2021 Draft Discussion - Bolts Pick 13th

[Boltnut]

I unplug for a night, and the shit hits the fan...

Could be TT and company aren't panicking...that I'm wrong and they like all three prospects at LT, and Darrisaw is the likely pick...no, I don't think for a minute he is gone at 13...at least all three won't be.

Yeah, there is no need to panic. Most likely one of: Sewell, Slater, Darrisaw will be there. If not, that means there is probably a very good CB still there.
I think Slater is being viewed as a guard first... that could play RT... or LT in a pinch. Both Panthers and Giants could use an OG upgrade... with possible move to OT.

[Fleet]

April 23, 2021 - 11:05 pm

The draft starts when? Really? … The general consensus around the NFL these days is that with QBs fully expected to be the selected with the first three picks at next week’s draft that the real starting point of the 2021 draft will be the 4^th pick with Atlanta on the clock. Hold on a second though! We do know for sure that Jacksonville will be taking Trevor Lawrence with the first pick and we are pretty sure that the Jets will be grabbing Zack Wilson at #2. However, who San Francisco takes with the 3^rd pick is still very much up in the air and how the rest of the top ten evolves could be determined very much by which the 49ers ultimately select.

Of course, the feeling around the league has been that the 49ers were set on taking Alabama’s Mac Jones with the 3^rd pick. However, the 49ers are still checking out the other top QBs and there is a growing buzz around the league that North Dakota State’s Trey Lance may actually be their guy. Certainly, Lance seems to be the consensus highest rated prospect of the 3 remaining top QBs and if the 49ers were to pass on him to select Jones, then figure there’d be a lineup of teams looking to get a shot at him at the 4^th pick. On the other hand, if the 49ers do take Lance at #3 there may be considerably less demand for Ohio State’s Justin Fields at #4 and beyond, while it’s not clear there’d be much trade up demand for Jones at all meaning he could possibly slip out of the top ten if he’s not taken by the 49ers. So many possibilities, so little time!

And if the 49ers do take Jones at #3, the betting favorite to move up to the 4^th pick are still the Denver Broncos. New Broncos G.M. George Paton did little to dispel the notion that the Broncos aren’t totally sold on current starter Drew Lock at his pre-draft presser this week saying that he ‘really likes Lock’ but wants more ‘competition’ at the position. One other thing Paton said at his presser of interest was the fact that because the Broncos had signed veteran free agent CB Kyle Fuller after he was released by the Bears they felt they were set at the position which likely takes CB off the table for the Broncos if they were to stay at #9 and not take a QB.

At the same time, both Detroit and Carolina, which pick 7^th and 8^th respectively in this year’s opening round, have both made it clear that they are wide open to a trade down and are already getting calls from teams wondering about the price to move up. It appears, though, that neither wants to drop much past the 15^th pick area.

April 23, 2021 - 8:43 pm

Pigskin mocks AFC North … GBN Associate Editor Pigskin Paul Guillemette completes his series of separate mock drafts for each team highlighting the direction or directions they are most likely to go at the upcoming draft with a preview of the drafts of the teams in the AFC North. Meanwhile, for those that missed it, here is Pigskin’s preview of what to expect over the next couple of weeks.

April 23, 2021 - 4:47 pm

QB Wilson, WR Waddle confirm draft attendance … The NFL has confirmed that BYU QB Zack Wilson and Alabama WR Jaylen Waddle have been added to the list of players who will be attending next week’s draft in Cleveland in person. Waddle, of course, won’t be lonely in Cleveland as he’ll be part of a 5-man delegation from the national champions at this year draft which also includes fellow QB Mac Jones, WR DeVonta Smith, CB Patrick Surtain and DT Christian Barmore. The other players who have committed to attending next week’s festivities in person include North Dakota State QB Trey Lance, Florida TE Kyle Pitts, LSU WR Ja’Marr Chase, Northwestern OT Rashawn Slater, Pen State LB Micah Parsons, Virginia Tech CB Caleb Farley and Miami DE Greg Rousseau. Noticeably absent from the list, of course, is Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence, who will be the first player selected overall as he has reportedly chosen to watch the draft at home with his family. Same for Ohio State QB Justin Fields and Oregon OT Penei Sewell. All three though will be part of a group of 45 prospects who will participate in the draft virtually.

