Grading Thomas Dimitroff: the 2015 draft

We’re nearing the end of our series grading the efforts of Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff in both the draft and free agency. Today we move on to the 2015 draft, but bear in mind that we’re grading these particular players on just one season, which makes these grades very unforgiving.

Atlanta Falcons

Seattle Seahawks

New York Giants

Cleveland Browns

Quick Thoughts

While this draft class only has one year of experience under their respective belts, the Falcons were, at first glance, pretty successful. The hope is that Vic Beasley takes a step forward this season after playing all last year with a torn labrum. Most of the class graded out as average, which is pretty fair, but we did see potential from Tevin Coleman and Justin Hardy.

With Jalen Collins serving a four-game suspension, Akeem Dent has a chance to raise his grade by earning some significant playing time this season. The most pleasant surprise out of the draft class so far is fifth rounder Grady Jarrett, who has definitely outplayed his draft status and should have more opportunities to contribute this season.

It’s been interesting to look at the trends for the three teams we selected for comparative purposes, the Seahawks, Giants and Browns. In this particular year, the Seahawks ended up cutting a few of their drafted players after training camp. So far, this is mostly not looking like a great draft for the Seahawks.

The Giants, our average team for comparative purposes, had a pretty good draft on paper. Ereck Flowers, Landon Collins and especially seventh rounder Bobby Hart all got significant playing time last season and contributed, though all have room to improve.

The Browns, our bad team for the purposes of this series, hit on a couple of players in this draft, but overall, it was a bit of a mixed bag. Nate Orchard lived up to expectations for his draft position, and Charles Gaines and Malcolm Johnson contributed quite a bit for sixth rounders.

Final Tally

Falcons (Total - 19, Average - 2.7): A lot remains to be seen about this draft class, but it certainly has potential, and there’s an opportunity for Beasley, Hardy, Coleman, Jarrett and King to all take steps forward this season.

Seahawks (Total: 17, Average 2.1): Oof. This, as of right now, isn’t looking good for our “good” comparative team, the Seahawks.

Giants (Total: 18, Average: 3): The Giants, it appears at this point, hit on a few players and this draft grades out as average, which is perfect for the team we selected to represent an average team.

Browns (Total: 32, Average: 2.7): Kind of a mixed bag for our bad team, the Browns, but a couple of these average or worse players could step up this season and elevate the overall performance of this draft class.