The evaluation process can be a long and arduous one in the NFL Draft. It can also be one that leads to pats on the back and a round of applause or, on the other side of the equation, incredulous looks and immediate firings.
For the 2018 NFL Draft, talent evaluators believed they knew it all. They sat down and studied enough tape, spoke with countless coaches and watched intently as a player they rated poorly somehow flew up their mock draft boards following a well-timed 40 or 25 reps on the bench press.
No matter the group, an NFL Draft class needs time to develop and get acclimated to life on the pro level. With three years of experience now firmly in their corner, now seems like the right time to pull out our notepads and grade how everyone has performed thus far. Like most drafts, the first round is where many pay the most attention. So for us, we’ll follow suit. That’s not to say that there weren’t multiple great players picked up in the other rounds because they were, but for the sake of time, we’ll narrow it down to just the first round.
In terms of our grading system, it’s pretty rudimentary. If said player was great, he’ll receive the highest mark possible, if on the other hand, he was awful, you can expect the grade to reflect that. Now that we’ve got the details out of the way, let’s begin.
With the first pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, the Cleveland Browns select…