NFL draft 2018: Grades from the 1st round - SB Nation

Too low, just right, or too high? Like 15 damn spots too low, but whatever. Jackson fell into a nice spot, getting to serve as understudy before unleashing hell when he overtakes 33-year old Joe Flacco (who hasn't been particularly effective in about three years) down the line.

I'm frustrated that in this QB-heavy draft, someone with Jackson's immense skill set went this low. But this isn't a bad landing spot.

Take it away, Richard Johnson.

When it comes to the field, no one can say that Jackson hasn't done his best to prove he should be a quarterback up to this point. He is no longer that skinny kid in purple, or that freshman at Louisville. Jackson has been dodging the same questions for a long, long time now, and he knows how to navigate these narratives as well as anyone can.

Jackson is going into the NFL insisting he is a quarterback after a college career that was as good as could be hoped. Depending on who you ask, he could be a paradigm-expanding NFL player, or something much more innocuous. How you choose to see him is up to you, though whichever way you choose probably says more about you than it does about him.

Lamar Jackson knows what he is.

Too low, just right, or too high? I'm really confused by New England spending two first-round picks on offensive players and not taking Lamar Jackson — so, too low, I guess, or maybe just right (since he should've gone where Penny went) — but I like Michel. His first step after finding a seam is absolute dynamite. It feels like he's at full speed by the time he gets to the line of scrimmage.

Michel's not the greatest at taking what he can get and falling forward to create three yards out of minimal blocking. But he's a thoroughbred if given even a sliver of open field. And since I was reminiscing with the Hughes clip below, I'll use Michel's selection as an excuse to post this:

Too low, just right, or too high? Since I like Josh Jackson more than NFL guys, apparently, I'm going to stick with too high. Potential character concerns aside, Hughes did defense 15 passes last year. He also did this in one of the most amazing college football games of the 2017 season:

He's good! But I like Jackson more.

Too low, just right, or too high? I thought he'd go earlier, but I'll still say too high. He's explosive and athletic at 291 pounds, and he has some swagger that'll play well in this increasingly nasty Jacksonville defense. But he certainly didn't produce just a ton last year — just six tackles for loss out of a 4-3 front, and took part in just seven run stuffs.

He wasn't even Florida's most productive defensive lineman. Athletically, he's a first-rounder for sure. We'll see if he can carve out a niche on that defense, though.

Taven BryanKim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Too low, just right, or too high? Lamar Jackson is still on the board, and Big Ben is almost as old as Tom Brady, so ... too high. That said, Pittsburgh's aggressive pass defense gave up some really big big plays last year, so choosing a safety makes sense. And I mean, Edmunds comes from a Bud Foster defense and combines a nearly 220-pound frame with a 41-inch vertical. He's a freak. So, okay, fine, I'll say it's just right.

He's going to get razzed by his brother for being only the second Edmunds taken in the first round, though.

Terrell EdmundsJim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

Too low, just right, or too high? Okay. I love Rashaad Penny, and Seattle really stunk at running the football last year, so taking a running back makes sense. But ... wow. Above Derrius Guice? And Sony Michel? And Nick Chubb? And Royce Freeman? And, once more, Derrius Damn Guice, the most Beast Mode back in the draft?

I guess I thought I loved Penny, but that was when I was considering him a second- or third-round pick. Damn.

He can do this, though:

So yeah, if the Seahawks schedule Army, they're gonna roll.

Seriously, I hope he succeeds. I like him a lot. But wow, this feels like a gamble.

Too low, just right, or too high? Too low! Ridley's better than Moore, and he thrived as a junior despite being basically the only read his quarterback made before running quite a bit of the time. I'm not sure the Falcons needed another receiver, necessarily — the Falcons needed far more defensive help than offensive — but I'll never complain too much about a Best Player Available (Non-QB Division) pick.

Calvin RidleyButch Dill-USA TODAY Sports

Too low, just right, or too high? If you need a tight end, I guess it's fine. Benjamin Watson just left, so sure.

But he's only my second- or third-favorite tight end in this class, it does sort of appear that you can craft a pretty good tight end later in the draft instead of spending a first-rounder on one.

So that's seven of the last eight picks that I thought went too high. Maybe it's me, not them.

