NFL Draft 2015: Grades for Teams Stuck in Rebuilding Mode

Unless a team can get its hands on an Andrew Luck, rebuilding in the NFL is a multiyear process in need of a plan and a franchise willing to stick with it in the long run.  

The NFL is a "what have you done for me lately?" kind of league, which is why it's rare to see names such as Cincinnati Bengals coach Marvin Lewis stick around for so long.

This makes it hard for any franchise to rebuild because patience is in short supply. The 2015 NFL draft was a unique opportunity for all teams to move in the right direction, though, thanks to a deep class at most positions except quarterback.

Below, let's take a look at teams in transition, capable of earning the term "rebuild" after a look at a full list of grades.

Draft Grades

Team	Grade	Analysis
Arizona Cardinals	C	Bruce Arians and Co. played it smart with D.J. Humphries, but the rest of the value left something to be desired.
Atlanta Falcons	A+	Vic Beasley was a no-brainer. The risk on Jalen Collins is perfect. Tevin Coleman might be the steal of the draft. Easily the best class of 2015.
Baltimore Ravens	A	Baltimore swaps Torrey Smith for Breshad Perriman, steals Maxx Williams in Round 2 and Carl Davis in Round 3. That's how it's done.
Buffalo Bills	C	Buffalo tried to hit areas of need with few picks but didn't do anything noteworthy.
Carolina Panthers	C	Shaq Thompson's an odd choice, and Devin Funchess needs to improve his catch rate.
Chicago Bears	A	Kevin White makes sense. Eddie Goldman fixes a huge hole on defense. Hroniss Grasu was the best at his position and a third-rounder. Great draft.
Cincinnati Bengals	A+	Cincinnati shores up both offensive tackle spots, steals Paul Dawson at the end of the third and gets an outstanding safety in Derron Smith in Round 6.
Cleveland Browns	C	Cleveland shored up its defense with Danny Shelton and Xavier Cooper, the latter an absolute steal in the third round. No quarterback or wide receiver, though?
Dallas Cowboys	D	Byron Jones in the first is questionable, as his flashy numbers need to match on-field play, and Randy Gregory's an iffy gamble to spend a second-round pick on.
Denver Broncos	B	It's odd to trade up for Shane Ray, but Denver did do a good job of picking up Jeff Heuerman in the third round.
Detroit Lions	B	Detroit did a nice job of filling needs with good value in limited opportunities.
Green Bay Packers	C	Damarious Randall's good, but an odd choice given the structure of Green Bay's roster. Ty Montgomery's an absolute reach.
Houston Texans	A+	What. A. Draft. Taking Kevin Johnson in the first, Benardrick McKinney in the second and Jaelen Strong in the third is perfect.
Indianapolis Colts	B	Adding another receiver is an odd choice. Josh Robinson might turn out to be the steal of the draft in the sixth round.
Jacksonville Jaguars	C	It's hard to go wrong with Dante Fowler, but T.J. Yeldon in the second round doesn't make a ton of sense given the value still on the board in the sixth round—just ask the Colts.
Kansas City Chiefs	B	Kansas City is smart to gamble on Marcus Peters. Steven Nelson in the third round is a steal.
Miami Dolphins	B	DeVante Parker gives the offense a No. 1 wideout, and Jordan Phillips is the perfect complement to Ndamukong Suh.
Minnesota Vikings	A+	Mike Zimmer can't seem to do any wrong on draft day, getting a starting corner and linebacker in the first two rounds, then stealing T.J. Clemmings and Stefon Diggs later.
New England Patriots	C	Malcom Brown was an obvious choice, but it's a mishmash of odd decisions after that.
New Orleans Saints	A	Andrus Peat will keep Drew Brees' jersey clean, and Rob Ryan has a pair of athletic linebackers to work with, not to mention a great value with P.J. Williams in the third round.
New York Giants	A	Landon Collins at the top of the second is a steal. Owamagbe Odighizuwa's a typical Giants end and steal in the third round.
New York Jets	A	Look at the new Jets go. Leonard Williams is a perfect fit, and Bryce Petty may start despite being a fourth-round pick.
Oakland Raiders	A	Derek Carr gets to throw to Amari Cooper and a criminally underrated Clive Walford. Perfect draft.
Philadelphia Eagles	B	Nelson Agholor fits well, and Eric Rowe's a great value in Round 2. The rest was decent value.
Pittsburgh Steelers	A	Alvin Dupree falls in Pittsburgh's lap in the first, but the pick folks will talk about for a long time is Senquez Golson in the second.
San Diego Chargers	C	Melvin Gordon's a reach given the depth of the class, and the rest of the class could have been better.
San Francisco 49ers	B	San Francisco lined up needs and knocked them down, although Jaquiski Tartt's a bit of a reach.
Seattle Seahawks	C+	Frank Clark's a talent but with a ton of baggage. Tyler Lockett fits well, but the rest of the class is mixed.
St. Louis Rams	C	Todd Gurley's a great pick, but it felt like the Rams were just pulling names out of a hat to fix the offensive trenches.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	B	Pretty straightforward. Take the best quarterback in the class and then follow with two high-upside offensive linemen. The Anthony Collins nightmare is fully over.
Tennessee Titans	B	Since incomplete won't work, a B will have to do. Marcus Mariota needs to adjust to the pro level, and Dorial Green-Beckham's a major risk. Huge, huge reward with both, though.
Washington	B	Brandon Scherff was an interesting pick. Preston Smith's destined for big things.

