We’re still handing out report cards, people. Make sure you get your parents to sign the back and bring them back in. This time, the grades are in for the NFC East.
Just to recap my grading philosophy, every team must enter the draft with the goal of picking starters in the first and second rounds. That’s worth a B. Any starters outside of that boost the grade up. If you whiff on starters in the first or second, and don’t land any in the later rounds, the grade goes down.
Dallas Cowboys
The haul: Leighton Vander Esch (Round 1, Pick 19), Connor Williams, OG, Texas (Round 2, Pick 50), Michael Gallup, WR, Colorado State (Round 3, Pick 81), Dorance Armstrong, DE, Kansas (Round 4, Pick 116), Dalton Schultz, TE, Stanford (Round 4, Pick 137), Mike White, QB, Western Kentucky (Round 5, Pick 171), Chris Covington, OLB, Indiana (Round 6, Pick 193), Cedrick Wilson, WR, Boise State (Round 6, Pick 208), Bo Scarbrough, RB, Alabama (Round 7, Pick 236)
Grade: A+
I didn’t love Vander Esch as a prospect, but I was in the minority. Williams is a steal in the second round, giving first round value and Gallup is a potential starter in the third. Add to that Bo Scarbrough in the seventh, who should have been no worse than a third round pick, and this was a terrific, team-building draft for the Cowboys.
With the quick retirement announcement from Jason Witten, I’m surprised Dallas didn’t panic early at tight end. It’s good that they didn’t. I like Schultz a lot out of Stanford. There’s lots of quality TEs still available in free agency and it wouldn’t shock me at all to see the cowboys bring in guys like Mychal Rivera and Brent Celek.
New York Giants
The haul: Saquon Barkley, RB, Penn State (Round 1, Pick 2), Will Hernandez, OG, Texas-El Paso (Round 2, Pick 34), Lorenzo Carter, OLB, Georgia (Round 3, Pick 66), B.J. Hill, DT, N.C. State (Round 3, Pick 69), Kyle Lauletta, QB, Richmond (Round 4, Pick 108), R.J. McIntosh, DT, Miami (Round 5, Pick 139)
Grade: B+
The Giants paid no attention to the draftniks telling them to go QB at No. 2. Instead, they added the best offensive weapon in the draft and will ride with Eli Manning for the next three or four seasons. Hernandez is a first round talent nabbed in the second. Lauletta, at worst, solidifies their back up quarterback spot and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Carter playing full time before season’s end.
Philadelphia Eagles
The haul: Dallas Goedert, TE, South Dakota State (Round 2, Pick 49), Avonte Maddox, CB, Pittsburgh (Round 4, Pick 125), Josh Sweat, DE, Florida State (Round 4, Pick 130), Matt Pryor, OT, TCU (Round 6, Pick 206), Jordan Mailata, OT, No U.S. College (Round 7, Pick 233)
Grade: D+
The Eagles didn’t need to add a lot in the draft and they made sure they didn’t with a paltry and unimpressive group of picks. Goedert is a project taken in the second round and will barley see the field thanks to starting TE Zach Ertz. Not a single one of these picks will contribute to the team this year. In three years, Goedert and Sweat might be the only guys still on the team. And what’s with wasting a pick on the rugby guy?
Washington Redskins
The haul: Da’Ron Payne, DT, Alabama (Round 1, Pick 13), Derrius Guice, RB, LSU (Round 2, Pick 59), Geron Christian, OT, Louisville (Round 3, Pick 74), Troy Apke, Safety, Penn State (Round 4, Pick 109), Tim Settle, DT, Virginia Tech (Round 5, Pick 163), Shaun Dion Hamilton, ILB, Alabama (Round 6, Pick 197),Greg Stroman, CB, Virginia Tech (Round 7, Pick 241), Trey Quinn, WR, SMU (Round 7, Pick 256)
Grade: A-
The Payne pick in the first round was all about stopping (or trying to stop) Ezekiel Elliott and Saquon Barkley. It may have been a necessity. Grabbing Guice in the second when he should have gone early second or late first is a nice value, in spite of all the knocks against him. What boosts this up to “A-” territory is Shaun Dion Hamilton in the sixth. If he didn’t get hurt, he would have been a first or second rounder. That’s three starters in this draft, regardless of how any of these other guys pan out.
