2023 NFL Draft grades: Biggest winners and losers

2023 NFL Draft Grades – NFC West

Arizona Cardinals

First-year GM Monti Ossenfort did masterful work in his first draft, extracting a haul from the Texans to drop from No. 3 to No. 12 and then used some of his excess picks to go back to No. 6 and get the class’ best tackle in Paris Johnson Jr.

The Cardinals did land a lot of players who could help a talent-deficient roster and picked up some extra picks for next year, including the Browns’ first-rounder from the Texans.

In what should be a rebuilding situation, Arizona did very good work here.

Grade: A-

Los Angeles Rams

After years of an “F them picks” philosophy, the Rams reloaded their roster with 14 players, including help in the trenches with their first three picks.

Stetson Bennett was an interesting selection in the fourth round as he can develop behind Matthew Stafford and potentially take over if his fellow Georgia alum opts to retire in the coming years.

For a roster that had become increasingly top-heavy, filling it out with quality pieces makes this a good draft for the Rams.

Grade: B

San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers dealt a boatload of picks in trades over the past few years, including the Christian McCaffrey deal, leaving them without a scheduled pick until No. 99. Spending the first few picks on a safety and a kicker isn’t great roster building, particularly after the 49ers failed to draft a single offensive lineman in a year they could use help at the position.

There wasn’t a ton to work with here but San Francisco could have done a lot more with what they had.

Grade: C-

Seattle Seahawks

The other high mark in this class goes to Seattle, which raked in more talent early with the draft’s top cornerback (Devon Witherspoon) and wide receiver (Jaxon Smith-Njigba) in Round 1. GM John Schneider also boosted his pass-rush with a Day 2 trade up for Auburn’s Darick Hall and spent four straight Day 3 picks bolstering his lines. The Seahawks hit a grand slam in this draft and remain in excellent position to challenge the 49ers in the NFC West.

Grade: A+