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With the first round complete, our immediate reaction is to grade the moves that teams did, even though we have no idea how they will pan out on the field. And that's okay. We can look at whether we feel a player was worth the draft slot in which he was selected and whether or not he will fit in the team's scheme.
So let's take a look at how the teams in the NFC West did so far.
Arizona did a couple of things in Round 1. They moved back seven picks and acquired an additional Day 2 pick from the New Orleans Saints. Then, with the 27th pick in the draft, they took Washington State safety Deone Bucannon, a 6-1, 211 pound hard hitter with sub-4.5 speed.
Early grade, A-: The pick is a good one and it fills a need. The extra Day 2 pick is great, too. They will be able to add talent in a deep draft. The only concern -- did they reach? Bucannon was not expected to go in the first round. Also, in trading down, the move will alse be judged by the players that were drafted between 20 and 27.
San Fran stood pat. They didn't make a splash moving up, which many thought might happen. Instead, they took safety Jimmy Ward, who some feel is the best safety in the class. His addition bolsters the defensive secondary and gives them young, potentially very good safety tandem in Eric Reid and Ward.
Early grade, B: They had the picks to be able to move up and get someone more highly rated. However, they retain a slew of picks and got a guy that should be pretty good for a very good defense.
The Rams didn't move, but picked up two impact players. At number two, they selected tackle Greg Robinson. 11 picks later, they grabbed defensive tackle Aaron Donald. In so doing, they continued building the trenches in a very physical division. The Donald pick is fantastic. He was incredibly productive in college, he dominated the Senior Bowl and put up crazy measurables at the Combine. Robinson has more bust factor going because he still has a lot of work to do in terms of pass protection. They could have drafted Jake Matthews, someone you would not have ever had to worry about.
Early grade, B: The Donald pick is an A+, but Robinson, while devastating in the run game, has the potential to be a Levi Brown-type pick.
Seattle didn't pick anyone in the first round. They traded their first round pick to the Vikings, who grabbed Teddy Bridgewater. They moved down eight spots and picked up a fourth rounder in the process. When you are the Super Bowl champs, I guess a high second rounder is not much different than the last first rounder. They could have, though, taken receiver Marqise Lee, as they will be needing a receiver to replace an underrated Golden Tate.
Early grade, incomplete: It's a cop-out, but you can't really grade a team who has made no picks yet. They still might land Lee -- or another player they covet. But no pick in Round 1 means no real grade.
