2015 NFL Draft: 1st Round Grades

Here are my grades and explanations for the first round of the NFL Draft.

1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Jameis Winston, Quarterback, Florida State: Tampa Bay selects a potential future franchise quarterback here in Winston, although it is a risk because of off the field issues. Either way, the Bucs needed a quarterback and they got one. The fact that Winston is a red flag us why this is not an 'A' grade.
Grade: B

2. Tennessee Titans- Marcus Mariota, Quarterback, Oregon: When it was all said and done, Tennessee kept the pick and selected Mariota. There are some pundits that believe that Mariota is a product to the system he played in at Oregon. It will be a couple years to tell what Mariota will be, but Tennessee upgraded at quarterback with somebody that can be a franchise quarterback.
Grade: A-

3. Jacksonville Jaguars- Dante Fowler Jr, Defensive End/Outside Linebacker, Florida: Jacksonville could of gone a lot of ways here, but they decided to go with Fowler, who'll make an immediate impact on the Jags defense. Either way, it was a great selection.
Grade: B+

4. Oakland Raiders- Amari Cooper, Wide Receiver, Alabama: Oakland had a clear need at wide receiver and they took the best receiver in this draft in Cooper. This gives Derek Carr a nice weapon to target in the future.
Grade: A

5. Washington Redskins- Brandon Scherff, Offensive Tackle, Iowa: Washington decided to go with an offensive lineman instead of Leonard Williams here. This was a head scratching pick, although Scherff is a safe pick and projects to be a good offensive lineman.
Grade: B+

6. New York Jets- Leonard Williams, Defensive End, USC: The Jets went with the best player available here, and they deserve credit for picking such a talented player that fell into their laps. This just makes their dominant defensive front even better.
Grade: A+

7. Chicago Bears- Kevin White, Wide Receiver, West Virginia: Chicago took the best player available here, which happened to be a need for them after they traded away Brandon Marshall. This pick made a ton of sense here.
Grade: B+

8. Atalanta Falcons- Vic Beasley, Defensive End/Outside Linebacker, Clemson: Atlanta made a great selection here by filling an important need here by selecting Beasley. This is a player that new head coach Dan Quinn would love.
Grade: A-

9. New York Giants- Ereck Flowers, Offensive Tackle, Miami: This pick fills the most glaring need on the Giants. I do believe they wanted Scherff, but Washington picked him at five. Flowers gives Eli Manning protection that the Giants lacked for a few years.
Grade: B

10. St. Louis Rams- Todd Gurley, Running Back, Georgia: Give St. Louis credit for this pick. Gurley is a top ten talented back that tore his ACL last season at Georgia. This is an upgrade over what they had in Zac Stacy, who requested a trade now that they picked Gurley.
Grade: B+

11. Minnesota Vikings- Trae Waynes, Cornerback, Michigan State: Minnesota had a need in the secondary and this was a solid pick here. Head coach Mike Zimmer will enjoy a type of talent like Waynes.
Grade: B

12. Cleveland Browns- Danny Shelton, Nose Tackle, Washington: Cleveland has holes all around their roster and they filled an important one here on the defense. Shelton will make an immediate impact on this Browns defense.
Grade: B+

13. New Orleans Saints- Andrus Peat, Offensive Tackle, Stanford: New Orleans has a lot of needs and I like this pick for the Saints, who give Drew Brees protection with this selection. They could have gone receiver here, but I don't blame them for shoring up the offensive line.
Grade: C+

14. Miami Dolphins- DeVante Parker, Wide Receiver, Louisville: Miami made a great selection here with Parker. They had a need at wide receiver and it gives Ryan Tannehill another weapon to work with.
Grade: B+

15. San Diego Chargers (via San Francisco 49ers)- Melvin Gordon, Running Back, Wisconsin: San Diego made a nice move to trade up for Gordon. He'll make an immediate impact on this Chargers team.
Grade: A-

16. Houston Texans- Kevin Johnson, Cornerback, Wake Forest: Houston had a need in the secondary and they got a fine player in Johnson. He'll make a nice impact in this secondary.
Grade: B-

