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Grading NFL teams' drafts is a funny tradition, one that symbolizes the reaction of NFL observers when faced with the huge gap between the NFL Draft and any games of consequence. I agree with Scott Warfe, who said, "Call me crazy (especially if you want to hurt my feelings), but the grading process is arbitrary — almost as arbitrary as mock drafting." We don't know how these players are going to play, so it's really just a case of supposed value and which players the observers who grade these things liked the most before the NFL Draft occurred.
Still, I'll admit it's kind of fun to read these articles. It's interesting to see what the consensus is on how our favorite teams did, even if these suppositions have nothing to do with how the upcoming season will play out. So what I've done is taken a look at 10 different writers' grades. Since this is SB Nation Bay Area, I only paid attention to how the San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders performed, and from there calculated each team's overall GPA as if each team had a 10-class schedule where each class was weighted equally.
Sorry Trent Baalke and Reggie McKenzie, but you didn't get the benefit of any "AP classes" and the extra grade point that goes along with them. As you'll see, both GMs could've used all the help they could get in the eyes of these "teachers."
Raiders: C-
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49ers: C+
Raiders: D
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49ers: C+
Raiders: D
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49ers: C+
Raiders: C
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49ers: C-
Raiders: D
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49ers: C+
Raiders: D
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49ers: D
Raiders: C
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49ers: B
Raiders: D
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49ers: B
Raiders: D
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49ers: B
Raiders: B
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OVERALL GPA
49ers: 2.33
Raiders: 1.47
Yikes. According to the masses, the 49ers are at a solid C+ average, while the Raiders are D+ drafters. If it weren't for the editor of Niners Nation, the Raiders wouldn't have received anything higher than a C for their efforts, which means most of these analysts weren't exactly grading on a curve. After all, McKenzie was hamstrung by the previous regime dealing away multiple high draft picks for quarterbacks Carson Palmer (first round), Terrelle Pryor (third round) and Jason Campbell (fourth round), along with OT Joe Barksdale (second round).
The Raiders only grabbed one name recognizable to the masses: Arizona wide receiver Juron Criner, who probably fell to the fifth round despite a productive collegiate career due to a 40-time of 4.68 seconds at the NFL Combine. One receiver who helped himself at the Combine, but maybe not enough to make a him a top-30 pick in the eyes of most, was A.J. Jenkins. The Niners' first round pick ran a 4.39 40-yard dash, but went almost unmentioned leading up to the Draft as many thought San Francisco would go after buzz-worthy names like Stephen Hill, Coby Fleener or Reuben Randle. Many also dinged the 49ers for taking LaMichael James, a back who on the surface looks a lot like Kendall Hunter, their fourth round pick from last year.
What does all this mean? Nothing now, but I'm going to file this away and revisit this post in January. While NFL Draft Grades seem frivolous, the GPAs of these respective teams will either look clairvoyant or ridiculous after the season plays out.
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Bay Area Sports Week in Review is an SB Nation Bay Area feature written by Bay Area Sports Guy. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.