2021 NFL Draft Recap: NFC West
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Atwell led the ACC in receiving yards (1,276) in 2019 with a style of his own.
The 2021 NFL Draft Recap: NFC West edition featured more than a few diminutive but exciting all purpose receiver selections. The Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams had limited picks in this year’s draft but opted to select smaller receivers in D’Wayne Eskridge and Tutu Atwell. San Francisco had to figure out the quarterback position after years of injuries to their signal callers, with that said, they traded up for Trey Lance. However, as Arizona showed, defensive picks can still be worthy of a first round selection (Zaven Collins- 16th overall). But as the trend seems to be, the Cardinals like LA and Seattle, drafted a short receiver in Rondale Moore (pictured above).
| San Francisco 49ers | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Selection | Team | Player Selection | Position- School | DN Big Board Rank/ Grade | Notes |
| 1st round, 3rd overall | San Francisco 49ers | Trey Lance | 6’4 226/QB-North Dakota State | 34/2nd Round | Lance goes to an offense that should spotlight his ability to operate on the edges or from inside the pocket. |
| 2nd round, 48th overall | San Francisco 49ers (from Las Vegas Raiders) | Aaron Banks | 6’5 338/OG-Notre Dame | 177/3rd Round | Inside, he can move bodies with thump at the point of attack. His base will get too wide in pass protection and the challenge for him surrounds improving hand placement. Pass rushers have a tough time moving him if he can form a lockout and sit down in the chair. |
| 3rd round, 88th overall | San Francisco 49ers (from Los Angeles Rams) | Trey Sermon | 6'0 216/RB-Ohio State, Oklahoma | 57/2nd Round | His strength is very good, as is his ability to pick his feet up through trash around his ankles and feet. We expect him to improve in pass protection due to his natural lower body explosiveness. He has upside as a receiver out of the backfield because he can make the first tackler miss in space. Durability issues aside, Sermon has starting potential in the NFL as a Melvin Gordon III-type (Denver Broncos). |
| 3rd round, 102nd overall | San Francisco 49ers | Ambry Thomas | 6’0 187/CB-Michigan | 53/2nd Round | On the outside, he needs to be technique-sound because he is not necessarily a long corner. Thomas has lost quite a bit of practice time over the past two seasons and the fact that he has been able to still perform at a high level bodes well for his future prospects. |
| 5th round, 155th overall | San Francisco 49ers | Jaylon Moore | 6’4 311/OT-Western Michigan | 164/3rd Round | Moore is durable and strong. This is where you have to begin with him because he has the ability to sit in the chair and grapple with opponents. Overall, he provides the ability to potentially backup three-to-four line positions. |
| 5th round, 172nd overall | San Francisco 49ers (from New Orleans Saints) | Deommodore Lenoir | 5’10 199/CB-Oregon | 137/3rd Round | Finished his career with 34 straight starts. Lenoir wore three different numbers during his career and the results were largely the same in each year. We think he is physical enough as a tackler that he could possibly move inside to safety. |
| 5th round, 180th overall | San Francisco 49ers (compensatory selection) | Talanoa Hufanga | 6’1 215/S-USC | 182/3rd Round | Hufanga is an intense junior-entry who flies all over the field and brings quite a bit of juice when he unloads on contact. It is a big reason he was able to force four fumbles in school. We think his best attribute is an ability to blitz off the edge, either by disguise or when coming down late off of movement by the offense |
| 6th round, 194th overall | San Francisco 49ers | Elijah Mitchell | 5’10 215/RB-Louisiana-Lafayette | 143/3rd Round | He runs with power, contains a vertical style and rarely is caught moving side-to-side if unnecessary. Every three-to-four carries, he will bust a long carry (see Georgia State ‘20) due to his churning style. He does not mind taking the three-or-four-yard runs to set up the bigger carries. |
| Arizona Cardinals | |||||
| Selection | Team | Player Selection | Position- School | DN Big Board Rank/ Grade | Notes |
| 1st round, 16th overall | Arizona Cardinals | Zaven Collins | 6’4 260 LB-Tulsa | 13/1st Round | Collins’ skills can now pair with Simmons to give the Cardinals defensive flexibility in spades. The team adds a player who creates difficult one-on-one matchups for teams on third down. |
| 2nd round, 49th overall | Arizona Cardinals | Rondale Moore | 5’7 180/WR-Purdue | 40/2nd Round | Strong in the lower body. Squats over 600 pounds. His ability to track the football overcomes a somewhat limited catch radius. Overall, he is a first-round talent with enough durability question marks to last until Day 2. |
| 4th round, 136th overall | Arizona Cardinals (from Baltimore Ravens via Kansas City Chiefs) | Marco Wilson | 6'0 187 Nickel/Florida | 131/3rd Round | The former Freshman All-SEC defender can cover multiple spots, play as a big nickel and even contribute outside at corner. Injuries were an issue in school. 4.38 speed. 43 1/2” VJ. |
| 6th round, 210th overall | Arizona Cardinals (from Baltimore Ravens) | Victor Dimukeje | 6'2 262/DE-OLB-Duke | 259/4th Round | Dimukeje is a leverage-based pass rusher with experience both standing up and playing with his hand in the dirt. His bend will be questioned by NFL teams, but he overcomes that by attempting to lean on the offensive tackle's upfield shoulder. |
| 6th round, 223rd overall | Arizona Cardinals (from Minnesota Vikings; compensatory selection) | Tay Gowan | 6’1 186 CB/UCF | 341/5th Round | Gowan is a tall, angular cornerback with positive football instincts and very good length for the outside cornerback spot. We were impressed with his balance and footwork when using a bail-and-run technique. |
