How does the Arizona Cardinals 2016 NFL Draft class look three years later? The Arizona Cardinals went into the 2016 season with very high expectations, fresh off an NFC Championship Game appearance against the Carolina Panthers and a 13-3 regular season. However, given a disappointing effort defensively from the Panthers rout, the Cardinals immediately recognized
NFL Draft Retrospective
How does the Atlanta Falcons 2016 NFL Draft class look three years later? Coming into 2016, the Atlanta Falcons had several areas that they needed to address. During free agency, they were able to add Pro Bowl Center Alex Mack. General Manager Thomas Dimitroff assumed Mack would be the final piece of the starting offensive line
Ozzie Newsom was known for his excellent drafts, but his 2016 draft class will be remembered for its missed opportunities. The Baltimore Ravens entered the 2016 NFL Draft coming off a porous 2015 season that saw many key contributors on both sides of the ball get injured. The list was large, but the biggest names
Many of the seeds of this new Buffalo Bills era were planted back in 2016 at the Draft. The Bills entered 2016 after a somewhat disappointing 8-8 season in Rex Ryan’s first season. Missing the playoffs is always bad but is even worse after Ryan shows up and expectations are high. Tyrod Taylor won the
How does the Carolina Panthers 2016 NFL Draft class look three years later? Fresh off an impressive 15-1 regular season and Super Bowl appearance, the 2016 offseason was shaping up to be one of the most important ever for the Carolina Panthers. After not being able to capitalize on the opportunity to bring Charlotte its
The earliest foundation for the Bears bright future was laid by Ryan Pace back in 2016. The 2016 NFL Draft was Ryan Pace’s second as Chicago Bears’ general manager. Pace was just scratching the surface of the rebuild. The Bears were coming off a lackluster 2015 campaign, the first under John Fox, where the team
The Cincinnati Bengals put together one of the most impressive draft classes of the last few years back in 2016. In the mid-2010s, the Cincinnati Bengals existed firmly in a realm where they were good enough to be a playoff contender but never good enough to win once there. That still hasn’t changed, but the
The first Sashii Brown draft for the Cleveland Browns wasn’t quite what fans hoped it might be. The 2016 NFL Draft was the first draft under the new Cleveland Browns front office led by Executive Vice President of football operations, Sashi Brown. After finishing the 2015 season with a 3-13 record, Brown began to tear
How does the Dallas Cowboys 2016 NFL Draft class look three years later? Coming off a disastrous 2015 campaign, where they won just four games, the Dallas Cowboys hoped to rebound quickly through the 2016 NFL Draft. And that’s exactly what they did. The biggest need for Dallas going into that draft was clearly quarterback.
How does the Denver Broncos 2016 NFL Draft class look three years later? Coming off of a dominant victory over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50, the Denver Broncos were in a state of major transition. Free agents were leaving the team seemingly in bulk, Peyton Manning retired, and the Broncos failed to land
If winning ways return to the Motor City, we might have to thank the 2016 Draft Class. The Detroit Lions were at the very beginning of their current transition back in 2016. Bob Quinn was hired as the team’s general manager in January of that year and this would be his first draft for the
The Green Bay Packers have prided themselves on building through the draft — but how is that 2016 class looking today? The Green Bay Packers entered the 2016 NFL Draft on the back of seven straight playoff appearances, but the Minnesota Vikings had ended their four-year run as NFC North champions. Despite starting the 2015
How does the Houston Texans 2016 NFL Draft class look three years later? The Houston Texans of 2016 went into the NFL Draft in great need of a wide receiver, running back help and help on the offensive line, and that’s the direction the draft went that season. Houston had five draft trades in 2016,
How does the Indianapolis Colts 2016 NFL Draft class look three years later? In 2016, the Indianapolis Colts knew that they needed to draft offensive line help to protect Andrew Luck. Quite frankly, they needed it for years, but they didn’t do it until 2016. When they did, they finally drafted Ryan Kelly with their
How does the Jacksonville Jaguars 2016 NFL Draft class look three years later? Coming off a 5-11 season, this was the third year of the Gus Bradley regime. The team was still in a state of rebuild, where both he and general manager David Caldwell were feeling the heat from the fan base who had
