2021 NFL Draft Thread

[CWood21]

10 hours ago, JBURGE said:

I love it for all teams involved honestly. 

SF is comfortable with their choice of the QBs that will be there (there will be 3), and they have a strong roster

Miami is comfortable knowing likely 4 QBs go ahead of 6 and they have their choice of non QBs (my guess is between Sewell, Chase, Pitts)

Philly gets an extra 1st knowing they won't get a QB, their roster is old and bad. With the Wentz trade they may have 3 1st's in 2022

I think at this point teams know who is going #1 (Lawrence) and #2 (likely Wilson).  The draft really began at 3 because Miami just invested a FRP into Tua, so they don't really need a QB.  They were more likely to trade out of that spot, which means that if you want to guarantee your QB then you had to move up to 3.  The Falcons are unofficially on the clock.

For Miami, they probably wanted one of the WRs/TEs (Chase, Smith, or Pitts), but knew taking them at 3 wasn't good value.  And it likely means they didn't feel that they needed Sewell.  Philly need assets more than anything else.  They weren't going to have a good team so selling the farm for a QB seemed unwise at best.

[ThatJerkDave]

I don't think it is thread worthy, but I did my first draft sim on TDN.  I don't think that I addressed the need for an OT as well as we needed, the board never fell to me the way I wanted at that position, but as you will see, the first round fell to where I kind of had to, right?  No trades, I am just going to list in order to save space:

Kwity Paye EDGE Michigan (29), Brevin Jordan TE Miami (62), Shaun Wade CB Ohio State (92), Marvin Wilson DT Florida State (135), Walker Little OT Stanford (142), Simi Fehoko WR Stanford (173), Tyree Gillespie S Missouri (178), Jermar Jefferson RB Oregon State (214), Brenden Jaimes OT Nebraska (220), Lorenzo Neal DT Purdue (256)

Is it too frivolous to take Paye and Jordan if they are there? Paye is in the mold of Gary, and Jordan looks like a guy that LeFleur would love; and the board wasn't great for me at that point either.  I like Wade, and think he has potential.  Fehoko was a WR at a spot in the draft where I didn't really like my other options and looks like a Gute WR at 6'4 227. 

My biggest concern is that this undoubtedly means that we rely on Turner to play LT and a less talented rookie at RT for at least a little of the season.  I probably should have gone with Eichenburg or Radunz at OT in the first (they went to the Chiefs and Jags respectively), but didn't I really have to make the Paye selection?

[CWood21]

1 minute ago, ThatJerkDave said:

Is it too frivolous to take Paye and Jordan if they are there? Paye is in the mold of Gary, and Jordan looks like a guy that LeFleur would love; and the board wasn't great for me at that point either.  I like Wade, and think he has potential.  Fehoko was a WR at a spot in the draft where I didn't really like my other options and looks like a Gute WR at 6'4 227. 

Paye is probably too good of value to pass up on.  I'm not the biggest fan of his, but given his workouts he's a top 15 lock IMO.  Taking Brevin Jordan seems unnecessary given how much we've invested into the TE position thus far.  Wade and Wilson suck.  Little and Jefferson are good value, but other than that meh.

[ThatJerkDave]

18 minutes ago, Dubz41 said:

Now that the underwear olympics aren't happening, it's fun to watch folks get all excited over the numbers being reported at the pro days.  Please keep in mind that a lot of these participants took the year off of football to practice their technique for running a forty yard dash that they'll never replicate on the field.  Don't get blinded by the timings, this is going to be the biggest crap shoot draft so far in our lifetime.  On the other hand.....if someone's RAS score is poor? Turn and run away.  Mayfield may be one of the most overrated players this year.  Definitely NOT first round RAS.

That was pretty disappointing to me.  I saw a lot of the mocks and he always seemed to be in that 26-36 range that he may be available and fits a need.  He is big, he played at Michigan.  I felt that he would be a safe pick if we don't get exactly what we want.  But that low RAS probably takes him out of Gute's consideration, and really should give most people pause.  

[ThatJerkDave]

3 minutes ago, CWood21 said:

Paye is probably too good of value to pass up on.  I'm not the biggest fan of his, but given his workouts he's a top 15 lock IMO.  Taking Brevin Jordan seems unnecessary given how much we've invested into the TE position thus far.  Wade and Wilson suck.  Little and Jefferson are good value, but other than that meh.

Right? I kind of had to take him, even though it made me have to take lesser talent for OT, CB, and DL than I wanted.  I think it also kind of screwed up the draft from there.  I really liked a lot of the guys that went in the second round.  There was also a pretty good run on WRs right before my second pick, and I felt that Jordan was the best pass catcher available.

Wilson was just a pick I threw at a DL because we need rotational help and he was their highest rated DL on the board, and I didn't like my options at that point. Why don't you like Wade? The small amount that I have seen of him, I thought he was pretty good.  I am no expert though. 

