NFL Draft Grades 2017: Full Results, Analysis and Reaction from Round 1

And just like that, after a year of waiting and dozens—nay, hundreds—of mock drafts, the results for the first round of the 2017 NFL draft are in.

Without further ado, below you'll find the results, grades and analysis for each selection in the first round. As always, assigning grades for NFL prospects before they've reported for training camp is always a thought exercise rather than something set in stone.

The grades herein reflect the perceived value of each selection relative to where the greater draft community valued that prospect, as well as whether teams hit on their projected needs. 

Round 1 Grades and Analysis

Pick	Team	Selection	Grade/Analysis
1	Cleveland Browns	Myles Garrett, DE, Texas A&M	A+. It's hard to give a team top marks for doing what 31 other teams would have done in the same situation, but Garrett is the consensus top player in the draft and a franchise-changing talent.
2	Chicago Bears (via SF)	Mitchell Trubisky, QB, UNC	D+. News of what Chicago gave up—this year's third- and fourth-rounders and a 2018 third—put this in D territory, but when the pick was announced, the Bears did what they had to do to get the player they think is their franchise QB. But they may have gotten bamboozled by San Francisco—and they just paid another QB $15 million.
3	San Francisco 49ers (via CHI)	Solomon Thomas, DE, Stanford	A+. The 49ers got the guy they would have taken at No. 2 anyway and enhanced their draft capital handsomely in the meantime. John Lynch is killing it in his first NFL draft as a GM.
4	Jacksonville Jaguars	Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU	A. Running back was one of Jacksonville's biggest needs, if not the biggest, and it landed the top one in this year's class.
5	Tennessee Titans	Corey Davis, WR, WMU	B. People suspected the Tennessee Titans, who needed a wide receiver, would take one in Round 1, but perhaps at No. 18. The Titans may have overdrafted slightly here, but they get the No. 1 player at a position of need.
6	New York Jets	Jamal Adams, S, LSU	A. The Jets were the beneficiaries of the second-best player in the draft falling into their lap at No. 6 when few thought he'd make it out of the top five. Of course you grab him.
7	Los Angeles Chargers	Mike Williams, WR, Clemson	A-. Davis was already off the board here, so Mike Williams was the best wide receiver available. The Chargers clearly did their research on him and needed pass-catchers, so this move makes a lot of sense.
8	Carolina Panthers	Christian McCaffrey, RB, Stanford	A. This was a no-brainer. With Fournette being off the board and the Carolina Panthers so obviously needing a running back, this was a perfect match at a perfect value.
9	Cincinnati Bengals	John Ross, WR, Washington	B. Cincinnati and John Ross were a clear match leading up to draft day, but there were lingering questions about his durability and worries about his medical report after the combine. Cincinnati also had plenty of other needs. The Bengals are clearly going all in on giving Andy Dalton what he needs to win.
10	Kansas City Chiefs (via BUF)	Patrick Mahomes, QB, TTU	B-. The Chiefs moved up 17 spots and gave up their 2018 first-rounder, so it had to be for a QB. However, it was something of a shock that Mahomes came off the board before Deshaun Watson. Kansas City gave up a lot, but the team wanted to ensure it doesn't miss a beat after Alex Smith is done.
11	New Orleans Saints	Marshon Lattimore, CB, OSU	A. Everyone knew the Saints wanted to add a defensive playmaker, and they have to be thrilled that the quarterbacks and wideouts selected early pushed Lattimore out of the top 10, something no one would have thought possible yesterday.
12	Houston Texans (via CLE)	Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson	A-. It was surprising that two quarterbacks came off the board before Watson, and now the Cleveland Browns own virtually all of the Texans' draft selections in 2018. But you can't knock the Texans for knowing who they wanted—a good fit, to boot—and getting it done.
13	Arizona Cardinals	Haason Reddick, LB, Temple	A-. No one saw their draft stock rise as meteorically as Reddick did after his combine performance. Reddick is undersized and there's a slight inherent risk here in terms of all the strength and conditioning he'll have to do and new techniques he'll have to learn at the pro level, but he has all the tools you want.
14	Philadelphia Eagles	Derek Barnett, DE, Tennessee	A-. Those in the know figured Barnett could become an Eagle before the night was over. Philadelphia compared Barnett to Terrell Suggs, so that tells you how they feel about him.
15	Indianapolis Colts	Malik Hooker, S, OSU	A+. Again, it feels somewhat disingenuous to reward teams for going the obvious route of drafting the stud who fell into their laps, but Indianapolis needed a defensive playmaker and had to be thrilled Hooker, a top-10 talent, fell.
16	Baltimore Ravens	Marlon Humphrey, CB, Alabama	A-. The Ravens needed to make their defense strike fear into the hearts of opponents again, and Humphrey is a step in the right direction. Considering how widely known general manager Ozzie Newsome's affinity for Alabama defenders is, this move didn't surprise, but he is solid nonetheless.
17	Washington Redskins	Jonathan Allen, DE, Alabama	A. The run on Alabama defenders begins. We expected that Allen would fall a little bit given his shoulder injury, but given his talent level and tape, this is still a steal.
18	Tennessee Titans	Adoree' Jackson, CB, USC	A+. The Titans needed to walk out of Round 1 having used their two picks on a wide receiver and a cornerback, and that's exactly what they did.
19	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	O.J. Howard, TE, Alabama	A+. This is a definition of an A-plus pick. Howard is probably the most talented pass-catcher in this draft, and it was surprising he fell this far. Tampa Bay just got a lot more deadly on offense.
20	Denver Broncos	Garett Bolles, T, Utah	A. Denver so obviously needed to select an offensive lineman in this round, and it got the best one in Bolles.
21	Detroit Lions	Jarrad Davis, LB, Florida	A-. The Lions were not going to be the team that stopped Reuben Foster's fall. Davis interviewed great with teams, according to Fox Sports' Peter Schrager, which helped solidify him as a first-round pick.
22	Miami Dolphins	Charles Harris, DE, Missouri	A-. This was a safe pick, as the Dolphins have lost their big-name pass-rushers over the past couple seasons and desperately needed to restock at the position.
23	New York Giants	Evan Engram, TE, Ole Miss	B. The Giants' passing offense looks pretty deadly now, but this still feels like a reach. It's fine if the Giants like Engram better than tight end David Njoku, whom many had ranked higher, but Engram may not have gone in Round 1 if he didn't go here.
24	Oakland Raiders	Gareon Conley, CB, OSU	B-. This is a tough selection to grade. Based on talent alone, this is a great value for the Raiders. But despite Ian Rapoport of NFL Network's report he passed a lie detector test ahead of the draft, Conley has a major red flag. Oakland has to be right about this pick.
25	Cleveland Browns (via HOU)	Jabrill Peppers, S, Michigan	B. After adding Garrett, Cleveland needed to address its secondary in Round 1, and it did so with talented Peppers. Peppers' projected fall landed him in the late first or early second, so this value checks out. But Cleveland has had enough first-round busts and needs this one to pan out. Also, is sticking Peppers at safety a waste of his many talents?
26	Atlanta Falcons (via SEA)	Takkarist McKinley, DE, UCLA	B+. McKinley is a terrific pass-rushing prospect for the Falcons and their defense, though they did have to trade up to land him. But as the Super Bowl showed us, defense was Atlanta's weak spot, and the Falcons are addressing that nicely.
27	Buffalo Bills (via KC)	Tre'Davious White, CB, LSU	B+. White isn't the flashiest prospect in this class, but he's a solid pick. The Bills lost Stephon Gilmore and needed to bulk up the secondary.
28	Dallas Cowboys	Taco Charlton, DE, Michigan	A-. The Cowboys have done some crazy things in the draft as of late, so it was refreshing to see them hunker down and address their biggest need with a perfect fit.
29	Cleveland Browns (via GB)	David Njoku, TE, Miami	B+. If you thought the Browns were going to take a QB in Round 1, they took three opportunities to prove you wrong. Tight end was a big hole in Cleveland's roster, so as long as the Browns can get some sort of QB, he'll have some weapons. Cleveland didn't have to give much up to make this happen.
30	Pittsburgh Steelers	T.J. Watt, OLB, Wisconsin	A+. The Steelers had to have been delighted when the Packers traded out of Round 1, as it meant that pass-rusher T.J. Watt was still on the board for them. Watt is the perfect piece for Pittsburgh's zone-blitz scheme.
31	San Francisco 49ers (via SEA via ATL)	Reuben Foster, LB, Alabama	A+. The 49ers just may have won the first day of the draft. They got a prospect at No. 31 who was projected to go in the top 10. His shoulder and diluted urine sample are concerns, but at this value, they lessen.
32	New Orleans Saints	Ryan Ramczyk, T, Wisconsin	A-. Drew Brees' time in New Orleans is coming to an end, and the Saints want to give him the protection he needs to be successful. Ramczyk is a Week 1 starter.

