NFL 2021: Draft

*Legion* wrote:

the Jags taking Etienne

Yeah, Steelers going Harris was disappointment, but widely mocked so I suspected it was coming anyway.

ETN going at 25 was shocking, Jags could definitely use some depth at RB for change of pace, but you don't draft RBBC in round 1.

*Legion* wrote:

Steelers are in win-now mode until Ben finally hangs them up.

I think our next ring comes after he does, so I'd rather we build for it. As long as the Pats don't get to 7 first, it'll be fine.

*Legion* wrote:

I don't think it will be too hard for Pittsburgh to find a decent interior line prospect in day 2. There's a lot of them. Might have a hard time finding an upgrade for Okorafor at left tackle

I think they're penciling him in as the starting LT more because Banner's the better RT, not because they trust Okorafor at LT. I know Okorafor has more LT experience than Banner, but I have a suspicion that by week 1 Okorafor is swing. There are a lot of great tackles in this class, but we just lost an all-time Steelers great in Pouncey, and only have swing backups to take snaps at center right now. I don't really want a camp battle to see whether BJ Finney or Hassenauer wins. I've read a bolder take suggest with some support that the highly decorated RG DeCastro transforms into a center in his 10th year as a pro and we draft a guard, that's how badly we don't want to see it.

Jalen Hurd. He'll be healthy enough to play this year, we swear.

The odds are so stacked against rookies with two consecutive season ending preseason injuries, it's just sad to watch. Bryce Love to the pack?

*Legion* wrote:

How it started vs. how it's going:

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/MtYccLB.jpg)

I think Dalton is a legit (week 1) QB1. Rookie QBs are still rookie QBs, and Fields was drafted after Herbert went last year.

*Legion* wrote:

Bless you Dave.

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/5kEc8zn.jpg)

Sign by Wile E. Coyote, Super Genius.

Emmes wrote:

(stuff)

How are you still only an "Office Linebacker"? You've been here forever.

*Legion* wrote:
Emmes wrote:

(stuff)

How are you still only an "Office Linebacker"? You've been here forever.

Mostly I just joined l4d2 lobbies. Then I used sleeper's chat more than forums, because forums can be a hassle.

Some Day 1 thoughts:

* THANK. YOU. FOOTBALL. GODS.

* I'm not super surprised at Fields not going #3-7, but I would not have guessed he would get past #8 and #9. One weird thing this year has been the trades for players happening before draft weekend. Usually these happen during the draft, when you see how the board plays out. How much of the Panthers passing on Fields is because they already traded a 2nd, 4th, and 6th for Darnold?

* Speaking of #9, not sure how to reconcile the Broncos pushing to trade for Aaron Rodgers with the fact that they didn't take a QB at #9 when the Rodgers deal didn't materialize. I wonder if they're thinking they might still pursue a Rodgers trade? Green Bay says it isn't happening, but Rodgers is the kind of stubborn that might actually see this through. I have to feel like Denver is still keeping themselves available.

* Especially surprised at 3 off-ball LBs going in round 1 and JOK not being one of the three. I referenced Telvin Smith in his writeup, but you can also reference the two best recent off-ball LB draft picks: Darius Leonard and Fred Warner. With the NFL game increasingly using quarters coverage, you need someone in the middle of the second level who can cover a lot of space. JOK has superior coverage skills. He's like a nickel corner that plays linebacker. And the way he flies to the ball in run defense reminds me a lot of Warner.

* Minnesota picking up two 3rd round picks in their trade down, and taking Darrisaw, is low key one of the great moves of round 1.

* We joke about the Packers and not drafting a WR, but I was genuinely shocked when the Packers pick was announced and it wasn't a receiver. Green Bay has a fixation on tall WRs (MVS, Lazard, St. Brown, and Funchess all 6-4 or taller), and so I really though the pick would be Terrace Marshall. And it would have been a great pick IMO.

* Surprised at the Ravens not taking a right tackle with either of those two late 1sts. Not that I have any problem with the picks they did make, but it sure felt like one of those picks was going to fill the Orlando Brown void.

* That said, I am super interested in Jayson Oweh on the Ravens. I assume he's going to stand up and play the "rush" linebacker spot, which is very intriguing. He hasn't developed a natural feel for playing on the line from a 3-point stance anyway, so standing him up out wide and just letting him run at the QB is probably more comfortable for him, and lets him just put that crazy speed to immediate use. One of my favorite scheme fits of the round.

* No safeties in round 1. Safety was one of the hardest spots for me to arrange on my draft guide. I think I had the top 5 guys in every possible order at some point. I do feel rather vindicated that the consensus #1, Trevon Moehrig, who was almost always mocked in round 1, did not in fact go there. I'm holding out hope that someone other than Moehrig is the first safety off the board. Not that I have anything against him, but this is one of the consensus evaluations I most disagreed with. And I'll be super happy if Jamar Johnson is the first safety taken. I didn't see anyone else rank him that highly, but he's the guy I liked the most when I watched the top guys play.

