NFL Draft 2020 Grades: Analysis of Every Team’s Round 1 Pick

After months of anticipation, the 2020 NFL draft is finally here. Follow along as we grade every team’s first-round pick.

After months of studying prospects’ tape and reading mock drafts, the 2020 NFL draft is finally here. As many expected, the Bengals took QB Joe Burrow with the No. 1 overall pick, and Washington took DE Chase Young with the second pick.

Below is our instant analysis and grades for every Round 1 pick.

1. Cincinnati Bengals: QB Joe Burrow

By all appearances,

Cincinnati’s commitment to Burrow has been strong and steady from the start. The only reasonable knock on LSU’s 2019 breakout star is his lack of top-level arm strength, but that’s not to say Burrow can’t still make every throw. What sets him apart is how he gets to those throws. He sees and exploits the entire width of the field; he moves calmly, courageously and craftily within the pocket, and has good enough wheels to make plays outside of it. There’s no task in Zac Taylor’s zone-based, play-action-oriented offense that Burrow can’t perform. Getting him to quickly maximize the potential of those tasks will require better play at offensive line and wide receiver, areas the Bengals could address later in this draft but will also improve by default with wide receiver A.J. Green and 2019 first-round left tackle Jonah Williams returning to health. This can be a whole different Bengals offense in 2020.

GRADE: A

2. Washington: EDGE Chase Young

Washington entered this draft with many needs, and pass rusher was not one of them. Tenth-year veteran Ryan Kerrigan still offers quality burst and bendability, and the team spent a first-round pick last season on Mississippi State’s Montez Sweat. Inside, defensive tackle Matt Ioannidis is coming off a quietly strong 2019 season, and alongside him are relatively recent first-round picks Jonathan Allen (2017) and Da’Ron Payne (’18). So no, Washington did not need Chase Young, but that doesn’t make them wrong for taking him. Sometimes talent is too immense to pass up. Many scouts see Young as the type of explosive difference-maker who only comes along once every few years. No team has ever rued having too many quality pass rushers, especially not if that team runs a 4-3 gap-based, zone-oriented scheme like new head coach Ron Rivera and defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio are expected to install.

GRADE: A-

3. Detroit Lions: CB Jeff Okudah

No team played more man coverage than the Lions last season, which is a philosophy that head coach Matt Patricia brought over from New England. In that same vein, Patricia also puts a huge emphasis on matchups, having specific corners travel almost everywhere with specific receivers week after week. You must have a true No. 1 corner to consistently do this. What reigning Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gilmore has brought to New England, the Lions hope Okudah will bring to Detroit. He’s a slightly different style of corner than the physical Gilmore; what scouts liked most about Okudah is he has the agility to mirror wide receivers. The Lions, who like to have multiple safeties helping in coverage, often instruct their corners to play in the low hip pocket of their man. Okudah shined with that at Ohio State. The only negative here is Detroit GM Bob Quinn probably felt he could get a quality corner a few picks later in the draft, but he did not get an enticing enough package to trade down. Okudah is the first corner drafted in the top three since Seattle took Shawn Springs third in 1997. He can slide right into the role previously filled by recently traded veteran Darius Slay.

GRADE: B+

4. New York Giants: OT Andrew Thomas

No surprise about the position but plenty of surprise about the player; few expected the 6'5", 320-pound Thomas to be the first offensive tackle taken. In a draft where so many teams need offensive tackle help and so many outstanding offensive tackle prospects are available, it’s surprising New York wasn’t able to trade down and get their guy later. GM Dave Gettleman does not have a history of trading down, but the Giants made it known that they were willing to deal. Obviously, the right offer did not come along, and so the Giants took the guy they like best. What’s to admire about Thomas: 36-inch arms, standout competitiveness, sound pass-blocking mechanics and overall composure. It will be interesting to see if the Giants view Thomas as a right tackle (his likely position for 2020) or a left tackle (his possible position for 2021, when up-and-down veteran Nate Solder could be a cap casualty).

GRADE: C+

5. Miami Dolphins: QB Tua Tagovailoa

Consider this the perfect world for Stephen Ross’s team. The wildly unfair “Tanking for Tua” slogan proved false, but only because the Dolphins played so much better in the second half of last season and fell all the way to No. 5 in the draft order. Tagovailoa’s late-season hip injury may have been a blessing in disguise, as none of the other QB-needy teams traded up to get him.

That hip is reportedly healed, and there is time for it to get even stronger as the Dolphins don’t need Tagovailoa to play right away. But it’d be a surprise if he’s not the starter come mid-November. The Dolphins are still in the early phases of a massive rebuild, and stopgap veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick can be counted on for at least a half-dozen of the type of head-scratching interceptions that get a quarterback benched.

Tagovailoa’s draft status also speaks to the expanding definition of an NFL quarterback. Ten years ago, a small-statured, good-but-not-great-armed QB would have never gone fifth overall. But football IQ, athleticism and intangibles have become even more valued at the position. Still, for Tagovailoa to succeed, the Dolphins must support him with a strong cast and crisply defined system. He projects to the NFL as more of a timing and rhythm passer than Russell Wilson-style playmaker.

GRADE: B

6. Los Angeles Chargers: QB Justin Herbert

GRADE: 

***

Everything You Need to Know About the NFL Draft: Sign up for Sports Illustrated’s newsletters and get complete NFL Draft coverage and analysis—delivered right to your inbox.

***

• Question or comment? Email us.