Kiper's Round 1 winners, question marks, more
-- Well, Day 1 of the 2017 NFL draft?was eventful, right? We started the day thinking top quarterback Mitchell Trubisky would go No. 1 overall,?and then we thought he might fall out of the top 10, and then the Bears pulled off a stunner to move up to No. 2 and take him. That's the draft for you.
So here are the moves I liked from the first round, along with some that provide more questions than answers, with a few nuggets in between.?If you don't see your team here, remember, I'm going to break down all 32 teams?in my draft grades?on Saturday night.
Winners
1. San Francisco 49ers
The Niners are the early favorite to earn an A in my post-draft grades, making two trades and getting two prospects I ranked in my top eight. To move down one spot from No. 2 to No. 3 with the Bears, they also got picks Nos.?67 and 111 this year and a third-round pick in 2018. That's a heist. Then the Niners got their guy anyway, adding defensive lineman Solomon Thomas, a versatile pass-rusher who had a dominant 2016 season.
San Francisco also used pick No. 34 at the top of the second round and the No. 111 pick it got from the Bears to move up to No. 31 and take Reuben Foster, the best inside linebacker in the draft. Off-field issues caused him to drop, but Foster's talent is undeniable. On talent alone, he's a top-five prospect.
In the first draft of the John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan era, San Francisco?got the best value of any team. And with needs across the roster, that's a good first step. Now, the 49ers still have a quarterback issue, but this is going to be a long rebuild. I wouldn't be surprised if they take a flier on a developmental QB in the middle rounds. They have two picks each in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth rounds.
2. New York Jets
3. Cleveland Browns
You can argue that they passed on all of the quarterbacks -- and remember, they passed on Carson Wentz last year, too -- but I don't fault the Browns for not taking Deshaun Watson at No. 12 and moving back. He was my No. 3-ranked quarterback and 34th-ranked player overall. They didn't reach for a quarterback they didn't love, and they got a future first-round pick. The Browns now have five picks in the top two rounds next year.
They're going to need a quarterback at some point. I know. But Cody Kessler was decent as a rookie, and he likely was going to take most of the snaps in 2017, anyway. Cleveland will be in the market for a quarterback next year, and the Browns got better today. That's big for their future.