Tag: Elijah Molden

2021 NFL Draft: Bills named ‘prime candidate’ to trade back

Could the Buffalo Bills trade back at the 2021 NFL Draft?

NFL.com’s draft analyst Chad Reuter recently named his top-two “ideal” draft prospects for every team in the league. That was not the most interesting part of the exercise when it comes to the Bills, though.

Reuter pegged Oklahoma pass rusher Ronnie Perkins and Washington cornerback Elijah Molden as his two picks. However, in the explanation, a bold claim is made.

Could the Bills move out of the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft with a trade? NFL.com thinks so. That’s the first remark made in the breakdown of Perkins and Molden:

The Bills are a prime candidate for trading out of the first round because their roster is so solid that they can afford to take a few steps back and still get a player of value. Perkins is a strong 4-3 rush end in the mold of Bills veteran Jerry Hughes, whose contract happens to expire after the 2021 season. By picking Perkins, general manager Brandon Beane gets depth on the line this year and a future starter. Molden is another value pick. He’s not the biggest or fastest player, but the son of former NFL defensive back Alex Molden is a playmaker with the instincts and toughness to play in the slot or deep half.

Well, not only does Reuter think Perkins and Molden  are fits… he thinks this exact scenario might play out. In his mock draft at the end of March he has Buffalo trading back in a deal with the Atlanta Falcons for the No. 35 pick early in Round 2. The Bills take Perkins there and land an extra fourth-round selection in the deal.

Moving on in that particular mock draft, Molden is on the board at pick No. 61 and the Bills take him.

Regardless of the players, Buffalo trading back at the upcoming draft might be a move to watch. Adding extra mid-round picks is something that Bills general manager Brandon Beane is a fan of. If anything, he’s done so in order to make further deals to move back up the draft board.

On the players: Perkins put up 5.5 sacks last season in only six games played. Still, he might be project piece that needs to round his entire game out, according to The Draft Network.

While the Bills have yet to add a cornerback to their No. 2 competition with Levi Wallace and Dane Jackson, Molden would not be that guy. Molden is actually a slot cornerback and would compete for snaps with Taron Johnson on the inside instead. While Johnson did have a huge playoff interception for the Bills against the Baltimore Ravens, his play in the regular season wasn’t always great. Competition for him would be a smart addition.

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Browns check out defensive prospects at Washington’s pro day

Browns check out defensive prospects including DT Levi Onwuzurike at Washington’s pro day

The Cleveland Browns were among the NFL teams in attendance for the Washington Huskies pro day workout on Tuesday. There are a couple of defensive prospects from Washington who make a lot of sense for the Browns to target in the 2021 NFL draft, too.

If the team is looking to bolster the defensive line, Levi Onwuzurike makes sense. Onwuzurike is one of the better interior pass rushing prospects in the class. He opted out in 2020 after an impressive junior season where he was the top-graded pass rusher amongst all college DTs by Pro Football Focus. Onwuzurike’s projections are all over the draft map, from the late first round through the end of the third. He showed enough athleticism during his Washington career and at the Senior Bowl in January to play further outside too, a la Sheldon Richardson.

Cornerback Elijah Molden is generally projected on Day 2 as one of the best slot CB prospects. Like new Browns corner Troy Hill, Molden looks ideally built to play inside but has shown he can handle the physicality of playing outside against bigger receivers. Another Huskies CB, Keith Taylor, also merits some Browns interest later in the draft.

Joe Tryon is also worthy of a look as a pass-rushing EDGE option on Day 2. He had eight sacks as a twitchy, stand-up pass rusher in 2019 before opting out of the 2020 campaign.

Titans trade up with Raiders, draft DeVonta Smith in Touchdown Wire mock

If you’re a fan of the Tennessee Titans going WR in the first round, this mock is as good as it gets.

We’ve gone over a lot of expert mock drafts for the Tennessee Titans this offseason, but this one is hands down the most interesting.

Touchdown Wire’s Mark Schofield recently put together a two-rounder, and in it he has the Titans trading up with the Las Vegas Raiders to No. 17, with Tennessee sending back their No. 22 pick, as well as two third-round picks, one in 2021 and the other in 2022.

And with that newly-acquired pick, the Titans select Alabama stud wide receiver DeVonta Smith. Here’s what Schofield had to say:

The Tennessee Titans move up and stop the DeVonta Smith slide.

There will be concerns in some corners about Smith’s size and frame. In my opinion if you turn on the film you will see more than enough evidence of Smith punching above his weight class. He is strong at the catch point, has beaten press coverage in the past due to quickness, footwork and technique, and he can thrive in the NFL thanks to his ability to separate. But that frame still makes him an outlier, and teams could remain wary despite the tape.

The Titans have a need a wide receiver, and while Arthur Smith has moved on, incoming offensive coordinator Todd Downing has been with the Titans and is expected to implement a system very similar to what we have seen the past few years in Tennessee. What does that mean? A lot of 12 personnel, which means receivers will get to slide inside with their alignments at times and make use of potential “two-way gos” off the line. That will give Smith the chance to acclimate to life in the NFL by relying on his footwork and change-of-direction skills off the snap.

If you’re a fan of the Titans going receiver in Round 1, this one is as good as it gets. If this trade opportunity were to present itself, general manager Jon Robinson should absolutely pull the trigger.

The concerns about 6-foot-1, 175-pound receiver’s frame are understandable, but he is undoubtedly one of the best receivers in this year’s class and would be a steal at No. 17.

If Smith were to land in Tennessee’s lap, he could combine with A.J. Brown to make a superstar duo at the position in Nashville for years to come, and with Josh Reynolds the Titans would have a better trio than they did in 2020.

In the second round of Schofield’s mock, he has the Titans addressing their need at cornerback by taking Washington prospect Elijah Molden, someone Tennessee has met with this offseason.

Schofield’s thoughts:

With the addition of Janoris Jenkins in free agency and Kristian Fulton, last year’s second-round selection, the  Tennessee Titans have options on the outside. But slot cornerback is basically a starting position in today’s NFL, and adding a player on the inside is a wise investment. Elijah Molden is that kind of player, with the change-of-direction skills and awareness to survive on the inside. He is also a willing defender in run support.

The 5-foot-10, 190-pound corner could challenge for playing time in the slot as soon as 2021 with the Titans not having great options there at the moment. Whether it’s this season or a few years down the road, Molden projects as a starting NFL corner.

The verdict: we love this mock and it’s one we’d give an “A” if the Titans can pull it off.

Don’t discount Washington CB Elijah Molden because of his size

Washington cornerback Elijah Molden may be “undersized,” but his production proves he’s still a big-time playmaker

Every year, tons of draft prospects get the dreaded “undersized” label, as if their inability to hit certain thresholds on a measuring tape should overshadow a career of impressive play at the highest levels of college football.

That label is sure to be applied to plenty of talented prospects in the 2021 NFL draft class, and Washington cornerback Elijah Molden is likely to be among them.

But if you can look past the height and weight (Molden is listed at 5-10, 190 pounds), and instead focus on how Molden actually performed on the field during four seasons with the Huskies, his track record will show he plays bigger than he’s listed:

If your team can’t find a place for a player like that because he’s “too small,” they probably need to make some changes to their process.

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