By: Andrew Brandt (@SilentXNinja)
With the Season 21 CFSL Draft concluded, we have our official grades, best and worst picks. I want to preface this by saying I used Cole’s tier list and gave each tier a point 1 to 4 (4 being best). Based on how many picks a team had, and who they drafted, they got a grade A through F. Filling your team’s needs gives a team a bonus, and a team’s worst pick does not necessarily indicate that player is bad. With all that being said, let’s jump right into our first CFSL Draft Grading!
Tennessee Titans – Ryanmoreland
Team Needs: WR, LB, S, CB, DL
Best Pick: Alexander Tolbert
Worst Pick: Lucas Leak
Draft Grade: B
The Tennessee Titans had the #1 pick in the draft and could have easily replaced Levis with a generational talent in Zeus Claydon. The Titans traded the #1 pick to the Bears (who we all saw took Tank Monday). They are trusting Levis by taking Wide Receiver Alexander Tolbert of USC in round one and added some sorely needed defensive help in round two.
Overall, the Titans filled all of their needs within this draft except for their third-round pick. Lucas Leak was certainly not on my board for the Titans having three fairly competent tight ends. That pick could have been used to pick up a defensive back, linebacker, or either of the two remaining QBs on the board.
New York Jets – SilentxNinja7
Team Needs: DL, CB, QB, TE, S
Best Pick: Zeus Claydon
Worst Pick: Jason Dodd
Draft Grade: C
The New York Jets by far needed help all over except for wide receiver. The Jets had the second pick in the draft, and I heard there were talks to acquire the second pick. They didn’t budge taking Zeus Claydon #2 overall. The Aaron Rodgers experiment is officially over.
They filled every need this draft, but a surprising pick was Dodd in the fifth round. They certainly did not need another receiver in that wide receiver room. For now, it seems the Claydon experiment is in full swing. Time will tell if they utilize his talent well enough to break a 14-year playoff drought.
Carolina Panthers – DanielGunn
Team Needs: WR, CB, DL, QB, LB
Best Pick: Jim Morris
Worst Pick: Damian Walker
Draft Grade: A
MY ONE AND ONLY A! The Panthers killed this draft not only by filling every need (except Quarterback) but also by getting some surefire playmakers late in the draft. Morris and Vanderslice in the 6th round were absolute steals when anyone could have taken them in the previous five.
The Panthers saw something in Walker that they didn’t in Jayden Strange (who was still available at that point in the second round), and that is their only bad pick. This is saying a lot about how the Panthers drafted because even that’s not a bad pick, given that Walker would have been available by their third pick in the draft they could have used that pick for someone else at the top of the board.
Dallas Cowboys – KadePadgett
Team Needs: RB, WR, DL, S, CB
Best Pick: Sean Keohane
Worst Pick: Elliot Thomas
Draft Grade: B
The Cowboys are another team with some pretty glaring holes. One of which wasn’t on my board at the beginning of the season but certainly is now. They needed to fill some skill position slots early. While not a skill position, Weaver filled an important spot on their interior D-line, and they got their skill guys in Sapp and Bishop in the second round.
The most surprising pick was Keohane of LSU in the 5th round and, their best pick, but Elliot Thomas in the 4th was a surprising pick for an already deep LB corps.
New Orleans Saints – Triipz
Team Needs: WR, QB, LB, CB, DL
Best Pick: Ty Wolfe
Worst Pick: Jospeph Holms
Draft Grade: B
The Saints might be the luckiest team in the draft. Triipz had to defer to their staff for the draft, yet they managed to get two of the best wide receivers in the draft. Lincoln Martin and Ty Wolfe will surely help Dart succeed next season.
Had they gone for an LB in the third they might have helped their defense a little more, but they managed to fill their team’s needs, so we will need to wait and see if their picks pan out and are worth their draft spot.
Miami Dolphins – CLawrence
Team Needs: DL, S, CB, LB, WR,
Best Pick: Malik Austin
Worst Pick: Roger Blackwell
Draft Grade: B
If we had Offensive Linemen in the draft, I would say the Dolphins should draft all of them, but we don’t. Miami did manage to draft very well in the first four rounds. The Dolphins taking Malik Austin who was projected for the 2nd or 3rd round in the 4th was phenomenal. Pay the man who saw him on the board still.