17. San Francisco 49ers (via San Diego Chargers)- Arik Armstead, Defensive End, Oregon: San Francisco needs help at a majority of positions. This choice of Armstead was a smart one and he'll eventually replace Justin Smith.
Grade: B

18. Kansas City Chiefs- Marcus Peters, Cornerback, Washington: This was a good selection by Kansas City. They had a need in the secondary and they chose one of the better corners in Peters.
Grade: B+

19. Cleveland Browns (via Buffalo Bills)- Cameron Irving, Center, Florida State: This pick helps boost Cleveland's offensive line. Irving will make a nice impact on this offensive line.
Grade: C+

20. Philadelphia Eagles- Nelson Agholor, Wide Receiver, USC: Chip Kelly will be forever linked to Marcus Mariota. This was a good pick considering Philadelphia had a need at wide receiver after losing Jeremy Maclin in free agency.
Grade: B

21. Cincinnati Bengals- Cedric Ogbuehi, Offensive Tackle, Texas A&M: Ogbuehi is one of the more underrated players in this draft. Cincinnati had a need at offensive tackle and Ogbuehi will make an immediate impact.
Grade: B+

22. Pittsburgh Steelers- Bud Dupree, Outside Linebacker, Kentucky: What a great selection for Pittsburgh. I really like this pick of Dupree considering James Harrison isn't getting younger and they can put Dupree right alongside Ryan Shazier.
Grade: A

23. Denver Broncos (via Detroit Lions)- Shane Ray, Defensive End, Missouri: Give Denver credit for trading up for a player with a lot of risk. Ray is talented and will make an immediate impact on new head coach Gary Kubiak's defense.
Grade: B+

24. Arizona Cardinals- DJ Humphries, Offensive Tackle, Florida: I like this pick for Arizona. This bolsters their already improved offensive line even more and it gives (hopefully a healthy) Carson Palmer protection.
Grade: A-

25. Carolina Panthers- Shaq Thompson, Outside Linebacker, Washington: I'm surprised Carolina went in this direction with their pick considering they had bigger needs on the offensive line and at receiver. I don't feel this was the right selection for the Panthers and I don't like the fit.
Grade: D

26. Baltimore Ravens- Breshad Perriman, Wide Receiver, UCF: Baltimore had a clear need at wide receiver after Torrey Smith left in free agency. This gives Joe Flacco a nice weapon to work with in Perriman and he's a nice fit on this Ravens team.
Grade: A-

27. Dallas Cowboys- Byron Jones, Cornerback, Connecticut: Dallas had a need in the secondary, considering Morris Claiborne has been a disappointment throughout his career. Jones will make an impact in this Cowboys secondary.
Grade: B

28. Detroit Lions (via Denver Broncos)- Laken Tomlinson, Guard, Duke: Detroit surprised many, including myself by picking Tomlinson here. Tomlinson improves Detroit's offensive line and gives Matthew Stafford protection.
Grade: B-

29. Indianapolis Colts- Phillip Dorsett, Wide Receiver, Miami: This pick was an absolute head scratcher. Indianapolis could've picked an offensive lineman or an impactful defensive player here, but they give Andrew Luck another weapon, in which he didn't need one.
Grade: D-

30. Green Bay Packers- Damarious Randall, Safety, Arizona State: Green Bay had a need in the secondary, so they went with Randall. I think Landon Collins is the better safety, but Randall would fit nicely with Ha-Ha Clinton Dix in the Packers secondary.
Grade: B-

31. New Orleans Saints (via Seattle Seahawks)- Stephone Anthony, Inside Linebacker, Clemson: New Orleans surprised most people with this selection. It fills a need that the Saints needed, badly, although I think they could've gone with someone else.
Grade: C

32. New England Patriots- Malcolm Brown, Defensive Tackle, Texas: What a great pick made by Bill Belichick and the Patriots. They had a need on the defensive end with Vince Wilfork moving on to Houston.
Grade: A