NFL Draft 2017: Round 1 Results, Grades and Top Selections for First 32 Picks

The 2017 NFL draft's opening salvo was the most entertaining in a long time. 

It sounds like an exaggeration one would write almost any year to drum up hype. But it's not anything close—Thursday featured an exciting new venue, a major trade as early as the second pick, interesting falls and, best of all, Atlanta Falcons draft pick Takkarist McKinley gave the best television interview in a decade or more.

The outstanding offering sets up nicely for the rest of the draft. Unexpected moves pushed plenty of notable talent down the board into the second round. 

Taking a review-themed approach to the results below, it's not hard to see the biggest winners of Round 1. Let's outline them, highlighted by a new front office that all 31 of their partners could learn a thing or two from when it comes to draft moves.

2017 NFL Draft Results and Grades

Team	Notable Picks	Grade	Analysis
Arizona Cardinals	Haason Reddick, LB, Temple (13)	A	A freak athlete like Haason Reddick in the hands of Bruce Arians is a problem for the NFC, especially on the same unit as Chandler Jones and Tyrann Mathieu.
Atlanta Falcons	Takkarist McKinley, EDGE, UCLA (26)	B	Trading up for Takkarist McKinley seems risky given his slight injury history, but pairing him with Vic Beasley is a good way to prevent a Super Bowl hangover.
Baltimore Ravens	Marlon Humphrey, CB, Alabama (16)	B	Conventional wisdom said the Ravens wanted a boundary wideout. With the main targets there gone, the front office attacked another premier position with boundary corner Marlon Humphrey, who could be the best corner from the class.
Buffalo Bills	Tre'Davious White, CB, LSU	B	The effort to compensate for the loss of Stephon Gilmore begins with Tre'Davious White, a high-upside mirror-man cover corner who can run with the best.
Carolina Panthers	Christian McCaffrey, RB, Stanford (8)	A+	It doesn't get much better than this—Christian McCaffrey is a modern NFL back who will feast in the same backfield as Cam Newton and Jonathan Stewart.
Chicago Bears	Mitchell Trubisky, QB, North Carolina (2)	B	Chicago gave up entirely too much to move one spot. But the Bears wanted a franchise quarterback and weren't going to settle for anyone else.
Cincinnati Bengals	John Ross, WR, Washington (9)	B	On paper, John Ross is the perfect fit in Cincinnati because the offense hasn't had his sort of speed in the Andy Dalton era. The team just has to hope his medical issues don't pop up again.
Cleveland Browns	Myles Garrett, EDGE, Texas A&M (1); Jabrill Peppers, S, Michigan (25); David Njoku, TE, Miami (29)	B	Can a team get an A+ for a no-brainer? The Browns do here with the top slot. No. 25 is a different story, as Jabrill Peppers is a project player still learning his position who didn't force any notable turnovers during his time with Michigan. He's got potential, but probably would've been on the board in the second round. Trading back up for David Njoku smooths things over, as he's a monster yards-after-catch tight end ready to go right away.
Dallas Cowboys	Taco Charlton, DL, Michigan (28)	B	Dallas needs help on the edge of the defense, which it has lacked since the Greg Hardy days. Taco Charlton can help right away thanks to quality speed and power.
Denver Broncos	Garett Bolles, OT, Utah (20)	A	This was the easiest pick to project in the draft after the first. Garett Bolles is a monster who fits the zone scheme in Denver perfectly.
Detroit Lions	Jarrad Davis, LB, Florida (21)	C	Detroit needed to address losses like Stephen Tulloch and DeAndre Levy over the past few years. Jarrad Davis isn't a bad player by any means, but character concerns or not, Reuben Foster was still on the board.
Green Bay Packers	N/A	N/A	N/A
Houston Texans	Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson (12)	A+	Bill O'Brien and Houston weren't going anywhere with Tom Savage. Now the offense has a pro-ready player to pair with DeAndre Hopkins and others.
Indianapolis Colts	Malik Hooker, S, Ohio State (15)	A	The Colts wait around and get one of the draft's best players and a guy often compared to a collegiate Ed Reed. Not bad, provided he stays healthy.
