Category: 2021 NFL draft

Giants still searching for returns from 2021 rookie class

The New York Giants need a lot more from their 2021 rookie class, which is littered with potential, next season.

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Shortly after the 2021 NFL draft had concluded, the New York Giants saw a wave of positive reviews for the job general manager Dave Gettleman had done. Not only had the team compiled additional future draft assets, they maximized a negative situation and appeared to find quality talent.

But the positivity would be short-lived.

Out of the gate, cornerback Aaron Robinson and edge rusher Elerson Smith endured injury issues, while wide receiver Kadarius Toney couldn’t stay on the field for a variety of reasons. Then, early in the season, cornerback Rodarius Williams suffered a torn ACL, ending his promising rookie season.

The theme of the draft class was and remains the same: Tons of potential, but no solid returns.

Nick Shook of NFL.com recently graded each NFC East draft class and although he gave the Giants a solid letter score (B-), he came to the same conclusion.

The Giants’ entire 2021 season can be summarized by Kadarius Toney’s rookie season. The first-rounder struggled to stay on the field due to multiple injuries, but when he was available, he occasionally exploded, as in his 10-catch, 189-yard performance in Week 5. He just wasn’t available enough to make a significant difference for a struggling offense that saw its coordinator fired during the season. Toney could still make this pick look like a home run, but there’s a lot of boom-or-bust potential.

The Giants nailed the selection of Azeez Ojulari, who led the team in sacks with eight and figures to be a key part of this defense for years to come. Aaron Robinson played nearly a quarter of New York’s defensive snaps and might fill a bigger role in 2022, with James Bradberry potentially headed elsewhere due to cap constraints. Elerson Smith’s season was shortened by injury, but he did force a fumble in his limited action.

Gary Brightwell spent most of his season on special teams, getting just two touches in 13 games. Rodarius Williams’ season ended due to a torn ACL suffered in Week 5. Raymond Johnson played a rotational role as an undrafted signee and will have to fight to stick with the Giants in 2022.

Of the group, Toney is obviously the most important. The Giants desperately need a game-changing playmaker to emerge and he certainly has the athletic talent, but can he stay on the field?

And for the reasons Shook alluded to, Williams and Robinson may also become extremely important pieces for the Giants in 2022.

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NFL.com gives Texans B-plus grade for 2021 draft class

The Houston Texans had an underwhelming 2021 with a 4-13 record, but NFL.com gave them a B grade for their recent draft class.

The Houston Texans may have had a horrendous season that got another coach fired with a 4-13 record in 2021, but their draft class wasn’t that bad.

According to a recent evaluation from NFL.com’s Gennaro Filice, the Texans had a B-plus grade for their 2021 draft class.

The Texans drafted quarterback Davis Mills and receiver Nico Collins both in the third round. In Round 5, Houston also got twin selections in tight end Brevin Jordan and linebacker Garret Wallow. The Texans’ draft topped off with sixth-round defensive tackle Roy Lopez.

The bulk of Filice’s evaluation comes from the quarterback play with Mills, who went 2-9 as a starter but had an optimistic finish with a 2-3 record in the final five games, including a 41-29 win over the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 16 that kept them out of the playoffs.

Let’s begin where everything begins in this league: at the quarterback position. In January of last year, Deshaun Watson requested a trade. A few months later, he was facing 22 lawsuits alleging sexual assault and harassment. Suddenly, the Texans had to start over at the most important position in the sport. They scrambled to acquire Tyrod Taylor in free agency and Ryan Finley via trade, then grabbed Mills with their highest draft pick. A five-star recruit out of high school, Mills was plagued by injuries during his four years at Stanford, starting just 11 total games before deciding to forego his remaining eligibility and enter the 2021 NFL Draft. The eighth quarterback off the board, Mills entered Year 1 as the anonymous backup to the emergency starter. But the Football Gods continued their relentless smiting of Taylor, who injured his hamstring in Week 2, forcing the rookie into action. Mills flashed promise in his first two months of NFL action — remember when he nearly slayed Bill Belichick’s Patriots with a 312-yard, three-touchdown masterpiece? — but Taylor regained the starting job upon return from injured reserve. Houston eventually went back to Mills in mid-December and the 23-year-old produced some sparkling numbers in his final five starts of the season: 68.4 comp%, 9:2 TD-to-INT ratio, 102.4 passer rating. He even outdueled quarterbacking darling Justin Herbert in a shocking upset of the Chargers. It remains to be seen what the rebuilding Texans do this offseason, but having an intriguing second-year option at quarterback is something no one saw coming at this time last offseason.

The Texans had the best draft class of the AFC South as the Jacksonville Jaguars were given a C-minus and the Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts were each given a D-plus.