| 7th round, 243rd overall | Arizona Cardinals | James Wiggins | 5’11 209 | 26/2nd Round | He has everything NFL teams desire in flex-safeties with his combination of foot speed, short-area quickness and explosiveness on contact. In addition, he has extensive experience covering slot receivers in school. If there is a question on Wiggins, it revolves around some tightness in the lower half. Despite first-round talent, can Wiggins stay healthy? |
| 7th round, 247th overall | Arizona Cardinals (from Chicago Bears through Las Vegas Raiders) | Michal Menet | 6’4 312/OC-Penn State | 207-4th Round | Menet is one of the more balanced centers in this year’s draft class. Rarely out of control, Menet’s overall football awareness for blitzes, stunts and line games is very sound. |
| Los Angeles Rams | |||||
| Selection | Team | Player Selection | Position- School | DN Big Board Rank/ Grade | Notes |
| 2nd round, 57th overall | Los Angeles Rams | Tutu Atwell | 5’9 155/WR-Louisville | 141/3rd Round | If there is a more electric, elusive, fully-charged offensive player in the draft we haven’t found him. NFL teams just have to know what they’re purchasing. Is it former Louisville wide receiver and two-time Pro Bowler Ernest Givens (Houston Oilers) or former West Virginia star Tavon Austin? |
| 3rd round, 103rd overall | Los Angeles Rams | Ernest Jones | 6'2 230/LB-South Carolina | 258/4th Round | Jones, a junior-entry in the 2021 NFL Draft, has many tools worth taking a long look at for NFL teams. One of the things he has to improve at is getting offensive linemen off of his defensive linemen. We think he would fit best as a run-and-chase Will linebacker at the next level because he still has to room to grow reading the triangle. |
| 4th round, 117th overall | Los Angeles Rams (from San Francisco 49ers) | Bobby Brown III | 6'5 323/DT-Texas A&M | 96/3rd Round | The first-team All-SEC defender contains lateral quickness, upper body strength and ankle flexibility. His inconsistent hand usage and up-and-down intensity are two drawbacks for teams looking for a consistent disruptor. |
| 4th round, 130th overall | Los Angeles Rams | Robert Rochell | 6’0 195/CB-Central Arkansas | 129/3rd Round | 4.4 speed. 43 VJ. He tackles well enough and has thrown his body around with force and intent to clip the legs or wrap up ballcarriers. Rochell has all of the tools, but his technique simply has to get better for him to have a chance on Sunday afternoons. |
| 4th round, 141st overall | Los Angeles Rams (compensatory selection) | Jacob Harris | 6'5 219/WR-UCF | 230/4th Round | In watching and studying fellow receiver Gabriel Davis (Buffalo Bills) a season ago (2019), Harris kept showing up. The former soccer player’s stride sneaks up on unsuspecting cornerbacks and UCF quarterback Dillon Gabriel often had problems keeping up with it. |
| 5th round, 174th overall | Los Angeles Rams (from Buffalo Bills) | Earnest Brown IV | 6’4 1/2” 270/DL-Northwestern | 217/4th Round | Blessed with an 82 1/4-inch wingspan and 34 1/2" arms, Brown IV can keep blockers away from him. We were impressed that he was able to drop into zones effectively and consistently affected the three-step passing game. |
| 7th round, 233rd overall | Los Angeles Rams (via Houston Texans (rom Cincinnati Bengals) | Jake Funk | 5’10 204/All-Purpose-Maryland | 301/4th Round | Since Funk came out of high school, he has gotten bigger, stronger and faster in school. All of this occurred while enduring two torn ACLs to the same knee in consecutive seasons. This speaks to his work ethic and overall football character. Despite playing RB and averaging 8-plus yards per carry, Funk had 28 tackles in school on special teams. |
| 7th round, 249th overall | LA Rams (via Jacksonville Jaguars from Tennessee Titans) | Ben Skowronek | 6'2 211/WR-Notre Dame | 276-4th Round | Skowronek’s wasted movement has improved dramatically since his freshman year at Northwestern. He closes the cushion of defenders with an underrated stride off the ball. Most Northwestern fans will remember his game-winning diving touchdown grab that put the Wildcats in the 2018 Big Ten title game. He beat Denver Broncos starting cornerback Michael Ojemudia on the play. |
| Seattle Seahawks | |||||
| Selection | Team | Player Selection | Position- School | DN Big Board Rank/ Grade | Notes |
| 2nd round, 56th overall | Seattle Seahawks | D’Wayne Eskridge | 5’9 184/All-Purpose-Western Michigan | 115/3rd Round | Despite standing just 5-foot-9, he packs a solid 188 pounds on his frame. He breaks arm tackles and excels when he runs through the reception point, particularly on quick slants. His toughness is also exemplary, especially considering that he has played the cornerback position respectably and stood out crack blocking safeties. The 2020 MAC Special Teams Player of the Year fits the definition of an all-purpose prospect. |
| 4th round, 137th overall | Seattle Seahawks | Tre Brown | 5'9 184/CB-Oklahoma | 179/3rd Round | Brown is an ultra-quick cornerback with good transition ability to drop his weight on intermediate routes. Physically, he may have to deal with the physical rigors of a nickel position to secure a spot in a Seattle’s defensive back rotation. |
| 6th round, 208th overall | Seattle Seahawks (from Chicago Bears) | Stone Forsythe | 6’8 307/OT-Florida | 452/6th Round | NFL bloodlines. Has started at RT and LT. Also has seen time at OG. Looks the part. During the postseason, it was important for the former Gator to prove that his ability to hold down a starting spot on the blindside in the SEC had as much to do with his movement as it did his size. Mission accomplished. |
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