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2016 NFL Draft winners and losers

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With the 2016 NFL Draft in the books, let's assess which teams and individuals came out furthest ahead - and which ones received our lowest marks.

For a list of grades for all 32 teams, click here.

Now, on to the biggest winners and losers.

Winners | Losers

Winners

Jaguars

When in the history of the draft has a team left with the two best players? It should be impossible to pull off such a heist.

Yet, the Jacksonville Jaguars may have just accomplished it. General manager Dave Caldwell must have been doing flips when cornerback Jalen Ramsey, considered by many to be the best overall talent in this class, fell into his lap at No. 5 overall.

Then Caldwell and co. must have endured an excruciating 24 hours as they watched linebacker Myles Jack - a player some called the draft's best and someone with whom the Jaguars were reportedly enamored with - fell out of the first round due to medical concerns.

Caldwell saw his opportunity and struck, trading up (while surrendering only a fifth-round pick) to snatch Jack away from other teams near the top of the second round.

It's now playoffs or bust for Caldwell and head coach Gus Bradley in Jacksonville. With such an improbable draft haul, their tickets to January football may have been punched.

Cowboys

No NFL owner enjoys making a big splash more than the Dallas Cowboys' Jerry Jones, and he certainly accomplished that with each of his first two picks: Ezekiel Elliott and Jaylon Smith.

But these aren't necessarily classic Jerry picks. Each carries some risk, but addresses a major need for the team. If both picks hit, they will give the Cowboys a major boost in both the immediate future and over the long haul.

Smith can be considered a winner of sorts, too. The major knee injury he suffered in his final game of college football did cause him to slide in the draft, but not nearly as far as many predicted.

Smith was scooped up by Dallas early in the second round. With the Cowboys, he'll have the chance to rehabilitate his injury with the same doctor who performed his surgery overseeing his progress.

Robert Griffin III

Not only did the Cleveland Browns trade down from the second overall pick, giving up the chance to draft Jared Goff or Carson Wentz in the process, they didn't address their glaring need for a young quarterback until the third round.

New Browns head coach Hue Jackson says fans need to trust him and have faith that rookie Cody Kessler has the tools to become a starter one day, but the rookie doesn't look like a threat to ascend the depth chart any time soon.

That's excellent news for Robert Griffin III, who now only needs to hold off Josh McCown to earn a starting job that looked highly improbable only a few short months ago.

Marcus Mariota

The Tennessee Titans said their top priority this offseason is protecting second-year passer Marcus Mariota, and they delivered on that promise in a big way.

After trading down from the first overall pick to stockpile selections, the Titans traded back into the top 10 to grab mauling right tackle Jack Conklin, fortifying Mariota's first line of defense.

Then the Titans used one of the picks acquired from the Los Angeles Rams to add beastly running back Derrick Henry to their improving arsenal of offensive weapons.

Mariota was under constant assault behind a shaky offensive line as a rookie, and had nothing resembling a competent running back behind him to force defenses to stay honest. Now, he has better protection and a much improved backfield.

Rex Ryan

Late in the 2015 season, with the Bills' playoff hopes on life support, there were whispers that head coach Rex Ryan might be one-and-done. The defense underachieved in a big way, and the entire team seemed distracted by Ryan's idiosyncrasies - like his unhealthy desire to punish his former team, the Jets, for firing him.

Now, only a few months later, it's clear that Ryan has reasserted himself as the most powerful force within the Bills' organization. The team spent its first three draft picks to bolster Ryan's defense, including a first-rounder on Clemson's Shaq Lawson.

Yes, Clemson. Rex Ryan's favorite school.

The Bills eventually took a quarterback - Ohio State's Cardale Jones - in the fourth round, but they will once again sink or swim with Ryan's defense leading the charge.

Next: See the draft's biggest losers

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