The 2020 NFL Draft first round aged like a mix of everything. A few teams landed franchise pieces and would make the exact same pick again without thinking twice. A few others burned premium draft capital on players who never came close to justifying it. That split is what makes this class so fun to revisit now.
This page re-grades every first-round pick from the 2020 NFL Draft with hindsight. These are not draft-night grades. These are outcome grades. That means quarterback value matters, premium positions matter, and actual NFL impact matters more than what anyone thought the ceiling might be back in April 2020.
Some of these are easy. Joe Burrow is still a clear A+. Justin Herbert and Justin Jefferson look like steals even though both were first-rounders. Others are uglier. Jeff Okudah, Isaiah Wilson, Damon Arnette, and Jalen Reagor aged terribly. And then there are the in-between cases, where the player had real ability but the full return still came up light.
Table of Contents
- How These 2020 NFL Draft Grades Were Built
- 2020 NFL Draft Grades
- Biggest Takeaways From the 2020 NFL Draft Grades
- FAQ: 2020 NFL Draft Grades
How These 2020 NFL Draft Grades Were Built
These grades are based on what each team actually got back from the pick. That includes positional value, peak level, consistency, long-term impact, and whether the player lived up to where he was taken. A good player drafted in the top five is not judged the same way as a good player drafted in the 20s. Premium draft capital is supposed to buy premium certainty.
That is why a player like Justin Jefferson can get an A+ even though he was not drafted in the top 10, while a player with some usable NFL snaps can still land in D territory if the return fell way short of the slot. This is about value versus expectation, not just whether the player had a pulse in the league.
SOGSports grades every first-round pick from the 2020 NFL Draft based on NFL career outcomes and long-term value.
2020 NFL Draft Grades
1. Joe Burrow (Cincinnati Bengals) — A+
Drafted: 1st round, 1st overall
Cincinnati got exactly what teams dream about when they take a quarterback first overall. Burrow changed the ceiling of the franchise, gave the Bengals legitimacy, and proved he was worth building around. There is nothing complicated about this one. It is an A+ and one of the easiest grades on the page.
2. Chase Young (Washington Commanders) — B-
Drafted: 1st round, 2nd overall
This grade is always going to split people because the rookie year was strong and the talent was obvious. He won Defensive Rookie of the Year and looked like the start of a superstar. The problem is that the full career arc never became what Washington thought it was getting at No. 2 overall. The 2025 bounce-back helped his case, but a top-two pick is supposed to become a franchise-level force, not a long debate.
3. Jeff Okudah (Detroit Lions) — F
Drafted: 1st round, 3rd overall
This is one of the cleanest Fs in the entire class. Detroit spent a top-three pick on a corner who never became the answer they needed and never got close to delivering value that matched the slot. When a pick this high misses, there is not much room for grade inflation.
4. Andrew Thomas (New York Giants) — A
Drafted: 1st round, 4th overall
People were too quick to judge Thomas early. The long-term result is what matters, and the Giants came away with a real left tackle. That is a major win at a premium position. He is not quite in the A+ bucket because the very top of this class is loaded, but this is still a strong first-round hit.
5. Tua Tagovailoa (Miami Dolphins) — B
Drafted: 1st round, 5th overall
Tua is one of the trickiest grades in the class because there were enough good stretches to see why Miami believed in him, but never enough clarity to make the pick feel like a home run. Starting-caliber quarterback play still carries weight, and that is what keeps him out of the lower range. At the same time, a top-five quarterback pick is supposed to feel cleaner than this.
6. Justin Herbert (Los Angeles Chargers) — A+
Drafted: 1st round, 6th overall
The Chargers got a franchise quarterback at No. 6 and never had to overthink it again. Herbert has the arm, the production, and the type of long-term value that makes this an obvious A+. In hindsight, he is one of the biggest wins from the entire draft.
7. Derrick Brown (Carolina Panthers) — A
Drafted: 1st round, 7th overall
Brown gave Carolina what that kind of pick is supposed to buy: a powerful, disruptive interior defender with real staying power. He may not get the attention some of the offensive names do, but this was a strong top-10 outcome. Carolina absolutely got a good player here.
8. Isaiah Simmons (Arizona Cardinals) — D+
Drafted: 1st round, 8th overall
Simmons was one of the most exciting projection bets in the class, which is exactly why this grade hurts. The tools were wild. The payoff never matched the imagination. There were flashes, but a top-10 pick with this much hype needed to become far more than an occasional talking point.
9. C.J. Henderson (Jacksonville Jaguars) — F
Drafted: 1st round, 9th overall
Jacksonville took a corner in the top 10 and got almost nothing close to that level of return. This is the kind of miss that leaves a hole on a roster for years because the team has to go solve the position all over again. Easy F.