Analysis for Rebuilding Teams

Oakland Raiders

For a team that hasn't won more than four games in a season since 2011, the Oakland Raiders needed a big splash in the 2015 draft.

Things were already going in the right direction after Derek Carr surprised under center last season with 3,270 yards and 21 touchdowns to 12 interceptions. Now, he has a true No. 1 wideout in Alabama's Amari Cooper.

Cooper is a monster pick, months after being one of the three Heisman Trophy finalists. As Chris B. Brown of Smart Football notes, he's going to open up Oakland's offense in a big way:

Cooper was an easy pick, though.

Mario Edwards Jr. in the second round is a great get, too. He's a great fit opposite Justin Tuck on the edges of the defense, and he won't have any issues helping a defense that had just 22 sacks to its name last year. He's a solid run defender, too, meaning the linebackers will have more room in which to work as he lines up next to free-agent acquisition Dan Williams.

Perhaps best of all, though, is Oakland's third-round pick, tight end Clive Walford.

Tight end was weak this year, sure, but Walford was the top player at the position in the minds of some thanks to his unlimited upside. Not only is he a great in-line blocker to help in the run game, he can stretch a defense in a vertical manner and create mismatches all over the field. 

In short, Oakland took another big step in the right direction, which seems to be the start of a trend in moving the franchise out of "rebuild" mode in a hurry.

Tennessee Titans

The Tennessee Titans aren't afraid of a risk. 

This much is clear after the team rolled with Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota in the first round and followed with a potential No. 1 wideout in Dorial Green-Beckham.

Folks know all about Mariota, who some view as more of a risk than Jameis Winston because of his collegiate offense. True or not, the Oregon product was the only pick the team could make because shots at franchise quarterbacks don't come around often.

DGB is more interesting, though.

Viewed as a major risk after a dismissal from Missouri's team, he spent last year with Oklahoma, and it was just a matter of time before someone took the dive on his immense talent. An account from a scout, captured by NFL.com's Albert Breer, says it all: "He's one of the best receivers I've ever seen. He's special. He's gigantic; he has tremendous body control, balance; he runs like a deer and can leap out of the gym and high-point the ball. He's special. It's impressive. If not for all that stuff, he'd be the best receiver to come out since Calvin Johnson."

Tennessee didn't do horrible with the rest of its class. A notable pick is David Cobb in the fifth round, a productive, versatile runner who could function as an every-down back as a rookie if necessary. 

But the focus will always come back to Mariota and DGB. Tennessee seems to understand risks are a natural part of escaping rebuilding mode, but it's important to point out those risks can backfire in a big way and keep a team there.

The Titans will be perhaps the most interesting team to watch next season.

Washington

Coach Jay Gruden and Washington provided one of the critical turning points of the draft.

USC defensive tackle Leonard Williams, West Virginia wideout Kevin White and Clemson pass-rusher Vic Beasley were all available. 

Gruden shocked most by instead addressing the offensive line with Iowa's Brandon Scherff.

According to Breer, this really wasn't such a shocker:

Washington general manager Scot McCloughan explained the pick to NFL.com's Conor Orr: "Going into this thing I knew we needed some help up front on the offensive side and it was too good of a bang for the buck to not get Brandon there." 

It's never wise to doubt one of the league's top scouting minds, so McCloughan deserves a pass for the selection in the minds of those who wanted a sexier pick. The offense with a shiny new weapon cannot get off the ground if the line allows another ridiculous 58 sacks anyway.

The rest of the class is a mixed bag, but second-round pick Preston Smith promises to deliver right away. Running back Matt Jones in the third round is odd, but so it goes when a team continues to start over with a new image and vision.

It's hard to knock Washington for any of its moves as a new general manager continues to lay the foundation for the future. A few more classes like this and the rest of the NFC East may have a problem on its hands.

Stats courtesy of NFL.com and accurate as of May 5. All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus.