Facebook with Latestnigeriannews  Twieet with latestnigeriannews  RSS Page Feed
Home  |  All Headlines  |  Punch  |  Thisday  |  Daily Sun  |  Vanguard   |  Guardian  |  The Nation  |  Daily Times  |  Daily Trust  |  Daily Independent
World  |  Sports  |  Technology  |  Entertainment  |  Business  |  Politics  |  Tribune  |  Leadership  |  National Mirror  |  BusinessDay  |  More Channels...

Viewing Mode:

Archive:

  1.     Tool Tips    
  2.    Collapsible   
  3.    Collapsed     
Click to view all Entertainment headlines today

Click to view all World headlines today

2017 NFL Draft Grades: Full Results Listings and Final Team Marks

Published by Bleacher Report on Sun, 30 Apr 2017


In the hours since the 2017 NFL draft came to an end Saturday, all 32 teams and their fans are feeling the optimism that comes with adding young new talent to the roster.No matter where your favorite team drafted or how many picks they had, the hope that these players can become anything is what drives the sport. The Cleveland Browns drafted three players in the first round and five through the first three rounds believing they will make drastic improvements after going 1-15 in 2016.Taking a look at what happened in the draft and how teams fared, here's a look at picks from all seven rounds, along with team grades and a look at some of the key storylines coming out of the event.Bad Team That Will Be Great in 2 Years: San Francisco 49ersRemember the eyebrows raised when the San Francisco 49ers hired John Lynch out of the Fox Sports analyst booth to be their general manager'In his first draft putting together the 49ers roster, Lynch struck gold by getting two top-five talents in the first round, when defensive end Solomon Thomas was waiting for them at No. 3 and linebacker Reuben Foster's surprising fall compelled him to trade for the No. 31 pick to take the former Alabama star.Beyond just the players added to San Francisco's roster, Lynch also put the 49ers in great position next year. He convinced the Chicago Bears to give up three picks, including a 2018 third-rounder, to move up one spot for quarterback Mitchell Trubisky and got the New Orleans Saints to give him a 2018 second-round pick for the 67th pick this year.Quarterback is still the obvious area of need for the 49ers if they want to become a playoff team in the next two years, but ESPN.com's Nick Wagoner broke down why those extra 2018 picks set them up perfectly to get their next signal-caller:"Since his name will continue to be connected to the Niners until he signs a long-term contract elsewhere, let's start with Washington Redskins quarterbackKirk Cousins. The fit in a reunion with 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan is obvious, and Cousins almost certainly would be willing to sign with the Niners. But if the Redskins find a way to continue controlling his rights next year via a tag, the 49ers now have extra picks to deal for him. The same is true of New England Patriots quarterbackJimmy Garoppolo."Wagoner also noted if San Francisco can't land Cousins or Garoppolo, next year's crop of draft-eligible quarterbacks includesUSC's Sam Darnold, Wyoming'sJosh AllenandUCLA's Josh Rosen.The 49ers front seven now includes Thomas, Foster, Arik Armstead, DeForest Buckner and NaVorro Bowman. They boosted their offense with the signing of veteran Pierre Garcon, Marquise Goodwin andKyle Juszczyk.After ending last season with one of the NFL's worst rosters and no apparent signs of hope, the 49ers are poised to become playoff contenders within the next two years if they can get their quarterback.2016 Non-Playoff Team That Will Make Playoffs in 2017: Tampa Bay BuccaneersThe needle was already trending in the right direction for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after going 9-7 in 2016, but their offseason moves have made this team one to watch closely next season.Even if the Buccaneers did nothing in the draft, signing wide receiver DeSean Jackson to play opposite Mike Evans was going to help quarterbackJameis Winston take the next step in his development.Fortunately, the Buccaneers did make picks in the draft. And they continued to add talent around Winston to fully maximize the potential of their young signal-caller.Getting tight end O.J. Howard with the No. 19 pick, while not even having to move up, seemed like a gift from the football gods.Cameron DaSilva of Fox Sports went so far as to call Howard the steal of the draft for the Buccaneers:"By inserting Howard as a dynamic tight end who can play anywhere on the field, the Buccaneers have the potential to put up huge numbers offensively. They probably won't match the division-rival Falcons, but Tampa Bay has a good chance of finishing the season as one of the league's best offenses.In 2016, the Buccaneers offense finished 18th with Doug Martin having an abysmal season and Mike Evans being the only reliable wide receiver for Winston. [Cameron] Brate was their second-leading receiver, and he caught only 57 passes. That's how one-dimensional the Buccaneers' offense was last season."Beyond Howard, the Buccaneers added depth at wide receiver by selecting Penn State's Chris Godwin in the third round. He was a big-play machine for the Nittany Lions, averaging 16.6 yards per reception with 11 touchdowns in 2016.Safety Justin Evans, who was selected in the second round with the 50th overall pick, has a high ceiling because of his ability to attack the ball.Vinnie Ronca of Pro Football Focus did note Evans' aggressiveness comes at a cost:The Buccaneers are fortunate to have a solid stable of safeties capable of handling multiple roles, including Keith Tandy, Chris Conte and J.J. Wilcox, so they can ease Evans into the speed of the NFL, where his aggressiveness has the potential to make him a turnover machine.Playing in the same division as the defending NFC champion Atlanta Falcons doesn't make life easy on the Bucs, but they are better positioned to challenge their NFC South rivals than when last season ended.It Just Doesn't Make Sense: Chicago BearsIt's easy to beat up on a team when they are down, but the Chicago Bears took the absolute wrong approach to this year's draft.Chicago's problems started right away in that trade with the 49ers. It would be one thing if they were like the Houston Texans, a team in need of a quarterback picking in the back of the first round and virtually guaranteed one of the top three players wasn't going to make it to you.The Bears were picking third with the 49ers on the clock. San Francisco is a team in need of a quarterback, but there were few indications in mock drafts throughout the pre-draft process that Trubisky was that high on its board.Maybe the Bears felt another team was in discussion with the 49ers for the second pick and that team was going to take Trubisky. Whatever the rationale, how does that justify giving up the excess package of picks to move up one spot'Jason McIntyre of the Big Lead offered this humorous reaction to what the Bears did:Tom Ley of Deadspin did posit a theory as to what the Bears may have been thinking: "The most generous way to read the Bears' draft night is that they truly believe that Trubisky is a future stud and had always planned to do anything to get him."There's no doubt if Trubisky turns into a star quarterback and leads the Bears to multiple playoff appearances and even a Super Bowl, no one will care they gave up what they did to make it happen.But let's examine how the Bears ended up at this point of desperation with the help of Badger Noonan of Acme Packing Company:One thing that teams like the Green Bay Packers, Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots have learned that allows them to remain in playoff contention year after year is that volume of draft picks can be better than where you are picking.It's certainly nice to be able to pick early in the draft and have your choice of premier talent, but having more players and quality depth to choose from is what makes franchises great.As a result of the trade with the 49ers, the Bears only had one pick on Day 2. They did get an interesting development tight end in Adam Shaheen 45th overall, but B/R's Dan Pompei questioned the team's strategy:The Bears are operating like a franchise that believes itself to be one or two players away from contending. They're delusional if they believe that to be the case, but it's clear they came into this draft with a plan and followed through with it.
Click here to read full news..

