NFL Draft 2021 NFL

[Tom]

Pick 86, Minnesota Vikings: Wyatt Davis, OG, Ohio State​

There's a lot to like about Davis (6-foot-4, 315). He started 24 games at right guard and was a two-time first-team all-American. He should be able to compete for a starting job right away in Minnesota.

Grade: B

Pick 87, Pittsburgh Steelers: Kendrick Green, G/C, Illinois
Green (6-foot-2, 305) started 33 games — 29 at left guard and four at center. He tested well athletically and should be able to play any of the three interior offensive line positions. Given the Steelers' need up front, they'll likely count on Green to play right away. He has the ability to help them in 2021.

Grade: A

Pick 88, San Francisco 49ers: Trey Sermon, RB, Ohio State
He started his career at Oklahoma before transferring to Ohio State. Sermon had 2,946 rushing yards and 26 touchdowns while averaging 6.5 YPC during his college career. He also caught 48 balls for 486 yards and three scores.

It's fair to wonder whether Kyle Shanahan should ever use a top-100 pick on a running back, but Sermon should be a good scheme fit in San Francisco.

Grade: B-

Pick 89, Houston Texans: Nico Collins, WR, Michigan
The Texans moved up 20 spots, trading picks No. 109 and 158, along with a 2022 fourth-rounder to draft Collins. At 6-foot-4, 215 pounds, Collins ran a 4.45. But he never had more than 38 catches in a season.

Collins is a fine prospect, but given the depth at wide receiver in the draft and the Texans' limited resources, swapping three picks for one to select him here was bizarre.

Grade: D

Pick 90, Minnesota Vikings: Patrick Jones II, Edge, Pittsburgh
Jones (6-foot-4, 261) produced 17.5 sacks, 25 tackles for loss and four forced fumbles over the last two seasons. He plays with great effort and is an excellent scheme fit as a defensive end in Mike Zimmer's 4-3. And Jones could offer versatility as an interior pass rusher. This is a nice fit between prospect and team.

Grade: B+

Pick 91, Cleveland Browns: Anthony Schwartz, WR, Auburn
Schwartz (6 feet, 186 pounds) ran a 4.25 and offers rare speed. But he averaged just 12.2 YPR in 36 college games. Most of his production came after the catch. Brugler had Schwartz as his 137th-ranked prospect, and Daniel Jeremiah had him outside of his top 150. The Browns are counting on Schwartz's speed to potentially add a dynamic element to their offense.

Grade: B-

Pick 92, Tennessee Titans: Monty Rice, LB, Georgia
Rice (6 feet, 233 pounds) had 89 tackles as a junior but battled through injuries last season. He has athletic traits (ran 4.57), and the Titans could view him as a three-down player.

Grade: B-

Pick 93, Buffalo Bills: Spencer Brown, OT, Northern Iowa
Brown (6-foot-8, 311 pounds) is one of the largest humans in the draft. He started 32 games at right tackle and tested like an elite athlete at Northern Iowa's pro day. It's hard to find guys his size who can move the way Brown does. A former tight end, Brown is an intriguing developmental prospect. His upside was well worth taking a flier on here.

Grade: B+

Pick 94, Baltimore Ravens: Ben Cleveland, OG, Georgia
Cleveland (6-foot-6, 343) started 25 games at right guard for the Bulldogs and was a first-team All-SEC selection last year. He wasn't going to be a fit for every NFL scheme but is a nice option for the Ravens' run-heavy attack.

Grade: B

Pick 95, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Robert Hainsey, OT, Notre Dame
Hainsey (6-foot-5, 306 pounds) started 34 games at right tackle and played well. He could slide inside to play guard or center while in the NFL. Adding offensive line depth in front of Tom Brady is never a bad idea.

Grade: B

Pick 96, New England Patriots: Ronnie Perkins, Edge, Oklahoma
Perkins (6-foot-3, 253 pounds) had a productive career with 16.5 sacks and 32 tackles for loss in 33 games. His game is built on power, and Perkins offers pass-rush upside. One knock on Perkins is he had to serve a six-game suspension for a failed drug test. But it was well worth taking a flier on his potential at this stage of the draft.

Grade: B+

Pick 97, Los Angeles Chargers: Tre' McKitty, TE, Georgia​

McKitty (6-foot-4, 246) began his career at Florida State before transferring to Georgia. He had underwhelming production throughout with 56 catches for 628 yards and three touchdowns in 42 games. McKitty was the 185th-ranked prospect on Brugler's big board. This pick felt like a reach.

Grade: C-

Pick 98, Denver Broncos: Quinn Meinerz, OG/C, Wisconsin-Whitewater
Meinerz started 29 games at left guard for Division III Wisconsin-Whitewater. Their 2020 season was canceled, so Meinerz (6-foot-3, 320) worked on his body and his game while declaring for the draft. He opened eyes at the Senior Bowl and was named the top offensive lineman for the week.

There's an obvious projection with Meinerz, but he looks like someone who could develop into a quality starter.

Grade: B

Pick 99, Dallas Cowboys: Nahshon Wright, CB, Oregon State
Maybe the Cowboys will eventually look like geniuses here, but this selection was one of the round's biggest head-scratchers.

