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2025 Nfl Draft Grades Analyzing All 32 Teams Classes

Bonisiwe Shabane
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2025 nfl draft grades analyzing all 32 teams classes

Grading a draft immediately after it concludes is akin to giving your compliments to the chef before the meal has been served. Sure, the food might sound good (or bad) based on the ingredients listed on the menu, but the true evaluation won't come until after the product has been tested. It will take at least three years before we can truly assess how the 32 NFL teams fared over the weekend. But what is readily apparent is the different approaches that were taken, from going for the best available talent to focusing on team needs to gambling on long-term potential, sometimes amid character concerns. Adding splashy defensive tackle Walter Nolen in the first round was an ideal final touch to a masterful offseason dedicated to improving Arizona's front. Nolen has some boom or bust to him, but the talent is undeniable and Jonathan Gannon's proven ability to develop defenders makes him an intriguing investment.

If healthy, cornerback Will Johnson offers top-10 talent at a discount price as the No. 47 overall pick. Jordan Burch is an intriguing talent who could pop in Gannon's scheme, as well. While I'm excited for all the improvements made to Arizona's defense in this draft, I question if enough was done to upgrade the offensive line, tempering my enthusiasm for this group, overall. There is something to be said for approaching a draft with clear-cut goals and addressing those needs. Similar to the Cardinals one spot earlier, it had to be refreshing for defensive-minded head coach Raheem Morris to so thoroughly address a sagging Atlanta pass rush, investing not one but two first-round picks...

I love Walker's versatility and alpha-dog mentality, and Pearce might just be the bendiest rusher of this class (though he doesn't chip in much against the run). The 2025 NFL draft is in the books, and it was an unexpected one starting in the first round with trades, unexpected picks, potential steals and some big slides. While it's far too early to evaluate these draft classes in full -- considering they haven't yet along played an NFL game -- there's been plenty of reaction to these 2025 rookie classes. There were several teams that were clear winners while others had some questionable moves that garnered early criticism. But we truly won't know who won or lost this draft for at least three years. Our NFL Wire editors shared their initial grades for their respective draft classes.

See who got the top marks and who missed the mark. 2025 draft class: DL Walter Nolen, CB Will Johnson, EDGE Jordan Burch, LB Cody Simon, CB Denzel Burke, OL Hayden Conner, S Kitan Crawford The Cardinals went almost all defense in the draft after going almost all defense in free agency, clearing saying that side of the ball needed to significantly improve. Nolen is a fantastic pick in the first round. Johnson falling to the second round is a potential absolute steal. It is important to note that his knee is not a problem now.

It just could be long-term, and that is a future problem to worry about. Burch gives them size, athleticism and production as a pass rusher in Round 3, another great value pick, while Simon could be a starter as early as this season. He appears to be the Cardinals’ version of what T.J. Edwards was for the Eagles when Jonathan Gannon was their defensive coordinator. The selection of Burke in the fifth round seemed unnecessary because that makes seven cornerbacks drafted in three years in a room that is already not bad. Conner won’t do anything this year but Day 3 offensive line depth to develop isn’t ever a bad thing, while Crawford can be an impact special teams player from Day 1 after he played...

Nolen, Johnson and Simon are all future starters. Burch will be at least a rotational player. All of their first four picks should have some role in the defense this year. Crawford on special teams means they get value there. This was a really good draft for the Cardinals. – Jess Root, Cards Wire

The 2025 NFL Draft is officially in the books. After a flurry of selections from Thursday to Saturday, 257 players were selected to join the NFL. With that, we give you our full draft recap, with analysis on each team’s day and every notable selection made during the weekend. For more information on the players your favorite team drafted, it’s not too late to get the 2025 NFL Draft Guide, which includes expanded scouting reports, unique advanced data, PFF grades and much more. ARZ | ATL | BAL | BUF | CAR | CHI | CIN | CLE | DAL | DEN | DET | GB | HOU | IND | JAX | KC | LV |... Nolen — The Cardinals add another extremely talented player to amplify their defensive front.

As a plus run defender, Nolen earned the second-highest PFF run-defense grade in the FBS this past season (91.6). The seventh-ranked prospect on the PFF Big Board will instantly upgrade an Arizona defense that ranked 27th in EPA allowed per rush in 2024. Johnson — A tough injury cut Johnson’s 2024 campaign short and sent his draft stock tumbling. However, he did prove his level of talent across his tenure at Michigan. His 57.2 passer rating allowed into his coverage across the last three seasons charted in the 94th percentile. Pairing Johnson with breakout cornerback Garrett Williams will upgrade a coverage unit that allowed the sixth-highest EPA per dropback.

