2018 NFL Draft grades round-up: Detroit Lions don’t move the needle much

We already know that Mel Kiper Jr. doesn’t think much of the Detroit Lions’ 2018 draft, but let’s look outside the opinion of one of the least accurate draft evaluators over the past few years.

There is no shortage of draft grades floating out there after the draft, but there definitely seems to be a general consensus of how the Lions did. Let’s take a look

NFL.com (Chad Reuter) Grade: B

Reuter thinks the Lions did their best work in the first round with their selection of center Frank Ragnow, which he gave an A. However, he thought the Lions spent too much to move up for Kerryon Johnson and picked Tracy Walker a little too early. Therefore, his Day 2 grade was just a C. However, with the value pick of Tyrell Crosby in the fifth, he gave Detroit’s Day 3 a B.

New York Post (Mark Cannizzaro) Grade: B

The Post credits the Lions with essentially stealing Ragnow right from underneath the Bengals, and believes their moves could finally “take pressure off QB Matthew Stafford.”

Detroit Free Press (Dave Birkett) Grade: B

Birkett was a big fan of the Kerryon Johnson (A-) and Tyrell Crosby (A-) picks in the draft, but he, too, was perplexed by the selection of safety Tracy Walker (C+) in the third round. “I haven’t seen Walker play, so I can’t speak to his ability,” Birkett admitted. “But I thought the Lions’ bigger need was on the defensive line (and had they addressed it here, they might have saved themselves a pick next year.)”

Overall, though, Birkett admits the Lions went into the draft with a clear goal—fix the running game—and they did just about everything they could to address it.

Rotoworld (Thor Nystrom) Grade: B+

Sports Illustrated (Andy Benoit) Grade: B

Benoit commends general manager Bob Quinn for being determined to change the Lions’ running game, which he notes ranked 26th or worse in yards per carry for each of the past four years.

He also likes what the Lions did on defense, adding Tracy Walker for safety depth, “which is something Matt Patricia used smartly in New England.” He also notes that the addition of Da’Shawn hand continues the Patriots’ tradition of adding five-technique defensive ends over “glitzier (and more expensive) edge-benders.”

SB Nation (Dan Kadar) Grade: B

Kadar notes that head coach Matt Patricia is following up on his promise to build the Lions from the inside out, adding Frank Ragnow and Tyrell Crosby on offense and Da’Shawn Hand on defense.

He also gives Bob Quinn the benefit of the doubt with the Tracy Walker pick, considering the Lions surprised everyone with Kenny Golladay in the third round last year.

Pro Football Focus Grade: Below Average

While PFF absolutely loved the first two picks of Frank Ragnow (93.7 PFF grade) and Kerryon Johnson (87.9), they had some serious issues with some of their Day 2 and 3 picks. Though they agree with the masses that Tyrell Crosby (87.3) was an absolute steal in the fifth round, both Tracy Walker (74.3) and Da’Shawn Hand (75.1) were considered extremely poor value by their standards. Even fullback Nick Bawden (75.7) wasn’t seen a good pick, even in the seventh round.

The Washington Post (Mark Maske) Grade: C-

Maske gave the Lions the second-worst grade in the draft—only the Saints had a worse grade. The reasoning? He thought it was “questionable” to trade up for Kerryon Johnson and called the selection of Frank Ragnow in the first “far-from-glamorous,” even though he admitted “he should help.”

Now it’s time for you all to hand out grades. What grade do you give the Detroit Lions’ 2018 draft class?