Jacksonville Jaguars	Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU (4)	B	Jacksonville's defense is underrated and if the front office didn't like this quarterback class, getting a mauler like Leonard Fournette is a win.
Kansas City Chiefs	Patrick Mahomes, QB, Texas Tech (10)	A+	The Chiefs targeted who they wanted and got him. Patrick Mahomes' mechanical issues didn't hurt his play and Andy Reid is the perfect quarterback to mold him into a franchise player.
Miami Dolphins	Charles Harris, EDGE, Missouri (22)	A	Miami sprinted to the podium (almost literally, the NFL Network broadcast was caught off guard) for Charles Harris. For good reason, as he's a quick-twitch rusher who opens things up for Ndamukong Suh.
Minnesota Vikings	N/A	N/A	N/A
New England Patriots	N/A	N/A	N/A
New Orleans Saints	Marshon Lattimore, CB, Ohio State (11); Ryan Ramczyk, T, Wisconsin (32)	B	The Saints waited around and landed one of the draft's top corners. Not bad for a team in need of a serous defensive overhaul. Drafting a Wisconsin offensive lineman is always an amazing idea, especially here as a means to help prolong Drew Brees' career.
New York Giants	Evan Engram, TE, Ole Miss (23)	C	Eli Manning needed another weapon besides Odell Beckham Jr. and Brandon Marshall. Evan Engram is a nice versatile piece, but David Njoku is a better prospect with better big-play ability.
New York Jets	Jamal Adams, S, LSU (6)	A+	The Jets luck into arguably the safest player in the draft thanks to chaos above them in the order. Not bad.
Oakland Raiders	Gareon Conley, CB, Ohio State (24)	B	Gareon Conley is arguably the top corner in the draft, but it's hard to ignore the giant off-field issue surrounding him right now. He's a lockdown player provided he stays on the field.
Philadelphia Eagles	Derek Barnett, DE, Tennessee (14)	C	Derek Barnett isn't an overly athletic rusher. He'll be a productive pro, but it's hard to see where he fits into the rotation over the first one or two years of his career.
Pittsburgh Steelers	T.J. Watt, EDGE, Wisconsin (30)	A	T.J. Watt is much more than a little brother. He's a freak athlete and edge presence who makes the Pittsburgh defense nastier and more effective rushing the passer right away.
San Francisco 49ers	Solomon Thomas, EDGE, Stanford (3); Reuben Foster, LB, Alabama (31)	A+	Not bad for John Lynch—he picks up several future-leaning picks and one of the surest prospects in the draft at No. 3. He then turns around grabs a top-five player at No. 31. Though marred by character concerns, Reuben Foster teams with Solomon Thomas to give the 49ers defensive franchise cornerstones.
Seattle Seahawks	N/A	N/A	N/A
Los Angeles Rams	N/A	N/A	N/A
Los Angeles Chargers	Mike Williams, WR, Clemson (7)	B	Mike Williams' arrival might mean the end for Keenan Allen. Viewed a different way, he'll be around to help the quarterback after Philip Rivers.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	O.J. Howard, TE, Alabama (19)	A+	This is how you make sure a franchise quarterback succeeds. Jameis Winston now has Mike Evans, DeSean Jackson and one of this draft's surest things, O.J. Howard.
Tennessee Titans	Corey Davis, WR, Western Michigan (5); Adoree' Jackson, CB, USC (18)	B+	There's no such thing as "overdrafting" Corey Davis, the best wideout in the class, who will help Marcus Mariota right away. Adoree' Jackson wasn't the consensus top corner on the board, but the pick makes sense given his explosive versatility.
Washington Redskins	Jonathan Allen, DL, Alabama (17)	C	The problem with Jonathan Allen is he was in a free fall for a reason. He has a questionable injury outlook due to arthritis in his shoulders and played on a stacked defense, which made his life easier.

Top Selections

Carolina Panthers: Christian McCaffrey, RB, Stanford (No. 8)

On one hand, the Carolina Panthers selecting Stanford's Christian McCaffrey was one of the most predictable and boring outcomes of draft night.

But there's nothing boring about McCaffrey on the field in Carolina.

McCaffrey is the perfect embodiment of what NFL teams seek in running backs these days. He's 5'11" and 202 pounds of explosive athleticism capable of getting tough yards as a runner and, perhaps more importantly, capable of catching passes out of the backfield.

