Plenty of people, myself included, have provided instant Draft grades. They are meaningless, though. We cannot say how players will pan out. It takes a few years to properly evaluate a class. What that in mind, let us take a look at the class the Jets took five years ago, the first Draft Mike Tannenbaum ran.
The Jets added a pair of Pro Bowlers in the first round, D'Brickashaw Ferguson and Nick Mangold, who help form the foundation of the team's excellent offensive line. The selection of Ferguson is particularly significant in hindsight since there was a lot of pressure from some quarters to either trade up for Reggie Bush or take Matt Leinart with the pick. Neither of those picks would have panned out as well.
The team also added three valuable reserves who helped a lot on special teams, Eric Smith in the third round and Brad Smith and Leon Washington in the fourth.
In the first three rounds, there were two busts, Kellen Clemens and Anthony Schlegal. Clemens was supposed to be the franchise quarterback of the future but has thrown for 5 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, and a 56.2 rating in 9 career starts. Schlegal, a wild boar hunter, lasted one year as a reserve before being cut.
In the late rounds, where it is difficult to find players, the team added Jason Pociask, a tight end who had 1 catch in 4 games with the Jets and Drew Coleman, who despite all of the criticism he gets, has gotten playing time as a nickel and played well in spurts.
Getting two stars and four other contributors is a Draft that deserves an A to me. How about you?