2022 NFL Draft grades: Biggest winners and losers

NFL Draft Grades – NFC West

Arizona Cardinals

The strangest part of this draft process was Arizona’s decision to trade a first-round pick to Baltimore for Hollywood Brown, which seems like poor planning when the Eagles landed Brown for a first-round pick minutes later. The early goals for the Cardinals were to add pass rush help after losing Chandler Jones in free agency, which they accomplished by taking a pair of defensive ends on Day 2, while Trey McBride should function well behind Zach Ertz as the No. 2 tight end. Arizona does lose a few points on the Brown trade, however, since they likely could have gotten better value by either staying put or trading back in the first.

Grade: C-

Los Angeles Rams

In typical Rams fashion, they sat out until late on Day 2 after dealing most of their top picks for impact players that helped them win the Super Bowl in Matthew Stafford and Von Miller. Los Angeles used its picks to fill a bunch of needs, with their top pick being third-rounder Logan Bruss, who figures to be in the mix as a starter sooner rather than later. This class isn’t high on star power but will be graded down the line on its ability to help the Rams fill holes on their roster.

Grade: C

San Francisco 49ers

With clear needs in the secondary and at guard, the 49ers instead opted to go for a pass rusher with their first pick in USC’s Drake Jackson, who has a ton of potential but needs time to develop in the NFL. That pick may be a luxury since the 49ers also had to take a wide receiver in the third round as insurance against a Deebo Samuel holdout, making this class short on players who could be starters from the jump. Time will tell how this group works out but it doesn’t look promising early.

Grade: D

Seattle Seahawks

The positive is Seattle used its newly acquired first-round pick in the Russell Wilson trade to land a left tackle in Charles Cross, solving a long-standing need. The bad news is that the Seahawks drafted a running back in the second round in Kenneth Walker, a good prospect, at a position that wasn’t a need with Rashaad Penny and Chris Carson already on the roster. Boye Mafe will help on the edge but Seattle probably could have found more immediate impact contributors if they didn’t take Walker.

Grade: C+