Rams GM Les Snead tested positive for COVID. Fortunately, since Jacksonville has all their draft picks, there wasn't much he needed to do this weekend anyway.

I went to bed early. I am pleasantly surprised that the Browns

1) didn't end up in this thread at all (mostly by not doing something stupid)
2) took the player I wanted (Newsome will be solid for several years if healthy) and
3) seemed to be competent and not do anything stupid,

Now, lets draft some lottery picks at lb, de, and ol and make it a booring draft in CLE!

I am not at all upset with the Ravens draft, but I thought for sure they would trade down into the mid 2nd and take Marshall instead of Bateman.

Oweh is an interesting take. Past performance seems to indicate he is a reach, but his athleticism is freakish. He has boom/bust written all over him. I hope we can get the best out of him.

Nothing really shocking happened; the Bears going up for Fields was a surprise and the poor guy has to be the latest in whatever curse Chicago has on QBs, and Raiders gonna Raider with their picks.

But, good news for Enix; the Panthers did pick up Darnold's fifth year option.

*Legion* wrote:

Some Day 1 thoughts:

...

* I'm not super surprised at Fields not going #3-7, but I would not have guessed he would get past #8 and #9. One weird thing this year has been the trades for players happening before draft weekend. Usually these happen during the draft, when you see how the board plays out. How much of the Panthers passing on Fields is because they already traded a 2nd, 4th, and 6th for Darnold?

Because the Panthers have talked themselves into thinking that Darnold is really good and all he needs is some love and attention from the HC/OC duo that already has run two QBs (Cam and Teddy) out of town.

That's the snarky explanation.

The more reasonable one is (a) the Panthers really do think Darnold is better than Fields based on Darnold's college scouting report, (b) Carolina plays Tampa, ATL and NO twice a year, two (maybe all three) of those teams have terrifying passing attacks, and CAR's defense is baaaaaad, and (c) this is year two of a multi-year tear-down, and that defense needs to get fixed (which is part of the reason Teddy struggled; he's the guy you want if you're up 10, not down 10).

Carolina will be back with a top 10 pick a year from now. Darnold plus A Bunch of Guys is a 5-win team at best.

I'm still trying to figure out why the Jets moved up to 14(!) for a Guard. Why there? Ahead of the Cards?

As far as Najee Harris, well, if the Steelers took him at this spot in the 2020 draft I think we'd all have a right to be angry as that'd be a bad pick. But the 2021 draft isn't quite the 2020 for 1st round talent so it can be understood, if not forgiven.

The Jags taking Etienne makes no sense. None.

Paleocon wrote:

I am not at all upset with the Ravens draft, but I thought for sure they would trade down into the mid 2nd and take Marshall instead of Bateman.

Oweh is an interesting take. Past performance seems to indicate he is a reach, but his athleticism is freakish. He has boom/bust written all over him. I hope we can get the best out of him.

Yeah, Oweh is a ceiling pick because his floor is a black hole. He'll have a chance to develop on the field because there's pretty much no one on the roster longterm as a pass rusher.

garion333 wrote:

I'm still trying to figure out why the Jets moved up to 14(!) for a Guard. Why there? Ahead of the Cards?

As far as Najee Harris, well, if the Steelers took him at this spot in the 2020 draft I think we'd all have a right to be angry as that'd be a bad pick. But the 2021 draft isn't quite the 2020 for 1st round talent so it can be understood, if not forgiven.

The Jags taking Etienne makes no sense. None.

Paleocon wrote:

I am not at all upset with the Ravens draft, but I thought for sure they would trade down into the mid 2nd and take Marshall instead of Bateman.

Oweh is an interesting take. Past performance seems to indicate he is a reach, but his athleticism is freakish. He has boom/bust written all over him. I hope we can get the best out of him.

Yeah, Oweh is a ceiling pick because his floor is a black hole. He'll have a chance to develop on the field because there's pretty much no one on the roster longterm as a pass rusher.

If I were Jamie Robinson, I would be wondering what I did wrong.

I'm not mad the Packers took a CB more that they reached for someone that should of been available at their round 2 spot.

Especially with other defensive players slipping if they didn't get their specific guy it seemed like there would be someone there in round 2.

I dunno about getting a pure down the sideline WR. I would of loved Elijah Moore to come in and be some variation of Randall Cobb 2.0 out of the slot.

jowner wrote:

I dunno about getting a pure down the sideline WR. I would of loved Elijah Moore to come in and be some variation of Randall Cobb 2.0 out of the slot.

I could certainly see getting one of the shorter explosive WRs, but Cobb was a Ted Thompson pick, while every WR Gutekunst has acquired has been a giant. He seems to have a type, so I figured on a pick that would fit that.