Notable Selections and Trades

Chicago Bears: Mitchell Trubisky, QB, North Carolina

Wow. 

Anyone who says they saw this move coming would either be lying or will become Twitter famous, fast. 

The Chicago Bears traded up with the San Francisco 49ers to move one spot, to No. 2 overall, to select a player they clearly feel is their franchise quarterback in UNC's Mitchell Trubisky. 

To move up one spot, the Bears had to give up a ton of capital, as ESPN's Field Yates shared:

And then the 49ers went ahead and drafted defensive end Solomon Thomas, a player to whom they'd been heavily linked and who, honestly, they probably would have selected at No. 2. 

Then there's the fact the Bears just agreed to pay Mike Glennon $15 million per year, making him an extremely expensive backup.

This was a gamble for Chicago general manager Ryan Pace, to say the least. However, if it pays off, it could change Chicago's fortunes for years to come. 

Kansas City Chiefs: Patrick Mahomes, QB, Texas Tech

The Bears weren't the only team who decided to shake things up by trading up to land a quarterback.

Kansas City moved up 17 spots and gave up its 2018 first-round selection in order to draft Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

The Alex Smith era isn't over in Kansas City, but it's clear Mahomes is the future.

The Chiefs were smart to ensure they have their succession plan in place for Smith's eventual departure, but they had to give up a lot to institute it and certainly had other needs to address, especially on defense.

The most surprising aspect of this move was that Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson remained on the board. 

But not for long. 

Houston Texans: Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson

The Texans must have been thrilled to see the Chiefs select Mahomes because they promptly made a trade with the Browns to move up to No. 12 and get their guy in Watson. 

Whatever feelings Houston had about Watson heading into the draft, they were mutual, as NFL Network's Ian Rapoport shared via Twitter:

Quarterback is not a position that can be ranked in a vacuum, though many will try. Different kinds of players fit different schemes, so it's OK that the Chiefs felt Mahomes was a better fit for their system than Watson.

For Watson's part, however, he couldn't be in a better situation. 

Texans coach Bill O'Brien said that Tom Savage is the starter as of right now, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. And that's great.

Watson shouldn't be handed the job before training camp has begun, and if he proves he's ready to start Week 1, wonderful. If he gets to sit for half a year or a year, perhaps that's even better.