The NFL Draft has come and gone, and the league has welcomed a new generation of stars. Teams spent months scouting, reviewing film and interviewing prospects to find the best fits for their team, but did they make the right pick? While it’s way too early to know for sure, sports fans can look at each team and see who got it right and who may be regretting their picks in the future.
Los Angeles Rams: F →The Rams have proven throughout the entire offseason that they are going all in this year. Trading for Trent McDuffie and signing Jaylen Watson added two fantastic players to a secondary that needed more help. Now, after reinforcing their roster to be Super Bowl ready, they had a chance to take a player like Makai Lemon or Kenyon Sadiq that could have helped them further support this push for the Lombardi. Instead, they took quarterback Ty Simpson to be Matthew Stafford’s replacement in the first round. They then took a tight end in round two, despite having one of the best tight end rooms overall and their other picks were just as lackluster. Fans are still in shock that they took a guy who was projected to be a late first or a second-round pick. When Stafford retires, Simpson will need to become the franchise QB for people to eat their words. However, if the Rams don’t win the Super Bowl this year, and even worse Simpson is a bust, many fans will look back at this draft as the biggest mistake the Rams made.
Jacksonville Jaguars: D →The Jaguars didn’t have a first round pick this year because of the Travis Hunter trade last year. However, they had multiple picks in the third, sixth and seventh rounds along with a pick in rounds two, four, and five, which could have helped bolster a team that just had its best season since 2017. However, they took a tight end whose best trait is blocking, a defensive tackle with below average measurements and a guard who is one of the oldest players at the draft. Jacksonville still has a very good team, but they needed some young help, especially after their wildcard exit against the Buffalo Bills. Instead, they seemed to not only be content with not replacing the players they lost in free agency, but also make picks that had most fans scratching their heads.
New York Jets: C+ →The Jets entered draft night with three first round draft picks after their midseason trades of Quinnen Williams and Sauce Gardner. Their first pick was edge rusher David Bailey, who had a standout season at Texas A&M, followed by tight end Kenyon Sadiq and wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. Bailey is a great prospect, but a majority of scouts and fans had Ohio State’s Arvell Reese as the better player between the two. Bailey, though, has shown to be a quality edge rusher and will help a unit that was bottom five in sacks last year. Sadiq is predicted to be the best pick of the three, as the Jets haven’t had a notable tight end in decades, and Sadiq’s build is perfect to make him a potent weapon for this offense. Cooper Jr., on the other hand, is a good prospect at receiver, but he wasn’t the best prospect on the board and was projected to be in the range of a second-round pick. Second rounder D’Angelo Ponds was a strong pick for a secondary that got zero interceptions last year and will surely bolster a unit that added Minkah Fitzpatrick earlier in the offseason. Overall, this wasn’t a poor draft by any means, but it wasn’t a great one either.
New York Giants: B- →The Giants had two first round picks, similarly to in 2022 when they took a pass rusher and an offensive tackle. This year, the team picked a pass rusher and an offensive tackle once again. Arvell Reese at fifth overall was seen as a steal by many fans, but there’s just one slight problem: where’s he going to play? The Giants pass rush is already strong with Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Abdul Carter. So, Reese won’t get many snaps at edge and a lot more at pure linebacker, which still doesn’t make sense because Sonny Styles was seen as a much better true linebacker prospect. Then, with the tenth pick, instead of taking Caleb Downs and improving one of the worst secondaries in the league, the Giants took tackle Francis Mauigoa to bolster the unit. Usually, the Giants taking a lineman would be great, but not this time because not only did Downs go one pick later to their division rival Cowboys, but the Giants recently spent $40 million to re-sign Jermaine Elumenor while already having Andrew Thomas on the other side. Second rounder Colton Hood and trading up for third rounder Malachi Fields did make the draft much better, at least. The Giants made big signings in free agency, and fans are hoping to return to the playoffs or at least see improvement from a team that has gotten worse each of the last three seasons, but this class could hamper those plans.
Cleveland Browns: A+ →The Browns have never been known for their drafting ability, as they have had several busts within the last decade. However, this year looks like the exact opposite. The Browns addressed their two biggest needs with their first three picks: offensive tackle Spencer Fano was a great pick at nine and wide receiver KC Conception, who was the 24th pick and Denzel Boston, who was the seventh pick in the second round.) These players will greatly help a receiving room that had the fewest receptions in the NFL last year. Then, they got one of the steals of the draft in safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren later in the second round when he was projected to be picked late in the first to early second round. Their only head-scratching pick was sixth round quarterback Taylen Green, who joins one of the most crowded QB rooms in the NFL. Though, if a sixth-round pick doesn’t pan out, I don’t think anybody will be too upset, especially if their first four live up to their potential or beyond.
With the NFL draft concluded it’s only a matter of time to see whose fans are right about and who surprises the league. All that’s left is to wait for the season and see who’s regretting their picks and who has the future in their hands.
