Cardinals: B-
T Paris Johnson, Ohio State, 1st Round, LB B.J. Ojulari, LSU, 2nd Round, CB Garrett Williams, Syracuse, WR Michael Wilson, Stanford, 3rd Round, G Jon Gaines II, UCLA, 4th Round, QB Clayton Tune, Houston, ILB Owen Pappoe, Auburn, 5th Round, CB Kei’Trel Clark, Louisville, DT Dante Stills, West Virginia, 6th Round
The Cardinals started the 1st Round with a smart trade down for future picks and traded back up to select Johnson by request of Kyler Murray. Johnson is considered the best LT in the draft with good size, footwork, and athleticism, but he is still learning the position and he is a day 1 starter on the O-line; the team doesn’t need him to start LT immediately so he could start at Guard. Ojulari is a quick edge rusher who will be limited to edge/LB due to his size, he is more of a finesse speed rusher with a nose for the football. Ojulari needs to continue to get stronger, improve in coverage, and improve his run stopping with the move to LB; he will provide depth and should be used as a situational pass rusher early. Williams is a physical CB with good speed, size, and tackling skills to help in run support, but he needs to improve his footwork/technique and he is coming off an ACL injury; he will compete for playing time once recovered and has starter potential as a #2 CB or movable piece. Wilson is a physical WR with good speed, size, and route running who impressed at the Senior Bowl, but he needs to prove he can create separation consistently, improve his overall consistency, and he comes with injury concerns; he will provide depth as he develops.
Gaines is an athletic lineman with good footwork, quickness, and versatility to play Guard and Center, but he has some technique issues and needs to add strength; he projects as a Center but will provide depth inside. Tune is a mobile QB with good size and the ability to throw on the run while improving every year, but he doesn’t have top arm strength and needs to show he can be a better pocket passer mostly improving his footwork; he has #2 QB/spot starter potential. Pappoe is an undersized LB with great leadership, athleticism, and the ability to play in coverage and rush the passer, but his lack of size limits him as a rusher and he needs to play with better awareness/technique; he should provide depth and play on Special Teams. Clark is a fast, undersized CB with good coverage, technique, and toughness, but his size limits him in run defense and against big WRs; he will provide depth with nickel CB potential once he adds strength. Stills is an undersized DT with great pass rushing skills, a high motor, and good technique, but he needs to add weight/strength to his frame; he projects as a #2 DT or a DE in the 3-4 with pass rush potential.
Rams: C+
G Steve Avila, TCU, 2nd Round, DE Byron Young, Tennessee, DT Kobie Turner, Wake Forest, 3rd Round, QB Stetson Bennett, Georgia, 4th Round, LB Nick Hampton, Appalachian State, T Warren McClendon, Georgia, TE Davis Allen, Clemson, WR Puka Nacua, BYU, 5th Round, CB Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson, TCU, DE Ochaun Mathis, Nebraska, RB Zach Evans, Ole Miss, 6th Round, P Ethan Evans, Wingate, S Jason Taylor II, Oklahoma State, DE Desjuan Johnson, Toledo, 7th Round
The Rams started the draft in the 2nd Round selecting Avila, a strong O-lineman with great size, strength, and experience (mostly at Guard and Center) who will start at Guard; he lacks quickness and needs to polish his technique, but is good against the run and pass. Young is a strong, athletic pass rusher with a high motor, good speed, and bend to get around the edge, but he is undersized to play DE so he will be an edge/OLB and he needs to improve his run stopping and technique; he will compete for a starting job. Turner is a strong, athletic lineman with a high motor, good quickness, run stopping ability, and pass rush potential with the ability to knock the ball out, but he is undersized, lacks good length, and needs to improve his pass rush technique; he will provide depth and play on Special Teams. Bennett is a productive college QB with a lot of experience, good accuracy, leadership, and toughness who has gotten better each year, but he is undersized and doesn’t have the best arm; he will compete for the #2 job. Hampton is an edge rusher with good size, athleticism, and speed, but he needs to add more weight to his frame, improve against the run, and in coverage; he has potential as a situational pass rusher with starter potential.
McClendon is an experienced Tackle on both sides with good strength, size, and run blocking skills, but he needs to work on his technique; he has starter potential at RT. Allen is a tall, movable piece at TE who is not quite ready to be a pure TE, he has good hands and the ability to find the soft spot in the defense, but he’s not very fast and needs to add strength and improve his run blocking. Nacua is a strong, athletic WR with good hands, speed, blocking, and the ability to play in space as a movable piece (WR/RB), but he needs to improve his route running and awareness as he still raw; he will provide depth, but has potential with the ability to play inside and outside. Hodges-Tomlinson is a tough, physical CB with good speed, athleticism, and man coverage skills, but his size limits him versus the run and against bigger WRs, but he can be a very effective nickel CB if he can add strength, improve his technique, and limit his penalties. Mathis is a long, edge rusher with good size, quickness, run stopping ability, and pass rush potential, but he needs to add strength, play more physical, and continue to improve his pass rush technique as he is still raw, but he has starter potential.
