After recapping the NFL Draft last week, I want to talk about the players that actually didn’t hear their names called and the teams that signed them as undrafted free agents. I will analyze those prospects and how they could impact the organizations they signed with.
Make sure to also check out my detailed draft recap!
The 2021 NFL Draft is in the books and as always, we have to analyze what all 32 teams did over the course of three days, to improve their roster. Once again, I will outline the biggest winners and losers, steals and reaches from the eventful extended weekend, according to my draft grades, how teams deployed their resources, how they addressed needs and how it affects players, that are already in the league.
Obviously, the results will only really come in, when we know about what pro players these college prospects have turned into two or three years down the line, but in terms of the way teams operated the whole process and how good I perceive these selections to be, based on my rankings and information (some medicals and character stuff I don’t know about), I will make my judgments.
I will break down every single division in detail on my Youtube channel two weeks from now, after I talk about some of my favorite UDFA signings, and make sure to check out all my positional rankings, big board and much mere right here on this page!
Now that all the positional rankings have been released, it’s time to put it all together and present my personal big board. Since we’re looking at this from an outside perspective, team-specific boards of course will look different. However, I wanted to give a more general overview and just rank the top 100 overall prospects, regardless of position.
As far as injuries and other factors go, I tried to consider injuries, that I can actually project forward, like torn ACLs and Achilles tendons. For prospects like Virginia Tech’s Caleb Farley, Miami’s Jaelan Phillips and Kentucky’s Kelvin Joseph, I just can’t put clean-up back procedures, concussion histories or bad environments around them into relation, so I’m not going to try. Teams that have the medical and background information may want to drop them down the board, because of those factors.
Make sure to check out my in-depth positional breakdowns here and/or on Youtube, for my analysis on all of these players, and feel free to let me know your thoughts!
This is what I came up with:
Now that all the positional rankings have been released, it’s time to put it all together and present my personal big board. Since we’re looking at this from an outside perspective, team-specific boards of course will look different. However, I wanted to give a more general overview and just rank the top 100 overall prospects, regardless of position.
As far as injuries and other factors go, I tried to consider injuries, that I can actually project forward, like torn ACLs and Achilles tendons. For prospects like Virginia Tech’s Caleb Farley, Miami’s Jaelan Phillips and Kentucky’s Kelvin Joseph, I just can’t put clean-up back procedures, concussion histories or bad environments around them into relation, so I’m not going to try. Teams that have the medical and background information may want to drop them down the board, because of those factors.
Make sure to check out my in-depth positional breakdowns here and/or on Youtube, for my analysis on all of these players, and feel free to let me know your thoughts!
This is what I came up with:
We have now reached the end of our positional draft breakdowns, as we discuss the most debated position – the quarterbacks. For this list, I value starter traits over a more complete game coming out of college, if I don’t see the physical capability of becoming a long-term option for a team.
As far as this group of signal-caller goes, I believe there’s a big four, that all deserve to go in the top-ten, because the havey superb athleticism and arm talent, then there’s two guys that are kind of in a tier of their own, in the late first and mid-day two window respectively and after that, there’s a big drop-off to more projects, which aren’t close to being ready to start, but have the tools to develop in the right situation.
Make sure to check out all my other draft write-ups and videos on every single position and feel free to comment here or contact me on my social media channels, which you can find in the toolbar at the top.
Now let’s break down these quarterbacks:
We are back with our final defensive positional breakdowns, as we move on from tight-ends earlier in the week to the safety class. That means we are only one group away – and it’s a big one, talking about quarterbacks – from revealing my combined big board of the top 100 overall prospects in the draft.
As far as this group of safeties goes, the more guys you watch, the more you like it seems. My top ten could all easily go within the first two days, even though there may be only one selected on opening night. Especially with a position like this, there a lot of different skill-sets they may offer and roles they could play at the next level, so I will always try to explain at the end, what I envision them to be.
I also put out a video version of this breakdown. And make sure to check out all the other positional breakdowns I have already put out and come back next Tuesday, for my analysis of the top quarterbacks.
We are pretty much exactly two weeks away from this year’s NFL Draft kicking off and the end of my positional breakdowns is in sight, with tight-ends and safety this week, before we finish up with the quarterbacks and then I present my overall big board.
I think it’s kind of funny that in a year, where we have one of the most special talents at the tight-end position in a long time, the class as a whole is as weak as we have seen for a pretty much equal stretch. Obviously, there is number one and then everybody else in this class, but I think there is clear-cut second choice and then there’s three more names that I think deserve day two consideration. After that, it’s very slim pickings, and almost everybody else comes in with serious question marks.
Make sure to check back tomorrow on my Youtube channel or Friday here on this page for my breakdown of this safety class, which offers a lot more depth.
Here is the list:
After talking about the top wide receivers available earlier this week, we are looking at the guys, who will be covering them at the next level. We are including slot and outside corners, which I will differentiate or tell you what I see them as at the end of my individual write-ups.
The top 15 or so all deserve top 100 overall prospect consideration and there will be double-digits in my personal big board most likely. My top three is very much in line with what the consensus rankings seem to be, but from that point on, I differentiate myself to most people out there.
Please remember that these rankings are purely based on the tape and not considering any injury or personal concerns. Washington’s Elijah Molden and Oregon’s Jevon Holland almost exclusively played nickel in college, but will find their names on the safety list next week, since I project them to be classified that way, when they don’t line up in the slot.
Continuing our series of positional draft breakdowns, we have finished up all members of the box on either side of the ball and now move to the guys further away from the ball, catching and defending passes. Today, we are starting with an impressive group of wide receivers.
As we move more and more to wide-open passing attacks at the collegiate game, the quality of players on the receiving end continues to improve. This year, we once again have some tremendous talent at the top and depth throughout the class. My WR20 could be a day two pick in most other years. And it really depends on flavor and scheme fit, where some of these names ultimately go.
Make sure to check out all my other positional breakdowns here and on my Youtube channel!
Now let’s talk about this crop of receivers:
Finishing with these players in the trenches, we are looking at the interior defensive line. This group includes everything from players, who will primarily line up head-up on the offensive tackle to straight over the center. I will always mention with specific alignment I believe fits the individual players best, although with many hybrid fronts we see in the NFL, most guys will be moving around – especially on passing downs.
This group has been called one of the weakest ones throughout the draft process and when I compare it to some of the classes we have seen these last several years, I certainly don’t think it matches up with them. At best, I believe two of them will be drafted in the first round and I wouldn’t be totally shocked the first one comes off in the late twenties. However, I think there could be some valuable players on day two and even beyond that. Four of my top five prospects I would classify as three-techniques (so shaded to the outside shoulder of the guard), but after that there are several names, who will play head-up or shaded to one side of the center.
Make sure to check out my video breakdown of the top interior offensive linemen!
But now let’s get into this list:
After breaking down the top offensive tackles and edge rushers last week, we are now moving on to the interior, once again starting with the offensive side of the ball. As always, I threw guards and centers together, since many of them have the flexibility to play both and those positions demand very similar skill-sets, while I explain in the hand what I think the individual prospects project best as.
Once again, I solely evaluate the players I see on tape here, regardless of any medical conditions or off-field concerns. My number two for example might be ready for training camp, since he suffered a rather severe injury in December only. Of course versatility is a big plus, but I’m basically putting together a general big board here, which doesn’t consider specific team needs.
This class to me is actually one that isn’t talked about enough. While we may only see a couple taken in the first round, I think day two will be loaded with talented players from this group and I have identified a few potential starters, who could go on the third day of the draft as well.
Here’s my list:
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