NFL Draft 2019 Results: Team-by-Team Grades for Overall Picks and Trades
After months of anticipation, reports, rumors and excitement, the 2019 NFL draft was here and gone in a flash.
As usual, quarterbacks garnered the most headlines. Kyler Murray, Daniel Jones and Dwayne Haskins each found a professional home in the first round. Drew Lock and Will Grier followed on Day 2, and Ryan Finley and Jarrett Stidham were among the Day 3 picks.
However, specific player-to-team pairings are merely one part of the story. Which franchises assembled the most promising classes in 2019? Which others had a lackluster showing?
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Final assessments won't be due for several years, but making an imported initial opinion is useful too.
Let the debates begin.
2019 NFL Draft Team Grades
Arizona Cardinals: A
Atlanta Falcons: B
Baltimore Ravens: A
Buffalo Bills: B+
Carolina Panthers: B
Chicago Bears: B
Cincinnati Bengals: C
Cleveland Browns: B
Dallas Cowboys: B+
Denver Broncos: B+
Detroit Lions: B-
Green Bay Packers: B+
Houston Texans: B-
Indianapolis Colts: A-
Jacksonville Jaguars: B+
Kansas City Chiefs: B
Los Angeles Chargers: B
Los Angeles Rams: A-
Miami Dolphins: B-
Minnesota Vikings: B+
New England Patriots: A
New Orleans Saints: B+
New York Giants: B-
New York Jets: C+
Oakland Raiders: A-
Philadelphia Eagles: B-
Pittsburgh Steelers: B+
Seattle Seahawks: B-
San Francisco 49ers: B+
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: B+
Tennessee Titans: A-
Washington: A
Raiders Lean on Alabama, Clemson
Similar to the Arizona Cardinals, the Oakland Raiders had a seemingly obvious strategy: draft really good college players.
And the team went straight to the strongest sources.
Head coach Jon Gruden and new general manager Mike Mayock tabbed three Clemson players and one from Alabama. Those programs have met in four straight College Football Playoffs, including the national championship three times.
Of the Clemson talent, the Raiders grabbed Clelin Ferrell at No. 4 overall, Trayvon Mullen 40th and Hunter Renfrow 149th. Alabama running back Josh Jacobs went 24th overall.
Drafting well is immensely difficult. There are worse approaches than selecting key players from elite programs.
Vikings Trade Back, Down and All Around
In the most trade-filled draft ever, Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Spielman was responsible for a bunch of those transactions.
During the third round alone, he traded down four times. Minnesota started with the No. 81 overall choice, moving back four times before making the closing pick of Day 2. The trades netted a fifth-rounder, three sixth-rounders and one seventh-round selection.
Spielman wasn't finished, though.
Minnesota actually used some of that draft capital to move up early, rising into the fourth round to select Oklahoma guard Dru Samia.
Later, the Vikings swapped fifth-rounders with the New England Patriots and picked up an extra seventh-rounder, using the picks on USC linebacker Cameron Smith and Oregon wideout Dillon Mitchell.
When the dust settled, Spielman and Co. had made 12 picks. But with seven selections in the last two rounds, Minnesota is banking on the low-percentage possibility of nailing those choices.
Follow Bleacher Report writer David Kenyon on Twitter @Kenyon19_BR.
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