Kansas City Chiefs
Grade: C-
First-Round Pick: N/A
Best Pick: N/A
The Kansas City Chiefs entered the 2018 National Football League Draft not owning a first-round pick which was the result of them trading with the Buffalo Bills last year in order to draft quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The Chiefs didn’t have their first selection until 46th overall when they selected former Mississippi Rebels defensive end Breeland Speaks. All six of the Chiefs draft choices were on the defensive side of the football as they were 28th in the NFL last season in total defense. However none of those players jumps out as an immediate impact player which means that it’ll be a few years before we see how good that this draft could be for Kansas City.
Los Angeles Chargers
Grade: B-
First-Round Pick: Derwin James-Strong Safety-Florida State
Best Pick: Derwin James
In 2017, the Los Angeles Chargers fell just short of making the playoffs and this year’s draft class could help them to get over that hump. In the first round, the Chargers got themselves one of the steal’s of the draft when they selected former Florida State Seminoles strong safety Derwin James. James came into the draft as one of the best available athletes. James should have been selected in the top ten, but as teams kept passing on him, the Chargers knew a good player when they saw one.
James is in that rare breed of being an enforcer in the secondary as he can step up to play the run, while he can also make opposing quarterbacks think twice in regards to throwing over the middle of the field as his arrival will add to an already explosive Chargers secondary.
The rest of the draft saw the Chargers add depth as they look to get over the hump and get into the playoffs for 2018.
Oakland Raiders
Grade: B-
First-Round Pick: Kolton Miller-Offensive Tackle-UCLA
Best Pick: Round Five-Maurice Hurst-Defensive Tackle-Michigan
The Oakland Raiders had a decent draft, but their moves early on left me scratching my head. The Raiders entered the 2018 National Football League Draft in possession of the tenth overall pick. The Raiders needed to address some of their needs on defense as they were 23rd in the NFL last season in total defense, but team general manager Reggie McKenzie instead opted to play “Let’s Make A Deal”.
The Raiders traded down with the Arizona Cardinals who wanted to select quarterback Josh Rosen. This is typically a spot where you’ll see teams who want to trade up pay through the nose which generally means coughing up a first-round choice in next year’s draft. However in order to move up five spots, the Cardinals only had to give the Raiders and third and fifth-round pick for this year’s draft.
But the biggest thing about the Raiders moving down to 15th is that they missed out on selecting defensive tackles Vita Vea and Da’Ron Payne, while they also passed on strong safety Derwin James. The Raiders used their first-round choice on former UCLA Bruins offensive tackle Kolton Miller. Miller doesn’t fill an immediate need for the Raiders, but he’ll provide future relief for the Raiders on their offensive line when they cannot afford to pay veterans such as offensive tackle Donald Penn due to the massive contract extension that quarterback Derek Carr recently received.
The Raiders spent the rest of the draft mainly addressing the defensive side of the football where they may have found some steals. Going into the 2017 college football season, defensive end/outside linebacker Arden Key was pegged to be a top ten pick, but a subpar season that included him being injured led to him falling to the Raiders in the third round. Former Michigan Wolverines defensive tackle had the talent to be drafted in the first round, but he fell all the way to the Raiders in the fifth round which could be blessing in disguise for the Raiders as he could be extremely motivated to show all 32 teams that he should’ve been drafted much earlier.
The draft was okay for the Raiders, but them passing of players such as Vea, Payne, and James in the first round could come back to haunt them.
Denver Broncos
Grade: A
First-Round Pick: Bradley Chubb-Defensive End-North Carolina State
Best Pick: Bradley Chubb
Bradley Chubb
The Denver Broncos don’t pick in the top five of the National Football League Draft that often, but when they do, they make the most of it. Including this year the Broncos have only selected in the top five of the draft three times since 1983 with two of those selections resulting in titles. In 1983, the Broncos selected guard Chris Hinton fourth overall which allowed Denver to make a trade with the Baltimore Colts to acquire the draft rights to quarterback John Elway which led to the franchise winning a pair of Super Bowl Titles. And in 2010, the Broncos selected outside linebacker Von Miller second overall as his pass rushing ability helped the Broncos win Super Bowl 50.
Now with Elway serving as the Broncos executive vice president of football operations, he is seeking to put another championship team together, and he got things started early on in the draft by selecting another impact player on defense.
The Broncos used the fifth overall selection on former North Carolina State defensive end Bradley Chubb. Chubb joins the Broncos as the reigning Atlantic Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year. In each of the last two years, Chubb recorded 10 sacks, and his edge rushing ability will be a welcome sight in Denver where he came team with the likes of Miller and outside linebacker Shane Ray as the Broncos will be relentless in their pursuit of getting to the quarterback.
The Broncos didn’t get a ton of production from their wide receivers last season which led to Elway selecting former Southern Methodist Mustangs wide receiver Courtland Sutton in the second round. Sutton had first round talent, but he fell to the Broncos and he will push wide receivers Emmanuel Sanders and Demaryius Thomas for playing time. At 6’3″, 218 lbs., Sutton is the total package at wide receiver as he has size, speed, and good hands which will lead to him having an immediate impact in Denver.
Denver picked up some speed in the third round when they selected former Oregon Ducks running back Royce Freeman. During Freeman’s time at Oregon, he set numerous Pac-12 Conference records for rushing which included tallying 60 career rushing touchdowns. Freeman is blessed with a wealth of speed of explosiveness and he will be valuable on third down for the Broncos coming out of the backfield as a receiver.
Elway kept the run on finding quality players going in the fourth round when he selected former Iowa Hawkeyes middle linebacker Josey Jewell. Jewell will tackle anything that moves which is evident by him being named as the Big Ten Conference’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2017 as well as earning the Lambert Award as the nation’s top linebacker. And to give you an idea of how prestigious that the Lambert Award is, some of the previous winners include Dan Morgan, Patrick Willis, current Carolina Panthers middle linebacker Luke Kuechly, and Jewell’s new teammate Von Miller. Jewell has tremendous football instincts while he is also a proven leader. And although that Jewell was selected in the fourth round, he will be a starter for the Broncos this year.
Jewell wasn’t the only potential impact player that the Broncos found in the fourth round as they also tabbed former Penn State Nittany Lions wide receiver DaeSean Hamilton. And like Sutton, Hamilton will push Sanders and Thomas for playing time this season.
The Broncos are one of the few franchises in the National Football League who don’t make a habit of accumulating losing seasons as this draft class will help them to get back on track.
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