With four picks in the top-100, including No. 3 overall, if the Texans are able to have another B-plus draft or better, it could be the finishing touch to complete the rebuild in the second year of Nick Caserio’s tenure as general manager.

What to expect from Titans’ 2021 draft class in 2022

Here’s what we want to see out of each member of the Titans’ 2021 draft class in 2022.

For the second straight year the Tennessee Titans didn’t get much out of a draft class. Just like the 2020 group, the 2021 class saw some players deal with injuries, while others showed they needed more time to develop.

The exception to the rest was cornerback Elijah Molden, who worked his way into the role of the team’s primary slot cornerback — and from Week 3 on, he performed as arguably the best rookie at his position in the NFL.

Edge rusher Rashad Weaver, cornerback Caleb Farley and linebacker Monty Rice each saw their seasons end early, although Rice did show enough to give us hope.

Offensive lineman Dillon Radunz and wide receivers Dez Fitzpatrick and Racey McMath simply weren’t ready for prime time, and Tennessee’s last pick of the 2021 NFL draft, safety Brady Breeze, isn’t even with the team anymore.

While things are no doubt off to a rocky start for this group as a whole, there is hope things can turn around in 2022. Here’s a look at what we expect from each member of the Titans’ 2021 draft class in their second season.

Rookie Retrospective: Looking back at Payton Turner’s first NFL season

Rookie Retrospective: Looking back at Payton Turner’s first season with the Saints

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How would you grade Payton Turner’s rookie year with the New Orleans Saints? A surprise pick out of the Houston Cougars program at No. 28 overall last spring, it took fans a while to come around to Turner after months of speculation on who the team might have picked instead. And then an injury-wracked first season in the NFL added to frustration. He ended up playing just 165 snaps across five games.

Let’s start with what happened when he was on the field. Turner logged 103 pass rushing snaps, which he converted into 10 quarterback pressures (7 hurries, 2 hits, 1 sack), with a 72-31 split between rushing from the right and left sides. His 5.3 pass rush productivity score from Pro Football Focus ranked 10th among the 26 rookie defensive linemen (both interior and edge rushers) to log 100 or more snaps.

And he was very active in run defense, with all seven of his tackles on running plays qualified as stops at PFF (meaning he stopped the runner for a gain of roughly less than half the yards needed to convert a first down). That’s a stop rate of 23.3% out of his snaps played, best in the rookie class.

So he was a more impactful run defender than pass rusher, which has been typical for Saints defensive ends over the last decade. Cameron Jordan fit that same profile early in his career. So has Marcus Davenport. And just like the two of them, Turner could grow into a better quarterback hunter with more reps.

He just needs to get healthy enough for that opportunity. He’s had some tough breaks, but it’s wrong to characterize Turner as an injury-prone player. He got in on 40 of the 45 games Houston played when he was on their roster (missing three of those with COVID-19 in 2020). It’s not as if his issues are all connected like a series of knee injuries. Look at his timeline:

  • Sept. 2016: ACL (high school)
  • Nov. 2018: Foot (season ending, missed two games)
  • 2019: Four broken fingers (played through it)
  • 2020: Hand, knee, and COVID-19 (missed three games)
  • Sept. 2021: Elbow (training camp, missed one game)
  • Oct. 2021: Calf (missed two games)
  • Nov. 2021: Shoulder (season ending)

Unless you’re suggesting the Saints should have looked at his college injury history and predicted him to miss a dozen games, which would be really dumb, it’s hard to hold it against him. Injuries are part of the game and more often than not just come down to luck. Routine tackles can end careers. It is what it is.

But it’s a very real problem that he missed so much time in his rookie year. Beyond the immediate contributions he could have added to the edge rush rotation, he needed those reps in games and in practice to help him progress and get used to NFL speed. Now he’s entering 2022 needing to catch up.

The good news is that Turner has already shown he belongs. There is a lot he can learn and improve at but he isn’t some raw talent who can’t play with a hand in the dirt. If he enjoys better health, which was the case in college, he should be an asset for the Saints defense moving forwards. At this point, though, it’s difficult to grade his rookie season as anything better than a C.

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6 potential free-agent fits for Cardinals in Bengals-Chiefs

Check out which soon-to-be free agents on the Bengals and Chiefs could fit with the Cardinals.

The Arizona Cardinals and their fans must watch the Cincinnati Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs battle on Sunday for a chance to go to the Super Bowl.

But there are some players on both teams who will be free agents this offseason and could fill important needs for the Cardinals.

In the first of the two conference championships, check out who could be nice free-agent fits for the Cardinals in 2022.

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Arkansas’ Treylon Burks provides intriguing skill set but can Cowboys afford the cost?

An expansive catch radius, separation skills and bully size all seem to fit the needs of many teams, but Burks in Dallas would be a great thing. @DiabeticTyler looks into the Arkansas receiver.

