Grading the Draft

[Donn Beach]

Drafts should be graded 3 years later.

Surew, but the click bait practitioners can't wait that long. The Seahawks 2012 draft is a pretty good example

[Sibelius Hindemith]

Kiper likes it a lot, gave it a A

https://www.espn.com/nfl/draft2025/insi ... ks-classes

Kiper also had Sanders as the #1 QB in this year's draft and gave Cleveland an A+ mainly for drafting him in the 5th.

[Donn Beach]

Wow, this is pretty harsh, speaking of the negative attitude to the RW pick. This is BR article on the worst drafts of the 2012 draft. That's the thing, not only was the Seahawks 2012 draft one of the NFL's greatest drafts but it was originally viewed as a disaster, that's pretty incredible. RW has to make the HOF so the Seahawks will have two HOFers from that draft, neither drafted in the first round

Certain teams had amazing afternoons, but others teams (I’m looking at you Seattle) completely missed on the concept of trying to improve.

All of the following squads screwed up, but it’s very clear that certain teams have major internal issues. I’m sorry to the fans of all the following teams for the poor drafting.

No. 1: Seattle Seahawks

After one of the worst picks in the first round I can ever remember, the Seattle Seahawks didn't draft any positions of need or draft for the future.

Pete Carroll is proving why he didn’t make it in the NFL the first time. Not only was Bruce Irvin a reach at No. 15, the Seahawks proved they were oblivious to their madness by celebrating their selection.

As if the day wasn’t bad enough, Seattle selecting Russell Wilson, a QB that doesn’t fit their offense at all, was by far the worst move of the draft. With the two worst moves of the draft, Seattle is the only team that received an F on draft day.

Grade: F

[Donn Beach]

Kiper likes it a lot, gave it a A

https://www.espn.com/nfl/draft2025/insi ... ks-classes

Kiper also had Sanders as the #1 QB in this year's draft and gave Cleveland an A+ mainly for drafting him in the 5th.

yeah, field gulls left him off of their draft review roundup because they claim he was giving F's to the teams that didn't draft Sanders

[Donn Beach]

Here's another one, Walter football calling the Irvin pick the worst of the 2012 draft. I understand seven teams had Irvin ranked basically as the Seahawks did, top 15 first round. Don't take the online draft sites player rankings as gospel, they aren't necessarily inline with actual NFL talent evaluators

Losers

Seattle Seahawks: Bruce Irvin, OLB, West Virginia
The most shocking pick in the first round was the Seahawks taking Irvin with the 15th-overall pick. He looks like a situational pass rusher in a 3-4 defense. Seattle uses a 4-3, so Irvin will have to learn a new position as a Will or Sam linebacker who blitzes off the edge on passing downs. He also has a lot of character concerns and off-the-field issues. This was a terrible pick, and the worst pick in the 2012 draft, especially with players like Melvin Ingram available.

Melvin Ingram would have been a pretty good choice too

Here's an examination of the the Irvine pick, I think really because it was so odd. He's compared to Clemens who the Seahawks obtained to fill a specific role. I think that's something to consider. Teams don't draft just to follow prospect rankings, they draft to fill roles
https://www.espn.com/blog/nfcwest/post/ ... ruce-irvin

[Donn Beach]

Am I dwelling on this too much... here's Clayton on the Irvine pick.im just curious, have sacks become more valuable since they drafted Irvine?

How valuable is a defender who can sack the quarterback?

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll put that premise to a huge test on Thursday, when he made West Virginia defensive end Bruce Irvin the No. 15 selection in the draft. No pass-rushers were taken in the first 14 picks. Carroll and general manager John Schneider felt comfortable enough to drop back three spots, pick up fourth- and sixth-round choices and take Irvin.


The criticism across the league stemmed from conjecture that Irvin might be only a pass-rush specialist. Is a backup defensive end who can average 11 sacks a season worth the 15th pick in the draft? Under the NFL draft's best-player-available theory, the team with the 15th choice should take a potential starter

https://sports.mynorthwest.com/bump-and ... gn/1807960

[Pharmabro]

Round 1, No. 18 Overall: G Grey Zabel, North Dakota State
A
Round 2, No. 35 Overall: S Nick Emmanwori, South Carolina
A+
Round 2, No. 50 Overall: TE Elijah Arroyo, Miami
C-
Round 3, No. 92 Overall: QB Jalen Milroe, Alabama
B+
Round 5, No. 142 Overall: DT Rylie Mills, Notre Dame
B
Round 5, No. 166 Overall: WR Tory Horton, Colorado State
A-
Round 5, No. 175 Overall: FB Robbie Ouzts, Alabama
D+
Round 6, No. 192 Overall: G Bryce Cabeldue, Kansas
A+
Round 7, No. 223 Overall: RB Damien Martinez, Miami
B+
Round 7, No. 234 Overall: G Mason Richman, Iowa
A
Round 7, No. 238 Overall: WR Ricky White, UNLV
A+

overall A

[Donn Beach]

the Arroyo pick a possible steal

Jeremy Fowler
@JFowlerESPN
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Multiple teams had Elijah Arroyo as a top 20-25 overall talent in the draft save durability concerns. Seattle gets him at No. 50 overall

Elijah Arroyo combines size, speed, and athleticism to become a mismatch tight end at the next level.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/251 ... eahawks-te

[Pharmabro]

the Arroyo pick a possible steal

Jeremy Fowler
@JFowlerESPN
·
Follow
Multiple teams had Elijah Arroyo as a top 20-25 overall talent in the draft save durability concerns. Seattle gets him at No. 50 overall

Elijah Arroyo combines size, speed, and athleticism to become a mismatch tight end at the next level.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/251 ... eahawks-te

How is a 4.69 40 speed at his position? That is good speed for OL/DL but not anywhere else.

[Bil522]

the Arroyo pick a possible steal

Jeremy Fowler
@JFowlerESPN
·
Follow
Multiple teams had Elijah Arroyo as a top 20-25 overall talent in the draft save durability concerns. Seattle gets him at No. 50 overall

Elijah Arroyo combines size, speed, and athleticism to become a mismatch tight end at the next level.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/251 ... eahawks-te

How is a 4.69 40 speed at his position? That is good speed for OL/DL but not anywhere else.

Here is what Brugler of the Athletic said about his 41st best player and 4th best TE

"A one-year starter at Miami (Fla.), Arroyo was an F tight end in offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson’s RPO-based version of the Air Raid, lining up mostly in the slot (51.6 percent of snaps) and occasionally inline (39.4 percent). He had just 16 combined targets over his first three seasons with the Hurricanes as he battled a knee injury, but then delivered a breakout 2024, leading the FBS in yards per catch among tight ends (16.9).

An awesome athlete at 250 pounds, Arroyo gets in and out of his breaks with efficiency and speed to consistently create separation, which makes him a threat to score any time he touches the ball (71.4 percent of his catches in 2024 resulted in a first down or touchdown). He will need to prove himself through contact in the passing game at the next level, where he won’t be given as much space to operate. Overall, Arroyo needs further development as a route runner and blocker to reach his ceiling, but he can bring an immediate vertical element to an offense with his speed, fluidity and focused ball skills. He is easy to project as an NFL starter and a weapon for which defenses must account.

grade2nd Round"