The Sportsletter - Draft Leaps & 1st-Round Sweeps

BY JEFF YODER

APR. 29, 2024 | SUBSCRIBE | WEB VIEW

Welcome Back 👋

A pair of Sunday sweeps headline the weekend’s NBA and NHL playoff recaps, but we have to start with an annual sports media tradition. The dust has settled on the 2024 NFL Draft, one that set attendance records in Detroit with more than 700,000 fans. Over 300 prospects became pros in the last four days. Let’s hand out some team grades, shall we?

Letter Rip!

NFL DRAFT

2024 NFL Draft Grades 📝

Photo: Ryan Kang / Getty Images

NFL Draft Report Cards: 10 Teams Aced the Draft, 5 Flopped, But We Grade 'Em All…

Seven rounds. Three days. Over 250 picks and hundreds of undrafted free agents. The next wave of NFL talent has arrived, and your favorite team likely got better. But how much better? We looked at a collection of draft grades from numerous different sources and came to our own conclusions based on our draft knowledge to hand out ten A-level grades (✅), including two A+ grades for the Bears and Chargers. Five teams “failed” with C-level grades (❌). The rest? Eh, they did alright. Agree or disagree, here is our all-32 NFL Draft grades. You can click the full draft tracker link below to see every pick for all 32 teams and the NFL.com grade, too.

How’d your team do?

Full Draft Tracker, Recap & Team Grades

(Every Pick for All 32 Teams)

2024 NFL Draft (Team Grades)

Arizona Cardinals: Grade (A-) ✅

Atlanta Falcons: Grade (C) ❌

Baltimore Ravens: Grade (B+)

Buffalo Bills: Grade (C+) ❌

Carolina Panthers: Grade (B-)

Chicago Bears: Grade (A+) ✅

Cincinnati Bengals: Grade (B-)

Cleveland Browns: Grade (C) ❌

Dallas Cowboys: Grade (B)

Denver Broncos: Grade (C+) ❌

Detroit Lions: Grade (B)

Green Bay Packers: Grade (B)

Houston Texans: Grade (B+)

Indianapolis Colts: Grade (A-) ✅

Jacksonville Jaguars: Grade (B)

Kansas City Chiefs: Grade (B+)

Las Vegas Raiders: Grade (B-)

Los Angeles Chargers: Grade (A+) ✅

Los Angeles Rams: Grade (B)

Miami Dolphins: Grade (C+) ❌

Minnesota Vikings: Grade (B+)

New England Patriots: Grade (B-)

New Orleans Saints: Grade (A-) ✅

New York Giants: Grade (B+)

New York Jets: Grade (B)

Philadelphia Eagles: Grade (A) ✅

Pittsburgh Steelers: Grade (A) ✅
San Francisco 49ers: Grade (B-)

Seattle Seahawks: Grade (A-) ✅

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Grade (B+)

Tennessee Titans: Grade (A-) ✅

Washington Commanders: Grade (A) ✅

Sporting News: All 32 Draft Classes Ranked From Best to Worst

FOX Sports: Analyzing All 32 Teams’ Draft Classes; Who Gets Top Marks?

AP: NFL Draft Grades: Bears Earn Highest Mark After Landing Caleb Williams & Rome Odunze

NBA PLAYOFFS

'Til Sundown: T-Wolves Complete Sweep

Photo: Christian Petersen / Getty Images

Timberwolves Sweep Suns With Anthony Edwards’ 40-Point Closeout Game 4 (+ All Round 1 Updates)

The first sweep of playoff season came on Sunday night in the desert where one of the NBA’s highly-touted super teams tumbled out in four. The Timberwolves eclipsed the Suns with a Game 4 victory (122-116) and 40 points from Anthony Edwards. Despite all the hype around Phoenix last offseason with the addition of Bradley Beal, it’s an embarrassing first-round exit for the Suns. Minnesota hadn’t won a playoff series in 20 years (2004), and it’s the first playoff series sweep in franchise history. They’ll await the winner of the Nuggets-Lakers series. As of right now? The T-Wolves look like the best team in basketball.