There are a number of expiring contracts for the Dallas Cowboys this offseason and unless a fair amount of players are willing to take a hometown discount, those losses will need to be addressed via either unrestricted free agency or the NFL draft. Knowing this club’s allergy to signing big-name free agents, the draft will always be their most-used method of snagging elite talent. The Cowboys have been lucky with two of their more recent WR selections in the NFL Draft. Michael Gallup has more than exceeded his draft pick which was 81st overall, and nobody expected CeeDee Lamb to slip to No. 17 overall in the 2020 draft.

Gallup’s injury may have dampened his free agency prospects, but it also makes him an unknown were he even to return.  This year’s draft is riddled with talented replacement options. What if one of the top players falls into the Cowboys laps? Will they draft a more pressing need or will they take the best player available like with Lamb? Arkansas’ Treylon Burks could be a fantastic fit in Kellen Moore’s offense.

PFF ranks Jaguars’ 2021 draft class near the bottom of the NFL

The Jags’ class didn’t have many rookie contributors outside of Trevor Lawrence and Tyson Campbell, and PFF ranks it 30th as a result.

The 2021 NFL draft will likely always be remembered by Jaguars fans as the class that featured first overall pick quarterback Trevor Lawrence. The Clemson product was considered a generational prospect when the Jags drafted him, and though he had a frustrating rookie season, there’s still a lot of hope surrounding his future.

However, while the Lawrence pick was a no-brainer and one that should put the franchise in a good position in the future, the rest of the class was also important as the team tries to build around him.

That’s where Jacksonville faltered a bit. Travis Etienne, the team’s other first-round pick, missed his entire rookie season with a Lisfranc fracture. He remains a largely unknown commodity, as does much of the rest of the class. Second-round pick Tyson Campbell started at cornerback for most of the season, and while he improved quite a bit, he was really the only major contributor other than Lawrence in this draft class.

Third-round picks Walker Little and Andre Cisco saw minimal action earlier in the season but started the last several games and played well, while Jay Tufele and Jordan Smith barely saw the field. Luke Farrell wasn’t much more than a reserve blocking tight end, and Jalen Camp didn’t even make the final roster.

Given this, it shouldn’t be a major surprise that the Jags’ class ranks just 30th in the league after one season, according to Pro Football Focus. Here’s the justification for that ranking.

Why they’re ranked here: This Jaguars rookie class was always going to live and die with Trevor Lawrence‘s performance. There are plenty of excuses to be made for Lawrence, but the results were far from impressive. Lawrence finished the season ranked 27th among 32 qualifying quarterbacks in PFF grade, and Jacksonville didn’t get any production from their other first-round pick Travis Etienne following his preseason injury.

How their top pick fared: Lawrence had perhaps the best moments and throws of any rookie quarterback this season, and he already operates like a veteran in the pocket. Lawrence took sacks on pressured dropbacks at one of the lowest rates in the NFL this season, but the first overall pick just made too many mistakes, as he often forced the ball downfield and into non-existent windows. His 26 turnover-worthy plays were tied for third-most in the league.

Best value pick: Andre Cisco played 25 defensive snaps for the first time in Week 15, and he would go on to start each of the team’s final three games. It’s a small sample, but Cisco produced two PFF grades above 75.0 in those three starts. His playmaking ability at safety should earn him a starting role in the defense next season.

The breakdown of Lawrence’s play here is pretty fair. He did a lot of things well that you look for from young quarterbacks coming into the league, but his production was limited by some poor decision-making and even poorer play from his receiving corps.

The rest of the class is where most of the questions come from, but the Jags will hope Campbell continues to develop into one of the league’s more reliable corners and that players like Little and Cisco ultimately become starting-caliber players.

PFF ranks Titans’ 2021 draft class in bottom half of NFL

PFF ranked the Titans’ most recent draft class in the bottom half of the NFL after the 2021 season.

For the second straight season, the Tennessee Titans didn’t get much out of their most recent draft class.

The only member of the class to see significant playing time was Elijah Molden, who not only played well as the team’s top slot cornerback, but performed as one of the better ones in the NFL, especially among rookies.

The rest of the class didn’t have much success, though.

Caleb Farley, Monty Rice and Rashad Weaver all saw their seasons end early due to injury, and Dillon Radunz started just one game and played 124 offensive snaps in total.

Dez Fitzpatrick, who didn’t even make the 53-man roster out of training camp, played sparingly, as did Racey McMath, and Brady Breeze is no longer with the team.

Taking all of that into account, Pro Football Focus ranked the Titans’ 2021 draft class as the No. 22 group in the NFL after the 2021 season.