Wright moved from junior college to Oregon State in 2019. He started 16 games in two seasons and had 11 passes defended with five interceptions. Wright is tall (6-foot-4) and has long arms. Plus he ran a 4.47. Perhaps the Cowboys saw the traits and felt like they could develop Wright into a starter.

Grade: D

Pick 100, Tennessee Titans: Elijah Molden, CB/S, Washington
Molden (5-foot-10, 192 pounds) was a durable, feisty slot corner in college. Given that he ran 4.6, he probably fits as a hybrid nickel/safety in the NFL. But there's plenty to like. He had 25 passes defended and five interceptions during his career. Molden should be able to do a little bit of everything in the Titans' defense.

Grade: B+

Pick 101, Detroit Lions: Ifeatu Melifonwu, CB, Syracuse
Melifonwu is a big (6-foot-3, 205), long (32¼-inch arms) corner who started 19 games at Syracuse and had good ball production (26 passes defended and three interceptions). He has the traits that teams covet in a press corner and was a nice pick here by Detroit.

Grade: B+

Pick 102, San Francisco 49ers: Ambry Thomas, CB, Michigan
Thomas (6 feet, 191 pounds) performed well in his one full season as a starter in 2019, producing seven passes defended and three interceptions in 13 games. He is a solid developmental corner prospect for the 49ers.

Grade: B

Pick 103, Los Angeles Rams: Ernest Jones, LB, South Carolina
Jones (6-foot-2, 230 pounds) had a productive college career. He started 21 games and led South Carolina in tackles in 2019 and 2020. Jones will need to prove himself in coverage to stay on the field, but he's a nice option for the Rams at this stage of the draft.

Grade: B

Pick 104, Baltimore Ravens: Brandon Stephens, CB, SMU
Stephens (6 feet, 213 pounds) began his career as a running back at UCLA before transferring to SMU, where he played cornerback. Stephens produced 23 passes defended and an interception in 23 starts. He'll be an interesting developmental prospect for the Ravens.

Grade: B-

Pick 105, Denver Broncos: Baron Browning, LB, Ohio State
Browning (6-foot-3, 245) was a five-star recruit but had trouble staying healthy. He started just nine games in his college career and never had more than 43 tackles in a season. Having said that, Browning is a fantastic athlete, and if he can stay healthy, it'll be fun to see what Vic Fangio is able to get out of him. This is a fine flier to take for Denver.

Grade: B-

 

[Tom]

Not going to bother listing all the picks for Day 3 but here's a look at who won and lost on the final day of the 2021 NFL Draft

Winner: RB Michael Carter​

What a great spot the other running back from North Carolina landed in. He was drafted No. 107 overall by the New York Jets. He lands in a system that repeatedly churns out quality running backs (the Shanahan-style offense Mike LaFleur is bringing over from San Francisco makes stars of pretty much every back), and he has very little competition for carries in New York. Tevin Coleman was brought in as a free agent, but he's now three years removed from his most recent effective season. Carter should have a chance to be the lead back for the Jets, behind an improved offensive line and with other weapons to spread the field for him.

Loser: Jaylon Smith and Leighton Vander Esch​

The writing was on the wall for these guys when the Cowboys landed Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons in the first round, but it's blinking neon lights after Dallas added LSU linebacker Jabril Cox in the fourth. It's entirely possible that both Smith and Vander Esch are off the roster by this time next year, which is pretty crazy considering it wasn't that long ago that they looked like one of the best linebacker tandems in the league. Smith's dramatic drop-off and LVE's injury issues caused the Cowboys to move aggressively to replace them.

Winner: Tampa Bay Buccaneers​

The defending champs did not enter the draft with many real needs, which allowed them to do things like drafting a pass rusher on Thursday who can develop behind Jason Pierre-Paul and Shaq Barrett, and a quarterback on Friday who can develop behind Tom Brady. On Saturday, they used some of their draft capital to move up and land Jaelon Darden, who really should not have lasted until the fourth round. Darden caught 31 touchdown passes during his final two seasons at North Texas, including 19 this past year. Bruce Arians said Darden reminds him of Emmanuel Sanders and John Brown -- both of whom he coached -- and if they get anything close to that type of production out of Darden down the line, he'll end up being a huge steal.

Loser: Raiders' 2019 first-round picks​

The then-Oakland Raiders had three picks in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft. They used the No. 4 overall pick on Clelin Ferrell, the No. 24 pick on Josh Jacobs, and the No. 27 pick on Johnathan Abram. Ferrell wasn't even the best edge rusher the Raiders drafted in 2019 (Maxx Crosby), and the team ended up using a third-round pick on Malcolm Koonce this year. The now-Las Vegas Raiders spent $14.5 million on Kenyan Drake to complement Jacobs, and also dramatically downgraded along the offensive line by moving on from four of their five starters. Oh, and they drafted not one, not two, but three safeties this weekend, indicating an extreme lack of confidence in what they have at the position.

