	Baltimore Ravens (compensatory)
36	176	Green Bay Packers (compensatory)
Round 6
1	177	Houston Texans
2	178	Washington Redskins
3	179	New England Patriots (from Jacksonville)
4	180	San Francisco (from Cleveland)
5	181	Houston Texans (from Oakland Raiders)
6	182	Atlanta Falcons
7	183	Chicago Bears (from Tampa Bay)
8	184	Minnesota Vikings
9	185	Tampa Bay (from Buffalo Bills)
10	186	Tennessee Titans
11	187	New York Giants
12	188	St. Louis Rams
13	189	Detroit Lions
14	190	Miami Dolphins
15	191	Chicago Bears
16	192	Pittsburgh Steelers
17	193	Kansas City Chiefs (from Dallas)
18	194	Baltimore Ravens
19	195	New York Jets
20	196	Arizona Cardinals
21	197	Green Bay Packers
22	198	New England Patriots (from Philadelphia)
23	199	Cincinnati Bengals
24	200	Kansas City Chiefs
25	201	San Diego Chargers
26	202	New Orleans Saints
27	203	Indianapolis Colts
28	204	Carolina Panthers
29	205	Jacksonville Jaguars (from San Francisco)
30	206	New England Patriots
31	207	Denver Broncos
32	208	Seattle Seahawks
33	209	New York Jets (compensatory)
34	210	New York Jets (compensatory)
35	211	Houston Texans (compensatory)
36	212	Cincinnati Bengals (compensatory)
37	213	New York Jets (compensatory)
38	214	St. Louis Rams (compensatory)
39	215	Pittsburgh Steelers (compensatory)
Round 7
1	216	Houston Texans
2	217	Washington Redskins
3	218	Cleveland Browns
4	219	Oakland Raiders
5	220	Atlanta Falcons
6	221	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
7	222	Jacksonville Jaguars
8	223	Minnesota Vikings
9	224	Buffalo Bills
10	225	Carolina Panthers (from N.Y. Giants)
11	226	St. Louis Rams
12	227	Seattle Seahawks (from Detroit)
13	228	Tennessee Titans
14	229	Dallas Cowboys (from Chicago)
15	230	Pittsburgh Steelers
16	231	Dallas Cowboys
17	232	Indianapolis Colts (from Baltimore)
18	233	New York Jets
19	234	Miami Dolphins
20	235	Oakland Raiders (from Arizona)
21	236	Green Bay Packers
22	237	Philadelphia Eagles
23	238	Dallas Cowboys (from Kansas City)
24	239	Cincinnati Bengals
25	240	San Diego Chargers
26	241	St. Louis Rams (from Indianapolis)
27	242	Denver Broncos (from New Orleans via 49ers)
28	243	San Francisco 49ers (from Carolina)
29	244	New England Patriots
30	245	San Francisco 49ers
31	246	Denver Broncos
32	247	Oakland Raiders (from Seattle Seahawks)
33	248	Dallas Cowboys (compensatory)
34	249	St. Louis Rams (compensatory)
35	250	St. Louis Rams (compensatory)
36	251	Dallas Cowboys (compensatory)
37	252	Cincinnati Bengals (compensatory)
38	253	Atlanta Falcons (compensatory)
39	254	Dallas Cowboys (compensatory)
40	255	Atlanta Falcons (compensatory)
41	256	Houston Texans (compensatory)