Green Bay Packers: DRAFT GRADE - A
#7 Overall - Rome Odunze, WR Washington (6th overall rated player)
#32 Overall - Cooper DeJean, DB Iowa (15th overall rated player)
#64 Overall - Junior Colson, LB Michigan (87th overall rated player)
#95 Overall - Jaden Hicks, S Washington State(111th overall rated player)
4th round - Sedrick Van Pran, IOL Georgia (69th overall rated player)
4th round - Ray Davis, RB Kentucky (54th overall rated player T1st RB)
4th round - Kris Abrams-Draine, CB Missouri (127th overall rated player)
5th round - Christian Jones, OT Texas (89th overall rated player)
5th round - Mekhi Wingo, DT LSU (116th overall rated player)
6th round - Tyler Grable, OL UCF - 6th round grade
6th round - Myles Cole, DE (163rd overall rated player)
7th round - KJ Leveston, OL Kansas State 5th/6th round grade
Huge haul in terms of overall picks here and obviously a lot of players from the major conferences here. GB likes to go with Big Programs more than anything else and those roles continued here with A ton of SEC, Big 10, and Pac 12 players here.
The overall values here are very strong though with 8 of the top 116 players overall in this class and two of the top 15 guys. He added a ton of quality depth here and didn’t sacrifice the ability for him to end up with blue chip talent. Odunze is a true top tier player who projects as a Pro Bowl talent player despite only being the 3rd WR on his own team. DeJean is a versatile DB who likely sticks at CB but could move to safety if necessary. He gives the Packers two of the top 15 players in this entire class. Davis was tied for the highest rated RB in this class by BT53 and shows an ability to run in a variety of different schemes and looks to be someone who could be a legitimate starter in the NFL.
The other pieces here add to a very solid class. Colson and Hicks are both situational starters in the NFL. SVP and Christian Jones both have low end starter grades along the offensive line and Mekhi Wingo and KAD look like quality role players in the NFL. That is a ton of value from a draft class.
Total Haul:
Blue Chip: 2 (Odunze, DeJean)
High End Starters: 0
Starters: 3 (Colson, Davis, Hicks)
Low End starters/High Quality Role Players: 2 (Van Pran, Jones)
Role Players: 2 (Abrams-Draine, Wingo)
Make the 53: 3 (Grable, Cole, Leveston)
Los Angeles Chargers: DRAFT GRADE - B
#19 Overall - Quinyon Mitchell, CB Toledo (9th rated player overall)
#84 Overall - Adisa Isaac, DE Penn State (70th rated player overall)
4th round - Cade Stover, TE Ohio State (79th rated player overall)
5th round - Jeremiah Trotter, LB Clemson ( 92nd rated player overall)
5th round - Jacob Monk, C Duke (UDFA grade)
6th round - Christian Mahogany, G Boston College (75th rated player overall)
6th round - Michael Pratt, QB Tulane (122nd rated player overall)
7th round - James Williams, S Miami (UDFA Grade)
UDFA - Leonard Taylor III - 77th overall rated player
UDFA - Gabriel Murphy - 109th overall rated player
Really good draft in terms of adding quality pieces here for the Chargers. Obviously no second round pick hurt his big time haul but he made up for that with two tremendous UDFA signings including the only two players still left rated above 72 grade on the BT53 board. This is more of a role player type draft for the Chargers who found 7 of the top 109 players in this class and filled a lot of needs. Monk was a reach who they needed to fill that scheme but I doubt he makes a roster. Williams is the same. Isaac, Stover, and Trotter are all quality role players but may not start. The only thing that made this draft a B and not an A is the lack of likely starters on this draft.
The Chargers started the draft with a grand slam type pick. Mitchell was the CB1 in this class and getting the 9th rated player and CB1 all the way back at pick 19 without having to move up was a huge move for a team that needed a CB. He’s a true blue chip player and may end up as an All Pro talent.
