More 2016 draft grades. You better believe it.
San Francisco 49ers
The haul: DeForest Buckner, DE, Oregon – Round one, Joshua Garnett, OG, Stanford – Round two, Will Redmond, CB, Mississippi State – Round three, Rashard Robinson, CB, LSU – Round four, Ronald Blair, DE, Appalachian State – Round five, John Theus, OT, Georgia – Round five, Fahn Cooper, OT, Ole Miss – Round five, Jeff Driskel, QB, Louisiana Tech – Round six, Kelvin Taylor, RB, Florida – Round six, Aaron Burbridge, WR, Michigan State – Round six, Prince Charles Iworah, CB, Western Kentucky – Round seven
The fact that Chip Kelly drafted a player from Oregon shouldn’t shock anybody. The fact that the player in question, DeForest Buckner, was actually a good draft pick should. Kelly’s affection for his former Oregon players borders on the potential Amber Alert, but the 49ers needed Buckner. He was an actual good pick. I’m sure whatever boiler room mechanic or fork lift operator Trent Baalke hires to be the next 49ers head coach will appreciate having him.
The best picks of this draft for San Francisco, after Buckner, happen in the later rounds. Kelvin Taylor is an underrated talent out of Florida and the son of former Jacksonville Jaguars running back Fred Taylor. Aaron Burbridge was the only decent wide receiver Connor Cook had at Michigan State and Cook fed him the ball relentlessly. Is there anybody in San Fran that can actually throw him the ball? Adding Driskel out of Louisiana Tech did nothing to help the 49ers quarterback situation.
Grade: C-
Seattle Seahawks
The haul: Germain Ifedi, OG/OT, Texas A&M – Round one, Jarran Reed, DT, Alabama – Round two, C.J. Prosise, RB, Notre Dame – Round three, Nick Vannett, TE, Ohio State – Round three, Rees Odhiambo, OG, Boise State – Round three, Quinton Jefferson, DT, Maryland – Round five, Alex Collins, RB, Arkansas – Round five, Joe Hunt, Center, TCU – Round six, Kenny Lawler, WR, California – Round seven, Zac Brooks, RB, Clemson – Round seven
Picking so late in the draft, it’s downright disheartening to see the Seahawks have such an incredible draft. Ifedi is a solid pick at the bottom of the first round, a place I had him in multiple mocks and Reed was an outright steal in the second round. He had first round grades everywhere.
Prosise should fight his way into the starting line up sooner than anyone thinks. Vannett will instantly become a red-zone weapon for Russell Wilson and it wouldn’t surprise me to see Odhiambo starting on the offensive line by the end of the year. The leaned on the skill players in the later rounds, making sure they had horses in the barn at running back and wide receiver. The Seahawks have a knack for turning players like that into stars. Lawler, in particular, may flourish under their system.
Grade: A
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The haul: Vernon Hargreaves, CB, Florida – Round one, Noah Spence, DE, Eastern Kentucky – Round two, Robert Aguayo, Kicker – Round two, Ryan Smith, CB, North Carolina Central – Round four, Caleb Benenoch, OT, UCLA – Round five, Devante Bond, OLB, Oklahoma – Round six, Dan Vitale, FB, Northwestern – Round six
The Bucs traded around, laid back and still got their man in Hargreaves. He’ll step in as a day-one starter for them. The steal came in the second round with Noah Spence, who I actually predicted would drop. The Buccaneers have no issues with his character and only looked at his production at multiple college levels. While he may just be a situational rusher at the beginning of the season, he’ll likely be a full time starter by Week 10.
Tampa Bay got some grief for taking Aguayo so high in the second and that’s probably deserved. He was the best kicker coming out of college by a mile and should be an impact player. If you’re drafting guys that can win you games, you can’t argue with valuing Aguayo as a second-rounder. The issue is, could they have waited until the third? Probably. They didn’t want to take the chance. Round four on look like back-up players at best, with Dan Vitale out of Northwestern looking like an interesting fullback prospect in a league that doesn’t use many fullbacks at all.
Grade: B+
Next: Titans, Redskins and UDFAs