10. Jedrick Wills Jr. (Cleveland Browns) — C
Drafted: 1st round, 10th overall
Wills was not a total disaster, which keeps him above the real misses, but the pick never developed into the kind of anchor Cleveland hoped it was getting at No. 10. For a premium tackle spot, the return just feels underwhelming in hindsight. That lands him in the middle-lower range.
11. Mekhi Becton (New York Jets) — D+
Drafted: 1st round, 11th overall
The size and upside were obvious, but the full return never came close to matching the dream. Injuries and inconsistency got in the way, and the Jets never got the long-term tackle answer they were betting on. There is enough ability there to avoid a flat F, but not enough result to justify much more than this.
12. Henry Ruggs III (Las Vegas Raiders) — D-
Drafted: 1st round, 12th overall
Even before his career ended following a fatal DUI accident in November 2021, this pick was already under pressure because of who the Raiders passed on at the position. He had real speed and real talent, but the outcome is still one of the worst first-round results in the class on every level.
13. Tristan Wirfs (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) — A+
Drafted: 1st round, 13th overall
This is one of the best values from the first round, period. Tampa Bay got one of the best offensive linemen in football outside the top 10. Even with the 2025 injury interruptions, the bigger picture never changed. This was a massive hit and one of the cleanest A+ picks in the whole draft.
14. Javon Kinlaw (San Francisco 49ers) — C-
Drafted: 1st round, 14th overall
Kinlaw is one of those picks where the idea made sense but the outcome never really took off. There were enough moments to avoid a total failure label, but nowhere near enough to feel good about the full investment. For a mid-first-round defensive lineman, this just did not age especially well.
15. Jerry Jeudy (Denver Broncos) — C+
Drafted: 1st round, 15th overall
Jeudy is the classic case of obvious talent and an incomplete payoff. He always looked like a player people wanted to rank on route-running and flashes rather than total impact. There is enough ability and enough real production to stay out of the low range, but this did not turn into the type of first-round weapon Denver probably pictured.
16. A.J. Terrell (Atlanta Falcons) — A-
Drafted: 1st round, 16th overall
Atlanta took some heat for this pick when it happened, and that ended up looking pretty silly. Terrell became a quality starting corner and a much stronger first-round result than several louder names from this class. He was not quite in the very top tier of wins, but he was absolutely a good pick.
17. CeeDee Lamb (Dallas Cowboys) — A+
Drafted: 1st round, 17th overall
Dallas got a true No. 1 receiver in the middle of the first round. That alone is enough to make this a huge win. Lamb is not Justin Jefferson, but he is still one of the best offensive players from the class and one of the best values from Round 1.
18. Austin Jackson (Miami Dolphins) — C-
Drafted: 1st round, 18th overall
Jackson never fully settled into the kind of answer Miami hoped for when it spent a first-round pick on him. He has had usable stretches, which keeps the grade from bottoming out, but the overall return feels light for the slot. This is not a total bust. It is just not a good first-round outcome either.
19. Damon Arnette (Las Vegas Raiders) — F
Drafted: 1st round, 19th overall
Las Vegas spent a first-round pick here and got one of the harshest misses on the entire board. The pick did not work on the field and fell apart off it too. Easy F. No need to overcomplicate it.
20. K’Lavon Chaisson (Jacksonville Jaguars) — D+
Drafted: 1st round, 20th overall
Chaisson had the athletic appeal teams love betting on, but the actual return never justified the first-round investment. There was just not enough real pass-rush impact here. That is a painful miss at a position teams usually want to hit big on.
21. Jalen Reagor (Philadelphia Eagles) — F
Drafted: 1st round, 21st overall
The problem with Reagor is not only that he did not work out. It is also that the Eagles took him one pick before Justin Jefferson. That context makes this one hurt even more. It is one of the easiest Fs in the class.
22. Justin Jefferson (Minnesota Vikings) — A+
Drafted: 1st round, 22nd overall
This is one of the best picks in the entire draft and one of the best values anywhere in Round 1. Jefferson became a superstar and one of the clearest examples of a team getting far more than the slot suggested. Even in 2025, when the touchdowns were unusually low, the overall value was still obvious.
23. Kenneth Murray (Los Angeles Chargers) — C+
Drafted: 1st round, 23rd overall
Murray got the opportunity, but the long-term payoff never really matched the investment. He was not a total washout, which is why the grade stays above the real disappointments. But for a first-round linebacker, the outcome still feels pretty underwhelming.
24. Cesar Ruiz (New Orleans Saints) — B-
Drafted: 1st round, 24th overall
Ruiz does not get a lot of spotlight, but he gave New Orleans a more respectable return than many first-rounders in this class did. He was not a star pick, but the result was solid enough to keep him in the decent range. This is one of those quiet picks that aged better than people might assume.