How do you grade a team's draft class despite not knowing what kind of returns it will get from all the players it just picked? There are a few simple rules Sporting News applies to this annual exercise of instant analysis. First, did the team get the right kind of talent with every opportunity while on the clock? Second, teams' initial grades should be based more on whether they did well addressing remaining roster needs after free agency. Third — and most important — it's critical to consider whether a team drafted well for its current league status, with playoff contenders going for more immediate impact and rebuilding franchises going for more... Putting that all together, it's about answering this question: "How much did a team improve overall through the draft?" Here's SN's latest round of draft grades for the best and worst 2025 NFL Draft...

1 to No. 32. Draft picks: G Grey Zabel, S Nick Emmanwori, TE Elijah Arroyo, QB Jalen Milroe, DT Rylie Mills, WR Tory Horton, TE Robbie Ouzts, G Bryce Cabeldue, RB Damien Martinez, OT Mason Richman, WR Ricky... Round 1 grades | Rounds 2-3 grades | Round 1 winners | Rounds 2-3 winners | Draft takeaways |2026 QB prospect preview In due time, we’ll know whether the Jacksonville Jaguars’ risky decision to acquire the Cleveland Browns’ No. 2 pick to select Travis Hunter was a giant mistake or a monumental moment for the franchise.

And we’ll find out whether NFL teams were right to make Shedeur Sanders a Day 3 pick to the Browns, going long after the Tennessee Titans took Cam Ward with the No. 1 pick. But patience isn’t really a thing in the NFL. Teams often want fast results, with surroundings playing an important factor in how a prize rookie does early in their career. Without the benefit of hindsight, we considered talent, value and team fit to come up with grades for all 32 draft classes. Here’s who graded well and who might be set back for a year or two.

Immediate draft grades provide a foundation for future evaluations. Waiting three years to assess draft classes without accounting for how the decision was viewed at the time usually leads to revisionist history. These 2025 NFL Draft snap grades reflect the value I think each pick (or set of picks) has, given the slot and the prospect's college film/athleticism scores. Trades, and the capital exchanged (both picks and players), are factored into these grades, too, as they also play a significant part in determining the future of a franchise. Final grades for the 2025 NFL Draft for every team, with only one A+ When you write about the NFL Draft you’ve heard it all before: “Grading a draft is dumb,” We don’t know how these guys will be for three years,” and “Y’all were so wrong about...

The draft in an imprecise science at best, and so much of evaluating a class is taking the information we have about a player from college and trying to envision their play in the... There are a lot of variables involved, but for every Josh Allen we all got wrong, there are 20 guys we were told by fans would dominate the NFL who are now out of... Our NFL team sat down and gave our grades for every team, then averaged them out to come up with a score for all 32 organizations. Nobody got a failing grade. Only one team landed an A+, and feel free to go back in a few years and pick this apart. Here are our projections for how each team did in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Round 1 (No. 16): DT Walter Nolen, MississippiRound 2 (No. 47): CB Will Johnson, MichiganRound 3 (No. 78): Edge Jordan Burch, OregonRound 4 (No. 115): LB Cody Simon, Ohio StateRound 5 (No. 174): CB Denzel Burke, Ohio StateRound 6 (No.

211): OG Hayden Conner, TexasRound 7 (No. 225): S Kitan Crawford, Nevada It’s difficult to give a team a bad grade when they might have landed one of the biggest draft steals of the last 10 years. If Will Johnson’s injury concerns were overblown in the pre-draft process then the Cardinals got a Top 10 talent in the second round at cornerback. We really liked the defensive focus of this draft, and the gamble with Walter Nolen is fascinating by a normally risk-averse franchise. He loves to compare himself to Aaron Donald, and if that’s halfway true it’s going to be an amazing pick.

After three marathon days, the 2025 NFL Draft is complete, which means it is time to immediately analyze all the selections. After spending months speculating about potential picks, it's only right that we give snap judgments for the decisions of all 32 teams, right? That's what you'll get below. These were written and constantly updated during the draft, as the picks came flowing in from Thursday evening through Saturday. The grades for the individual picks from Round 1 were courtesy of Pete Prisco. The grades for picks in Round 2 through Round 5 were mine, and Josh Edwards provided the individual pick grades for the sixth and seventh rounds.

The Cardinals have gone to extreme lengths to improve the defense this offseason, and that theme continued in the draft. Nolen has immense upside as a pass rusher, and Johnson was probably picked at the proper value in the second round. Both are youthful, splash-play creators. Burch was a strange selection in Round 3, as he's somewhat of a tweener who looks the part yet was hardly productive in any one area at Oregon. Simon can command the middle of the defense in time, and Burke represents quality depth at cornerback later. The 2025 NFL draft is in the books, which means it's time to hand out grades.

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