Grade: B+
Best Pick: RB DJ Giddens, No. 151 Overall
What We Liked: The Chris Ballard strategy of taking exclusively pure athletes seems to have cooled off, as now Ballard is taking guys who also play good football. After a few years of middling draft classes, this is a group of guys you can feel confident in. Tyler Warren will provide more ways to ease Anthony Richardson’s quarterback responsibilities and JT Tuimoloau and Justin Walley are good enough athletes but really excel in technical skill. The best pick, though, is Giddens in the fifth round. He has a balanced skillset that could make him a great supplement to Jonathan Taylor and even potentially be a full-time starter.
Not Sure About: Tim Smith seems to have been picked because he’s an Alabama defensive tackle. Really just another body for that rotation. I’m not in love with the Tyler Warren pick, either, as dynamic as he was at the college level, I’m not sure an offense can really be built around him in the pros without his athletic limitations showing through. Riley Leonard adding a third guy to the quarterback room who mostly just runs feels underwhelming for a team that’s sorely missing an actual passer.
–Dean Bruce, special to Field Level Media
