Official 2021 Draft Thread

No.

@Fedya posted:

Chicago's going to trade up to get a QB this year.

Have they ever done that?  

@Henry posted:

That really needs to be a coffee table book

Combo coffee table/pop-up book.

In a manner of speaking.

@PackerHawk posted:

That would be more like a full set of encyclopedias.

Or National Geographic.

Beef Safari

As much as I wish that there were starting caliber DT’s in this draft at the end of the first two rounds I don’t read that there really are. Like many, I see that as a need. But there are some starting quality CB’s available at 29. King and Jackson are probably in their last years as are many WR’s. Then I also read that there are some quality offensive linemen available too.The team may be even tighter with the cap next year so I can see those positions targeted in the first two rounds. Perhaps Jenkins in the first and Stokes in the second.
Of course with Gutie who knows? Unlike TT, Gutie is more unpredictable.

My scorching hot take this week is that if Oregon Safety Jevon Holland had played in 2020, had the same success he had in 2019, he would have been a top 20 pick similarly to Minkah Fitzpatrick. Seems like a guy the league might value more than online draft folks, could be in play at 29 even though all of the online draft community has him pegged as a 50-70 kind of guy.

There’s a rumor that Gute went to Oregon’s pro day to see him specifically, he’s under 22, RAS over 9, and he would be able to fill a role as the Star position covering FS, NB, a little SS, covering TEs, etc. Or he could play centerfield and let Savage play the Star. Or both Holland and Savage could play deep and let Amos play Dime LB. Either way he gives flexibility in the Staley coverage first scheme.

I like it.

Yeah, I brought him up before with Ritchie Grant and Tariq Thompson (who is ranked WAY too low in the online draft community) as good fits for versatility. Having a safety who can take on a receiver in man is terrific and one of the three would be very nice.

I have to admit, I'm not a St-Juste fan as he didn't seem to play well for the Gophers this year when I saw them but that's some pretty impressive lateral agility for a guy his size.

Benjamin St-Juste CB | HT: 6032 WT: 202 | FORTY: 4.55 | VERT: 34.5 | BROAD: 9-11 | SHTL: 4.01 | L-DRILL: 6.63 | BP: 11 | Hand: 0938 | Arm: 3258 | Wing: 7858

NFL draft rule #1: start being disappointed in your team’s picks at least four days before the event.

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) April 25, 2021

Some of the comments are gems.

I once wrote the sentence "It's not impossible that Christian Ponder will be good"!

— RobustFeedback (@FeedbackRobust) April 25, 2021

Is there a statute of limitations on how long were allowed to hate previous drafts’ picks?

NO!!!   I still hate the Randy Duncan pick.

FWIW from P King this morning in his only mock.

29. Green Bay Packers—Jamin Davis, LB, Kentucky

It’s the annual Green Bay game of How can we avoid taking a receiver in the first round again? Kadarius Toney would seem logical here. But if I’m GM Brian Gutekunst, I might go best player on the board here, then receiver in the second round (Rondale Moore? Dyami Brown?) because, in my draft scenario, lots of the good wideouts are gone. Davis is perhaps the fastest-rising defensive player in the crop over the last three months. After starting only 11 games at Kentucky, NFL teams studying his tape found the rangy sideline-to-sideline playmaker they’re valuing in linebackers these days. “Very instinctive for a guy who hasn’t played much,” one GM said. If the Packers zero in on linebackers, they may like Zaven Collins of Tulsa, but those I spoke to like Davis more.

R1, these are the choices, who do you take?

CB Greg Newsom

CB Eric Stokes

LB Jabril Cox

LB Zaven Collins

WR Kamara Chase

WR Rondale Moore

Newsome 100%...apparently there’s some question about medicals with him, he’s been nIckes up each season a little. He’s a top 20 talent though IMO.

jamin davis, with that ras score, he won't be there at our pick.

Collins without thinking twice. 

This is supposedly a deep draft for OL and CB.  I'd use Gunt's shot gun picks he loves so much to maneuver on the second day for OL and CB.

Why is fantasy football Twitter so convinced that they’re better at evaluating quarterbacks than NFL teams?

