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Jae C. Hong/Associated Press
On Thursday night, the Jacksonville Jaguars selected Georgia defensive end Travon Walker with the No. 1 overall pick. On Saturday afternoon, the San Francisco 49ers made Brock Purdy this year’s Mr. Irrelevant, taking the Iowa State quarterback with the No. 262 pick. And in between, 260 other players were chosen during the 2022 NFL draft.
Some things went as expected during this year’s three-day draft. Walker wasn’t a surprise selection at No. 1, and it was no shock that the Detroit Lions then took Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson at No. 2. The pair of pass rushers were both favorites to be early picks.
There were some surprises, though. Only one quarterback was drafted over the first two rounds, and that was Pittsburgh QB Kenny Pickett, who went to the Pittsburgh Steelers at No. 20.
How did each of the NFL’s 32 teams fare? It’s tough to know until we see how the players in this draft class develop. But it’s always fun to analyze what each franchise did immediately after.
Here’s how some top draft experts graded each team’s 2022 class following the event.
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Arizona Cardinals: B
Atlanta Falcons: B+
Baltimore Ravens: A
Buffalo Bills: B
Carolina Panthers: B
Chicago Bears: B-
Cincinnati Bengals: B
Cleveland Browns: B
Dallas Cowboys: C+
Denver Broncos: B-
Detroit Lions: B+
Green Bay Packers: B
Houston Texans: B
Indianapolis Colts: B
Jacksonville Jaguars: B-
Kansas City Chiefs: B
Las Vegas Raiders: B
Los Angeles Chargers: B-
Los Angeles Rams: B-
Miami Dolphins: B-
Minnesota Vikings: B-
New England Patriots: C+
New Orleans Saints: B-
New York Giants: B
New York Jets: A
Philadelphia Eagles: B+
Pittsburgh Steelers: B
San Francisco 49ers: B-
Seattle Seahawks: B+
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: B
Tennessee Titans: B
Washington Commanders: B-
The Jets and Ravens each selected two players during Thursday’s opening round, adding talented prospects who could quickly make impacts as rookies. And that’s a big reason why these two teams were the only ones to receive an A in Kiper’s draft grades.
Baltimore drafted Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton at No. 14 and Iowa center Tyler Linderbaum at No. 25, and Kiper was impressed by the value the Ravens got from their picks in the later rounds. But there was one thing missing, in Kiper’s opinion.
“The only thing keeping this class from an A+ is this: Who’s going to catch deep balls from [quarterback Lamar] Jackson?” Kiper wrote. “The Ravens traded away Marquise Brown to get that extra first-rounder, and so there’s a lot riding on a second-year surge from wideout Rashod Bateman.”
The Jets came away with Cincinnati cornerback Ahmad Gardner, Ohio State wide receiver Garrett Wilson and Florida State defensive end Jermaine Johnson II. And as Kiper noted, those are three starting-caliber players “for a team that needed a talent infusion at all three positions.”
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Arizona Cardinals: A-
Atlanta Falcons: B+
Baltimore Ravens: A
Buffalo Bills: A
Carolina Panthers: A-
Chicago Bears: A-
Cincinnati Bengals: A-
Cleveland Browns: B
Dallas Cowboys: B
Denver Broncos: A
Detroit Lions: B+
Green Bay Packers: A
Houston Texans: B
Indianapolis Colts: C
Jacksonville Jaguars: B+
Kansas City Chiefs: A
Las Vegas Raiders: A-
Los Angeles Chargers: A
Los Angeles Rams: A
Miami Dolphins: B
Minnesota Vikings: A-
New England Patriots: C+
New Orleans Saints: C+
New York Giants: A-
New York Jets: A
Philadelphia Eagles: A
Pittsburgh Steelers: A-
San Francisco 49ers: B-
Seattle Seahawks: C+
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: A
Tennessee Titans: A
Washington Commanders: B
Reuter graded on a high curve, as there were 11 teams that received an A from the analyst. But it’s worth pointing out Reuter’s marks for the Chiefs, who received an A for Day 1, an A+ for Day 2 and another A for Day 3.
Kansas City addressed two of its biggest defensive needs in the first round, drafting Washington cornerback Trent McDuffie at No. 21 and Purdue defensive end George Karlaftis at No. 30. Then, the team boosted its receiving corps by adding Western Michigan’s Skyy Moore at No. 54.
“Moore is a great fit in their offense and excellent value,” Reuter wrote.
The Chiefs were already one of the top teams in the AFC. And with how well they drafted this year, they have also set themselves up for potentially even more long-term success.
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Doug Benc/Associated Press
Arizona Cardinals: B-
Atlanta Falcons: A
Baltimore Ravens: A+
Buffalo Bills: B+
Carolina Panthers: A
Chicago Bears: B-
Cincinnati Bengals: B+
Cleveland Browns: B
Dallas Cowboys: B+
Denver Broncos: B+
Detroit Lions: A+
Green Bay Packers: B+
Houston Texans: B+
Indianapolis Colts: B+
Jacksonville Jaguars: C+
Kansas City Chiefs: A+
Las Vegas Raiders: B+
Los Angeles Chargers: B
Los Angeles Rams: C+
Miami Dolphins: B-
Minnesota Vikings: B
New England Patriots: D
New Orleans Saints: C+
New York Giants: B-
New York Jets: A-
Philadelphia Eagles: A
Pittsburgh Steelers: B+
San Francisco 49ers: B
Seattle Seahawks: A-
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: B
Tennessee Titans: B+
Washington Commanders: C+
There were three teams that earned an A+ in the Pro Football Focus grades: the Ravens, Chiefs and Lions. Many draft experts praised Baltimore and Kansas City’s classes, but PFF was a bit higher on Detroit’s showing than some others.
The Lions made the obvious pick at No. 2, where they landed Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson. Then, they traded up from No. 32 to No. 12 in order to draft Alabama wide receiver Jameson Williams, who has a ton of big-play potential.
As PFF notes, Williams is “a game-changing talent when healthy” and that “no one else in this class sniffs Williams’ speed or movement skills.”
Detroit also added some intriguing defensive prospects in the later rounds. So it’s a class that could help the franchise take an upward trajectory in the future.
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