2024 Draft Revisited: How Grades Changed
Mock Master--Jeremy Bissett recalculates all rookies for all 32 teams
— “NFL Draft Scout is for REAL football lovers—thorough, knowledgable, unbiased facts,” Super Bowl Champion Coach Jon Gruden.
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In both education and professional football, the gap between potential and performance often tells the most compelling story. As an NFL analyst with a background in educational assessment, I found that draft day grades—like preliminary student evaluations—serve as predictive tools that sometimes yield surprising results. The 2024 NFL Draft class offers a masterclass in this phenomenon. Our initial assessments collided with the unpredictable nature of professional football.
Draft grades are funny things. Last year we crowned the Eagles with a 90.18 grade - our highest mark - and, yeah, their rookie class helped push them to the Super Bowl. Sweet validation, right? But then there's the even more intriguing case of the Titans. We gave them an 89.75, practically throwing a parade for their draft class, and rightfully so, their rookies exceeded expectations, pushing their final season grade to a class-leading 92.00. Yet here they are, holding the No. 1 overall pick in 2025 because of the team's overall unfathomable performance, particularly at quarterback.
The truth is, NFL success is like crafting the perfect blend. While rookies are crucial ingredients, they're just one part of a complex recipe. The Eagles' success wasn't just about their draft picks; they had seasoned veterans like Saquon Barkley and Lane Johnson providing the foundation. And the Titans' struggles? They proved that even the finest individual pieces need the right system and supporting cast to succeed.
This dynamic between prediction and reality makes our grading system both fascinating and humbling. While we can evaluate talent with sophisticated metrics, the NFL reminds us that success depends on countless variables beyond raw potential.
How did each team fair in the adjusted grades for their rookies in season performance? Take a look at the final grades and rankings below!
To view the behind-the-scenes matrix on how the grades are created: Click: Here
2024 NFL Rookie Class: Final Grades and Rankings
Click on the team name to see the individual player grades.
Tennessee Titans - 92.00
NY Giants - 90.83
LA Rams - 88.01
Philadelphia Eagles - 83.33
Denver Broncos - 82.65
Tampa Bay Buccaneers - 82.57
Chicago Bears - 81.04
New Orleans Saints - 80.71
Carolina Panthers - 80.13
San Francisco 49ers - 79.50
Washington Commanders - 79.33
Las Vegas Raiders - 79.20
Detroit Lions - 79.10
Jacksonville Jaguars - 78.90
LA Chargers - 77.68
Pittsburgh Steelers - 77.51
Buffalo Bills - 77.48
Houston Texans - 77.20
Seattle Seahawks - 76.74
Cincinnati Bengals - 75.94
Minnesota Vikings - 75.63
Indianapolis Colts - 73.56
Kansas City Chiefs - 73.40
Dallas Cowboys - 72.91
Green Bay Packers - 71.60
Miami Dolphins - 71.17
Arizona Cardinals - 70.62
Baltimore Ravens - 70.45
New England Patriots - 70.26
NY Jets - 69.34
Cleveland Browns - 67.43
Atlanta Falcons - 65.71
Most Significant Grade Shifts: Analyzing the Learning Curve
The dramatic shifts between post-draft and final grades tell a compelling story about the unpredictable nature of rookie development. Several teams experienced notable changes that warrant deeper analysis:
Biggest Risers:
NY Giants (+4.63): Rising from 8th (86.20) to 2nd (90.83), the Giants' draft class, led by A+ performer Malik Nabers, demonstrated how strong talent evaluation can transcend initial projections.
Denver Broncos (+1.65): Climbing from 22nd (81.00) to 5th (82.65), the Broncos' class showed that mid-round value can often exceed expectations.
Significant Declines:
These dramatic falls in ranking highlight the inherent challenge in projecting rookie performance, proving that even the most promising draft classes can struggle to meet pre-season expectations.
Kansas City Chiefs (-13.30, -16 spots): Plummeted from 7th (86.70) to 23rd (73.40)
Miami Dolphins (-13.33, -16 spots): Fell from 10th (84.50) to 26th (71.17)
Pittsburgh Steelers (-10.03, -12 spots): Dropped from 4th (87.54) to 16th (77.51)
This stark variance between initial and final grades reinforces a key educational principle: formative assessments (draft grades) serve as guidelines, but summative assessments (on-field performance) ultimately determine success. The data suggests that even the most thorough pre-draft evaluation systems can't fully account for the complexities of NFL player development.
Post-Draft Team Grades
Philadelphia Eagles - 90.18
Tennessee Titans - 89.75
New Orleans Saints - 88.03
Pittsburgh Steelers - 87.54
Washington Commanders - 87.17
Chicago Bears - 86.76
Kansas City Chiefs - 86.70
NY Giants - 86.20
LA Rams - 86.00
Miami Dolphins - 84.50
Seattle Seahawks - 84.48
Detroit Lions - 84.40
Buffalo Bills - 84.29
Tampa Bay Buccaneers - 84.00
Carolina Panthers - 83.60
Dallas Cowboys - 83.10
San Francisco 49ers - 82.58
LA Chargers - 82.30
Indianapolis Colts - 81.70
Green Bay Packers - 81.50
Cleveland Browns - 81.10
Denver Broncos - 81.00
NY Jets - 80.40
Las Vegas Raiders - 80.30
Cincinnati Bengals - 80.00
Minnesota Vikings - 79.60
Jacksonville Jaguars - 77.90
New England Patriots - 77.90
Houston Texans - 77.30
Baltimore Ravens - 76.36
Arizona Cardinals - 72.10
Atlanta Falcons - 67.77
The Bigger Picture: Learning from 2024
The 2024 draft class revealed a fundamental truth about NFL talent evaluation: the gap between potential and performance isn't just about individual talent—it's about the complex ecosystem where that talent develops. While our grading system provides valuable insights, the dramatic shifts between initial and final grades remind us that player development is as much art as science.
As we look ahead to future drafts, these lessons from 2024 will inform how we evaluate talent, always remembering that our initial grades are just the beginning of a much longer story. In both education and football, after all, it's not just about the potential we see—it's about the journey of realizing it.