Look at what NFL Network's Mike Mayock had to say after the selection, according to NFL.com's Lance Zierlein: "I love his patience. He's not Le'Veon Bell, but his patience is like that. ... He's a four-down player. I love LeSean McCoy, and this guy's every bit as athletic." 

Defenses are going to have a hard time fending off loaded backfields while trying to account for Cam Newton's ability as a passer, runner and threat to get the ball to McCaffrey. He's an immediate-impact player who acts as the perfect complement to Jonathan Stewart before eventually becoming the team's every-down back.

Carolina still has work to do in the offensive trenches and needs help at wideout, though McCaffrey can split out wide, too. But in a draft highlighted by trades, Carolina stood tall and got their guy.

Kansas City Chiefs: Patrick Mahomes, QB, Texas Tech (No. 10)

The Chicago Bears moved up and got their guy with Mitchell Trubisky, which will over the next few years decide the course of the rebuild and the fates of guys like general manager Ryan Pace and head coach John Fox.

But the Kansas City Chiefs one-upped them in a big way.

The NFL stands at attention when a guy like Chiefs head coach Andy Reid makes a move for a quarterback. This is doubly the case in the top 10. After all, we're talking about the guy who drafted Aaron Rodgers and coached up a guy named Brett Favre.

Thursday, Reid helped the Chiefs make a move for the No. 10 pick, coughing up the No. 27, No. 91 and a 2018 first-round pick, per the team. All this for Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

Viewed as a project coming out of a spread attack, Mahomes is a 6'2", 225-pounder who represents the way the NFL continues to trend under center. He's got the best arm in the class and can bully defenders as a runner in the same way Newton does. The negatives are wonky mechanics, which never really hurt his production, and transitioning from an offense some suggest makes his learning curve more difficult.

Reid seemed to at least somewhat agree, according to the Associated Press (via FoxSports.com).

"Right now, Patrick isn't absolutely ready to play. He's got some work to do," Reid said. "But he's coming into a great room, he has an opportunity to learn from Alex, which will be great for him. We have to have some patience with him, but he has tremendous upside."

The Chiefs don't need Mahomes to start right away. Coughing up a first in next year's draft doesn't hurt, either, not when the organization now has the long-term answer at the most important position of all.

Mahomes landed in the best possible position. He'll learn from not only Reid, but veteran Alex Smith, making this by far one of the best picks of the draft.

San Francisco 49ers: Solomon Thomas, EDGE, Stanford (No. 3); Reuben Foster, LB, Alabama (No. 31)

The San Francisco 49ers just wrote a blueprint on how to win the NFL draft every other organization might want to follow.

New general manager John Lynch moved the team down one spot thanks to Chicago's panic in thinking it wouldn't get the front office's ideal quarterback of the future. This netted Lynch the No. 3 pick, along with No. 67, No. 111 and a 2018 third-round pick, per the team.

But Lynch wasn't done wheeling and dealing—he moved the franchise back up to No. 31, coughing up No. 34 and the No. 111 pick in the process, per the team.

The result? Stanford defensive lineman Solomon Thomas at No. 3 and Alabama linebacker Reuben Foster at No. 31—two guys widely heralded as top-10 picks were it not for character concerns by the latter.

For Lynch, this haul represented a gigantic win:

It's hard to think he's exaggerating. Thomas is a versatile, 6'3", 273-pound lineman who can play all over the line as a chess piece for the 49ers, pairing well with young guys like Arik Armstead and DeForest Buckner.

Foster, on the other hand, is an enforcer of a middle linebacker who will remind 49ers fans of someone like Luke Kuechly or NaVorro Bowman. He's one of the safest players in the draft from an on-field outlook, though the incident that got him sent home from the NFL Scouting Combine and a diluted urine sample popped up as red flags that almost threw him out of the first round (though the 49ers moving up suggests a team was about to end his fall).

At the end of the day, Lynch just made two majorly impressive moves to jump-start the league's most extensive rebuild. He now has a pair of blue-chip defensive cornerstones to build around in the years to come, making the 49ers by far the biggest winners.

Stats courtesy of NFL.com. All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus.