The 2020 regular season hasn’t even hit yet but that doesn’t mean we can’t start thinking ahead to what the offseason might bring. That’s precisely what Draft Wire’s Luke Easterling did, taking a look at what the 2021 NFL Draft might look like in about 10 months.
Using the latest Super Bowl odds to set the draft order, Easterling played general manager for the Baltimore Ravens and every other team in a two-round mock draft. With the 30th pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Easterling has the Ravens taking Minnesota wide receiver Rashod Bateman.
Just like we saw in the 2020 NFL Draft, the top wide receivers came off the board well before Baltimore was on the clock Bateman is the fifth wide receiver selected but that doesn’t mean he’s some scrub, however.
Bateman has good size at 6-foot-1 and 210 pounds. But more importantly, Bateman has great hands and good route running to make him a complete wide receiver. He’s got the straight-line speed to be a deep threat, and the physicality and agility to turn an underneath reception into a touchdown. He could fit in well in the slot or be pushed to the outside in Baltimore’s scheme, all depending on how Marquise Brown and Miles Boykin perform this year.
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Easterling wasn’t done with just one round though, picking through a second round. While he boosted the Ravens’ offense in the first round, Easterling double-dipped on Baltimore’s tendencies, picking Alabama defensive lineman Phidarian Mathis with the 62nd overall pick.
Mathis can play a bunch of different roles on the defensive line, having the size to eat up space in run support and the athleticism to get into the backfield and harass quarterbacks. That versatility would come in handy for the Ravens, who have a bunch of their defensive linemen set to be free agents next offseason or the year after.
Mathis being taken in the second round might be a little projection on the part of Easterling, however. While Mathis certainly looks the part on paper, he’s still pretty raw in his technique. But as we see every year, some players have it all come together seemingly overnight as they enter their final year in college. If Mathis can refine his technique a little more to match his physical attributes, he easily could be a second-round pick Baltimore would love to have.
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