Four NFL Draft Observations
There was plenty of excitement, though maybe not in the ways people expected.
After every NFL draft, fans like to discuss and debate the selections and many wonder what analysts think about each team's draft.
What analysts often do is hand out letter grades to teams. Letter grades give a general understanding about how each team fared overall, whether it was how the team addressed needs or the value a team got in a player selected.
I will refer you to Doug Farrar and Mark Schofield for letter grades of each team's draft, if that interests you (Farrar graded the NFC, Schofield graded the AFC).
I hope to have a podcast later about every team and my observations about each team's draft process, but I'll start with a few things that stood out — things that generated excitement, though maybe not in the ways people expected.
There was a lot of draft board movement.
This year's draft had 36 draft-day trades involving 2022 draft picks. That's more trades than the 28 that happened in 2021 -- a year in which some might say the overall draft class was stronger.
Two of those trades, of course, involved players, both wide receivers (Marquise Brow and AJ Brown) in deals involving first-round picks.
It's possible that, last year, fewer teams were willing to trade down on draft day. However, in order for a team to trade down, somebody has to want to trade up. Thus, in a class that's not considered strong overall, it may surprise some people that more teams were willing to move up the board.
Wide receivers were in demand early.
Five wide receivers went off the board in the first round and two veterans were part of trades involving a first-round pick.
Veteran wide receivers who recently received large contracts that re-set the market might have been a reason why. Getting younger players on cost-controlled contracts is ideal, particularly for teams who have veteran quarterbacks on larger contracts.
Another reason may be that some rookie wide receivers have made immediate impacts on their teams. Justin Jefferson and Ja'Marr Chase are two examples of first-round receivers who had strong rookie seasons.
Teams agreed with analysts that the QB class wasn't strong.
The rookie pay scale makes drafted quarterbacks attractive, because they come on cost-controlled contracts. However, that didn't result in teams taking QBs early.
Kenny Pickett was the only QB taken in the first round. He went to the Steelers, who some might describe as a team that can be a playoff contender with the right quarterback.
But when the second round happened, teams still passed on the quarterbacks. Not until the third round did more QB get selected, with three drafted, two by teams trading up.
It would indicate that analysts weren't the only ones who believed this wasn't a good QB class, even if the rookie pay scale means cheaper players.
One can argue that the four-year, fully guaranteed deals that first-round picks get would mean passing on a weak QB prospect is the right call. But there's less risk with taking one in the second round (they get just the first two years fully guaranteed) and teams still opted to pass on them.
Several teams may be thinking about the 2023 QB draft class.
The Steelers, Falcons, Titans and Panthers all needed a quarterback and each took one of the passers in the first two days. The Commanders waited until day three, but traded up in the fifth to select one. However, other teams in need of one didn't bother.
The Lions, Texans, Giants and Seahawks didn't take at all. The same applied to the Colts, Saints and Vikings, teams that some may argue needed to take a passer.
For the teams with a clear need, it may be that these teams think the 2023 class has better options at the position. The other three may be thinking about a playoff push this year, but they could find themselves needing to consider the 2023 class if things don't work out this season.