2021 NFL Draft Recap: NFC East

As you will see in our 2021 NFL Draft Recap, each team selected at least one edge rusher. You could say, The NFC East got defensive in the 2021 NFL Draft! Philadelphia and New York used first round draft picks (DeVonta Smith and Kadarius Toney) to help their young quarterbacks. The Dallas Cowboys and Washington Football Team already have veteran quarterbacks and they chose to add linebackers with versatility: Micah Parsons and Jamin Davis. However, there was more than just linebackers and receivers targeted, Washington, Philadelphia and Dallas selected offensive linemen. Will any of these players propel a division that didn’t have a team finish with over a .500 record in 2021?

Philadelphia Eagles
Selection	Team	Player Selection	Position- School	DN Big Board Rank/ Grade	Notes
1st round, 10th overall	Philadelphia Eagles (From Dallas Cowboys)	DeVonta Smith	6’0 166 WR-Alabama	1/1st Round	The 2020 Heisman Trophy winner will get an opportunity to re-unite with his former QB too, just like Waddle and Chase earlier in the draft.
2nd round, 37th overall	Philadelphia Eagles	Landon Dickerson	6’6 326/C-Alabama	56/2nd Round	Dickerson presents a unique multiple skill-set for NFL teams, having started at four different offensive line positions. Availability has always been the concern for the former five-star recruit.
3rd round, 73rd overall	Philadelphia Eagles (From Carolina Panthers)	Milton Williams	6’3 284/DT-DE Louisiana Tech	42/2nd Round	Due to Louisiana Tech’s lack of size on the three-man defensive front, he was used most frequently at the four-or-five-technique defensive end positions. He was also seen occasionally standing up to rush from an outside linebacker spot on third downs. There was a comfort level exhibited in his play to overpower some tackles and interior guards by dropping his shoulder, but he can play effectively with his hands to disengage.
4th round, 123rd overall	Philadelphia Eagles	Zech McPhearson	5'11 195/CB-Texas Tech, Penn State	152/3rd Round	McPhearson, a former four-star recruit, was seen inside as a nickel. McPhearson displayed a good feel of reacting to motion, breaking downhill on the football and running with crossing routes.
5th round, 150th overall	Philadelphia Eagles	Kenneth Gainwell	5’8 203 All-Purpose/Memphis	125/3rd Round	Gainwell is the mini-sized version of former Memphis running back/wide receiver Antonio Gibson (Washington Redskins). Whether he will have the type of impact at the next level is debatable, especially due to his relative lack of bulk.
6th round, 189th overall	Philadelphia Eagles	Marlon Tuipulotu	6'1 308/DT-USC	320/4th Round	Tuipulotu flashes in spots. Never was that more evident than in the first two games of the 2020 campaign, where he flashed improved quickness and burst getting off the snap. Too many times, however, he struggled to hold the point of attack versus double teams
6th round, 191th overall	Philadelphia Eagles	Tarron Jackson	6'2 260/DE-Coastal Carolina	124/3rd Round	Jackson has a strong enough lower base and enough juice to handle run game assignments versus most tight ends and some offensive tackles. The All-Sun Belt defender contains enough length to jolt linemen with one-hand posts and uses those to set up his inside or outside arm-overs.
6th round, 224th overall	Philadelphia Eagles	JaCoby Stevens	6’2 216/S-LB-LSU	266/4th Round	Stevens, a former collegiate wide receiver, brings an intriguing skill-set to the NFL. As a linebacker, he clearly is still learning the nuances of the position but -while doing so- can offer the ability to match tight ends. For that to happen, he has to attack run game concepts the same way he attacks blitz assignments.
7th round, 234th overall	Philadelphia Eagles	Patrick Johnson	6'2 240/OLB-Tulane	251/4th Round	Tulane’s all-time career sack leader does a fine job of creating angles and getting his feet pointed in a path towards the quarterback as a pass rusher. Offensive tackles have a tough time gaining an area on his frame to pin and prevent his upfield charge. 24.5 career QB sacks.
Dallas Cowboys
Selection	Team	Player Selection	Position- School	DN Big Board Rank/ Grade	Notes
1st round, 12th overall	Dallas Cowboys (from Philadelphia Eagles)	Micah Parsons	6’3 246 LB-Penn State	2/1st Round	Parsons’ speed goes with rare size at the position. He has a chance to develop in Dan Quinn’s system.
