2021 General Draft Thoughts

I think that’s just symptomatic of a lower quality defensive class

To me ojulari and paye are 2 sides of the same coin - athletically gifted and more refined in one area than the other - for paye he’s already a great run defender who’s flashed a lot as a pass rusher, for ojulari he looks like he’s already a good pass rusher but has some technical refinement needed in his run defence

ojulari also has the added benefit for the ravens of being a natural 3-4 OLB in that he looks very smooth and intuitive in coverage

with Farley being number 1 CB (for me) i think that’s more about the CB class having not a ton of spectacular players - surtain’s the most refined but not a big playmaker or elite athletically (and given his technique might be close to maxed out already) - horn and Farley are more interesting athletes and playmakers but have technical things you’d want them to clean up

but none of the defensive players in this class stick out to me as top 15/top 10 type talents

 

it really surprises me that PFF wouldn't be high on him - analytics models in general seem to rate him highly on a consistent basis and I'm pretty sure that includes a lot of PFF's grades too lol...

that being said there is a trend in analytics about the types of receivers you want to draft - PFF loves YAC probably because it's maybe the most reliably transferrable production from college to pros - which means that they're more likely to like someone like Rondale Moore who's dynamic after the catch

EDIT: maybe in their mocks he's available or whatnot but looking at their big board they've got him as WR4 and 18th - that seems like a 1st round pick to me by their own measures lol

 

he's the exact kind of guy i'd expect the ravens to jump at if he were to make it to round 4 (or beyond) - he's an unspectacular athlete (but has some nice burst and some surprising flexibility) - but he's technical and as you say he's high motor and versatile - will rush from the outside, will rush from inside, can drop into coverage (was given practice time with the LBs at the senior bowl, and then the next drill would be rushing at 3tech vs a guard)

just a really solid guy who's probably going to be a better pro than college player but probably at best sees his name called at the very end of day 2

but he's disciplined, got powerful hands and counters well (something that a lot of the higher touted guys in the class don't do - partly because they never had to), he's a reactive rusher and adjusts mid-rush to take advantage of what the tackle's given him

looks like a Raven day 3 pick if ever i saw one (probably a lot of steelers pundits who'd say the same about the steelers lol)

ive got a 3rd round grade on him but im fully expecting him to not actually get picked on day 2

 

40 times are the worst thing affecting WR draft classes because it doesnt assess "play-speed" or your ability to be a vertical threat...

like dont get me wrong they're not completely useless (and it's always a fun exercise) but they're mostly useful for making sure guys hit certain benchmarks or for sending you back to the tape on someone - can help you work out some late guys to take an interest in - i only got in on darnell mooney after he smashed his 40 time

the 40 time was great for jefferson for example but idk that he should have been drafted later if he ran a 4.5 instead...

as long as bateman isnt running a 4.6 or something then he should be drafted in round 1

in terms of non-qbs there might be only 6 or 7 players i'd take over bateman in this entire draft class at any position right now - there's no way he should be dropping out of round 1

 

corner and edge classes are kinda similar this year

not a ton of surefire blue-chip talents at the very top but a ton of depth at through day 1 and 2

EDGE obviously is a bit of a muddle at the top for various reasons but might have 12-15 guys go by the end of day 2 (i've got 12)

and I'm doing a load of corners at the moment and again there's no real blue-chip guy at the top but a ton of depth through to the end of day 2 - i've got 10 already graded in that range but still got another 2 or 3 guys on my list who are highly regarded prospects (and there's always those guys who you find later in the process who jump in there too)

 

haha that tweet had me until i got to that last line - for a second i was about to cuss everyone out lol

he's definitely a WR on some boards but i personally think he's a good enough in-line blocker and seam route runner (out of those spots) that he's a TE

maybe a TE more in the mould of Waller than Kittle but still a TE to me

but i've got no problem with some teams putting him on the board as a WR - you could make a serious argument for him as WR1 if you wanted and no one would laugh you out of the building

 

i mean as TE he was still lining up out wide isolated and running WR routes - the only thing that would make him a WR more than a TE is how much he gets lined up in-line or as an h-back etc. his usage as a receiver is likely going to involve lining up all over the formation

 

lol - this would be ridiculous