Let’s Fucking Celebrate Drafts!!! Of The 2021 NFL Draft
The draft is over and that means some teams objectively won and some lost their draft. The winners who have something to celebrate and are a step closer to being a Super Bowl contender or just simply adding vital pieces for their future will be discussed in this article. Narrowing my choice down to five was tough so I went past that number because there are more drafts that should be praised.
New York Jets – 2nd overall and 10 picks total
The Draft Class And Round Selected: QB BYU- Zach Wilson (1st); OL USC- Alijah Vera-Tucker (1st); WR Mississippi – Elijah Moore (2nd); RB North Carolina – Michael Carter (4th); S Auburn – Jamien Sherwood (5th); CB Duke- Michael Carter ll (5th); CB Pittsburgh – Jason Pinnock (5th); S Florida State – Hamsah Nasirildeen (6th); CB Kentucky – Brandin Echols (6th); DL Arkansas – Jonathan Marshall (6th)
The Jets had the ability to have a great draft that could potentially be franchise changing and they nailed it. Getting Zach Wilson at two was expected and smart. He was my number one quarterback in this draft and they followed that up with another great first round pick in Alijah Vera-Tucker. He’s likely going to play left guard next to last year’s first round pick Mekhi Becton. In the second round they got a huge steal getting my number three pass catcher in the class. They got the quarterback, number one receiver, and another great piece for their offensive line with their first three picks. Michael Carter at running back and Jamien Sherwood the safety from Auburn have intriguing potential as well. This is a team that could be a good 2022 offseason – where they have the fourth most cap space according to overthecap.com – from being a real Super Bowl contender in the near future. They’re starting the process of building around a young quarterback properly unlike they did with Darnold which is an encouraging start. For a team with many holes that’s a great place to begin.
Miami Dolphins- 6th overall and 7 picks total
The Draft Class And Round Selected: WR Alabama – Jaylen Waddle (1st); DE Miami FL- Jaelan Phillips (1st); S Oregon- Jevon Holland (2nd); OT Notre Dame – Liam Eichenberg (2nd); TE Boston College – Hunter Long (3rd); OT Massachusetts – Larnel Coleman (7th); RB Cincinnati – Gerrid Doaks (7th)
The Dolphins really have been doing a great job with their rebuild and this another great draft class to add to an already strong foundation. Reuniting their quarterback Tua Tagovailoa with Jaylen Waddle was brilliant as it gets them a number one receiver and weapon who can take the top off a defense. Waddle was also my fourth ranked pass catcher in this strong group. Waddle has the game changing speed and explosiveness offenses are looking for. Jaelan Phillips gives them an elite pass rushing prospect that can hopefully take their pass rush from being pretty good to great. Pro Football Focus had their pass rush graded 14th a year ago and they finished eleventh in sacks. Jevon Holland gives another great piece for their secondary and Eichenberg gives them a right tackle they badly needed. Hunter Long in the third round is another prospect with intriguing potential as a pass catcher and he finished with PFF’s number eleven overall offensive grade. This Dolphins team that won ten games a year ago has added the pieces to make it a very real possibility they can do it again.
New England Patriots- 15th overall and 8 picks total
The Draft Class And Round Selected: QB Alabama – Mac Jones (1st); DL Alabama – Christian Barmore (2nd); DE Oklahoma – Ronnie Perkins (3rd); RB Oklahoma – Rhamondre Stevenson (4th); LB Michigan – Cameron McGrone (5th); S Missouri- Joshua Bledsoe (6th); OL Colorado – William Sherman (6th); WR UCF- Tre Nixon
The Patriots roster overhaul this offseason continued with a great draft that most importantly allowed them to take the guy they believe is their quarterback of the future. Mac Jones comes from Alabama where he played for Nick Saban who happens to be close friends with Bill Belichick. This gives Belichick the best possible intel on his new potential star. Barmore in the second was a steal that will give them a great young prospect in the middle of the d line. Ronnie Perkins is another talented defensive line prospect but from off the edge that gives another option for their pass rush. The Patriots signed Matt Judon to help a pass rush that finished 26th in sacks and Perkins can potentially be another threat right away as he was PFF’s ninth graded pass rusher a year ago. From there they added good value and a roster upgrade at running back with Stevenson. Belichick definitely did a great job of improving the roster now and for the future which was a need for him in this draft.
Cleveland Browns- 26th overall and 8 picks total
The Draft Class And Round Selected: CB Northwestern- Greg Newsome ll (1st), LB Notre Dame- Jeremiah Owusu- Koramoah (2nd), WR Auburn- Anthony Schwartz (3rd), OT Cincinnati- James Hudson (4th), DL Tommy Togiai (4th), LB West Virginia- Tony Fields ll (5th), S Georgia- Richard Lecounte (5th), RB UCLA- Demetric Felton (6th)
Last season the Browns won a playoff on the road against their division rival the Pittsburgh Steelers and lost to the Chiefs in the divisional while looking better than expected. This offseason they made moves to fortify their defense by signing Troy Hill, John Johnson, Tak McKinley, and Jadeveon Clowney but they felt the need to add more and it was wise. Greg Newsome ll gives another great young corner that could lead to them having two lockdown corners in the near future. Owusu- Koramoah can help in the middle of their defense. After that, the Browns made smart picks to add depth to an already strong roster. Tommy Togiai could be huge right away in aiding a bad run defense that finished 30th in ESPN’s team run stop win rate. Togiai earned Pro Football Focus 10th best run defense grade among defensive linemen. The Browns did a great job of adding the pieces to be a real super bowl contender this season.
Baltimore Ravens- 27th overall and 8 picks total
The Draft Class And Round Selected: WR Minnesota- Rashod Bateman (1st), DE Penn State- Jayson Oweh (1st), OG Georgia- Ben Cleveland (3rd), CB SMU- Brandon Stephens (3rd), WR Oklahoma State- Tylan Wallace (4th), CB Ohio State- Shaun Wade (5th), DE Notre Dame- Daelin Hayes (5th), FB Michigan- Ben Mason (5th)
Everyone who had eyes and a brain knew the Ravens needed to get wide receivers in this draft and they nailed it. Rashod Bateman at the end of the first gives them a legitimate number one receiver that Lamar Jackson will surely grow to like. Tylan Wallace in the fourth gave them another very talented young prospect who likely slid a little because of how deep this receiver class was. Oweh at the end of the first gives them a talented pass rushing prospect that can hopefully help replace Matt Judon who left in free agency. Ben Cleveland in the third was another great pick as he’s a strong pass protector and good run blocker. Eric DeCosta had another great draft and the Baltimore Ravens are now an even more real contender to win it all.
San Francisco 49ers- 3rd overall and 8 picks total
The Draft Class And Round Selected: QB North Dakota State- Trey Lance (1st), OL Notre Dame- Aaron Banks (2nd), RB Ohio State- Trey Sermon (3rd), CB Michigan- Ambry Thomas (3rd), OL Western Michigan- Jaylon Moore (5th), CB Oregon- Deommodore Lenoir (5th), S USC- Talanoa Hufanga (5th), RB Louisiana- Elijah Mitchell
Kyle Shanahan got his quarterback. And that’s the biggest reason for celebration for 49ers fans. Jimmy Garopollo is good enough to help the 49ers get so far but they need more than that and Trey Lance has the potential to become a superstar with his dual threat capabilities that led him having 28 touchdown passes against zero interceptions and ran for another 14 touchdowns in 2019 the last full season he played. He opted out of 2020. Adding Aaron Banks and Trey Sermon were two more great picks that help their win now roster immediately.
