2015 NFL Draft Grades: Round 1 Results and Scores for Each Team
Something strange happened at the NFL draft on Thursday night: Nothing all that strange happened.
Wait, what?
In a first round that was supposed to feature blockbuster trades and franchise-altering moves, well, most teams played it safe, smart and kind of boring. Predraft mocks didn't end up looking all that foolish, there weren't any truly shocking slides down the board and there weren't too many crazy reaches by desperate teams.
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But there were some surprises, of course, and a few truly intriguing selections. So, keeping that in mind, let's take a look at the full first-round results, draft grades and several notable picks from Thursday evening.
Results
Grades
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Jameis Winston (1) | A | The Bucs get their franchise quarterback. Winston has his question marks, namely off the field, but he has huge upside on the field. This was the expected pick and the selection Tampa Bay had to make. |
| Tennessee Titans | Marcus Mariota (2) | B+ | Love the player, question the fit. After so much predraft buzz about trading this pick, the Titans end up keeping it and selecting Mariota. They must build a scheme to fit his unique skill set. If they do, Mariota could be special. |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | Dante Fowler Jr. (3) | B+ | Fills huge need for Jags at pass-rusher. Could be argued that Fowler isn't best pass-rusher in this draft or other players on board were bigger talents, but Fowler has ability to be a difference-maker in Gus Bradley's scheme. |
| Oakland Raiders | Amari Cooper (4) | A | Raiders get Derek Carr his go-to receiver for the next decade. Cooper has been compared by some to Reggie Wayne. One of the safest prospects in this draft and a special player who will be a huge hit in Oakland. |
| Washington | Brandon Scherff (5) | B- | A good, tough player, but this high in draft? Feels like a slight reach, especially with talented defensive players on board. Will give Washington's O-line a bit more toughness and nastiness, however. |
| New York Jets | Leonard Williams (6) | A | The Jets didn't need another interior lineman, but they won't be complaining after arguably the top talent in this draft fell to them. Adding Williams to an already stout group gives Jets one of nastiest defenses in NFL. |
| Chicago Bears | Kevin White (7) | A- | Bears waste little time drafting Brandon Marshall's replacement. Has a ton of upside and physical ability. Gives Jay Cutler two dangerous wideouts with Alshon Jeffery on the other side. |
| Atlanta Falcons | Vic Beasley (8) | B+ | Fills a major need for Atlanta and should fit nicely into Dan Quinn's scheme. Needs to be better against the run going forward, hence the grade, but on passing downs could be an absolute force. |
| New York Giants | Ereck Flowers (9) | B | A player that has been linked to the Giants of late, so not a huge shocker. Should help improve the offensive line if he pans out at left tackle. More talented players on board at this point, but filled a need. |
| St. Louis Rams | Todd Gurley (10) | B+ | Hardest pick on board to grade. Such a huge talent, arguably a top-five talent. But injury history combined with a deep running back class make this a questionable pick so high. Still, if Gurley lives up to potential he'll be a special player. |
| Minnesota Vikings | Trae Waynes (11) | B | DeVante Parker would have also made sense here (maybe more sense, as Teddy Bridgewater needs more weapons), but Waynes is a very good player at a need position. Has some question marks, but Mike Zimmer will coach him up. |
| Cleveland Browns | Danny Shelton (12), Cameron Erving (19) | A- | Shelton is exactly what Browns needed in interior of defense. Will be a difference-maker at nose tackle. Erving is another piece on what is shaping up to be a nice offensive line. Browns didn't make sexy picks, but they made smart ones. Wide receiver remains huge need, but plenty of good options will be available in second round. |
| New Orleans Saints | Andrus Peat (13), Stephone Anthony (31) | B | Saints continue to upgrade offensive line with this pick. Have major needs on defense, but Peat was solid value here. Drew Brees won't be complaining. Anthony might have been a slight reach here, but not enough that Saints should be dinged for selecting him. They got a major upgrade at linebacker in Anthony. |
| Miami Dolphins | DeVante Parker (14) | A- | Huge need is filled with great value here. Parker is a top talent who slipped further on the board than he should have. Ryan Tannehill has his No. 1 wide receiver now and Dolphins have solid weapons in passing game with Jordan Cameron and Jarvis Landry already in town. |
| San Diego Chargers | Melvin Gordon (15) | B+ | Chargers moved up in trade with Niners to get to No. 15, so that has to be factored into overall grade. Still, Gordon is an electrifying talent who perfectly fits this offense. He didn't come cheap, but he'll be a hit in San Diego. |
| Houston Texans | Kevin Johnson (16) | B- | Solid player, but a reach here? Feels like it a bit. Gives Texans a solid trio at corner, however, a must in a division with Andrew Luck. |
| San Francisco 49ers | Arik Armstead (17) | B+ | Armstead is a physical freak, but he's an inconsistent player. Niners will hope he can become the next Justin Smith on their defense. Team also picked up a 2015 fourth-rounder and 2016 fifth-rounder, all while getting the player they wanted in the first place. Not too shabby. |
| Kansas City Chiefs | Marcus Peters (18) | A- | Peters is a risk after being booted off of Washington's team last year for disciplinary issues, but on the field he's a top-10 talent, making him worth the risk here. Andy Reid will be hoping Peters plays nice in Kansas City and becomes a Pro Bowl corner. |
| Philadelphia Eagles | Nelson Agholor (20) | B+ | Eagles fans will be disappointed team couldn't get Mariota, but Agholor is a perfect fit for Eagles. A similar player to Jeremy Maclin, Agholor is a heady, consistent player with excellent hands and versatility. Will be fun watching Chip Kelly utilize him in various ways. |
| Cincinnati Bengals | Cedric Ogbuehi (21) | B+ | Would have been a top-10 talent were it not for a late-season knee injury, so solid selection from the Bengals, who can be patient with him as he recovers. |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | Bud Dupree (22) | B+ | Steelers needed to add some bite to defense, so Bud Dupree was a steal for them here, especially with Jarvis Jones starting to look like a bust. |
| Denver Broncos | Shane Ray (23) | B+ | Shane Ray has some concerns given his toe injury and a recent marijuana citation, but man, can Ray rush the passer. He, Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware give the Broncos a scary pass-rushing unit. The grade would be higher, but the Broncos did give up a 2015 fifth-rounder, a 2016 fifth-rounder and guard Manny Ramirez, so they paid a steep price to get Ray. |
| Arizona Cardinals | D.J. Humphries (24) | B- | High ceiling, somewhat risky pick here as Humphries is athletic but needs more polish. |
| Carolina Panthers | Shaq Thompson (25) | C+ | Like the player, question the need for him in Carolina, where linebacker is far from a need position. Could he play some safety? Likely will be special teams player in rookie season, but Panthers could find a unique role for him in defense. Still, interesting pick for Panthers. |
| Baltimore Ravens | Breshad Perriman (26) | B | Logical replacement for Torrey Smith, who departed in free agency, though would Devin Smith have been better deep-threat option at wideout here? Either way, Ravens addressed pretty big need. |
| Dallas Cowboys | Byron Jones (27) | A- | Very good value here at a need position. When did the Cowboys get good at drafting? Oh, when Jerry Jones stopped running the draft. Right. |
| Detroit Lions | Laken Tomlinson (28) | B | Lions got picks to move back in trade with Niners, so that bolsters grade. Also got a high-character guard in Tomlinson to bolster the line. |
| Indianapolis Colts | Phillip Dorsett (29) | C+ | Huh? With several glaring holes on defense, the Colts selected...a wide receiver. Dorsett is a dynamic athlete and a good wide receiver, but did Luck need another weapon at the expense of the defense? Probably not. |
| Green Bay Packers | Damarious Randall (30) | C- | Randall is a playmaker and the best cover safety in this draft, but the Packers had bigger needs than safety. Of course, they'll probably convert him to corner, but that still makes this a risky decision in the first round. This was a questionable pick. |
| New England Patriots | Malcom Brown (32) | B+ | The Patriots stay put to add a player that fits their system nicely and some folks thought they might trade up to select. Bill Belichick strikes again. |
Notable Picks
2. Tennessee Titans: Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon
Wait, weren't the Philadelphia Eagles, or San Diego Chargers or Cleveland Browns supposed to trade up to land Mariota? Wasn't Ken Whisenhunt supposed to want a traditional pocket passer to fit his scheme?