25. Brandon Aiyuk (San Francisco 49ers) — B
Drafted: 1st round, 25th overall
Aiyuk is one of the harder players to grade right now because the talent says one thing and the current situation says another. At his best, he looked like a much stronger value than No. 25. The knee injury and everything that followed with San Francisco cooled the momentum, but the pick still produced enough real receiver value to land in the B range.
26. Jordan Love (Green Bay Packers) — A
Drafted: 1st round, 26th overall
Love was controversial the second he was drafted, mostly because of what Green Bay was doing at quarterback at the time. Hindsight changed that conversation. Once he got the offense, the tools and the value started looking a lot more real. A franchise-level quarterback outcome at 26 is a strong first-round win.
27. Jordyn Brooks (Seattle Seahawks) — B
Drafted: 1st round, 27th overall
Brooks may not be the flashiest name from the class, but he became a productive player and a perfectly defensible first-round outcome. That matters more than hype on a page like this. Seattle did not get a superstar, but it did get a real player.
28. Patrick Queen (Baltimore Ravens) — B
Drafted: 1st round, 28th overall
Queen never had the smoothest path, but there is enough real production and enough actual NFL value here to say the Ravens got a decent first-round return. He did not become a star, but he also did not crater. In a class with a lot of uglier outcomes, that counts.
29. Isaiah Wilson (Tennessee Titans) — F
Drafted: 1st round, 29th overall
This is one of the worst first-round picks of the era. Tennessee got almost nothing from the selection, and there is really no angle to soften it. Total miss. Easy F.
30. Noah Igbinoghene (Miami Dolphins) — D
Drafted: 1st round, 30th overall
Miami spent a first-round pick here and never got the kind of payoff that makes the investment feel worthwhile. There is enough NFL life in the résumé to keep him from the total-failure bucket, but not enough to feel good about the pick. This one aged poorly.
31. Jeff Gladney (Minnesota Vikings) — N/A
Drafted: 1st round, 31st overall
Gladney gets an N/A because a normal football grade does not feel right here. His career was cut short by his death, and trying to squeeze that into a letter grade next to normal hits and misses would feel off. Rest in Peace.
32. Clyde Edwards-Helaire (Kansas City Chiefs) — D+
Drafted: 1st round, 32nd overall
The Chiefs took a running back at the end of the first round and never got the kind of difference-making payoff that would justify it. He was part of winning teams, which saves the grade from being harsher, but the pick still looks pretty weak when viewed through full hindsight.
Biggest Takeaways From the 2020 NFL Draft Grades
The biggest takeaway is how polarized this first round became. The top of the class produced franchise quarterbacks, elite receivers, high-end linemen, and some real defensive hits. But it also produced a painful number of picks that flamed out fast or never justified the slot.
The other takeaway is that the teams that found true premium talent really separated themselves. Burrow, Herbert, Jefferson, Wirfs, Lamb, Thomas, and Love all look like picks teams would sprint to the podium to make again. That is why the class still feels strong overall even though the miss rate in some parts of the round was ugly.
The last thing that stands out is how badly some position bets aged. Several corners and edge defenders taken early never delivered enough. Some of the safer-looking projection picks ended up being far shakier than expected. That is why hindsight grading this class is so much more interesting than just looking at the draft order again.
Conclusion
The 2020 first round settled into something cleaner than the noise around it suggested. The picks that worked really worked — Burrow, Herbert, Jefferson, Wirfs, Lamb, and Thomas all look like franchise decisions that held up. The ones that failed did so loudly and without much gray area.
What the grades actually show is that draft evaluation in 2020 was still heavily rewarding athletic projection over certainty. The class punished that approach in a lot of spots. The teams that found real players — even unconventional ones — came out looking far smarter than the teams that swung on raw potential at positions that demand immediate impact.
For a broader look at the class, check out the 2020 NFL Draft hub. You can also read the 2020 NFL redraft, the full 2020 NFL Draft rankings, the biggest steals, and the biggest busts.
FAQ: 2020 NFL Draft Grades
Who got the best grade in the 2020 NFL Draft first round?
Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, Tristan Wirfs, CeeDee Lamb, and Justin Jefferson are the clearest A+ picks from the first round.
Who was the biggest bust from the 2020 NFL Draft first round?
Jeff Okudah, Isaiah Wilson, Damon Arnette, C.J. Henderson, and Jalen Reagor are the strongest candidates based on slot versus return.
Which 2020 NFL Draft pick aged the best?
Justin Jefferson has one of the strongest cases because he became a superstar at No. 22 overall, but Herbert and Wirfs are right there too.
Which 2020 NFL Draft first-round pick aged the worst?
Isaiah Wilson is right near the top of that list because Tennessee got almost nothing from a first-round pick. Arnette and Okudah are up there too for different reasons.
Was the 2020 NFL Draft first round good overall?
Yes, but uneven. The highs were extremely high, and the misses were extremely ugly. That mix is what makes the class so memorable.
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