The Rest of the 1st Round: Things got tighter in the other series over the weekend, or at least more interesting. The Pacers and Knicks took 3-1 leads in the East after Jalen Brunson’s 47-point night for New York and injury troubles for Milwaukee against a 3-point-crazed Pacers team. The Magic-Cavs and Clippers-Mavs series are all square at 2-2. The Lakers fended off elimination, at least for the moment. The Thunder are the only other team without a loss, and they could sweep the Pelicans tonight. More of Round 1 on the way shortly...

Eastern Conference (Round 1)

Gm 4: Knicks def. 76ers (97-92)

NYK Leads Series (3-1)

Gm 4: Pacers def. Bucks (126-113)

IND Leads Series (3-1)

Gm 4: Magic def. Cavaliers (112-89)

Series Tied (2-2)

Gm 3: Celtics def. Heat (104-84)

BOS Leads Series (2-1)

Western Conference (Round 1)

Gm 4: Clippers def. Mavericks (116-111)

Series Tied (2-2)

Gm 4: Timberwolves def. Suns (122-116)

MIN Sweeps PHX (4-0)

Gm 3: Thunder def. Pelicans (106-85)

OKC Leads Series (3-0)

Gm 4: Lakers def. Nuggets (119-108)

DEN Leads Series (3-1)

Tonight’s Schedule

Gm 4: Celtics at Heat (7:30 pm ET, TNT)

Gm 4: Thunder at Pelicans (8:30 pm ET, NBATV)

Gm 5: Lakers at Nuggets (10:00 pm ET, TNT)

Yahoo! Sports: Clippers Blow 31-Point Lead But Hang On, Beat Mavs & Tie Series

NHL PLAYOFFS

No Cap: Rangers Roll in 4

Photo: Icon Sportswire / Getty Images

Rangers Spurn Capitals in Game 4 (4-2) to Complete the Sweep & Continue Epic Season

The first sweep of the NHL postseason belongs to the Rangers. The Presidents’ Trophy winners didn’t play their best hockey in the first round, but their regular-season formula continues to pay dividends. When in doubt, let Artemi Panarin lead the charge and rely on Igor Shesterkin to lock down the net. Panarin (1G, 1A) was brilliant once again in last night’s Game 4 win over the Caps. Shesterkin (25 saves) allowed just seven goals in all four games of the series. It’s the first series sweep for the Rangers since 2007, and it’s safe to say the East runs through New York.

The Rest of the 1st Round: The other seven series won’t end in sweeps this week. Both the Lightning and Islanders staved off elimination with Game 4 victories this weekend — the Isles needed double overtime to stay alive. Meanwhile, the West is still up in the air, but all seven remaining series are lopsided (2-1 or 3-1 each).

Eastern Conference (Round 1)

Gm 4: Islanders def. Hurricanes (3-2, 2OT)

CAR Leads Series (3-1)

Gm 4: Lightning def. Panthers (6-3)

FLA Leads Series (3-1)

Gm 4: Bruins def. Maple Leafs (3-1)

BOS Leads Series (3-1)

Gm 4: Rangers def. Capitals (4-2)

NYR Sweep WSH (4-0)

Western Conference (Round 1)

Gm 3: Stars def. Golden Knights (3-2)

VGK Leads Series (2-1)

Gm 4: Avalanche def. Jets (5-1)

COL Leads Series (3-1)

Gm 4: Canucks def. Predators (4-3, OT)

VAN Leads Series (3-1)

Gm 4: Oilers def. Kings (1-0)

EDM Leads Series (3-1)

Tonight’s Schedule

Gm 5: Lightning at Panthers (7:00 pm ET, ESPN)

Gm 4: Stars at Golden Knights (9:30 pm ET, ESPN)

ESPN: How the First Wave of the Stanley Cup Playoffs Will Influence the Rest of the First Round

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