NFC West 2019 NFL Draft Grades: 49ers Become Dangerous, Seahawks Underwhelm

It’s time for the final set of 2019 NFL Draft grades. We finish up with the NFC West. Quietly, this could be one of the better divisions in the NFL. The Rams just went to the Super Bowl. The Cardinals finally have an identity. The Seahawks have Russell Wilson. The 49ers are a lot better than you think. This is a fun one to finish up with. Here we go. Who are the winners and losers of the 2019 NFL Draft in the NFC West?

Arizona Cardinals: Grade B-

• Round 1, pick 1 (No. 1 overall): Kyler Murray, QB, Oklahoma
• Round 2, pick 1 (No. 33 overall): Byron Murphy, CB, Washington
• Round 2, pick 30 (No. 62 overall): Andy Isabella, WR, Massachusetts 
• Round 3, pick 1 (No. 65 overall): Zach Allen, DE, Boston College
• Round 4, pick 1 (No. 103 overall): Hakeem Butler, WR, Iowa State
• Round 5, pick 1 (No. 139 overall): Deointe Thompson, S, Alabama
• Round 6, pick 1 (No. 174 overall): KeeSean Johnson, WR, Fresno State
• Round 6, pick 6 (No. 179 overall): Lamont Gaillard, C, Georgia
• Round 7, pick 34 (No. 248 overall): Joshua Miles, OT, Morgan State
• Round 7, pick 35 (No. 249 overall): Michael Dogbe, DE, Temple

• Round 7, pick 40 (No. 254 overall): Caleb Wilson, TE, UCLA

I was torn on this grade. The Cardinals did some things very well. Kyler Murray to pair with Kliff Kingsbury was the right move. Will it work? Who knows. Regardless, it’s the right scheme fit to build this offense around. Deionte Thompson in round 5 is a home run. He just might be the best safety in the draft. If not, he probably has the best pure range of any safety. Lamont Gaillard is an All-SEC center. Can’t believe he was on the board in round 6. Even a weapon like Caleb Wilson as Mr. Irrelevant was a smart pick. There were a lot of things the Cardinals did that I approve of.

Now let’s get to the bad. Why are you drafting 3 different wide receivers? WHY WHY WHY. 2 of them probably won’t work. Arizona already drafted Christian Kirk last year. They still have Larry Fitzgerald and have yet to develop Chad Williams. This was the worst team in the NFL last year and completely ignored so many holes to pick up 100 receivers. Arizona sold really low on Josh Rosen. There’s no way you can look the fan base in the face and say that they got full value on Josh Rosen. To walk out of that trade with Andy Isabella is embarrassing.

Los Angeles Rams: Grade C+

• Round 2, Pick 29 (No. 61 overall): Taylor Rapp, S, Washington
• Round 3, Pick 6 (No. 70 overall): Darrell Henderson, RB, Memphis
• Round 3, Pick 13 (No. 79 overall): David Long, CB, Michigan
• Round 3, Pick 34 (No. 97 overall): Bobby Evans, T, Oklahoma
• Round 4, Pick 32 (No. 134 overall): Greg Gaines, DT, Washington
• Round 5, Pick 31 (No. 169 overall): David Edwards, T, Wisconsin
• Round 7, Pick 29 (No. 243 overall): Nick Scott, S, Penn St.
• Round 7, Pick 37 (No. 251 overall): Dakota Allen, LB, Texas Tech

The Rams traded out to pick up more depth. That’s all good with me. The problem is I’m not sure how many of them actually impact the team. Taylor Rapp? Is he a box safety or a converted linebacker? The latter might be the case in this defense. Darrell Henderson is a back I really like but the Rams already have Todd Gurley. I guess they really don’t like John Kelly or Malcolm Brown much. Bobby Evans is a solid tackle. He could very well start at the right side. Greg Gaines can plug in the middle and stop the run. That’s about all it is. Is that okay for a Rams team that is already loaded? Probably, but they didn’t improve by leaps and bounds by any means.

San Francisco 49ers: Grade A-

• Round 1, pick 2 (No. 2 overall): Nick Bosa, EDGE, Ohio State
• Round 2, pick 4 (No. 36 overall): Deebo Samuel, WR, South Carolina
• Round 3, pick 3 (No. 67 overall): Jalen Hurd, WR, Baylor
• Round 4, pick 8 (No. 110 overall): Mitch Wishnowsky, P, Utah
• Round 5, pick 10 (No. 148 overall): Dre Greenlaw, LB, Arkansas
• Round 6, pick 3 (No. 176 overall): Kaden Smith, TE, Stanford
• Round 6, pick 10 (No. 183 overall): Justin Skule, OT, Vanderbilt
• Round 6, pick 25 (No. 198 overall): Tim Harris, CB, Virginia

I like the 49ers Draft a lot despite missing on some picks. This is a team that needed secondary help. The 49ers failed to address that need. Instead, they blew a couple opportunities to nail a perfect draft. Jalen Hurd is a total waste. Don’t even ask me how he sniffs the field. With Marquise Goodwin, Dante Pettis, and Deebo Samuel either on the roster or picked, I have no clue what the plan is for Hurd. Not to mention the bounty of running backs that San Fran already has. Punter in round 4? Really….

Now let’s get to the good. San Fran nailed it’s first 2 selections. That’s the most important thing. Nick Bosa is pretty much can’t miss. I actually think Nick is better than his brother Joey and we have already seen what the Chargers version can do. Most of you already know my thoughts on Deebo Samuel. I think he is the best receiver in the draft. He’s the best route runner and after the catch receiver in the class. Nailed it!

Seattle Seahawks: Grade C-

• Round 1, pick 29 (No. 29 overall): L.J. Collier, EDGE, TCU
• Round 2, pick 15 (No. 47 overall): Marquise Blair, S, Utah
• Round 2, pick 32 (No. 64 overall): D.K. Metcalf, WR, Ole Miss
• Round 3, pick 24 (No. 88 overall): Cody Barton, LB, Utah
• Round 4, pick 18 (No. 120 overall): Gary Jennings, WR, West Virginia
• Round 4, pick 22 (No. 124 overall): Phil Haynes, G, Wake Forest
• Round 4, pick 30 (No. 132 overall): Ugochukwu Amadi, S, Oregon
• Round 5, pick 4 (No. 142 overall): Ben Burr-Kirven, LB, Washington
• Round 6, pick 31 (No. 204 overall): Travis Homer, RB, Miami
• Round 6, pick 36 (No. 209 overall): Demarcus Christmas, DT, Florida St.
• Round 7, pick 22 (No. 236 overall): John Ursua, WR, Hawaii

This draft reminds me of the Colts draft except worse. The Seahawks got a lot of players. They didn’t get a lot of good players. DK Metcalf at the back end of round 2 is probably their best pick. It’s hard to find freak shows like Metcalf that late in the draft. Worst case, he becomes a dangerous deep ball guy. I’ll take that. LJ Collier is a solid player. He plays with an edge and nasty personality. Collier is really a power player as of now but could develop into more. A first round pick was a bit high for me but still like the talent. Maybe they can use Gary Jennings deep down the field. Maybe Ben Burr-Kirven has a little pizazz to him. Maybe Demarcus Christmas develops into something.

Outside of that, I’m not sure what Seattle was doing. All I know is Pete Carroll was watching too many Utah games. He’s a clear Pac 12 homer so that’s no surprise. Somebody needs to tell him that other conferences exist. If someone took the Pac 12 away from Pete Carroll, Seattle would have a much better team.