— Michael (@aNellytics) April 26, 2021

@pkr_north posted:

jamin davis, with that ras score, he won't be there at our pick.

RAS is important, but it's not everything. Davis has not started a lot of games.

@H5 posted:

R1, these are the choices, who do you take?

CB Greg Newsom

CB Eric Stokes

LB Jabril Cox

LB Zaven Collins

WR Kamara Chase

WR Rondale Moore

I like Collins, but the question is: "What does Joe Barry's defense look like?" Do they want a big guy like that in the middle? I would argue that he can double as a 3-4 rush linebacker, and that he is " scheme-versatile."

If Newsome is on the board here, and they're satisfied with his medicaIs, I think they go CB.

Personally, I would favor Collins over Newsome. Solve the linebacker issues, for once.

Newsome was the R1 choice... now on to R2. Choices below, who do you take?

WR Amon-Ra St. Brown

LB Nick Bolton

DL Levi Onwuzurike

C Quinn Meinerz

OT Robert Hainsey

I think in round 2 they go OL.  So I think it will be a guy like Hainsey

That's a short list of guys...lol

Okay, add a few more to choose from.

LB  Chazz Surratt

LB  Baron Browning

EDGE  Patrick Jones

C  Josh Myers

WR  Nico Collins

S  Ar’Darius Washington

In the first and second round we need replacements for Linsley, Kevin King and tyler Ervin. DL doesn't appear promising.

I would take Meinerz over Hainsey.

Meinerz would be my pick, here, given this list of players.

YA, I know you've followed the Pack for a long time. They haven't drafted for need since Wolf had that reaction to Moss back in '99.

@Henry posted:

Collins without thinking twice.

This is supposedly a deep draft for OL and CB.  I'd use Gunt's shot gun picks he loves so much to maneuver on the second day for OL and CB.

This. There are numerous corners this year but only one Collins and they’re looking more so for a RT.

@Packmeister posted:

I would take Meinerz over Hainsey.

Meinerz would be my pick, here, given this list of players.

I would go Onwuzurike, but I think he (and DTs in general) will be over-drafted due to scarcity.

Exactly...Onwuzurike is a 3rd round prospect, at least by PFF standards... I would wait until the 3rd  or 4th round for a DL.

BTW...are we going to re-sign "Snacks"? Is he worth bringing back?

We currently have no money beyond what is needed to sign our draft picks, so as it stands today, no.

Then, we are definitely "thin" on the defensive front.

Anyone like Togiai, from OSU? If so, what round would you draft him?

My list of D-linemen we should consider:

Alim McNeill

Daviyon Nixon

Bobby Brown

Tommy Togiai

Milton Williams

Jonathan Marshall

Ta'Quon Graham

@Packmeister posted:

Anyone like Togiai, from OSU? If so, what round would you draft him?

I like him a lot.  I think he was only a one year starter at OSU due to so much talent there.  I kind of think of him kind of as a poor man's Gilbert Brown. 

No idea what he is being seen going in the drafter but I think he should be a about a third rounder.

He and Stepaniak could hold benching clinics for everyone else...lol

As long as they're not "benched"...😆

@Packmeister posted:

Anyone like Togiai, from OSU? If so, what round would you draft him?

From McGinn’s Athletic article with scouts take on the DL class:

13. Tommy Togiai, Ohio State (6-foot-1½, 296, 5.00, Round 4 or 5): Declared a year early after backing up in 26 games in 2018 and ’19 and starting seven games at nose tackle in ’20.

“His problem is he looks like a 3-technique, but he plays like a 1-technique,” said one scout. “He’s powerful and has some straight-line speed. He is not a pass rusher at all. Decent run player. He’s an undersized first- and second-down nose. Great kid. Plays (hard). They tried to get him to stay in school. He is really strong, but he’s barely 300 pounds.”

Showed his power with 40 reps on the bench, equaling the high for the position.

“He plays really hard, but he’s undersized,” said a second scout. “Some of these undersized guys are going to get mashed inside at this level.”

The Pocatello, Idaho, native finished with 49 tackles (8½ for loss) and three sacks.

Not enough to take him in the third...maybe the late 4th. There are probably better prospects who'll be available at that range, though.