There were some teams that did really well in the NFL Draft. Teams that had a plan and executed it. That added high-end talent to push them over the edge.
And then there were teams whose decisions this past weekend were questionable at best. Teams that loaded up on players at the same position or reached way too much for positions of need while ignoring that better talent was still on the board.
If we're grading the NFL Draft like a test, not every team passed. Here are three whose draft hauls failed to make the grade.
Cleveland Browns
The Browns might have gotten the steal of the draft in the fifth round in Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, but if that winds up being the case, it will mean the team completely wasted a third-round pick on Dillon Gabriel.
Nothing about the Browns process made sense. I don't think a single analyst would suggest that Gabriel is a better quarterback with Sanders, so taking Gabriel in Round 3 instead of Sanders was a strong suggestion that the Browns didn't think it was worth dealing with whatever media circus they expect from Sanders and his famous father. But then, if that was the case, why turn around and take him two rounds later? It's just bad process. Sanders is the quarterback Cleveland should have left the draft with, IMO, and wasting time playing games and taking Gabriel when there were plenty of other needs on the board just doesn't make sense.
Speaking of bad positional value, the Browns drafted two running backs! I like both of them — Dylan Sampson was a steal in Round 4 — but did Cleveland really need to spend four of its seven picks on either quarterbacks or running backs? This team went 3-14 last year. The draft is a chance to add talent across the board. Cleveland failed at that.
One more "huh?" move and then I promise I'll say the one good thing about Cleveland's draft, because they did do a good thing.
Carson Schwesinger at the top of the second round? He's a good run-stopping linebacker, but that's a role that just isn't valued like it used to be. Maybe Cleveland is preparing for a future where teams suddenly go back to taking run-first approaches, or maybe the Browns just reached too much for something that they needed, but maybe didn't need as much as they thought.
Mason Graham at Pick 5, though? That was a good one. Cleveland got the first-round right, which makes things seem a little better. That's the most important pick to get right. I also like the Harold Fannin Jr. pick, but it's another one where I'm not sold that this particular team was the one who needed to be targeting him. I guess I'm mostly good with that pick though, so sure — two of the team's seven picks made sense.
Los Angeles Chargers
If you're taking a running back in the first round, you better be sure that running back is a franchise-altering talent. So Ashton Jeanty as a first-rounder? Sure thing! Anyone else from this very deep running back class? Ehh, it just feels like a bad allocation of draft capital. Omarion Hampton is going to be good, but wouldn't it have made much more sense for the Chargers to take wide receiver Matthew Golden there and then, in Round 2, they could have grabbed another position of need and waited a bit longer to go running back? Good running backs were still on the board in Round 4, for example. Dylan Sampson went one pick after LA's pick in that round.
Tre Harris in Round 2 is a solid pick for a team that needed a wide receiver, but after that it felt like the Chargers were drafting off a board that was completely out of line with everyone else's board.
Third-round defensive tackle Jamaree Caldwell is more of a run-stuffer than a pass rusher, which is something Los Angeles could have used up the gut. Fourth-round edge rusher Kyle Kennard just feels like depth. Adding wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith in the fifth round just feels like another attempt by the Chargers to do what they keep failing to do, which is find young wide receiver talent in the draft.
Getting tight end Oronde Gadsden II in the fifth round feels like a win, though I worry I'm only saying that because I have fond memories of signing his dad as a free agent in some old Madden game.
Miami Dolphins
Poor Dolphins. This isn't necessarily a case where Miami made bad picks. It's just that with only two picks in the first four rounds of the draft, the team was working with a low ceiling. It gave them less room for error.
Those two early picks were solid players, though you could argue both were slight reaches.
Taking defensive tackle Kenneth Grant in the first round filled a big need in the middle of the Miami defense, but this was a prime chance to trade down and grab more assets while still likely being able to grab Grant 10 picks later.
Likewise, second-round pick Jonah Savaiinaea is a good prospect, but selecting him No. 37 overall felt a bit early. It's another situation where a team with so few draft picks should have been aggressive about trying to move down.
It's hard to say much about the rest of the team's picks, seeing as they were all in the fifth round or later. Taking another defensive tackle, Maryland's Jordan Phillips, felt like a bad allocation of resources, but taking swings on the upside of running back Ollie Gordon II and quarterback Quinn Ewers were probably smart calls. But when your smartest ,moves are in Round 6 and Round 7, that's just putting some icing on top of a lasagna and calling it a cake.