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NFC West Draft Grades

See how the NFC West fared in the NFL Draft.

Mark Gunnels

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The NFC West has been dominated by the Seattle Seahawks over the past few seasons, but the Arizona Cardinals are starting to close the gap. Arizona has done a good job in the draft, adding guys like Tyrann Mathieu and John Brown.

Even the St. Louis Rams have shown flashes of greatness, but they won’t be able to get over the hump until they find their quarterback of the future. Is that Nick Foles?  Smart money says no.

To the ugly now.

San Francisco has endured one of the wildest off-seasons any franchise could imagine. Potential future Hall of Famer Patrick Willis retired and so did Chris Borland. Justin Smith is contemplating retirement himself. With all of these changes, San Francisco must build through the draft.

Let’s take a look how each team in the NFC West fared last weekend in Chicago.

Team: Seattle Seahawks

Picks: Frank Clark (DE), Tyler Lockett (WR), Terry Poole (OT), Mark Glowinski (OG), Tye Smith (CB), Obum Gwacham (DE), Kristijan Sokoli (DE) and Ryan Smith-Murphy (S).

Pick value grade: Day 2 (A) and Day 3 (B)

Address needs: B+

Best value pick: Tyler Lockett

Worst value pick: Frank Clark

Overall thoughts: The Seattle Seahawks traded away their first round pick for Jimmy Graham, which was a pretty good investment. Although Frank Clark is a risk, there’s no denying his talent. The addition of Tyler Lockett should help bolster their passing attack.

What will we say about this class in 3 years: We’ll say that Seattle did their due diligence on majority of these guys and that Tyler Lockett is a legit number two receiver in this league.

Overall grade: B+. When you’re fresh off going to back-to-back Super Bowls, the goal is to keep pushing. Seattle is in an unique position because there isn’t too many holes on their roster. From their standpoint, the draft is just extra. Moving forward, Seattle should enjoy the play maker Lockett could turn into. Couple the Lockett acquisition with the pickups of Clark, Poole, Smith, Sokoli and Smith-Murphy and you instantly have new projects to play with.

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Team: Arizona Cardinals

Picks: D.J. Humphries (OT), Markus Golden (DE), David Johnson (RB), Rodney Gunter (DT), Shaquille Riddick (DE), J.J. Nelson (WR) and Gerald Christian (TE).

Pick value grade: Day 1 (A-), Day 2 (B), Day 3 (C-)

Address needs: B

Best value pick: David Johnson

Worst value pick: Rodney Gunter

Overall thoughts: The Arizona Cardinals addressed a lot of needs, while also taking some interesting chances with prospects in the later rounds. However, it’s hard to argue against their first three selections. Arizona definitely got their money’s worth during the first two days in Chicago.

What will we say about this class in 3 years: In three years I think we’ll say this class was one of the top 5 classes from this draft. Humphries, Golden and Johnson are all in good position to make a name for themselves moving forward.

Overall grade: B+. This class could very well turn into an A over time because guys like Rodney Gunter, Shaquille Riddick, J.J. Nelson and Gerald Christian have untapped potential. When it comes to athleticism, you’ll be hard pressed to find a better trio than D.J. Humphries, David Johnson and Shaquille Riddick.

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Team: St. Louis Rams

Picks: Todd Gurley (RB), Rob Havenstein (OT), Jamon Brown (OT), Sean Mannion (QB), Andrew Donnal (OT), Bud Sasser (WR), Cody Wichmann (OG), Bryce Hager (ILB) and Martin Ifedi (DE).

Pick value grade: Day 1 (B-), Day 2 (B), Day 3 (C)

Address needs: A-

Best value pick: Bud Sasser

Worst value pick: Todd Gurley. This is not to say he’s a bad player because I believe Gurley has star potential, but the Rams could have traded back a little to get him.

Overall thoughts: Before the NFL Draft, St. Louis only had two offensive linemen on their roster. Now, they have six. Yes, they drafted four offensive linemen in Chicago. It’s great to see the Rams address this need, but the linemen they chose all have huge learning curves at the next level.

What will we say about this class in 3 years: If Todd Gurley is able to stay healthy, I think we’ll say that he and Tre Mason are of the best running back duos in the world.

Overall grade: B. Despite my feelings about St. Louis picking Gurley so early, it doesn’t take away from his abilities on the football field. It also helps that St. Louis found some bodies to block for Gurley up front. If those linemen develop as the Rams would like, this class could become special.

Team: San Francisco 49ers

Picks: Arik Armstead (DT), Jaquiski Tartt (SS), Eli Harold (OLB), Blake Bell (TE), Mike Davis (RB), DeAndre Smelter (WR), Bradley Pinion (P), Ian Silberman (OG), Trenton Brown (OG) and Rory ‘Busta’ Anderson.

Pick value grade: Day 1 (B), Day 2 (C+), Day 3 (B)

Address needs: B

Best value pick: Mike Davis

Worst value pick: Jaquiski Tartt

Overall thoughts: After losing a plethora of veteran leadership in the locker room, there’s no denying San Francisco is in rebuild mode. Arik Armstead has some big shoes to fill up front, but he has all of the physical tools to be successful. 49ers fans just need to be patient and Mike Davis seems to be a good fit alongside Carlos Hyde in the backfield.

What will we say about this class in 3 years: We’ll say that this class turned out to be fairly productive. However, the only guy I see with star potential is Armstead.

Overall grade: B-. Besides Armstead, I don’t think San Francisco got the best bang for their picks early on, but as the draft went on, the 49ers started to get some guys with solid value. Blake Bell, Mike Davis and DeAndre Smelter could all become playmakers instantly.

This division didn’t obtain a lot of the big names from college, but a vast percentage of these guys have the potential to be very good football players for a long time.

Mark Gunnels is an NFL columnist for Football Insiders. He has several years of experience covering the NFL and NCAA football. He's the radio color commentator for Lincoln University football. Mark's work has been featured on Sports Illustrated, Fox Sports and Yard Barker.

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