All Channels Nigerian Dailies: Punch  |  Vanguard   |  The Nation  |  Thisday  |  Daily Sun  |  Guardian  |  Daily Times  |  Daily Trust  |  Daily Independent  |   The Herald  |  Tribune  |  Leadership  |  National Mirror  |  BusinessDay  |  New Telegraph  |  Peoples Daily  |  Blueprint  |  Nigerian Pilot  |  Sahara Reporters  |  Premium Times  |  The Cable  |  PM News  |  APO Africa Newsroom

Categories Today: World  |  Sports  |  Technology  |  Entertainment  |  Business  |  Politics  |  Columns  |  All Headlines Today

Entertainment (Local): Linda Ikeji  |  Bella Naija  |  Tori  |  Daily News 24  |  Pulse  |  The NET  |  DailyPost  |  Information Nigeria  |  Gistlover  |  Lailas Blog  |  Miss Petite  |  Olufamous  |  Stella Dimoko Korkus Blog  |  Ynaija  |  All Entertainment News Today

Entertainment (World): TMZ  |  Daily Mail  |  Huffington Post

Sports: Goal  |  African Football  |  Bleacher Report  |  FTBpro  |  Softfootball  |  Kickoff  |  All Sports Headlines Today

Business & Finance: Nairametrics  |  Nigerian Tenders  |  Business Insider  |  Forbes  |  Entrepreneur  |  The Economist  |  BusinessTech  |  Financial Watch  |  BusinessDay  |  All Business News Headlines Today

Technology (Local): Techpoint  |  TechMoran  |  TechCity  |  Innovation Village  |  IT News Africa  |  Technology Times  |  Technext  |  Techcabal  |  All Technology News Headlines Today

Technology (World): Techcrunch  |  Techmeme  |  Slashdot  |  Wired  |  Hackers News  |  Engadget  |  Pocket Lint  |  The Verge

International Networks:   |  CNN  |  BBC  |  Al Jazeera  |  Yahoo

Forum:   |  Nairaland  |  Naij

Other Links: Home   |  Nigerian Jobs