2nd round, 44th overall	Dallas Cowboys	Kelvin Joseph	5’11 1/2” 197/CB-Kentucky, LSU	37/2nd Round	Joseph’s ability to squeeze routes from the outside-in in man or zone coverage is extremely impressive. There will be few cornerbacks in this year’s draft class with his level of fluidity. There were problems with communication in coverage.
3rd round, 75th overall	Dallas Cowboys	Osa Odighizuwa	6’2 280/DT-UCLA	106/3rd Round	His feel for blocking schemes is inconsistent and he is still searching for secondary pass rush counters. Balance is something that needs to be monitored moving forward. At 280 pounds with 10 3/4-inch hands, it seems that he is destined for a role at defensive end in a three-man front.
3rd round, 84th overall	Dallas Cowboys (from Philadelphia Eagles)	Chauncey Golston	6’4 268/DE-Iowa	74/3rd Round	Golston is easily one of the most valuable defensive lineman in this year’s draft. He can play the three-technique defensive tackle on passing downs, possible four-or-five-technique defensive end (three or four-man front) or rush as a stand-up outside linebacker. A veteran defensive coordinator may attempt to use the first-team All-Big Ten defender in all of the above-referenced roles.
3rd round, 99th overall	Dallas Cowboys (Compensatory Pick)	Nahshon Wright	6’4 188/CB-Oregon State	357/5th Round	Wright is a tall corner with good feet and a solid backpedal. His challenge will be to constrict his movements in tight areas when it is time to transition versus quicker receivers. For him to do that, he must find a happy medium between being comfortable and not playing too low. His feet don't always stay planted in the ground when flipping to open or break at 45-or-90-degree angles.
4th round, 115th overall	Dallas Cowboys	Jabril Cox	6’3 233/LB-LSU, North Dakota State	46/2nd Round	He has a number of similarities to former Washington LB Cory Littleton (Rams, Raiders) There were questions about Littleton’s pure physicality coming out of school. Cox’s size, body composition and pass coverage skills point to him being further advanced at this same stage.
4th round, 138th overall	Dallas Cowboys (Compensatory Pick)	Josh Ball	6’7 308/OT-Marshall, FSU	215/4th Round	Ball’s entire career has featured a number of up-and-downs, but his final two years at Marshall represented a modicum of consistency. He is quick-footed, balanced and massive.
5th round, 178th overall	Dallas Cowboys (Compensatory Pick)	Simi Fehoko	6'4 224/WR-Stanford	142/3rd Round	We are impressed with how sudden Fehoko uses his stick moves to move the cornerback off the spot; particularly for a man of his size. 16 reps-225 lbs, 4.47 40-yd, 34 1/2” VJ
6th round, 192nd overall	Dallas Cowboys (from Detroit Lions)	Quinton Bohanna	6'4 345/DT-Kentucky	262/4th Round	NFL bloodlines. For a 350-pound defensive lineman, Bohanna will surprise with his quickness laterally to escape blockers. As a result, he has a tendency to get tied up leaning on interior offensive linemen due to inconsistent hand usage.
6th round, 227th overall	Dallas Cowboys (Compensatory Pick)	Israel Mukuamu	6'4 212/CB-South Carolina	162/3rd Round	Has started at both safety and CB. Very good ball skills have shown up throughout his career.
7th round, 238th overall	Dallas Cowboys	Matt Farniok	6’5 311/OL-Nebraska	326/5th Round	It was really no surprise that Farniok, a two-time team captain and four-time Academic All-Big Ten selection, displayed positional versatility in 2020. The team’s 2019 Offensive Lineman of the Year had developed into at least a serviceable right tackle before making the switch to right guard full-time in 2020.
New York Giants
Selection	Team	Player Selection	Position- School	DN Big Board Rank/ Grade	Notes
1st round, 20th overall	New York Giants (from Chicago Bears)	Kadarius Toney	5’11 189 All-Purpose/Florida	49/2nd Round	His ability to get in-and-out of traffic with the ball in his hands makes him a threat as an all-purpose prospect and slot WR.
2nd round, 50th overall	New York Giants (from Miami Dolphins)	Azeez Ojulari	6’2 249/DE-OLB Georgia	45/2nd Round	Ojulari is a defensive end/outside linebacker with underrated strength and positive hand usage. There were occasions where his size created limitations, but he generally exhibited satisfactory upper body strength.
3rd round, 71st overall	New York Giants (from Denver Broncos)	Aaron Robinson	5’11 190/Nickel-UCF, Alabama	58/2nd Round	Robinson fits the bill of what you need at the nickel back posi-tion in today’s NFL. Some of the most popular NFL route concepts feature crossers, in-breaking dig patterns. Of all the corners or nickel backs in this year’s draft class, he closes distance on these types of concepts with the most urgency.
