Welcome to Part 7 of my NFL Draft Report Cards. Last week, I reviewed the AFC North, where the Browns and Ravens boasted a couple of the best draft classes in the entire league. The AFC South doesn’t have any teams that dominated to this extent. In fact, one team struggled more than any other team in the entire AFC. Keep reading to see my grade for each pick as well as my final grades. As I post more articles, I will also include links to the rest of my draft grades.
NFL Draft Report Cards 2019
AFC West
Tennessee Titans
Overall Grade: B-
Draft Report Card:
Analysis:
I didn’t mind this draft, as there were no terribly confusing picks and the Titans filled most of their biggest needs. But the Titans did take some significant risks here. I especially liked the A.J. Brown pick, as he will make an instant impact in the receiving game. Jeffery Simmons may not play this season. But the Titans desperately needed a DT, and it’s not a terrible late 1st round choice. Nate Davis was a reach, but he does fill a need as well. They also added DB depth with the selection of Amani Hooker. They didn’t need any more OLBs even with Brian Orakpo retiring. They could’ve added a tight end instead with Delanie Walker getting older. But overall, this was still a solid draft that filled plenty of needs.
Indianapolis Colts
Overall Grade: C+
Draft Report Card:
Analysis:
The Colts had a boatload of big needs going in, so even with 10 draft picks, it would’ve been hard to fulfill all their needs. The Colts did fill a good number of them though. They got some front seven help, added WR Parris Campbell, and drafted a corner early. However, they reached quite a bit on some of these picks when it was not necessary. Indy had much better options in many of these scenarios. The failure to take advantage of these options definitely impacts their grade, but the filling of most needs boosts it.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Overall Grade: C+
Draft Report Card:
Analysis:
The Jaguars did fill most of their biggest needs, but their priorities were not quite set straight. Jawaan Taylor was a steal in Round 2. But did Jacksonville need a tackle? No. The Jags opted to take Taylor and wait on their other needs as opposed to grabbing a RB or S early. They didn’t really address the secondary at all, instead opting to snag top players available like Gardner Minshew and Dontavius Russell in the late rounds. At other times, they reached for picks. Some of these picks will pay off to an extent, but others just didn’t make sense.
Houston Texans
Overall Grade: C
Draft Report Card:
Analysis:
The Texans didn’t even have that many needs to fill. But they threw their needs aside on some of these picks. I think the Texans were selectively targeting a group of players they believed were underrated and had a future, and the Texans are entitled to their own opinions. They may love this draft class. But in my eyes, many of these picks were unnecessary reaches. For example, they took tackles Tytus Howard and Max Scharping when there were better options and they needed a guard more. In the meantime, they failed to add depth at wide receiver and linebacker. Many of these picks confused me. They weren’t a fit, a bargain, or a need filler, so that significantly bogs down their grade.
That’s all for this portion of my NFL Draft Report Cards. Next time, I’ll wrap this series up with the AFC West, where another two of the best draft classes in the league came from. Which AFC West teams came out on top? Stay tuned for my next post to find out.
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