Here’s PFF’s take on things in Tennessee:

Why they’re ranked here: Tennessee got a combined 363 offensive and defensive snaps out of their first three draft picks, which doesn’t include fourth-round selection at wide receiver — Dez Fitzpatrick — who was released prior to the start of the season before later being re-signed to the practice squad. The Titans just didn’t ask much of their rookie class in a season where they earned the No. 1 seed in the AFC.

How their top pick fared: Injuries were the biggest concern for Caleb Farley coming out of Virginia Tech, and ended up limiting him to just 60 defensive snaps after the rookie tore his ACL early in the 2021 season. He allowed seven receptions from nine targets for 75 yards in his limited action.

Best value pick: Defenders who get tagged with the “slot-only” label are often going to be overlooked, which was the case with Elijah Molden coming out of Washington. Molden will need to clean things up as a tackler (15% missed tackle rate in 2021), but he delivered a solid overall performance in his 671 defensive snaps. He ranked third in PFF’s WAR metric among defenders drafted in the third round or later.

While the 2021 draft class wasn’t as disastrous as the 2020 group, it still wasn’t a good showing overall.

Thankfully, there is still plenty of time to right the ship and the Titans can only hope that some or all of these players can make the kind of second-year leap in 2022 that Kristian Fulton did this past season.

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Browns rookie class ranked high despite limited contributions after top two

With Newsome and JOK being very good as rookies plus a little versatile production from Felton, the Browns rookie class is off to a good start:

The Cleveland Browns top two draft picks were stellar in 2021. While Greg Newsome II and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah missed a little time due to injuries, the pair showed why so many were excited about the Browns second draft under Andrew Berry.

The duo recently was named to the Pro Football Writers all-rookie team. They were joined by Demetric Felton who made the team as a punt returner. Felton had 32 returns for 227 yards, an average of 7.1 per return, with a long of 24 yards. Outside of his return duties, he added 18 receptions for 181 yards and seven carries for 24 yards.

The rookie sixth-rounder also had two receiving touchdowns.

Outside of Newsome and Owusu-Koramoah, along with Felton’s versatile contributions, Cleveland didn’t get a lot out of their draft class. James Hudson III played poorly early while showing improvement late in the season while Anthony Schwartz did very little after flashing in the first game of the season.

Tommy Togiai, Tony Fields II and Richard LeCounte struggled to see the field.

Despite all of that, carried by the first two picks, the Browns draft class was ranked fifth overall by ESPN and PFF (Subscriber, $):

Why they’re ranked here: Cleveland’s first two selections in the 2021 NFL Draft stepped in and immediately contributed positively to their defense. Greg Newsome and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah both landed on PFF’s 2021 All-Rookie Team, and the Browns got small contributions from later selections such as Anthony Schwartz and Demetric Felton on offense.

Given the normal development of a draft class, Cleveland’s has a chance to be special. With their first two picks already excelling, the team hopes for development from the middle-round guys while hoping Felton can build on his multidimensional abilities.

The New England Patriots took the top spot due to Mac Jones, Christian Barmore and Rhamondre Stevenson having very good seasons as rookies.

Only the New England Patriots had a better rookie class than the Houston Texans

Of course the New England Patriots would have a great rookie class in 2021. However, the Houston Texans were immediately behind them.

The New England Patriots being atop a rookie class ranking isn’t too surprising given quarterback Mac Jones’ success. However, the Houston Texans weren’t that far behind.

According to Pro Football Focus, the Texans were ranked as having the second-best rookie class in 2021.

Why they’re ranked here: The Texans benefit from the fact there weren’t really any expectations for their class because of how little draft capital they had at their disposal last offseason. Davis Mills finished the season ranked 30th among quarterbacks in PFF grade, but he still finished with roughly 0.7 wins above a replacement-level quarterback, which is a strong outcome for a third-round selection. Houston also got contributions from several later picks, such as Brevin Jordan, Nico Collins and Roy Lopez.

What helped sell the Texans was the quarterback play from Mills, who had a 123.5 passer rating on throws of 20 or more yards, which led all quarterbacks in 2021. Where PFF will drag Mills throughout the offseason is his turnover-worthy plays, which they count as 20. Mills only had 16 “big-time throws” in their grades throughout the 2021 campaign.

The high ranking of the draft class goes to show that general manager Nick Caserio’s method of using the Texans’ array of day three picks as trade packages to move into specific positions to take targeted players actually worked.

“I’d say when you look at the team, it’s really about competition and it’s about creating opportunities,” Caserio said after the 2021 draft on May 1. “The players are going to create their opportunities. We have to get them on the team, right, however they get them here, right, you draft them, you sign them in free agency, you trade for them, whatever the case may be. Then once they’re here, ultimately the competition is going to dictate who plays, who doesn’t play and what their role is.”

If the Texans can have the second-best draft class in 2022, when they have an assortment of top-100 picks, including No. 3 overall, it could catapult Houston back into vying for playoff spots.