Apparently not.
For Mariota to work in Tennessee, the Titans have to be flexible. They have to be willing to build a system that incorporates Mariota's strengths and gifts. They have to let the player dictate to the system, not the other way around.
It would seem that process has already begun, as Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com wrote after the draft:
"Whisenhunt said he and his staff started some rewriting of the offensive playbook as soon as a few weeks ago while pondering the idea of Mariota joining the team.
“We’ve already started working on that. We’ll have a plan,” Whisenhunt said Thursday night. “I think one of the important things is … you’ve got to push him, you’ve got to challenge him. But, obviously, there are some things he does well and we’ll incorporate those into what we are doing. So it’s going to be a little bit of a blend.”
"
If they get the mixture right, Tennessee could have a dynamic quarterback at the helm for quite some time. Get it wrong, however, and Mariota could end up being another good player stuck in a bad situation. If that happens, he'll probably be wishing Chip Kelly found a way to draft him.
6. New York Jets: Leonard Williams, DT, USC
The New York Jets didn't come into this draft needing another defensive lineman. After all, in Sheldon Richardson and Muhammad Wilkerson, the team already had two studs on the interior of the line. But when the draft hands you Leonard Williams—arguably the top talent, period, in this draft—at the No. 6 pick, you thank your lucky stars and draft him.
Yes, the Jets now have three studs to play defensive end in their 3-4 scheme (none of these players is a great fit at nose tackle). Of course, with Wilkerson wanting a contract extension, the Jets could entertain the notion of dealing him, per Rich Cimini of ESPN.com:
Even if they don't deal him, though, the Jets now have three players to rotate at two spots on their line, essentially guaranteeing they'll never see a drop-off from one player to the next. Plus, in a pinch they can probably play Richardson at the nose as well, though Damon Harrison will remain the starter there given his run-stuffing ability. Still, it's a nice option to have.
Sometimes, the best way to approach the draft is simply to take the best player on the board. It's hard to imagine the Jets will regret doing so this year. In an offseason that saw them add Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie to the defense, Williams is another stud to bring to a unit that already looked pretty darn stout.
10. St. Louis Rams: Todd Gurley, RB, Georgia
Yes, it's a deep running back draft. Yes, selecting a running back this high rarely works out the way a team hopes. Yes, Todd Gurley has an injury history and was suspended at Georgia for accepting money for autographs.
But man, is he a special talent when he's handed the rock. Gurley is a violent runner between the tackles like Marshawn Lynch, and he bounces off of would-be tacklers and is capable of breaking big runs like the Seattle superstar.
The fact that the NFL is trending away from valuing running backs highly in the draft—and the fact that Gurley is a running back coming off an ACL tear—means that the Rams think he is very, very special to draft him at No. 10.
And when you see stats like the following from SportsCenter on Twitter, well, you can see why the team thinks that way:
It also helps that they don't need to rush him onto the field, per Bucky Brooks of NFL.com:
If Gurley doesn't become the second coming of Lynch, it's going to be hard to look back on this pick as a worthwhile selection for the Rams. If he does, however, not many folks are going to knock the Rams for ending the draft's first-round drought at running back by using a top-10 pick on Gurley. Lynch has been worth his weight in gold for Seattle, after all.
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