AFC EAST DRAFT GRADES

BY ADAM GREENE

A little over a week ago the NFL gathered in Las Vegas for its annual amateur player selection meeting, or what we all call the NFL Draft. As can be expected, some teams can do this whole adding college talent to your professional rosters thing a little better than others. Those that can’t, well, they usually get lots of opportunities to try high atop every round.

There’s an old saying that you can’t really judge a draft for about three years and that’s undeniably true. That’s not going to stop us from giving it the old amateur player try.

Here’s a few ground rules before we start.

1. No one without a first round pick can get an “A.” Sure, you can absolutely ace all your later round picks and, three years from now, we can deliver all the gold stars and smiley face stickers that we want. But today, we’re only going by what we see from the players you’ve added based on what they did in college.

2. A team can get a late round steal and I can recognize that as easily as anybody, but the majority of a team’s grade comes from the first three rounds. Consider those the “Essay questions” of the Draft’s standardized test.

NEW YORK JETS

Selections: No. 4: Ahmad Gardner, CB, Cincinnati — No. 10: Garrett Wilson, WR, Ohio State — No. 26: Jermaine Johnson II, Edge, Florida State — No. 36: Breece Hall, RB, Iowa State — No. 101: Jeremy Ruckert, TE, Ohio State — No. 111: Max Mitchell, OT, Louisiana — No. 117: Michael Clemons, DE, Texas A&M

GRADE: A+

Look at the Jets giving their fanbase all this hope. Yes, New York has been rightly lauded for a solid draft haul. Not only did they nail all three of their first round selections, they nabbed what was probably the best running back in the draft in Breece Hall in the second round. Jeremy Ruckert looks like a solid future starter to me at tight end.

What I like most about this draft is that the Jets didn’t outsmart themselves. They took one guy from a smaller school, an offensive tackle in the fourth. Other than that, they stuck with guys who put up film against real, future NFL competition in major conferences, with the exception of Gardner. For his part, he showed up big against the Power 5 when given the shot and made the scrubs he played against the rest of the time completely invisible.

BUFFALO BILLS

Selections: No. 23: Kaiir Elam, CB, Florida — No. 31: James Cooke, RB, Georgia — No. 89: Terrel Bernard, LB, Baylor — No. 148: Khalil Shakir, WR, Boise State — No. 180: Matt Araia, Punter, San Diego State — No. 185: Christian Benford, CB, Villanova — No. 209: Luke Tenuta, OT, Virginia Tech — No. 231: Baylon Spector, LB, Clemson

Grade: B+

The Bills came into the draft with two needs — corner and running back. With their first two picks, they took the best corner available and one of the best running backs. While linebacker is not a valued spot in the NFL, Buffalo picked up a future starter in Bernard out of Baylor in the third. The kid had 103 tackles, 12.5 for a loss and 7.5 sacks against Big 12 opponents.

And if you’d wanted to bet on the Bills taking a guy called the “Punt God” at some point in this draft, no one would have taken you up on it. You would have needed -10,000 odds to even consider looking at that wager. The second I heard a “Punt God” was out there, I knew he’d be crashing through plywood tables in Buffalo come September.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

Selections: No. 29: Cole Strange, OG, UT-Chattanooga — No., 50: Tyqyan Thornton, WR, Baylor — No. 85: Marcus Jones, CB, Houston — No. 121: Jack Jones, CB, Arizona State — No. 127: Pierre Strong, RB, South Dakota State — No. 137: Bailey Zappe, QB, Western Kentucky — No. 183: Kevin Harris, RB, South Carolina — No. 200: Sam Roberts, DT, Northwest Missouri State — No. 210: Chasen Hines, Center, LSU — No. 245: Andrew Stueber, OT, Michigan

GRADE: C-

When the team that just won the Super Bowl marvels at your first round selection because they had him as a potential third rounder, you’ve probably already stumbled out of the gate. Not that Strange will be a bad player. Far from it. Any guy taken in Rounds 1-3 should be a potential NFL starter. It’s just taking him at No. 29 that seems ridiculous. I like Thornton fine in Round 2, though if I was a betting man (and I am), I’m guessing George Pickens, grabbed a few spots later, will have a better pro career.

Lastly, Bailey Zappe is probably going to be a good back up and, who knows, you could always strike gold on a later round QB. The Pats have done so before, much to all our chagrin. But taking a guy like that when you invested a first rounder in a “franchise quarterback” just a year before seems like a recipe for disaster.

MIAMI DOLPHINS

Selections: No. 102: Channing Tindall, LB, Georgia — No. 125: Erik Ezukanma, WR, Texas Tech — No. 224: Cameron Goode, OLB, California — No. 247: Skylar Thompson, QB, Kansas State

GRADE: D

All we can do with the Dolphins’ meager draft is evaluate the guys they took at those spots. Again, like the Jets, Miami didn’t fool around with smaller school guys. No reason to pretend you’re smarter than every Power 5 coaching and scout staff in the country when you just have a handful of selections. Tindall out of Georgia is a starter, which is good since he was taken in the third round. Cameron Goode might turn into a solid situational pass rusher, but none of these other guys excite me. Skylar Thompson looks like a waste of a pick for a guy you could have signed off the street if you had waited another half hour.

Though, I’m sure his draft status will make a nice note when he suits up for the XFL next season.

Follow Adam Greene on Twitter @TheFirstMan.

Connect with us our socials on Twitter and Instagram for the latest sports news, viral moments, betting odds and the occasional memes.