Isaac, Stover, and Trotter are all projected as quality role players in the league. Isaac is a speed rusher only but could be a plus player in that role. Trotter in the 5th was a quality snag. Stover looks like a top tier second TE in the league who can give a team multiple options offensively. Pratt feels like a long term backup in the NFL and it was a smart move to add a backup for the unproven Will Levis. Taylor III could have gone as high as the 3rd round and not raised an eyebrow for me, going undrafted he could get a quality rotational DL. Murphy was arguably the most polished player remaining as a UDFA and looks the part of a 3rd edge rusher. I think the best pick that he made was Christian Mahogany though, getting the 75th best player in round 6 was shocking
Blue Chip: 1
High End Starters: 0
Starters: 0
Low End Starters/High End Role Players: 6 (Isaac, Stover, Trotter, Mahogany, Taylor, Murphy)
Role Players: 1 (Pratt)
UDFAs: 2 (Monk, Williams)
San Francisco 49ers: DRAFT GRADE - A
#30 Overall - Jerzhan Newton, DT Illinois (16th overall rated player)
#36 Overall - Ladd McKonkey, WR Georgia (29th overall rated player)
#40 Overall - Kool Aid-McKinstry, CB Alabama (19th overall rated player)
#93 Overall - Troy Franklin, WR Oregon (60th overall rated player)
#100 Overall - Spencer Rattler, QB South Carolina (124th overall rated player)
4th round - Jaylen Wright, RB Tennessee (123rd overall rated player)
4th round - Jared Wiley, TE TCU (187th overall rated player)
4th round - Cam Hart, CB Notre Dame (91st overall rated player)
5th round - Beaux Limmer, C Arkansas (152nd overall rated player)
6th round - Will Reichard, K Alabama (2nd rated Kicker)
7th round - Kalen King, CB Penn State (145th overall rated player)
Tough to give anything other than an A for a team grade when you come away with 3 of the top 32 players overall. Newton is a dynamic interior rusher who has a crazy first step. McKonkey is a perfect schematic fit who thrives at getting open and Kool Aid slid down the board for no other reason than he was maybe too good during the season. He projects as a high end CB2 or a CB1 potentially. Adding those three guys alone is enough to elevate a team.
However, the team also went out and found quite a few more contributors. Franklin looks like a WR3 in the NFL. Cam Hart is a decent outside starter and CB3 in the NFL who could turn himself into a solid CB2. The 49ers also added the second best kicker in the class, elevating the special teams unit. Spencer Rattler is a developmental QB prospect who can gut out some wins as a backup QB.
With other picks there were guys who all project as potential contributors. Jaylen Wright is a burner who can break one at any point. Wiley is a seam stretcher who has some upside. Limmer is a perfect scheme fit who needs developmental time. Kalen King was great in 2022 and bad in 2023, if he plays like he did in 2022 this could be a steal.
Blue Chip: 1 (Newton)
High End Starters: 2 (McKonkey, McKinstry)
Starters: 2 (Franklin, Hart)
Low End Starters/High End Role players: 2 (Wright, Reichard)
Role Players: 4 (Wiley, Limmer, King, Rattler)
UDFAs: 0
Houston Texans: Draft Grade - A
#2 Overall - Drake Maye, QB UNC (3rd overall rated prospect)
#53 Overall - Roger Rosengarten, OT Washington (43rd overall rated prospect)
#96 Overall - Payton Wilson, LB NC State (28th overall rated prospect)
#97 Overall - TJ Tampa, CB Iowa State (48th overall rated prospect)
5th round - Joshua Karty, K Stanford (1st rated kicker)
6th round - WR Brennan Rice, WR USC (96th rated player)
7th round - WR Cornelius Johnson, WR Michigan (154th rated player)
Well Houston decided to be exceptionally aggressive in this draft, swapping 5 picks to move up into the 3rd round and added two guys who absolutely should not have been available. This is becoming a common theme with GM TH as he’s done it three years in row now with a huge amount of success. His last three times have been for Josh Downs, Quinn Meinerz, and Tariq Woolen. This year he does it for TJ Tampa and Payton Wilson. On top of that the Texans add a 98 graded QB in Drake Maye. Maye is set up for success with this Houston team, with his old OC coming on board as well as having an excellent WR core, good OL, and a future Hall of Fame RB. It had to be tempting to take QB Jayden Daniels instead but the Texans went for the higher upside Maye.
Rosengarten was an intriguing pick at 53. While the value was certainly there as he was the 43rd best player in this draft but he fits what the team wants in an OL prospect. He’s a physical player who can work on either side and both inside or outside. It sounds like he was a “pound the table” guy for the Texans. Wilson is a potential star but with an extensive injury history and no ACL in one knee he fell to the end of round 3 and as the 28th best player in this class is an absolute steal for Houston - even if his career isn’t super long. TJ Tampa was another faller in this class that Houston attacked. He gets some time to develop but has high end starter potential.
Karty has only missed one kick under 50 yards in his entire career and has made 10 kicks of over 50 yards in his career. Brennan Rice was about a 3rd or 4th round grade who fell to the 6th due to lack of separation ability but his redzone skills and physicality are both pluses. Johnson is a special teams ace who likely will make this team based on those skills.
Blue Chips: 2 (Maye, Wilson)
High End Starters: 2 (Rosengarten, Tampa)
Starters: 0
Low End Starters/ High End Role Players: 1 (Karty)
Role Players: 2 (Rice, Johnson)
UDFAs: 0