[CWood21]

Just now, ThatJerkDave said:

Right? I kind of had to take him, even though it made me have to take lesser talent for OT, CB, and DL than I wanted.  I think it also kind of screwed up the draft from there.  I really liked a lot of the guys that went in the second round.  There was also a pretty good run on WRs right before my second pick, and I felt that Jordan was the best pass catcher available.

Wilson was just a pick I threw at a DL because we need rotational help and he was their highest rated DL on the board, and I didn't like my options at that point. Why don't you like Wade? The small amount that I have seen of him, I thought he was pretty good.  I am no expert though. 

LIS, he won't be there, but if he is there the value is there and the positional value is there even if the positional need isn't there.  I just don't see how Jordan is the BPA, and I definitely don't see the need here.  Think this is where you're looking for one of those "value" CBs.  You're probably not finding a starting-caliber OT here.  Don't get me wrong, that's probably the right place for Wilson to go but he was so bad this year.  We were talking about him as a FRP a year ago, and now we're talking about him being a potential Day 3 pick.  Saying Wade sucks is probably an overstatement, but he's a pure slot CB.  There's just not the physical tools to be a boundary CB.  You watch him play last year, and his mouth made more waves then his actual play did.  He's a pure slot CB for me.

[ThatJerkDave]

1 minute ago, CWood21 said:

LIS, he won't be there, but if he is there the value is there and the positional value is there even if the positional need isn't there.  I just don't see how Jordan is the BPA, and I definitely don't see the need here.  Think this is where you're looking for one of those "value" CBs.  You're probably not finding a starting-caliber OT here.  Don't get me wrong, that's probably the right place for Wilson to go but he was so bad this year.  We were talking about him as a FRP a year ago, and now we're talking about him being a potential Day 3 pick.  Saying Wade sucks is probably an overstatement, but he's a pure slot CB.  There's just not the physical tools to be a boundary CB.  You watch him play last year, and his mouth made more waves then his actual play did.  He's a pure slot CB for me.

I didn't realize Wade was probably a slot only guy.  I haven't seen a lot of him, just an early mock from months ago that had him going to us in the first.  I watched a couple of highlights and I liked it just fine.  Probably more than Asante Samuel, but I have been wrong before.  I do think we need to find an outside CB this draft, whether he sees a lot of playing time this season or not.  I think Ka'dar can do it, but I also think that he will always be a player where you wish he was better.

[MantyWrestler]

16 hours ago, vegas492 said:

Bolton the ILB from Missouri should be on the list.

I hope for Marshall (WR) in the second round.  I think he's undervalued on the mock sims that I run.  Bateman should be gone, but I like keeping him on the list.

Regarding the OT's...I've only watched Mayfield on your list.  But if he's on there, Walker Little needs to be on there.  He's got much better feet and some really solid tape from his sophomore season.

I think Little is pretty underrated. Didn’t play last year and hurt the year before has people thinking he has long term injury concerns but I believe he just opted out. He and Cosmi are 2 of the better pass protectors who will (should) be available end of 1st early second or even later. Only issue I see with these 2 is that they really don’t fit the mold the Packers like of OL who can play multiple positions. 

[incognito_man]

9 hours ago, CWood21 said:

If you say so.

Literally, I'm correct. The future hasn't happened yet...

[Leader]

7 minutes ago, incognito_man said:

Literally, I'm correct. The future hasn't happened yet...

Which is an assumption. How do you know that we're not reliving it?

[Joe]

12 hours ago, CWood21 said:

Philly need assets more than anything else.  They weren't going to have a good team so selling the farm for a QB seemed unwise at best.

Philly's quite content with Hurts, but they need an offensive line BADLY. They've been relying on a late 30's Jason Peters for far too long and Dillard hasn't exactly worked out as a long-term solution at LT. They drafted Jack Driscoll last year so we'll see what happens there; obviously Lane Taylor is excellent on the other side provided he can stay healthy. Their IOL is much worse and they'll probably go Guard early to shore up that OL. On the other hand, that unit can't seem to stay healthy, which is why their lack of depth has been exposed the last two seasons. It'll be interesting to see what a new coaching staff will bring. Their Secondary is pretty bad as well.

 

4 hours ago, MantyWrestler said:

I think Little is pretty underrated. Didn’t play last year and hurt the year before has people thinking he has long term injury concerns but I believe he just opted out. He and Cosmi are 2 of the better pass protectors who will (should) be available end of 1st early second or even later. Only issue I see with these 2 is that they really don’t fit the mold the Packers like of OL who can play multiple positions. 