April 23, 2021 - 3:43 pm

Ravens get Chiefs #1, other picks for OT Brown … The back end of the opening round of the 2021 draft got a bit of a shake up this afternoon as Baltimore has traded OT Orlando Brown to Kansas City for the Chiefs’ opening round selection this year – #31 – along with the 94th (third round) and 136th (fourth round), while the Chiefs will get the Ravens second round pick, the 58th overall selection. To complete the deal the teams also swapped 2022 picks with the Ravens getting a 5th from KC while the Chiefs get Baltimore’s 6th rounder next year. With the Chiefs, Brown is expected to take over at LT in place of Eric Fisher, who was released earlier this year. And with the completion of the deal, the selection order for the 2021 draft has been updated, as well as the picks by team by file. With the net acquisition of two 2021 picks, Baltimore now has 9 totals selections including those two in the late first round, while Kansas City is down to just 6. However, at least on paper this appears to be a pretty good deal for the Chiefs. When the late second round pick the Chiefs received from the Ravens is factored in, the net value of the trade works out to be for an early second round pick for whom Brown, a young, rising NFL player is pretty darn good value. Certainly, he appears to be a better player than anybody the Chiefs likely would have been able to select with the 31st pick in this year’s opening round.

April 22, 2021 - 7:48 pm

Injury notes for WR Marshall, DE Phillips … Not a whole lot of details, but NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah reported on a conference call earlier this week that LSU WR Terrace Marshall had some medical stuff that popped up at the combine that could cause him to slip a little bit at next week’s draft. Unfortunately, Jeremiah did not get into any specifics on the issues, but it should be noted that Marshall was sidelined for a month with a broken foot as a sophomore in 2019 and also suffered a season-ending leg injury in his senior year in HS that carried over to his freshman year at LSU. Meanwhile, it came out at the Giants pre-draft presser earlier today that Miami DE Jaelan Phillips, a top 20 prospect for next week’s draft, apparently was not at the follow-up medical testing in Indianapolis earlier this month. Phillips, a one-time blue-chip recruit at UCLA, actually retired from football a couple of years back because of concussions, but made a successful comeback after transferring to Miami. Needless to say, the health issue has been something of a cloud over Phillips’ 2021 draft prospectus and one would think that teams would have been hoping that he received a clean bill of health at the Indy medical testing.

[Formula 21]

I unplug for a night, and the shit hits the fan...

Could be TT and company aren't panicking...that I'm wrong and they like all three prospects at LT, and Darrisaw is the likely pick...no, I don't think for a minute he is gone at 13...at least all three won't be.

Don't sleep on AVT either. Lower ceiling, higher floor. Still a solid choice at 13 to avoid a catastrophe.

[Boltnut]

Don't sleep on AVT either. Lower ceiling, higher floor. Still a solid choice at 13 to avoid a catastrophe.

I actually think AVT might be gone by #13. The Panthers might fill their OG hole with AVT instead of Slater. It all depends on what the Panthers think about Greg Little and Cameron Erving as LT's. Christian McCaffrey would Looooove to have AVT blocking for him.

[Panamamike]

I actually think AVT might be gone by #13. The Panthers might fill their OG hole with AVT instead of Slater. It all depends on what the Panthers think about Greg Little and Cameron Erving as LT's. Christian McCaffrey would Looooove to have AVT blocking for him.

I don't think you would mind having Slater Blocking for him as a guard either.

[Boltnut]

I don't think you would mind having Slater Blocking for him as a guard either.

Absolutely not. Difference is, we have 2 years of AVT tape @OG kicking people's asses.
IMO, if Carolina has doubts about Little/Erving at LT, they probably draft Slater. If they think Little/Erving are good at LT, then they probably go with the proven outside zone OG (AVT).

[Charge!]

