Draft Grades - AFC West: Chiefs, Raiders lead the way; Chargers' thin class disappoints
With the 2015 NFL Draft officially complete, theScore's NFL editors handout their initial grades for how teams fared during all seven rounds.
NFC
EAST | NORTH | SOUTH | WEST
AFC
EAST | NORTH | SOUTH | WEST
Denver Broncos
| Rd | Player |
|---|---|
| 1 | DE Shane Ray |
| 2 | OT Ty Sambrailo |
| 3 | TE Jeff Heuerman |
| 4 | C Max Garcia |
| 5 | CB Lorenzo Doss |
| 6 | DT Darius Kilgo |
| 7 | QB Trevor Siemian |
| 7 | CB Taurean Nixon |
| 7 | S Josh Furman |
Denver added some intriguing pieces throughout the weekend, making use of their nine selections. The club made a somewhat risky move to trade up and land Ray in the first round, but each of their next three picks filled some positions of fairly significant need heading into 2015. The best pick of the bunch may prove to be Sambrailo, who will be a perfect fit for Gary Kubiak's zone-blocking scheme.
Grade: B
Kansas City Chiefs
| Rd | Player |
|---|---|
| 1 | CB Marcus Peters |
| 2 | OL Mitch Morse |
| 3 | WR Chris Conley |
| 3 | CB Steven Nelson |
| 4 | LB Ramik Wilson |
| 5 | LB D.J. Alexander |
| 5 | TE James O'Shaughnessy |
| 6 | DT Rakeem Nunez-Roches |
| 7 | WR Da'Ron Brown |
Taking a risk on Peters has the potential to make for a massive payoff, as he could turn out to be the best cornerback in the draft. The rest of Kansas City's class isn't spectacular by any means, but adds plenty of intriguing talent to the mix. Morse fills a massive need on the offensive front, and both Conley and Nelson will have the potential to contribute right away.
Grade: B+
Oakland Raiders
| Rd | Player |
|---|---|
| 1 | WR Amari Cooper |
| 2 | DE Mario Edwards Jr. |
| 3 | TE Clive Walford |
| 4 | G Jon Feliciano |
| 5 | LB Ben Heeney |
| 5 | LB Neiron Ball |
| 6 | DE Max Valles |
| 7 | OT Anthony Morris |
| 7 | WR Andre Debose |
| 7 | CB Dexter McDonald |
Helping young quarterback Derek Carr was the No. 1 priority for the Raiders in this draft, and they managed to do just that by landing him two strong targets in Cooper and Walford early on. The rest of Oakland's class can be considered somewhat hit and miss, but Edwards excelling at the weakside edge position he was drafted to play would make it all the more impressive.
Grade: B+
San Diego Chargers
| Rd | Player |
|---|---|
| 1 | RB Melvin Gordon |
| 2 | LB Denzel Perryman |
| 3 | CB Craig Mager |
| 5 | LB Kyle Emanuel |
| 6 | DT Darius Philon |
The Chargers didn't have many picks to work with after trading up for Gordon, and that affected the way in which the rest of their draft played out. Adding the playmaking running back they desired in Gordon and an impact linebacker in Perryman was a great way to start at the top, but there isn't much intrigue surrounding the rest of this class.
Grade: C+