Tag: Liam Eichenberg

Colts’ final 2021 mock draft roundup: April 26

The final mock draft roundup of 2021.

The 2021 NFL draft is just days away as the Indianapolis Colts will be looking to make some moves beginning Thursday night with the No. 21 overall pick.

With the draft slated to begin in just a few days, everyone is getting their predictions in—our final mock will come later in the week. But we’ve gone over the picks each week over the last month, and there’s a trend taking place.

Most mocks have the Colts trading back or taking an offensive tackle or edge rusher with the No. 21 overall pick. If you want to take a peek at the older versions, you can find them below:

  • Mock draft roundup: April 5 (link)
  • Mock draft roundup: April 12 (link)
  • Mock draft roundup: April 19 (link)

Here is the final mock draft roundup for the Colts on April 26:

Ravens Draft Prospect Profile: Liam Eichenberg

The Baltimore Ravens could look to tackles early in the draft after trading Orlando Brown Jr. to the Chiefs. Could Liam Eichenberg be taken?

After trading Orlando Brown Jr. to the Kansas City Chiefs, the Baltimore Ravens now have a massive hole at their right tackle position. Baltimore acquired the 31st overall selection in the deal to give them two first-round draft picks, so the team could look to use one of those two first round selections on a tackle to protect Lamar Jackson, as well as help in the run game.

One player who the Ravens could look at in the first round or even in a trade back scenario is Notre Dame tackle Liam Eichenberg. If selected by Baltimore, it would give the team bookend Fighting Irish tackles, with current Ravens tackle Ronnie Stanley also going to the school.

Eichenberg would give Baltimore an immediate starting option at right tackle. Despite playing left tackle for three years in college, the 6-foot-6, 305 pound Eichenberg is being projected as a right tackle at the NFL level, where his minor foot speed issues can be masked.

Eichenberg is a load in the run game, and can get out in space effectively. He also is extremely physical in pass protection, and can make his presence felt throughout the course of a game.

Eichenberg does have foot speed issues, and because of that, some speed rushers who take certain angles can give him trouble. He is better in the run game as opposed to the passing game, but if he’s put into a zone-heavy run scheme, he can certainly thrive at the NFL level.

There are multiple spots in the draft where the Ravens could opt to take Eichenberg if they’re interested in the tackle. Some think that he’s a reach in the first round, so the team could opt to pick up even more draft selections and trade back if they feel like they still have a shot at him in the early second round. Eichenberg fits what Baltimore does on offense, and is an extremely sound prospect who could make an immediate impact on the offensive line in the wake of Brown’s departure.

Casserly puts two Notre Dame players in first round

You know who they are but where might they be going?

Charley Casserly of the NFL Network has released his latest mock draft and it has a pair of Notre Dame players being selected towards the end of the first round.

Although we’ve seen some not have any Notre Dame players called in round one recently, Casserly has the Cleveland Browns taking Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah with the 26th overall pick, a spot we’ve seen the 2020 Butkus Award winner landing a few others times as well.
Of Owusu-Koramoah, Casserly states:
Even after signingJadeveon Clowney, the Browns add another talented defender who will have an immediate impact in pass coverage.  
Five spots later at 31 he has the Kansas City Chiefs finding a new offensive tackle in the form of Notre Dame prospect Liam Eichenberg.
Eichenberg may need to start immediately at left tackle after all the turnover along the O-line. It’s a big ask to protect the blind side of one of the league’s top QBs.
You can see Casserly’s entire mock draft here, as he has quarterbacks going with the first three picks before the Falcons change things up a bit at four.

16 OTs the Colts could draft to replace Anthony Castonzo

Which OTs are best for the Colts?

The Indianapolis Colts offensive line has been considered one of the best in the NFL over the last few years after selecting Quenton Nelson in the 2018 NFL draft.