Winner: Browns Executive VP/General Manager Andrew Berry​

First of all, Berry had a fantastic weekend, adding a boatload of talent to a rapidly including defense. That included landing Ohio State defensive tackle Tommy Togiai and Georgia safety Richard Lecounte in Rounds 4 and 5. (Cincinnati tackle James Hudson was also good value in Round 4).

Loser: RB Raheem Mostert​

The 49ers came into the weekend with not all that much in the backfield alongside Mostert, with only Jeff Wilson Jr. and JaMycal Hasty joining him on the depth chart. San Francisco then traded up for Ohio State's Trey Sermon in the third round and snagged Louisiana's Elijah Mitchell in the sixth. Mostert will be 29 years old next season and has zero guaranteed money on his contract. He could be on the way out sooner rather than later.

Winner: QB Ian Book​

If you're a quarterback, there aren't many better landing spots than New Orleans, where you get to play for Sean Payton. Book also wins here because Payton had said coming into the draft that quarterback was not a "must-add" position for the Saints, yet they added one anyway. Payton has also shown his willingness to add packages to the playbook for athletic players who can pass, like Taysom Hill, so perhaps Book can get on the field some even if he's not immediately a starting-caliber quarterback.

Loser: Houston Texans​

Let's just leave this one right here.

 

[Tom]

Winner: Baltimore Ravens​

The Ravens routinely crushed the draft under Ozzie Newsome, and they continue to do so under Eric DeCosta. They got off to a strong start on Thursday and Friday, and continued adding quality prospects on Saturday. Wideout Tylan Wallace makes a ton of sense as a complement to Hollywood Brown and Rashod Bateman. Cornerback Shaun Wade was thought of as a potential first-round pick coming into this season, but a move to outside corner cratered his stock. The Ravens have plenty of perimeter corners, so they can stick him back in the slot, where he was one of the best defensive backs in the country. Edge rusher Daelin Hayes, meanwhile, is basically a prototype Ravens edge rusher who can develop along with Odafe Oweh, as the Ravens have developed so many edge rushers before.

Loser: QB Carson Wentz​

Wentz was, to put it kindly, not thrilled the last time his team took a quarterback in the draft. Well, his new team just did it again, with the Colts selecting Texas passer Sam Ehlinger at the tail end of the sixth round. Hopefully, now that he's back with Frank Reich and company, Wentz can keep his composure and not let the selection of a developmental quarterback behind him throw his entire game off the rails.

Winner: RBs Mike Davis and Chase Edmonds​

The Falcons and Cardinals were widely expected to add running backs with one of their picks this weekend but didn't. Instead, they added talent at other positions on offense that should help put them in a position to succeed. Talented players who have succeeded in timeshare roles now may get a chance to shine as full-time backs.

Loser: Green Bay Packers​

NBC's Mike Tirico ran into Aaron Rodgers at The Kentucky Derby, and had this to report:

"I bumped into one of the VIPs here who just happens to be the biggest news name in sports right now. That's Aaron Rodgers. He didn't want to talk on camera," Tirico said before noting what Rodgers had to say about the current drama in Green Bay. "I can tell you, I can characterize Aaron as disappointed that news has come out on this rift with the Packers. He expressed a couple of times how much he loves Green Bay, loves the fans, loves the franchise."

"There is fissure, there is a chasm between management and the reigning NFL MVP," Tirico said. "We're just not sure how this is going to play out. I'll watch closely over the next couple of weeks to see what we hear from the Packers side and when Aaron does speak. Interesting times ahead for sure."

Things are not going well with this franchise at the moment, and Saturday's report that Rodgers isn't going to return to the team as long as general manager Brian Gutekunst is in charge does not help things one bit.

Winner: Denver Broncos​

I love the secondary the Broncos are building. Not only did they sign Kyle Fuller in free agency and drafting Patrick Surtain II with the No. 9 overall pick in the first round, they added safeties Jamar Johnson and Caden Sterns on Saturday, along with cornerback Kary Vincent Jr. Kareem Jackson is heading into his age-33 season, and Johnson, in particular, makes for a fun long-term pairing with Justin Simmons at safety. Surtain should be able to slide in as a starter, and the Broncos can try to develop Vincent Jr. behind them.

Winner: Kansas City Chiefs​

The Chiefs did not have a first-round pick after sending it to the Ravens in the trade for Orlando Brown Jr., but they did extremely well on Days 2 and 3. They continued beefing up their offensive line on Friday night, adding Creed Humphrey to help on the interior. Their first pick of the draft, Nick Bolton, was excellent value at No. 58, but they landed still more value on Saturday by getting Florida State edge rusher Joshua Kaindoh in the late fourth, Duke tight end Noah Gray in the fifth, and both Clemson receiver Cornell Powell and Tennessee guard Trey Smith in the sixth. They filled their biggest defensive needs (linebacker, edge), added more depth on the interior of the offensive line, and got themselves a nice developmental prospect behind the best offensive weapon (Travis Kelce). Not bad for a weekend's work.

 

[Snoops]

Surprised the 49ers taking 2 RBs in the draft when that room was already in a decent shape. Both great fits so it will be interesting if they try to ship someone else.