The NFL draft is over and that means it's time for grades and while they don't mean much now, Mel Kiper and Todd McShay along with other experts do their best to give scores and teams like the New England Patriots, Chicago Bears, Atlanta Falcons, Oakland Raiders and New York Giants got solid grades after making Jimmy Garoppolo, Khalil Mack, David Fales, Jake Matthews, Marqise Lee and Odell Beckham their selections.
The first round of the draft saw more talent than usual and that meant a lot of players getting taken off the board early that numerous teams wanted and that is why Sammy Watkins was drafted by the Bills after they traded up with the Browns. Many saw that being the Browns moving back to pick Johnny Manziel, but they went with Justin Gilbert instead before picking Manziel later and the rest of the top 10 saw some quality picks, including Mack going to the Raiders and Matthews going to the Falcons on back to back picks.
Matthews fell to the Falcons at number six after the Rams picked Greg Robinson at number two and Atlanta was thrilled at that, as they felt Matthews was the better player, the more polished player and he has the bloodlines as well with his father Bruce Matthews in the Hall of Fame and his cousin Clay Matthews with the Packers. The Falcons offensive line was decimated last season and now they add an athletic and explosive lineman that handled blocking for Johnny Manziel, which means solid pocket passer Matt Ryan should be easy work.
Mack was being spoken about as challenging Jadeveon Clowney as the number one overall pick and that is why the Raiders were thrilled to see him fall to number five. Last season the team traded out of the number three pick in the draft with the Miami Dolphins and watched them pick defensive end Dion jordan and comparing that to this year, Mack is a great prize, as Jordan may not have gone in the first round of the draft this year based on the talent. The Raiders didn't care that Mack went to a smaller school in Buffalo, as they liked his athleticism and ability to make big plays from the defensive line.
The Giants made an explosive pick for their offense with Odell Beckham Jr., as they lost Hakeem Nicks in the offseason and he can play on special teams as well. The Patriots made a splash with Jimmy Garoppolo in the second round and that means the team really liked what they saw from him and while he may not play now, he will be the future backup or starter for the Pats. David Fales was a very smart pick as well for Marc Trestman, as he will be able to come in for Jay Cutler with no problems after his experience in college and he is coming off of a great year and that pick filled a need for them as well.
