Five Winners and Losers From the NFL Draft

They say never to judge an NFL draft immediately after the fact. Too late.

Here are five winners and losers from all the moves over the weekend.

WINNERS

Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles had a point-differential of plus-59 last season and made the playoffs. They have gotten better this offseason and could be a true contender to the Cowboys’ crown in the NFC East.

Philly traded a first-round pick for A.J. Brown, while also adding run-stuffing defensive tackle Jordan Davis at No. 13 overall. There is split opinion on Davis’ value, but if he can change the math defensively because of his elite ability to plug gaps, it’s a worthy pick in the top half of the first round.

The Eagles later grabbed Davis’ Georgia teammate, Nakobe Dean, at No. 83 overall after his draft freefall. Dean seemingly has medical concerns, but if he pans out, Philadelphia will have added three major pieces over the weekend.

The Browns

No, not Cleveland, but the young receiver duo of Hollywood and A.J. Brown. 

Hollywood was traded to the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday, and he goes from a run-heavy offense to a scheme that should fit him perfectly. Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray had a PFF grade of 99.2 and a passer rating of 115.6 on throws 20 or more yards downfield in 2021.

Brown only caught five of 30 passes at that depth last year in Baltimore and should be able to improve on those numbers because of Murray’s precision. The Cardinals badly needed a speedy receiver to stretch the field and put defenses in a bind next season, and Brown seems like an ideal fit.

Kyler Murray had a PFF grade of 99.2 on passes 20+ yards downfield last season.

Perfect quarterback for Hollywood Brown's skillset.

— Kyle Odegard (@Kyle_Odegard) May 2, 2022

Time will tell if A.J. Brown will fit as seamlessly with the Eagles, as Jalen Hurts is not as accomplished of a quarterback. However, Brown inked a four-year, $100 million extension with $57 million guaranteed after going to Philadelphia, which was much more than the Titans were offering, according to Brown. 

When players have leverage, they should use it, and Brown did a good job of guaranteeing a heft payday for himself.

Baltimore Ravens

GM Eric DeCosta did a fantastic job of getting a first-round pick back for Hollywood Brown, who was adamant he wanted to move on. Baltimore then traded down and drafted center Tyler Linderbaum at No. 25, a player that many believe has Pro Bowl potential.

The Ravens’ draft sure looks impressive. They went best-player-available at No. 14 in Kyle Hamilton, who will join Marlon Humphrey, Marcus Peters and Marcus Williams in a dynamic secondary.

Baltimore later added edge rusher David Ojabo at No. 45 overall. He would have been a first-round pick but tore his Achilles in a pre-draft workout. The Ravens have such a strong roster that they can afford to wait for him to get healthy, and may have landed a dominant pass-rusher in the middle of the second round.

Best draft: Ravens
Worst draft: Saints

Sneaky good drafts: Panthers, Colts (Giants?)

Sneaky not so good drafts: Bills, Jets

— Kevin Cole (@KevinColePFF) May 2, 2022

Detroit Lions

The Lions were likely elated to get Aidan Hutchinson at No. 2 overall after the Jaguars chose to go with the riskier Travon Walker at No. 1. GM Brad Holmes then made a bold decision to trade up for wide receiver Jameson Williams at No. 12 overall.

Analytically, the deal was a mistake in terms of draft capital, but that’s not the case if you consider the upside of Williams. He is coming off a torn ACL but has the capacity to be the most dynamic wide receiver in the draft.

Detroit is not going to be a playoff team in 2022 and took a worthy risk in acquiring Williams. The Lions still need a quarterback, but now they have a pair of wideouts with high-end potential in Williams and Amon-Ra St. Brown.

Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons are in the midst of a rebuild but seem to have kickstarted it in a nice way over the weekend. Wide receiver Drake London was the choice at No. 8 overall and will now pair with tight end Kyle Pitts as a pair of tough matchups for defenses. Edge rusher Arnold Ebiketie was a nice value add at No. 38 overall.

Atlanta will hit a grand slam on this draft if quarterback Desmond Ridder pans out. He has intriguing ability, and at No. 74, it was a risk worth taking because the Falcons have no franchise quarterback on the roster. Ridder’s over/under for being drafted was set at 30.5 overall.

A reminder that @desmondridder had the fastest 40 time of any active QB at the Combine 👀

📺: NFLN pic.twitter.com/NuN9CYjlsh

— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) May 2, 2022

LOSERS

New England Patriots

Far be it from me to question the wisdom of Bill Belichick, but here goes. The Patriots shocked a bunch of people by drafting Tennessee-Chattanooga guard Cole Strange with the No. 29 pick in the draft. Strange was viewed as a third-round prospect by many, but the Patriots obviously thought much higher of him.

There is no issue standing out from the crowd in belief of a prospect, but it feels like New England should have rolled the dice and taken its next-favorite player at 29 and then tried to get Strange in the second round. If the Patriots nabbed a player at a premium position it would have been more defensible, but Strange will really need to play well for this gamble to pay off.

Justin Fields

Most teams try to surround their young quarterback with talent to make their transition to the NFL as easy as possible. The Jaguars have done it with Trevor Lawrence and the Jets have done the same for Zach Wilson.

However, Chicago has a new regime in place that is clearly taking the long view toward competitiveness. It’s not a bad decision, but Fields could feel the pain of that choice. The Bears let Allen Robinson leave in free agency, and didn’t grab a wide receiver with either of their first two picks.

Chicago had one of the worst offenses in the NFL last season, and unless Fields can elevate everyone around him, things are looking similarly dismal heading into 2022.

Green Bay Packers

Teams rarely look to fill needs as often as fans would like them to do, but it certainly felt like Green Bay should have tried to nab an impact wide receiver in the first round.

Drake London, Garrett Wilson, Jameson Williams, Chris Olave, Jahan Dotson and Treylon Burks were all gone before Green Bay’s first pick at 22, while A.J. Brown and Hollywood Brown were also acquired via trade.

The Packers weren’t aggressive in trading up or dealing for a veteran, instead choosing linebacker Quay Walker and defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt with their first-round choices. Green Bay did trade up for Christian Watson early in the second round, and he has intriguing potential, but it could take him a couple years to develop, which isn’t an ideal timeline considering Aaron Rodgers is 38.

National media folks are obsessed with the first round wide receiver narrative. Obsessed. If Watson is taken two spots earlier (which the Packers attempted to do!) so many pixels aren't being wasted in the aftermath of this draft smh

— Aaron Nagler (@AaronNagler) May 2, 2022

Rookie Quarterbacks

This quarterback class was seen as weak when the college football season concluded, but almost every year it seems like signal-callers end up flying up draft boards.

That definitely wasn’t the case this year. Kenny Pickett was the only first round pick and lasted until No. 20 before the Steelers nabbed him. Malik Willis, Matt Corral, Desmond Ridder and Sam Howell were taken later than projected.

It felt like all the bad teams in the NFL were not willing to spend high picks on quarterbacks because next year’s class is expected to be so much stronger. These signal-callers will have a chance to prove the evaluators wrong, but it says something teams passed on all but Pickett multiple times in the draft.

New Orleans Saints

The Saints love throwing caution to the wind, as they gave up draft capital to trade up for wide receiver Chris Olave. The move would have made sense if Drew Brees was still around and keeping the team in contender status, but this looks like a .500 ballclub as currently constructed.

New Orleans keeps shedding talent because of salary cap constraints, and finding cheap talent through the draft is important to keep this team competitive. Maybe Olave goes on to become a star, but if not, the Saints may have really hurt themselves by dealing away picks that could have improved the team’s depth and overall talent level.