The unit took on a major loss when their long-time left tackle, Anthony Castonzo, announced his retirement on January 12. His void is still a glaring issue when you take a gander at the current roster. While general manager Chris Ballard added veterans Sam Tevi and Julién Davenport in free agency, both players should be viewed as depth pieces that will compete for a spot on the roster. 

Indianapolis currently only has six picks and only two (Nos. 21, 54) of those fall on the first two days of the draft. Ballard has made at least eight selections in his four draft classes so it will be interesting to see if he stays put or trades back to add some ammunition for him to work with. It will be dependent on how the board falls and if one of his guys will fall to the No. 21 pick.

While left tackle is a pressing need, that doesn’t mean it will be the first position off the board for the Colts. Offensive tackle is one of the deeper groups in this class so Ballard can wait if he needs to, but he should leave Day 1 or 2 with the next left tackle that will be counted on to fill Castonzo’s shoes. 

There have been 18 offensive tackles selected in the first round of the last five NFL drafts:

2016: 4
2017: 2
2018: 2
2019: 4
2020: 6

Based on recent history, we can expect at least three tackles to hear their names called on the first night. Teams that could select a tackle before Indianapolis include the  Carolina Panthers, Los Angeles Chargers, Minnesota Vikings, Washington Football Team, and Chicago Bears. As it is every year, we truly don’t know how the board will fall on April 29.

Let’s take a look at some potential Day 1 and 2 options for the Colts.:

Chiefs address offensive tackle early in latest 2-round projections from Draft Wire

Chiefs get offensive help in the first round and defensive help in the second round in Draft Wire’s latest mock draft.

With just two weeks to go until the 2021 NFL draft, our friends at Draft Wire have released a brand new 2-round mock draft projection. This time Luke Easterling has the Chiefs taking an offensive tackle early on and adding some defensive help in the second round.

Here are some thoughts on the players sent to Kansas City:

 

Mel Kiper Jr. gives the Ravens offense in latest two-round mock draft

ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. released his latest two-round mock draft, where he has the Baltimore Ravens selecting offensive playmakers

There’s no doubt that the Baltimore Ravens will be looking for instant impact playmakers in the 2021 draft. They could target a skill position player such as a wide receiver or opt to shore up their offensive line. Either way, when the draft is all said and done, Baltimore will most likely have more firepower on offense than they had beforehand.

In his latest two-round mock draft, ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. made sure that the Ravens would be well set up on offense both for 2021 and the future, as he mocked two phenomenal offensive prospects to Baltimore. Both players would provide key depth at positions of need, as well as the ability to make a difference at the start of their rookie seasons.

With the Ravens’ first round selection at No. 27, Kiper Jr. selected wide receiver Terrace Marshall Jr., the star wideout from LSU. While most of the attention has been on his counterpart Ja’Marr Chase, Marshall Jr. would provide Baltimore with an outside receiver who is also extremely versatile, as he can play out of the slot if asked to.

Marshall Jr. put up 106 receptions for 1,594 yards and 23 touchdowns during his three years with the Tigers. He’s extremely physical, a savvy route runner, and tough to bring down after the catch. Listed at 6-foot-3, 200 pounds, he has a build that the Ravens are sorely lacking outside of the 6-foot-4, 220 pound Miles Boykin. Baltimore already has plenty of smaller receivers, so rounding out their wide receiver room with a big target like Marshall Jr. would make the Ravens’ offense even more dangerous.

In the second round, Kiper Jr. used Baltimore’s No. 58 selection to draft Notre Dame offensive lineman Liam Eichenberg. Getting a player like Eichenberg so late in the second round would be one of the steals of the draft, as many view him as a late-first round to early-second round prospect.

Eichenberg played left tackle for three years with the Fighting Irish, so he’d have to move over to right tackle or shift to guard in order to make an immediate impact with the Ravens. However, he is an extremely sound prospect who doesn’t have many weaknesses in his game. He also has a monster physical profile, standing at 6-foot-6 and weighing 305 pounds, so he has the size to hold his own in the NFL.

