2021 NFL Draft Thread

[Humble_Beast]

2 minutes ago, jimkelly02 said:

I like Mond too but think he’s a 3/4 and long gone by our 5th.

i would like to grab a top UDFA TE to develop and replace nick bowers... mainly because of my petty beef with him... but also because eventually we gotta replace carrier. he got all the UDFA money last year and out UDFA was a joke.  Matt Bushman of BYU would be nice... it’s hard to guess TE UDFAs this year IMO because there all over the board ranking wise.

our UDFA free class of 2020 class sucked so bad, the 2021 UDFA class should have it easy to make the practice squad this year. 

[jimkelly02]

14 minutes ago, Humble_Beast said:

our UDFA free class of 2020 class sucked so bad, the 2021 UDFA class should have it easy to make the practice squad this year. 

I called that the minute the list was announced and a lot of people said “how do you know who will be good and not”.... well I was right.  Horrible 

[NYRaider]

1 hour ago, jimkelly02 said:

I called that the minute the list was announced and a lot of people said “how do you know who will be good and not”.... well I was right.  Horrible 

Mayock said they avoided bringing in UDFA guys because of how the off-season went with every little practice time until 2 weeks before the season starts. 

[big_palooka]

10 hours ago, NYRaider said:

I was listening to an NFL draft podcast and one of the hosts was talking about safeties and he said when you look at safeties guys that are ball hawks in college typically are ball hawks in the NFL as well. 

Andre Cisco comes with some risk but there's no denying his playmaking ability. He had 13 INT and 14 pass breakups in 24 games at Syracuse. He'll need to clean some things up but I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he ends up being the best safety from the draft class. 

Then you should like Holland, he's an absolute ballhawk with next level ball skills. And he can play any spot include single high if you know what you're lookin at.

[oakdb36]

I like Herbert on day 3. He's a younger, faster, cheaper Jalen Richard. But watch #77! Darrisaw has to be the pick if he makes it to 17.

[roi34]

CHAZZ SURRATT would be interesting in later round, good speed.. needs to gain little size but can be good blitzing LB possibly cover too. 

[OnlyGlove]

I don't like any of the Pitts D-line guys at all, but Tulane guys got me interested. 

[massraider]

11 hours ago, NYRaider said:

https://www.nfl.com/prospects/jordan-smith/3200534d-4944-3087-812a-0dec70b60ff6

 

Got a little Dion Jordan movement there.  

Where's his testing numbers?

Edited April 5, 2021 by massraider

[OnlyGlove]

Chris Sims thinks Azeez Ojulari is more of a LB and  more of a second round player.  

 

If he's available at 48 I think we'd be crazy not to take him.

 

I'm going to try and watch more games on Holland and Oweh

[NYRaider]

3 hours ago, big_palooka said:

Then you should like Holland, he's an absolute ballhawk with next level ball skills. And he can play any spot include single high if you know what you're lookin at.

Holland has ball skills, just not sure if he has the speed or range to play exclusively in single high. 

[NYRaider]

1 hour ago, massraider said:

Got a little Dion Jordan movement there.  

Where's his testing numbers?

His pro day is April 9th. 

Quote

Smith signed with the University of Florida out of Lithonia High School in Georgia, where he was an all-state pick his senior season. He redshirted his first year in Gainesville before being suspended indefinitely in 2017 after he was alleged to have been involved with a credit card fraud scheme. Smith received two years of probation after pleading no contest to a third-degree felony. He transferred to Butler Community College (Kansas) for 2018, racking up 77 tackles, 22.5 for loss, with 11 sacks in 12 games for the Grizzlies. Smith signed with UAB in 2019, and the move paid immediate dividends as he earned second-team All-Conference USA honors after leading the squad with 17.5 tackles for loss and 10 sacks (among 53 total stops). He also tied for fourth in the nation with four forced fumbles in 14 games (13 starts). Smith was a first-team all-conference pick in 2020 after again leading the Blazers with 9.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks among 43 stops. He also intercepted one pass in nine starts. Smith accepted an invitation to the Senior Bowl. -- by Chad Reuter

 

[Jeremy408]

1 minute ago, NYRaider said:

Holland has ball skills, just not sure if he has the speed or range to play exclusively in single high. 