LIS in another thread: Little is elite in pass-pro, but he's HORRIBLE as a run blocker. I wouldn't lose my mind if we drafted him, but if he's the first and/or only Tackle we drafted, I'd be pretty upset unless he's manning the LT position until Bakh returns. We tend to run heavily to the right anyway IMO so we could kick Turner back to the right side of the OL where he belongs and as long as Little is healthy, I think he's plug-n-play at LT TBH so long as he doesn't have to run block that often and/or gets help in that depth from Lewis and an H-back.

[MantyWrestler]

1 hour ago, Joe said:

Philly's quite content with Hurts, but they need an offensive line BADLY. They've been relying on a late 30's Jason Peters for far too long and Dillard hasn't exactly worked out as a long-term solution at LT. They drafted Jack Driscoll last year so we'll see what happens there; obviously Lane Taylor is excellent on the other side provided he can stay healthy. Their IOL is much worse and they'll probably go Guard early to shore up that OL. On the other hand, that unit can't seem to stay healthy, which is why their lack of depth has been exposed the last two seasons. It'll be interesting to see what a new coaching staff will bring. Their Secondary is pretty bad as well.

 

LIS in another thread: Little is elite in pass-pro, but he's HORRIBLE as a run blocker. I wouldn't lose my mind if we drafted him, but if he's the first and/or only Tackle we drafted, I'd be pretty upset unless he's manning the LT position until Bakh returns. We tend to run heavily to the right anyway IMO so we could kick Turner back to the right side of the OL where he belongs and as long as Little is healthy, I think he's plug-n-play at LT TBH so long as he doesn't have to run block that often and/or gets help in that depth from Lewis and an H-back.

I think your a little harsh about Little’s run blocking. Is he a power guy, no but we run more of a zone scheme and his athleticism works for that. Not my first pick at OT but a pretty good prospect. 

[cannondale]

Everyone just assumes the 49ers win that trade. But when is the last time giving up the farm worked ?? RGII nope, Goff nope, Trubisky nope. Julio Jones ??

[Leader]

1 hour ago, cannondale said:

Everyone just assumes the 49ers win that trade. But when is the last time giving up the farm worked ?? RGII nope, Goff nope, Trubisky nope. Julio Jones ??

Nothing's ever guaranteed - for any team.
However, as I heard it explained makes sense.....

1. They've a starting QB they're not sold on and who they would prefer not keeping beyond this contract.

2. They've quite a few of first rounders / high draft picks who's contracts will be coming due in the next few years. 

3. This is said to be a good year for college QB. Next year (Jimmy G's last contract year before going UFA) - not as much.

4. So - why not "pull a Packers" (?) and draft the heir apparent QB while you still have your starter?  In other words, (hopefully) keep winning. 

Then you dump Jimmy - which leaves you with your cheaper / uber talented "new franchise QB" - plus cash to pay the rest of the roster.

Now - will the QB they select become the next best thing?

See above: nothing's ever guaranteed  -  but  - they've laid the groundwork to get rid of the most expensive player (they dont want anyway) - sign their top talent during a period of cap expansion and not have to assign mountains of debt to the future. 

Ask me - it was a smart move.

[Joe]

1 hour ago, MantyWrestler said:

I think your a little harsh about Little’s run blocking. Is he a power guy, no but we run more of a zone scheme and his athleticism works for that. Not my first pick at OT but a pretty good prospect. 

Look at his tape. LIS in the other thread, he can stone his guy but can't move him and there were tons of examples against Notre Dame where he almost just let his guy go - waist bender and tries to let his upper body strength do the work for him. It's mediocre at the collegiate level and flat out unacceptable at the pro level. He's better in a quick-hit, pass happy offense.

 

Just now, Leader said:

Nothing's ever guaranteed - for any team.
However, as I heard it explained makes sense.....

1. They've a starting QB they're not sold on and who they would prefer not keeping beyond this contract.

2. They've quite a few of first rounders / high draft picks who's contracts will be coming due in the next few years. 

3. This is said to be a good year for college QB. Next year (Jimmy G's last contract year before going UFA) - not as much.

4. So - why not "pull a Packers" (?) and draft the heir apparent QB while you still have your starter?  In other words, (hopefully) keep winning. 

Then you dump Jimmy - which leaves you with your cheaper / uber talented "new franchise QB" - plus cash to pay the rest of the roster.

Now - will the QB they select become the next best thing?

See above: nothing's ever guaranteed  -  but  - they've laid the groundwork to get rid of the most expensive player (they dont want anyway) - sign their top talent during a period of cap expansion and not have to assign mountains of debt to the future. 

Ask me - it was a smart move.

I thought they would trade Jimmy G, but once New England resigned Cam I knew they'd wait for Jimmy's contract to expire. Note the type of talent Bill's been bringing in during this offseason. I'm willing to bet Bill drafts a bunch of defensive players and a bunch of dudes that don't look sexy on paper, but it all comes together when Jimmy G heads back to New England next year.