Hopefully TT sticks with BPA since Chargers have needs at EVERY position other then QB:

QB - Herbie looks like he may be a great one, so no need here
RB - we have one good rotational back in Ekler but we have zero big, tough, bruising every down type of power backs so we need to draft one and add one as RFA
WR - Solid group but we could always add more speed to take advantage of Herbie's arm and add more explosiveness in high scoring AFC West
TE - Cooks is a good vet receiving TE, but we still need to draft a solid future starter
OL - We have a great vet OC, solid OG's and RT, but need to draft a starting LT, and we need too draft other OL depth, future RT....
DL - Bosa is the ONLY dominant pro-bowl quality DL and pass rusher we have. Most great defenses have at least 3 good pass rushers..... we NEED to add at least one or 2 pass rushers....You can never have too many pass rushers.....Hopefully some of our young depth take the next step up and become solid or great players....
LBer - We have Only one proven solid every down LBer in Murray. We have a few others who might develop into solid LBers if they can stay healthy. Clearly of a great one is available especially if they bring a great explosive pass rush, TT could draft them. You can never have too many pass rushers..... Hopefully some of our young depth take the next step up and become solid or great players....
CB - We have one solid old vet slot CB, and one solid young outside CB, but we need to draft a shut down CB to fill major hole on one side and 2 other CB's as depth and future starters. with spread offenses and injuries you can never have too many CB's.....
S - If healthy James is a great SS, but he has not been healthy, Adderly looks like he might become a special FS, but we need to draft one or 2 new safeties that can potentially start at either safety position if needed and to play in nickel and dime packages.....

K - could always use improvement

P - could always use improvement

The point is that any BPA except for QB is going to help improve this team in short and long term so no matter how this draft falls there should be at least one great player at a position of need when we draft at 13..... especially with 4 or 5 QB's going before our pick...... we should be getting a top 5-10ish non-QB player at 13......

[Topcat]

Hopefully TT sticks with BPA since Chargers have needs at EVERY position other then QB:

QB - Herbie looks like he may be a great one, so no need here
RB - we have one good rotational back in Ekler but we have zero big, tough, bruising every down type of power backs so we need to draft one and add one as RFA
WR - Solid group but we could always add more speed to take advantage of Herbie's arm and add more explosiveness in high scoring AFC West
TE - Cooks is a good vet receiving TE, but we still need to draft a solid future starter
OL - We have a great vet OC, solid OG's and RT, but need to draft a starting LT, and we need too draft other OL depth, future RT....
DL - Bosa is the ONLY dominant pro-bowl quality DL and pass rusher we have. Most great defenses have at least 3 good pass rushers..... we NEED to add at least one or 2 pass rushers....You can never have too many pass rushers.....Hopefully some of our young depth take the next step up and become solid or great players....
LBer - We have Only one proven solid every down LBer in Murray. We have a few others who might develop into solid LBers if they can stay healthy. Clearly of a great one is available especially if they bring a great explosive pass rush, TT could draft them. You can never have too many pass rushers..... Hopefully some of our young depth take the next step up and become solid or great players....
CB - We have one solid old vet slot CB, and one solid young outside CB, but we need to draft a shut down CB to fill major hole on one side and 2 other CB's as depth and future starters. with spread offenses and injuries you can never have too many CB's.....
S - If healthy James is a great SS, but he has not been healthy, Adderly looks like he might become a special FS, but we need to draft one or 2 new safeties that can potentially start at either safety position if needed and to play in nickel and dime packages.....

K - could always use improvement

P - could always use improvement

The point is that any BPA except for QB is going to help improve this team in short and long term so no matter how this draft falls there should be at least one great player at a position of need when we draft at 13..... especially with 4 or 5 QB's going before our pick...... we should be getting a top 5-10ish non-QB player at 13......

I wouldn't exactly call Chris Harris "solid." He got burned a lot last year...need to upgrade him as well...

[equivocation]

Very few position groups are ever fully set. It's a big luxury.

[gzubeck]

I wouldn't exactly call Chris Harris "solid." He got burned a lot last year...need to upgrade him as well...

Yeah, but Gus sucks so we really don't know what we have yet! When we got dusted by New England he confirmed my worst fears last year. Sometimes you just don't maximize what you do have and that's what happened last season.

:whistlin:

[Topcat]

Yeah, but Gus sucks so we really don't know what we have yet! When we got dusted by New England he confirmed my worst fears last year. Sometimes you just don't maximize what you do have and that's what happened last season.

:whistlin:

Maybe Harris will do better in Staley's system...

[gzubeck]

Maybe Harris will do better in Staley's system...

Getting Derwin back, adding another high quality defender, plus our first rounders over the past couple of years and everyone's gonna be in shock just like with Herbert but on defense. I would not be surprised if our defense allows our offense just to go on cruise control and we slaughter some opponents.