“He was most often used in the slot at Oregon, on 68% of his snaps to be exact per PFF.”

[NYRaider]

1 minute ago, Jeremy408 said:

“He was most often used in the slot at Oregon, on 68% of his snaps to be exact per PFF.”

During his final season at Oregon he only played 24 snaps at FS. 

[Jeremy408]

1 minute ago, NYRaider said:

During his final season at Oregon he only played 24 snaps at FS. 

Yea... See that matters. He didn’t really get recognized by being a very good majority of the time deep safety; he’s recognized because he’s one of the best slot corners in this draft supposedly. If we drafted him on the second day (which is what A really good slot corner is worth) we’re asking him to play what is essentially out of position for him and play none of what actually got him recognized. 

[NYRaider]

5 minutes ago, Jeremy408 said:

Yea... See that matters. He didn’t really get recognized by being a very good majority of the time deep safety; he’s recognized because he’s one of the best slot corners in this draft supposedly. If we drafted him on the second day (which is what A really good slot corner is worth) we’re asking him to play what is essentially out of position for him and play none of what actually got him recognized. 

As a freshman: 280 snaps at FS, 213 snaps at SCB, 121 snaps in the box, 1 snap at CB

As a sophomore: 24 snaps at FS, 591 snaps at SCB, 179 snaps in the box, 28 snaps at CB

So now he's a year removed from playing football in general and 2 years removed from playing FS. Almost every scouting report on Holland says that his best fit is to be in a split safety system that allows him to come play in the slot. Even during his freshman season when he did play FS he was only there for about half of his snaps with the other half coming in the slot/in the box. 

I wouldn't mind Holland in the third round as I think he'd provide value as a 3rd/4th safety and a guy that can play nickel CB. But I wouldn't trust him as a plug and play starter at FS. 

Quote

At Oregon, Holland predominantly lines up in the nickel for the Ducks as they run a variety of nickel and dime sets defensively. However, this makes it a strenuous task to figure out where to fit him in at the next level. While he can match up with tight ends down the field with a high-level of muscle, his hips and feet remain a bit stiff, putting him at a disadvantage against wide receivers in the slot in man coverage.

The next level of frequency where Holland plays is in the box with the big boys along the Oregon defensive front. While he is intelligent, Holland struggles to disengage blockers and can get washed relatively easily in the trenches. At the next level, this will prove to be a difficult task to overcome unless he can add this element of his game to his portfolio in his Junior season.

He is not a sure tackler in space, another area to improve upon this season, and is not a next-level athlete to overcome some of the flaws in is technique. Mainly this would not be an issue as most deep safeties struggle with these above flaws in Holland’s game, however, the Oregon safety has not shown the common ability to play in the deep second or third parts of the field in coverage.

Quote

“As a starting nickel cornerback, he showcases the potential to be one of the best out there. However, it could also be a highly useful tool to expand his versatility as a safety. Either way, Holland has a high ceiling as a playmaker for any football team.”

While the nickel is his most likely landing position in the NFL, he would be an excellent fit in a 4-2-5 system (four defensive linemen, two linebackers, and five defensive backs) as an overhang or rover where he would be asked to set the edge, blitz, and play in coverage. However, as an overhang, he would more than likely see most of his man coverage reps against tight ends and running backs, where Holland showed most of his promise in 2019.

Quote

Versatile defensive back with good size, above-average instincts and impressive ball skills. Holland plays with good pattern recognition and anticipation underneath. He has the ball greed and competitiveness to make contested catches a challenge for opponents. He's willing and able in run support near the line of scrimmage, giving him value as a big nickel, but he lacks recovery burst and will struggle if he's matched one-on-one with speed from the slot. He has the football IQ and ball skills to handle split-safety duties but needs to continue fine-tuning his tackling technique. His added value as a punt returner should push him up the board a few spots.