Which NFL teams did the best and worst jobs? The 2021 NFL Draft team rankings of all 32 teams, from the college perspective.
2021 NFL Draft Team Rankings, All 32 From The College Perspective
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No NFL team has ever said it didn’t like its draft class.
It might be awful, it might have been disappointing, and it might have been full of random guesses, but they get who they get and they don’t get upset.
And now everyone makes the attempt to grade draft classes and project how good they’ll be. Here’s how we do it.
1. Assume that every pick after the fourth round was a waste of time, because historically and statistically, it almost certainly was. More credit is given to teams who had a ton of picks – more picks, more spins of the wheel to possibly get a contributor.
2. How many great college football players were selected who also have the freakish NFL tools? If that sounds totally obvious it’s because it is, but after all the hoo-ha you’ve probably heard over the last few days and months, the simplicity of that gets swarmed over by the paralyzing overload of analytical bull-muffins.
3. Value. That’s all relative – your worth is what the NFL draft says it is – but this weird little world of draft analysts all have the same 150ish guys in the same general pecking order. Whether or not the pick actually works is almost all random luck – believe me, it truly is – but what’s skill and art is the ability to draft a player you need before where everyone else thinks he should go.
And finally …
4. Were the needs and holes filled? Did the teams get the position guys they needed with top prospects at the right value? Duh, that’s what drafting is, but again, a lot of teams make it way harder than that.
So from the college football perspective, the 2021 NFL Draft Team Rankings are …
32. Seattle Seahawks
CFN Draft Rankings
2020: 28, 2019: 14, 2018: 19
Three picks. Western Michigan WR D’Wayne Eskridge in the second, Oklahoma CB Tre Brown in the fourth, and Florida OT Stone Forsythe in the sixth. They’re all decent prospects – the Brown pick wasn’t great, but it’s Seattle. It drafts guys it wants no matter what – let everyone else be about value.
–Seattle Seahawks 2021 NFL Draft Analysis
31. New Orleans Saints
CFN Draft Rankings
2020: 31, 2019: 31, 2018: 28
This franchise does just fine for itself despite being really, really mediocre at this whole drafting thing when it comes to value. The first three selections aren’t bad – Stanford CB Paulson Adebo was a steal in the third – but the Saints once again wasted a pick on a quarterback who won’t work. Last year it was Tommy Stevens in the seventh, and this time around it’s Ian Book – and it was in the fourth round.
–New Orleans Saints 2021 NFL Draft Analysis
30. Indianapolis Colts
CFN Draft Rankings
2020: 5, 2019: 6, 2018: 7
To be kind, the Colts needed pass rushers, and they got them with Kwity Paye out of Michigan at the 21 and Vanderbilt’s Dayo Odeyingbo with a massive reach at the 54. There were some nice ideas after that, but … blah. They needed offensive tackles, and in a draft rich with them, they failed to get one who’ll stick.
– Indianapolis Colts 2021 NFL Draft Analysis
29. Los Angeles Rams
CFN Draft Rankings
2020: 17, 2019: 11, 2018: 15
To be fair, the Rams did what they could with what they had to work with. They didn’t pick until the 57, and smallish-speedy Louisville WR Tutu Atwell fits the system. Even with nine picks, considering they’re all late, maybe three of them will do anything meaningful – at best.
– Los Angeles Rams 2021 NFL Draft Analysis
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28. Houston Texans
CFN Draft Rankings
2020: 26, 2019: 25, 2018: 11
Let’s give the Texans a break here by grading on a curve. They had absolutely nothing to work with, and yet they got a guy in Davis Mills in the third round who might just be one of the best quarterbacks in this draft if he can stay healthy. Of course, that pick screamed how the franchise feels about Deshaun Watson, but they kept on going with some nice targets for whoever plays quarterback for them this year.
– Houston 2021 NFL Draft Analysis
27. Washington Football Team
CFN Draft Rankings
2020: 15, 2019: 5, 2018: 9
Washington took a long snapper in the sixth round. Washington isn’t good enough to be taking a long snapper in the sixth round. It was an okay draft full of random guys – there are a whole lot of big projections. The Football Team 1) didn’t take a quarterback, 2) no, really, it didn’t take a quarterback and it desperately needs one to develop, and 3) … they took a long snapper in the sixth round.
– Washington Football Team 2021 NFL Draft Analysis
26. Philadelphia Eagles
CFN Draft Rankings
2020: 27, 2019: 7, 2018: 32
Wide receivers taken in the top ten rarely play up to their draft status, but DeVonta Smith at the ten absolutely had to be done. It would’ve been nice, though, to get Jalen Hurts some more weapons, and it would’ve been even nicer if the second pick – OG/C Landon Dickerson out of Alabama – wasn’t coming off a torn ACL. Basically, the Eagles drafted the The Slim Reaper, and a bunch of guys who likely won’t do much in 2021.
– Philadelphia Eagles 2021 NFL Draft Analysis