Diamond, Strange, and Sparks will all make some sort of impact come rookie camp. The latter half of their draft will have something to prove.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Cole
Team Needs: CB, WR, LB, RB, S
Best Pick: Kevin Walsh
Worst Pick: Beau Justice
Draft Grade: B
With Baker Mayfield playing like prime Baker a QB wasn’t needed…yet. Tampa was another team that needed to defer to their staff for the picks. Kevin Walsh was a highlight pick for them in the sixth round, and he gives them the help they need in the secondary.
The staff hit on every note. They filled every key spot and one that wasn’t an area of immediate concern. The Bucs are sure to put Mucci and Carter to immediate use.
Chicago Bears – David Ware
Team Needs: DL, WR, S, CB
Best Pick: Will Mcknight
Worst Pick: Tank Monday
Draft Grade: F+
I wish I could say the Bears had a great draft. I made it a point not to do plus or minus grades, but I couldn’t possibly give the Bears a D.
They mortgaged their draft to trade up to the #1 overall pick. They took Tank Monday in what I can only hope was a typo. They may have filled their teams’ needs, but I pray that for their fanbase, and the city of Chicago, they somehow win the NFC North.
San Francisco 49ers – SGEasty
Team Needs: WR, CB, DL, S
Best Pick: Cash Thomas
Worst Pick: Les Longley
Draft Grade: C
The Niners are still making their case for a Super Bowl. They addressed their Secondary in two Defensive Backs rounds 1 and 2.
They took Longley one round ahead of where he was suspected to go. The rest of the draft went as expected, getting the important depth needed at WR, and LB and a massive steal in the fifth with Cash Thomas.
Atlanta Falcons – Tankasaurusrex
Team Needs: CB, DL, WR, LB
Best Pick: Dave Axis
Worst Pick: Domenik Barfield
Draft Grade: B
London watch out as Axis is coming to compete for the #1 Wide Receiver spot. Barfield surprised me as they have Pitts and a young TE room.
Overall I saw the Falcons draft well and earned their letter grade by filling some needed spots and adding depth to the WRs and Secondary. If they can mesh well on the field, I wouldn’t count the Falcons out.
Houston Texans – Clutch
Team Needs: CB, DL, WR, S, QB, LB
Best Pick: KrylicMartel
Worst Pick: Cleveland Edison
Draft Grade: B
While the Texans need a quarterback, it’s not a starter. They chose to focus on some day-one-quality players and depth.
They did get a high-level DE in Martel and filled some of their most important depth spots. One of the more surprising picks was Wick, as they did not need another young TE, but for a late second-round pick, he was not a bad choice.
Baltimore Ravens – Jacobb02
Team Needs: CB, DL, LB, WR
Best Pick: Tucker Mcguire
Worst Pick: Zay Witherspoon
Draft Grade: C
The Ravens need a lot of help on defense. They currently rank 26th in total team defense, so it’s safe to assume the Ravens focused solely on getting that defense in order. They seriously did just that.
Six of their seven picks were defensive players with Tucker McGuire being a great pickup at the end of the second round. However, Zay Witherspoon in the third round certainly perplexed all. The GM certainly saw something in him that others passed on.
Kansas City Chiefs
Team Needs: WR, CB, DL, LB
Best Pick: Robert Ivory
Worst Pick: Marco Gonzalez
Draft Grade: D
The Chiefs need to get someone to help Mahomes who isn’t named Travis Kelce. Boy, did they do that? They completely drafted a whole new wide receiver room (and a tight end).
The only thing saving the Chiefs from an F was the fact that they had taken a quality tight end in the first and Robert Ivory in the third.
Detriot Lions – Vennom
Team Needs: CB, WR, DL, S, LB
Best Pick: Admiral Lasky
Worst Pick: Adam Leach
Draft Grade: ?
I don’t know what to say here. They came in with three key spots and filled all three. The Lions came into the draft saying you, you, and you and left.
However, when you have a team that is hitting on all cylinders and ready to take the NFL by storm what more do you need? I believe all three of their picks will make immediate impacts at their positions.