Hayden HurstKim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Too low, just right, or too high? Uh, too high. Calvin Ridley probably should have been the No. 1 receiver off the board. I might be biased by Moore's 2017 stats, though — under 13 yards per catch, a horrible 44 percent success rate — and those stats were produced with a set of exploding-drummer Maryland quarterbacks. He probably would have had stronger production with QBs who could actually stay on the field. And he's a good return man, too.

Still, not a huge fan of this pick.

D.J. MooreBrad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Too low, just right, or too high? Tom Brady's next understudy was on the board, and he has said really nice things about Lamar Jackson, so I was hopeful. And that makes the Wynn pick feel disappointing/too high. Kinda thought Harold Landry would make a lot of sense, too, and if the Pats were going to take a lineman, a more natural tackle might have made more sense.

Make no mistake, Wynn is an awesome lineman, a better player than the two centers picked above him. He's big and versatile and athletic, and he seemed to constantly improve at Georgia. So it makes some sense. But only some.

Isaiah Wynn (77)Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

Too low, just right, or too high? Just right. Tennessee didn't need a quarterback (oh man, the Patriots are next, and that would be perfect for Lamar), and Evans has lovely size (6'2, 232) and led Alabama in TFLs and was second in sacks despite missing a couple of games with injury. No complaints here. And he's a slick dresser, apparently.

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Too low, just right, or too high? IT'S A RUN ON CENTERS. And I guess if I said Ragnow was too high because of the other dudes available, then this one definitely is because I'm pretty sure that, like Washington with Payne, Cincinnati freaked out and took the next center on the list after Ragnow. He's good, but ... two centers have now gone before Lamar Jackson. I just wanted to type that out.

Billy PriceMatthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Too low, just right, or too high? Another one that feels too high, but only because I like some of the remaining names on the board more (LAMAR FREAKING JACKSON, Josh Jackson, Harold Landry, Rashaan Evans, Calvin Ridley, Will Hernandez). None of those guys play center, though. Ragnow's an awesome center, and it never hurts to have one.

That's tremendous analysis right there, if I do say so myself.

Frank Ragnow (72)Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Too low, just right, or too high? I was not expecting him to go here, so I guess that means too high, but I love this dude. He's a freaky athlete who led a tremendous Boise State defense in tackles and run stuffs and was second in second in tackles for loss and third in sacks. And his "played 8-man football" story is tremendous.

Bonus points for that and for being absolutely ecstatic to get picked by the Cowboys. He's a little bit of a one-year wonder, but BSU coaches knew he was going to erupt last summer, and then he did.

Leighton Vander EschStephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

Too low, just right, or too high? Too high, if only because that means Lamar Jackson somehow isn't the first Louisville player off the board. That doesn't make any damn sense. That, and I like Joshua Jackson more at CB.

He's still good, though. Mel Kiper just compared him to Deion Sanders, which seems ... like a reach ... but he had five picks, nine breakups, and a 10.5-yard punt return average in 2016 before missing a good chunk of 2017 with injury. He's good. I'm still confused about liking him enough to trade up for him, though. The Packers already stole the Saints' 2019 first-rounder, so they've already won tonight, but I don't love this.

Jaire AlexanderJerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Too low, just right, or too high? WAY too low. He was quite possibly Florida State's best safety, cornerback, and linebacker last year. He reads plays quickly, he breaks quickly, he runs downhill, and he's smart as hell.

And he has exactly the highlight film you want to see from the safety you just selected.

The Chargers have to be ecstatic that he fell this far.

Too low, just right, or too high? I didn't really expect him to still be on the board at this point, so ... too low! Edmunds isn't Roquan Smith, but he's a lovely, balanced option — he's built like a pass rusher (6'5, 250), but he was one of the nation's better run-defending LBs despite what the analysts on the broadcast are calling a lack of physicality.

Edmunds took part in 23 run stuffs to go with his 5.5 sacks and three forced fumbles. He's already good, and if he does figure out how to get more effectively physical? Yikes.

Tremaine EdmundsGeoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Too low, just right, or too high? On physical numbers alone, we'll say just right. Dude's almost 6'9, 300-plus, and he seems to get low really well. And he kept Josh Rosen's sack rate pretty low even though everyone knew UCLA was passing. Could do worse there.

Kolton MillerMark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Too low, just right, or too high? Considering the cost, this feels too high. The Saints gave up next year's first-round pick to move up to get Davenport, which means he pretty much HAS to be awesome.

He might be! He's 6'7, 255, and he can line up in a bunch of dif

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