2019 NFL Draft Grades: Team-by-Team Letter Marks After Rounds 1-3 Results

Two dramatic days kicked off the 2019 NFL draft as surprising selections and important trades went down on Thursday and Friday.

The Oakland Raiders kicked off the surprises after taking Clemson defensive end Clelin Ferrell, while Giants fans were stunned that Big Blue took quarterback Daniel Jones.

On the trade front, all three NFC East teams not named the Dallas Cowboys made first-round deals, and the Miami Dolphins landed Arizona Cardinals signal-caller Josh Rosen. 

It's been a whirlwind 48 hours. After the NFL draft tracker comes grades for each team's draft performance so far, as well as analysis on the three teams who received A-plus grades for their work.

NFL Draft Tracker

Team-by-Team Letter Marks

Arizona Cardinals: A-

Atlanta Falcons: B-

Baltimore Ravens: B-

Buffalo Bills: A-

Carolina Panthers: B

Chicago Bears: A (Khalil Mack trade for first-round pick considered)

Cincinnati Bengals: B+

Cleveland Browns: A-

Dallas Cowboys: B+ (Amari Cooper trade for first-round pick considered)

Denver Broncos: A

Detroit Lions: B

Green Bay Packers: A-

Houston Texans: C

Indianapolis Colts: A

Jacksonville Jaguars: A

Kansas City Chiefs: C

Los Angeles Chargers: A-

Los Angeles Rams: A

Miami Dolphins: A

Minnesota Vikings: B-

New England Patriots: A

New Orleans Saints: C+

New York Giants: B+

New York Jets: A

Oakland Raiders: C

Philadelphia Eagles: A+

Pittsburgh Steelers: A+

Seattle Seahawks: B+

San Francisco 49ers: B

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: B+

Tennessee Titans: A-

Washington Redskins: A+

Analysis

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers lost their defensive leader when Ryan Shazier suffered a spinal contusion against the Cincinnati Bengals on Dec. 4, 2017.

That horrible moment left a seismic gap in the middle of the Steeler defense, and that's why the move from No. 20 to No. 10 to grab Michigan inside linebacker Devin Bush was a shrewd pick.

Not only was he productive at Michigan (161 tackles and 10 sacks in his last two seasons), but there's no debate regarding the Wolverines' defensive leader.

"We interviewed a lot of Michigan players during the draft process, and it was unanimous of who their unquestioned leader was," Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin told reporters. "The position he plays is like a defensive quarterback, that's something that comes very natural to him." 

Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports offered one example:

Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com also raved about the pick, citing an AFC executive's thoughts on the new Steeler:

Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said adding Bush would give the team "more speed and athleticism in the middle of the field." 

Pittsburgh didn't have to give up a future first-rounder to move up 10 spots: A mid-second rounder and a 2020 third-rounder (in addition to a first-round pick swap) did the trick for Bush, who could be calling shots for a decade-plus.

The Steelers continued their stellar draft with two solid Day 2 selections: Versatile Toledo wide receiver Diontae Johnson can play inside or outside, per Lance Zierlein of NFL.com, and he's a return man as well.

Meanwhile, the Steelers grabbed Michigan State cornerback Justin Layne, who Bleacher Report's Matt Miller ranked 45th on his big board, in the third round. The value there was simply too much to pass up.

Washington Redskins

The Washington Redskins' A-plus grade isn't based on landing Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins, although taking a player who threw 50 touchdown passes for a 13-1 Big Ten team in his lone year as a starter isn't too shabby.

That was a no-brainer selection given the Skins' need for a long-term quarterback solution, but the Skins earn the A-plus for their aggressive move up to take Mississippi State edge-rusher Montez Sweat.

Sweat was diagnosed with a pre-existing heart condition at the NFL Scouting Combine, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

However, that too turned out to be much ado about nothing, and Rapoport reported pre-draft that the original sentiment may have been untrue:

Sweat, who had 22.5 sacks in his final two MSU seasons, ranked 10th on Arif Hasan of The Athletic's Big Board. Therefore, some team was going to get a steal with Sweat, and that happened when the Washington Redskins traded up to No. 25.

It's a perfect blend of value and need for the Skins, who finished with the No. 20 defense last year, per Football Outsiders DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average). Plus, Washington didn't sell the farm, giving up their second-round pick this season (No. 46) and a 2020 second-rounder.

The Skins then grabbed a late riser up the draft boards in Ohio State wideout Terry McLaurin, who already has a connection with Haskins. The two connected for 11 scores in the collegiate ranks, and that chemistry can certainly help on the next level.

Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman is the chess grandmaster among NFL executives, and he proved that notion when he traded to No. 22 and took Washington State offensive tackle Andre Dillard.

As Ian Rapoport of NFL Network noted, the Texans coveted Dillard at the No. 23 selection, but the Eagles jumped them to grab an eventual replacement for 37-year-old left tackle Jason Peters.

Football analyst Warren Sharp gave Roseman his deserved credit:

Philadelphia only needed to give up a fourth-rounder and sixth-rounder for Dillard to rise three spots.

Dillard has received rave reviews from draft analysts.

Josh Norris of Rotoworld ranked Dillard seventh on his big board, calling him a "plug-and-play left tackle." Pro Football Focus gave Dillard the highest pass-production grade among all collegiate offensive tackles, and former Dallas Cowboys executive Gil Brandt ranked him 11th on his big board.

Roseman ranked Dillard top 10 on the Eagles' board, so they got an incredible steal at No. 22.

The Eagles added significant offensive talent in the second round in Penn State running back Miles Sanders and Stanford wideout J.J. Arcega-Whiteside.

Sanders had 1,413 yards from scrimmage and nine touchdowns for the Nittany Lions last season, and Yahoo Sports' Eric Edholm wrote that he "has excellent vision and balance."

Sanders has the talent to be the team's No. 1 running back sometime next season.

Arcega-Whiteside clearly fits an Eagles' pass-catching trend, as Bill Barnwell of ESPN.com pointed out:

Imagine those four on the field all at once in the red zone. How can teams defend that quartet?

Arcega-Whiteside was also productive during his final collegiate season, amassing 63 catches, 1,059 yards and 14 scores. NCAA production doesn't necessarily correlate with professional success, but Arcega-Whiteside's excellent stats in addition 6'3", 225-pound size is hard to ignore.

The Philadelphia offense is deep, scary and has a shot to be the NFL's No. 1 scoring unit.