Zach Evans is a tough power runner who looks for contact with good acceleration, but he needs to improve his pass catching and blocking to be a three down back; he may need to add weight for his style, but he has potential if he can improve his fumbling. Ethan Evans is a big power punter who has shown good accuracy to pin he ball inside the 20; he is expected to take the starting job. Taylor II is a box safety with the versatility to play nickel CB with a nose for the football who excels at stopping the run, but he needs to clean up some technique and tackling issues; he could be a movable piece and Special Teams player with potential. Johnson is an undersized high motor D-lineman who plays with good leverage and pass rush potential, but he still needs to add weight and develop his technique; he may need to earn a spot.
Seahawks: A-
CB Devon Witherspoon, Illinois, WR Jaxson Smith-Njigba, Ohio State, 1st Round, LB Derick Hall, Auburn, RB Zach Charbonnet, UCLA, 2nd Round, G Anthony Bradford, LSU, DT Cameron Young, Mississippi State, 4th Round, DE Mike Morris, Michigan, C Olusegun Oluwatimi, Michigan, 5th Round, S Jerrick Reed II, New Mexico, 6th Round, RB Kenny McIntosh, Georgia, 7th Round
The Seahawks had a value pick at #5 after the Russell Wilson trade with the Broncos, allowing them to select Witherspoon. Witherspoon was a late riser on the draft boards going as the #1 CB as teams love his physical nature and tackling skills, while still being solid in pass coverage; he will start from day 1. Smith-Njigba was a solid selection late in the 1st round, as he was considered the best WR in the draft to most as he could have been a high draft pick last year and he was the most productive amongst his teammates who have since exceled in the league. He is a physical slot WR with good hands and route running who is more quick than fast, but he needs to get stronger, polish his route running, and prove he can be a #2 WR and play on the outside; he should start in the slot from day 1. Hall is a strong, athletic prospect with good size, speed, run stopping ability, and pass rush potential off the edge standing or hand in the ground; he needs to clean up his technique and continue to improve as a rusher. Hall projects as an OLB/edge rusher who may have to move to DE and add weight if he doesn’t show the bend to rush standing like in college, but he has potential. Charbonnet is a tough, physical RB with good size and pass catching ability who runs with good patience and vision, but he’s not very shifty and needs to learn pass protection; he has three down back potential and should see carries early with starter potential. Bradford is a huge O-lineman with good strength in the run game and good pass blocking skills with the potential to play Tackle, but he is still raw and needs to continue to improve his technique; he has starter potential.
Young is a tough D-lineman with good size and strength who excels at stopping the run and has shown pass rush potential due to his high motor, but he needs to clean up his technique and improve against the pass; he projects as a NT with the potential to be a three down player and will provide depth. Morris is a strong, physical D-lineman with good size, run stopping ability, a high motor, and pass rush potential, but he is still raw as a pass rusher and doesn’t have top speed/athleticism; he needs to clean up his technique and continue to improve his rush or he may have to move to DT. Oluwatimi is a smart experienced Center who plays with good awareness and pass blocking skills, but he is small and needs to add strength to improve his run blocking. Reed is a versatile player with experience at both Safety spots and CB while leading his team in tackles. He has good speed, coverage, and athleticism, but he needs to add strength and clean up some technique issues; he projects as a CB and movable piece who should see time on Special Teams. McIntosh is a tough, physical runner with good size and hands, but he lacks top speed and homerun ability; he could be a 3rd down/#2 back potentially.
49ers: C-
S Ji’Ayir Brown, Penn State, 2nd Round, K Jake Moody, Michigan, TE Cameron Latu, Alabama, 3rd Round, CB Darrell Luter Jr., South Alabama, DE Robert Beal Jr., Georgia, 5th Round, ILB Dee Winters, TCU, 6th Round, TE Brayden Willis, Oklahoma, WR Ronnie Bell, Michigan, LB Jalen Graham, Purdue, 7th Round
The 49ers started the draft in the 2nd round selecting Brown a physical, versatile DB who excels at blitzing and helping in the run game while also having good hands in coverage and a nose for the football. However, he lacks top speed which limits his range, needs to get better in coverage, and continue to polish his game; he should provide depth and help on Special Teams. Moody is a power kicker who has proven to be accurate within 50 yards, reliable on extra points, and clutch; he is the favorite to take the starting spot. Latu is a big, athletic pass catching TE who converted from LB/DE so he is still raw at the position, but has shown potential as a mismatch; he will provide depth and should compete for the #2 job behind Kittle. Luter is a long press CB with good awareness and technique who plays best in zone coverage due to his lack of long speed against fast WRs, but he has good speed and potential to a be #2 CB once he adds strength and improve his tackling. Beal is a high motor edge rusher who didn’t receive much starting time as a pass rush specialist on the Georgia defense, but he has good size, length, and athleticism as a developmental edge/LB and Special Teams player.
Winters is a fast, physical LB with a high motor who uses his quickness to disrupt in the backfield versus the run and pass along with the ability to cover as a converted Safety; which makes him undersized and he needs to improve his awareness/instincts and strength to shed blockers. Willis is a versatile, athletic player with good speed, high experience on Special Teams, he played wildcat QB, and he has potential as a pass catching TE with good blocking instincts and effort; he needs to add weight/strength and improve his route running, but he has potential at TE. Bell is a good route-running WR with good hands and the size to play inside and outside, but he needs to add strength and improve as a blocker; he may need to earn his spot. Graham is an undersized coverage LB and sideline to sideline tackler with good speed and awareness/instincts, but he needs to add more strength and improve in run coverage; he will need to earn a spot.