4th round, 116th overall	New York Giants	Elerson G. Smith	6’6 262/DE-Northern Iowa	107/3rd Round	We feel he gives teams options because he may be able to slide inside on third downs and play some three-technique defensive tackle. A viable argument can be made that his skill-set could actually be best served as a stand-up rush outside linebacker for 3-4 teams.
6th round, 196th overall	New York Giants	Gary Brightwell	6’1 218/RB-Arizona	413/5th Round	Brightwell brought attitude to the table as a runner at the collegiate level. He combines decent vision with enough awareness in pass protection.
6th round, 201st overall	New York Giants (from Arizona Cardinals)	Rodarius Williams	6'0 189/CB-Oklahoma State	197/4th Round	Playing off-man could be a bit of a challenge as he has to transition from the junction limit in college football to the NFL. A solid prospect with NFL bloodlines, he is following in the footsteps of his younger brother, ‘Greedy’ Williams (Cleveland Browns)
Washington Football Team
Selection	Team	Player Selection	Position- School	DN Big Board Rank/ Grade	Notes
1st round, 19th overall	Washington Football Team	Jamin Davis	6’4 234 LB-Kentucky	61/2nd Round	HC Ron Rivera finds a linebacker who has the traits to become like the LBs he had in Carolina.
2nd round, 51st overall	Washington Football Team	Samuel Cosmi	6’6 314/OT-Texas	62/2nd Round	Cosmi has reserved a spot in scouts’ attention for the better portion of a two-year period. He’s balanced, quick and fluid in his movements at the left tackle spot.
3rd round, 74th overall	Washington Football Team	Benjamin St. Juste	6’3 205/CB-Minnesota, Michigan	192/4th Round	His footwork is clean, and this is why he was able to defend so effectively in the Red Zone. Ball skills are important. St. Juste didn’t have any interceptions, but he played through his inside shoulder to stay in-phase with wideouts in this part of the field.
3rd round, 82nd overall	Washington Football Team	Dyami Brown	6’1 189/WR-UNC	86/3rd Round	The former prep level 200-meter sprinter tracks the football over either shoulder and has shown good spatial awareness along the back end lines or sidelines. He has solid body control to adjust to poorly thrown passes. The biggest issue teams will have regarding the first-team All-ACC speedster revolves around the concentration lapses. They came in the form of penalties and dropped passes.
4th round, 124th overall	Washington Football Team	John Bates	6’5 259/TE-Boise State	226/4th Round	Bates is a smooth tight end with excellent size, deceptive stride length and good catch radius for the position. He has been used as an insert blocker in school, down tight end and occasional flexed-out slot receiver.
5th round, 163rd overall	Washington Football Team	Darrick Forrest	6'0 200/S-Cincinnati	136/3rd Round	While teammate James Wiggins has received quite a bit of attention while in school, Forrest was a steady hand with the Bearcats. Forrest is instinctive, plays fast, disguises coverage and contributes on all four downs.
6th round, 225th overall	Washington Football Team (from Philadelphia Eagles compensatory selection)	Cameron Cheeseman	6’4 237/LS-Michigan	565/N/A	Posted a 0.69 second long snap on his first snap of the 2020 Citrus Bowl (1st QTR/14:09). Posted a .72 long snap on his second punt (1st QTR/11:56, Alabama ‘20). Challenged by pure foot speed in coverage.
7th round, 240th overall	Washington Football Team (from Philadelphia Eagles)	William Bradley-King	6’3 254/DE-OLB-Arkansas State	161/3rd Round	One of the things that Bradley-King will have to do better at the next level revolves around timing snap counts. This is something that we think he should be able to correct. We think his effort and tenacity have been first-rate dating back to his time at Arkansas State.
7th round, 246th overall	Washington Football Team	Shaka Toney	6’3 238/DE-Penn State	195/4th Round	There is some polish to Toney's pass rushing skill-set, but his size gets him swallowed up by bigger tackles. The positive is that he has enough wingspan and length to go to pole moves from time-to-time and that may be able to set up some of his counters.
7th round, 258th overall	Washington Football Team (from Miami Dolphins)	Dax Milne	6’0 193/WR-BYU	266/4th Round	In studying Milne, it is important to watch him as he gets into the fourth or fifth steps of his route. Often times, he begins to idle his stride to gauge the defensive back’s technique before re-accelerating.