Both Marshall Jr. and Eichenberg are tantalizing prospects who Baltimore could use in many different ways. The Ravens already have a phenomenal offensive, but adding multiple high-level prospects would round out the unit and make it even more dangerous than it already is.

Pair of O-line prospects Cardinals have scouted miss medical checks with COVID-19

Liam Eichenberg and Aaron Banks both tested positive for COVID-19, keeping them from their medical checks in Indy. The Cardinals watched them at their pro day.

When Notre Dame held their pro day last week, the Arizona Cardinals were one of several teams with offensive line coaches in attendance, presumably to get a look at the Fighting Irish’s offensive line prospects.

Two of those linemen the Cardinals watched — tackle Liam Eichenberg and guard Aaron Banks — were scheduled for medical checks in Indianapolis.

They had to miss those medical checks after testing positive for COVID-19, as reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Eichenberg is one of the top tackle prospects and is frequently mocked either in the second round or even sometimes in the late first round.

Eichenberg could potentially be in play for the Cardinals in the second round, so these medical checks become important.

However, as Rapoport notes, with three weeks remaining until the draft, there will still be time for those medical checks to happen.

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Cardinals have O-line coach present for Notre Dame pro day

There are three Notre Dame offensive line prospects the Arizona Cardinals were there to see.

The Arizona Cardinals continue their work preparing for the NFL draft and were present for Notre Dame’s pro day on Thursday. It would appear they have some interest in their offensive line prospects.

According to Jim Nagy, who is the executive director of the Senior Bowl, noted several teams had offensive line coaches present to see prospects Liam Eichenberg, Robert Hainsey and Aaron Banks.

The Cardinals were one of them, which presumably means it was offensive line coach and run game coordinator Sean Kugler.

At least six other teams were present for their workout.

Eichenberg is the top prospect for the Fighting Irish. He started three seasons at left tackle but some feel he can play both tackle spots at the next level. His pro comp on NFL.com is Cardinals guard Justin Pugh.

Most mock drafts do not have Eichenberg as a mid-first round pick where the Cardinals select and he might be gone by the time their selection comes up in the second round.

Banks played guard. He is 6-5 and 325 pounds and quite athletic.

Hainsey started three years at right tackle. He is 6-4 and 306 pounds and won’t likely come off the board until Day 3 of the draft.

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Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

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Notre Dame releases results from Pro Day

On Wednesday, Notre Dame was the training ground for its now-former players with NFL aspirations.

On Wednesday, Notre Dame was the training ground for its now-former players with NFL aspirations. With representatives from many teams planning their draft strategy on hand, this was the time to make an impression. The Pro Day served as something of a substitute for the usual Scouting Combine that has become so highly regarded for NFL prospects and fans. Notre Dame has released the results from Pro Day, so here they are:

With Notre Dame having as great a season as it did in 2020, it’s no surprise that there was plenty of young talent for NFL teams to scout. Some players required more of a look than others. While Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and Liam Eichenberg are sure to be selected in the first or second round, many more players needed to have a good showing to improve their chances. One notable example was Ian Book looking slightly better than Baker Mayfield did shortly before he was the top pick in 2018:

Obviously, that doesn’t mean Book is going to be the first selection of the 2021 draft. However, he and others undoubtedly went higher on the big boards of many coaches and scouts during this event. Here’s hoping that works pays off next month.

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Colts’ 4-round mock draft without trades

A 4-round mock without trades.

With the majority of the NFL free agency frenzy all but over, attention turns to the 2021 NFL draft for all 32 teams, including the Indianapolis Colts.

While the Colts weren’t big spenders so far this offseason they are still in a good position to add some great young players to an already talented roster.

Here we’ll be doing a four-round mock draft using The Draft Network’s Mock Draft Machine for the Colts first three selections this year. While I think Colts general manager Chris Ballard pulling off at least one trade in this draft is highly likely, we won’t be attempting to predict a trade in this mock.