How does the Kansas City Chiefs 2016 NFL Draft class look three years later? By the time the spring of 2016 rolled around, Kansas City Chiefs fans were finally getting used to the winning ways of Andy Reid and his staff. In fact, the regular season had been (another) proving ground for Reid, a miraculous
How does the Los Angeles Chargers 2016 NFL Draft class look three years later? The Chargers were coming off an extremely poor 4-12 2015 season which left them drafting at No. 3 in the first round. Many fans and analysts had Jalen Ramsey pegged to them at that pick, but the team ended up taking
How does the L.A. Rams 2016 NFL Draft class look three years later? Despite finishing the 2015 season with seven wins, the Rams were in desperate need of help at the quarterback position since Nick Foles and Case Keenum combined for 11 touchdown passes between the two of them, although it arguably wasn’t entirely their
Winning hasn’t happened in Miami in recent years, but the pillars of potential were set with the 2016 draft class. The Miami Dolphins entered the 2016 NFL Draft with a new head coach and a new philosophy. Adam Gase was supposed to be the offensive genius that would turnaround the franchise. The team entered the
Mike Zimmer’s drafting abilities have been hit-and-miss, but Laquon Treadwell has become a defining flub. Heading into the 2016 NFL Draft, the Minnesota Vikings were looking to improve upon their 11-5 finish and their heartbreaking loss to the Seattle Seahawks in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. In order to do that, the franchise
No New England Patriots draft post-2000 has been truly great but that hasn’t stopped Bill Belichick from drafting Super Bowl winners. The 2016 NFL Draft was both a unique and memorable event for the New England Patriots, albeit for the wrong reasons. The team forfeited its first-round pick that year as punishment for Tom Brady’s
How does the New Orleans Saints 2016 NFL Draft class look three years later? For the New Orleans Saints, the 2016 NFL Season was a continuation of a disturbing trend that had been going for two years. The Saints had finished 7-9 in both 2014 and 2015 – a year in which the Saints defense
How does the New York Giants 2016 NFL Draft class look three years later? Coming off of another 6-10 campaign, the New York Giants decided against boltering their offensive line, as they had done in the previous three drafts, especially after Michigan State tackle Jack Conklin was snapped up by the Tennessee Titans. The Giants
How does the New York Jets 2016 NFL Draft class look three years later? The New York Jets entered the 2016 NFL Draft riding high following a surprising 10-6 season that saw them just miss the playoffs in their first season under the Bowles/Maccagnan administration. While the initial sting of choking away a playoff spot
How does the Oakland Raiders 2016 NFL Draft class look three years later? The Oakland Raiders were feeling good about their franchise heading into the 2016 NFL Draft, as they had gone 7-9 in their first season with Jack Del Rio at the helm in 2015. Derek Carr was entering year No. 3 as a
How does the Philadelphia Eagles 2016 NFL Draft class look three years later? The Philadelphia Eagles 2016 season was the fresh start that the franchise desperately needed. During the previous season, the Eagles prematurely cut the cord on the failed three-year stint with their former head coach, Chip Kelly. The team was getting a fresh
Don’t look at the Pittsburgh Steelers 2016 draft class as a glowing endorsement, but don’t look at it as a failure either. One thing the Pittsburgh Steelers have been trying to do over the last handful of years is slowly to swap out old parts for new ones in the draft. It’s not so much
How does the San Francisco 49ers 2016 NFL Draft class look three years later? The San Francisco 49ers were onto their third head coach in as many years, Chip Kelly, and were still reeling from the mass exodus of players from 2015. A wholesale lack of talent on both sides of the ball should have
How does the Seattle Seahawks 2016 NFL Draft class look three years later? In 2016, the Seahawks had made the playoffs for the previous four years on the strength of a shutdown defense, a literally seismic running game, and an immensly resourceful quarterback. The Legion of Boom, Marshawn Lynch, and Russell Wilson wreaked havoc on
How does the Tennessee Titans 2016 NFL Draft class look three years later? It was the best of times, it was the worst of times for the Tennessee Titans heading into the 2016 NFL Draft. After a brutal year in 2014, the Titans actually looked much better in 2015 after adding franchise QB Marcus Mariota.