Saturday, April 24, 2021

TAKING A SHOT AT THE NFL DRAFT

Let me make something clear right out of the box -- I am not a fan of the National Football League. I don't watch, save for when the Dallas Cowboys are playing, and I probably couldn't name more than 25 or 30 percent of the players in the league. 

Yet for some reason I have always been enthralled by the NFL Draft. Going back to when ESPN ran a spartan operation, the draft was must-see TV. It was fun to learn about the new faces and how they would fit in with their new employer, and projecting the booms from the busts was a big part of the fun.

It's the same with the NBA. I stopped watching once Larry Legend and Magic decided to dribble off into the sunset, and I wouldn't walk across the street to take in a second of the game. And until recently, I was a fan of the NBA Draft. I always loved the suits, and seeing the announcers botch the names of the international players was always good for a laugh. When I followed college basketball it was natural to at least watch the NBA Draft. But now that I only watch college hoops when Ohio State plays, the draft has become ancient history for me.

The NFL Draft is current, however, and even though I won't be watching the vast majority of these guys at the next level, I will take part in trying to guess where they will be playing ball for the next 5-10 years. There are a few projected trades in this mock, trades I know won't pan out because they almost never do. The teams you think will move up or down stay put, while the ones you can't envision going anywhere always make a bold move.

I am not a draft guru by nature. I watch a ton of college football during the season, take notes during games and then go back and watch players after the season is over. It's more of a hobby than a living for me, so that's why I am often reluctant to do player rankings and mock drafts. I look at it more from a college perspective than how they will project at the next level. It's different, for sure -- whether it's effective remains to be seen.

This is my take on what I think the teams will do, not what I would do -- though if it must be known, I WOULD have Dallas take the same guy at 10 as I am projecting here.

2021 NFL DRAFT

1 Jacksonville: QB Trevor Lawrence/Clemson

2 NY Jets: QB Zach Wilson/Brigham Young

3 San Francisco (from Miami via Houston): QB Justin Fields/Ohio State

4 Atlanta: TE Kyle Pitts/Florida

5 Cincinnati: OT Penei Sewell/Oregon

6 Miami (from Philadelphia): WR Ja’Marr Chase/LSU

7 Detroit: QB Trey Lance/North Dakota State

8 LA Chargers (projected trade with Carolina): OT Rashawn Slater/Northwestern

9 New England (projected trade with Denver): QB Mac Jones/Alabama

10 Dallas: CB Jaycee Horn/South Carolina

11 NY Giants: WR Jaylen Waddle/Alabama

12 Philadelphia (from Miami): CB Patrick Surtain II/Alabama

13 Carolina (projected trade with LA Chargers): OT Christian Darrisaw/Virginia Tech

14 Minnesota: EDGE Kwity Paye/Michigan

15 Denver (projected trade with New England): LB Micah Parsons/Penn State

16 Arizona: WR DeVonta Smith/Alabama

17 Las Vegas Raiders: EDGE Jaelen Phillips/Miami Fla

18 Miami: LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah/Notre Dame

19 Washington: OT Alex Leatherwood/Alabama

20 Chicago: OG Alijah Vera-Tucker/USC

21 Indianapolis: DT Christian Barmore/Alabama

22 Tennessee: WR Rashod Bateman/Minnesota

23 NY Jets (from Seattle): CB Caleb Farley/Virginia Tech

24 Pittsburgh: RB Najee Harris/Alabama

25 Jacksonville (from LA Rams): S Trevon Moehrig/TCU

26 Cleveland: LB Zaven Collins/Tulsa

27 Baltimore: EDGE Azeez Olujari/Georgia

28 New Orleans: CB Greg Newsome II/Northwestern

29 Green Bay: OT Teven Jenkins/Oklahoma State

30 Buffalo: EDGE Jayson Oweh/Penn State

31 Baltimore (from Kansas City): OT Jalen Mayfield/Michigan

32 Philadelphia (projected trade with Tampa Bay): WR Kadarius Toney/Florida

 

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