Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
With the 2021 NFL draft rapidly approaching, the Falcons will need to hit on the majority of their picks and potentially trade down in order to address all of the team’s needs.
With the 2021 NFL draft rapidly approaching, the Falcons have several holes to fill. The team may need to trade back in order to acquire more picks and fill out the roster.
In my second mock draft, I have Atlanta making a major trade for an All-Pro cornerback to pair with A.J. Terrell.
With the 2021 NFL draft rapidly approaching, the Falcons will need to hit on the majority of their picks and potentially trade down in order to address all of the team’s needs.
With the 2021 NFL draft rapidly approaching, the Falcons have several holes to fill. The team may need to trade back in order to acquire more picks and fill out the roster.
In my second mock draft, I have Atlanta making a major trade for an All-Pro cornerback to pair with A.J. Terrell.
Who were the best prospects at each position in this year’s Senior Bowl?
Every year, the Senior Bowl provides prospects with an opportunity to test their mettle against some of the top competition in college football, hoping to impress NFL decision-makers heading into the draft.
Here are my picks for the best players I saw at every position throughout this year’s event in Mobile:
8 Senior Bowl players who should have impressed the Browns during practices
The annual Senior Bowl week took on extra importance in 2021 with the COVID-19 pandemic impacting the scouting combine and pro days. The week of practices, interviews and the Senior Bowl itself played out last week in Mobile, and there are a few NFL draft prospects who should have caught the attention of the Cleveland Browns staff in attendance.
Here are a few of the standouts from the week and an eye for how they could help the Browns as a draft pick or priority free agent.
After it was over, Carolina coach Matt Rhule singled out these three players in particular for praise.
The 2021 Senior Bowl is over and the Carolina Panthers coaching staff got a good look at some of the top prospects in this year’s NFL draft class.
After it was over, Carolina coach Matt Rhule singled out these three players in particular for praise.
Rodgers (5-foot-9, 210 pounds) just finished a productive four-year career at Clemson. He posted 181 catches, 2,144 yards and 15 touchdowns. In the Senior Bowl, he caught four balls for 23 yards and scored once. His speed and YAC ability are his best traits and also make him a pretty good fit for the Panthers’ offense. He is projected to be picked in rounds 3-4.
Grant (six-foot, 194 pounds) was one of the true stars in Mobile, boosting his draft stock with a strong week of practice. His ball skills will be a solid addition to whatever team drafts him. Grant totaled 10 interceptions and 17 pass breakups during college. He also forced five fumbles. Most draft experts are expecting him to come off the board in the second round. Carolina could use safety help, so he’s worth considering with the No. 40 overall pick.
Roche (6-foot-3, 245 pounds) is an interesting case because of his connection to Rhule. He spent the 2020 season at Miami but from 2016-2019 he was at Temple, where he played for Rhule a couple seasons. All in all, Roche racked up 30.5 sacks and 54 tackles for a loss and eight forced fumbles in 45 college games. He’s projected to be picked on Day 2.
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Skipping right over the 2020 season, see what the 2021 Dallas Cowboys could possibly do in the draft to address a few more needs.
The dust has settled from the 2020 NFL draft but being the NFL is in recess, why not skip right over the 2020 season and look to the 2021 version.
Luke Easterling of the Draft Wire conducted a two-round mock draft recently, identifying the majority of the coming college football season’s watch list. For the mock order, Easterling used 2020 Super Bowl odds , giving Dallas the No. 27 overall pick. This puts them ten spots deeper than they had when they selected Cee Dee Lamb with the No. 17 overall pick just a few months ago. This also puts the Cowboys in the NFC title game, but that’s a discussion for later.
One can look at this pick in multiple ways. Currently, the Cowboys have tight ends Blake Jarwin, Blake Bell, Dalton Schultz, Sean McKeon, Charlie Taumoepeau and Cole Hikutini on their 2020 roster. By drafting a tight end next year, the mock predicts the tight end depth chart wasn’t strong enough in 2020.
Jarwin goes into this season as the clear cut starter but the group of tight ends behind him clearly don’t stand out in the upcoming season. Taking Pitts with the No. 27 overall also means that he’s coming in to compete for the starting tight end position in 2021.
Jarwin entered 2020 as a restricted free agent, but signed a four-year deal. It is essentially escapable after one season, though, so the team protected themselves should they need to move in a different direction in short order.
The Cowboys finally address the safety position via the draft in Round 2. In 2020, the Cowboys selected two cornerbacks in Trevon Diggs and Reggie Robinson III. They addressed their secondary but felt that the addition of Ha Ha Clinton Dix to Xavier Woods meant safety wasn’t something they needed to focus on.
Drafting Grant here could mean one of a a few things. Both Clinton Dix and Woods are in the final years of their deals. Even if either resigns for a few years it’s unlikely both would return, opening up the possibility for a young cat like Grant to join the fray,
The 2020 draft could go down as one of the best Dallas has had in quite some time. The 2021 draft could be looked at as a draft class that would fill holes and put the team over the top to continue to compete to get their sixth Super Bowl trophy.
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