Of course, drafting a WR early would already be going against type for Gutekunst. And it didn't happen! So I guess Rodgers can probably look forward to the team drafting Nico Collins in the 5th or something.

I'm not mad the Packers took a CB more that they reached for someone that should of been available at their round 2 spot.

At least your new corner is a good talent scout.

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/PAI50iW.jpg)

EDIT: He's also, ah, quite an expressive lover:

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/Ak5UKpm.jpg)

PFF:

R1 (17) LAS VEGAS RAIDERS: T ALEX LEATHERWOOD, ALABAMA

Pick Grade: Poor

The Las Vegas Raiders have a glaring need at right tackle and made a point to revamp their offensive line this offseason, but there won’t be many who have Alex Leatherwood ranked ahead of Christian Darrisaw and a few others still on the board. Leatherwood comes from a blue-blood program, and that may be coveted more than usual in this unique draft, but he was the No. 9-ranked tackle on PFF’s Big Board and had major issues in pass protection

It's almost like the Raiders don't know who their QB is and how he reacts to pressure.

garion333 wrote:

almost like the Raiders don't know who their QB is and how he reacts to pressure.

How dare you.

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/yscuZyV.jpg)

Hey Legion, I found your post on Big Cat Country.

Possibly related; what the hell?

The Jags beating non-Niners NFC West teams is always like a mini-Christmas. Especially Seattle or LA.

Waking up this morning, getting my last vaccine shot, and basking in the glory of two fresh new rookie franchise QBs... even Baalke drafting a running back in round 1 couldn't ruin this day.

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/OKLsbuB.jpg)

Interesting callback to Carson Palmer. Palmer did exactly what Rodgers is currently threatening to: refuse to report to the team. The Dunn connection seems awfully coincidental. There's no way that situation and how it played out with Palmer hasn't been discussed between Rodgers and Dunn.

Really happy that the Giants were able to salvage something from the Philly/Dallas trade. At the time it happened, I almost threw up...Philly screws the Giants over twice in 6 months. Love the 1st rounder next year and Toney is a player.

Looking forward to draft day 2!

One thing I haven't seen discussed, and I'm eager to see if anyone does, is the question of how much the 49ers getting three extra 3rd round picks from the new minority hiring compensatory program helped them make the aggressive trade up for #3 and taking Lance, both directly and indirectly.

Directly, in the sense that one of those 3rds was part of the compensation package to Miami.

Indirectly, in the sense that the additional picks spread out over 3 years made it easier to give up other draft capital in those 3 years.

Between the trade up for Lance and the trade for Trent Williams, the Niners gave away 5 picks in the top 3 rounds in 2021-2023. That's a lot easier to do when you get 3 compensatory 3rd rounders across those years to help replace them.

If Rodgers really digs in I rather him almost sit the start of the season and let Jordan Love play.

Wait hear me out.

The NFC North is terrible. It's not like Rodgers needs a reps. Find out quickly if Love has got anything.

Let him come back week 4-5 when level heads prevail. Nice and rested and a promise to move him the following offseason after one last NFC championship game debacle. Go 0-3 to really make this excruciating.

jowner wrote:

If Rodgers really digs in I rather him almost sit the start of the season and let Jordan Love play.

Wait hear me out.

The NFC North is terrible. It's not like Rodgers needs a reps. Find out quickly if Love has got anything.

Let him come back week 4-5 when level heads prevail. Nice and rested and a promise to move him the following offseason after one last NFC championship game debacle. Go 0-3 to really make this excruciating.

If this happens, you need to change your avatar to a picture of Rodgers sitting on a couch, until he steps back onto the field.

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/EEkDtsD.jpg)

Alright, round 2 time.

Come on Jags.

Jenkins
JOK
Radunz
Ojulari
Johnson
Freiermuth
One of the top guards
One of the top WRs

Pick two.

Y'all let me know when something exciting happens tonight. We're officially into the Guys I Don't Know part of the draft. Which frankly started by the 20th pick last night.

Tyson Campbell. Meh. Fast and long but not actually that productive.

No way would I have passed on tackles for him.

Enix wrote:

Y'all let me know when something exciting happens tonight. We're officially into the Guys I Don't Know part of the draft. Which frankly started by the 20th pick last night.

This is the "what studly RB does your team take?" round.

jowner wrote:

If Rodgers really digs in I rather him almost sit the start of the season and let Jordan Love play.

Wait hear me out.

The NFC North is terrible. It's not like Rodgers needs a reps. Find out quickly if Love has got anything.

Let him come back week 4-5 when level heads prevail. Nice and rested and a promise to move him the following offseason after one last NFC championship game debacle. Go 0-3 to really make this excruciating.

I'm all for it. It's the Tom Brady Suspension plan. That extra rest helped keep him fresh.