2021 NFL Draft

[Leonardfan]

Good to see you back! I'll probably get my prospect list together in the next week or so.

 

[Leonardfan]

The East-West Shrine game has been cancelled obviously due to the "pandemic". They are going forward with a virtual experience for the players and this year is actually very white friendly. Without trying to be a pessimist I hope that these players are able to somehow make an impact during the virtual sessions. Here are all the white athletes recognized by the Shrine game (**denotes Senior Bowl invite) :

Quarterback

QB Shane Buechele SMU
QB KJ Costello Miss St/Stanford
QB Peyton Ramsey Northwestern
QB Zach Smith Tulsa
QB Zac Thomas App St
QB Brady White Memphis

RB/FB

RB Jake Funk Maryland
FB Ben Mason Michigan **

Wide Reciever

WR Ben Skowronek Notre Dame **
WR Will Swinney Clemson

Tight End

TE Cary Angeline North Carolina State
TE Shaun Beyer Iowa
TE Luke Farrell Ohio State
TE Miller Forristall Alabama
TE Noah Gray Duke **
TE John Raine Northwestern
TE Dylan Soehner Iowa St
TE Jack Stoll Nebraska
TE Hunter Kampmoyer Oregon

Offensive Line

OC Harry Crider Indiana
OC Brett Heggie Florida
OC Jimmy Morrissey Pitt
OT Logan Bandy Calgary
OT Tommy Doyle Miami (OH)
OL Will Fries Penn St
OT Carson Green Texas A&M
OT Grant Hermanns Purdue
OT Drew Himmelman Illinois St
OT Brendan James Nebraska
OT Pier-Olivier Lestage Universite' de Montreal
OG Quinn Meinerz UW-Whitewater **
OT Landon Young Kentucky

Defense

Defensive Line
DT Jack Heflin Iowa

Linebacker
LB Tuf Borland Ohio St **
LB Nick Niemann Iowa
LB Garrett Wallow TCU**
LB Pete Werner Ohio St
LB Paddy Fisher Northwestern **
LB Blake Gallagher Northwestern
LB Jake Hansen Illinois

Defensive Backs
S Reed Blankenship Middle Tenn
S Brady Breeze Oregon
S Ben DeLuca Charlotte

 

[Leonardfan]

Just doing a little more NFL Draft housekeeping - the Tropical Bowl was played this past Sunday. Here are some noteworthy players on the roster:

RB Harry Trotter Kansas State - ran for 50 yards in the game
WR Riley Lees Northwestern
QB Zac Thomas App St
WR/TE Dylan St. Pierre University of Ottawa
FB Adam Prentice South Carolina
DT Jarrod Hewitt Va Tech


And the College Gridiron Showcase is going on this week - Please forgive me for not listing the OL in this list but just wanted to hit the major pain points of the caste system. Our guys need as much exposure as possible. It looks like you can nominate players for this event so maybe next year we should all nominate as many of our guys as possible.

QB Zac Thomas App St
QB Zach Smith Tulsa
QB Kevin Thompson Washington
QB Brady Davis Illinois St
QB Peyton Ramsey Northwestern
QB Collin Hill S. Car / Co State

WR Riley Lees Northwestern
WR Austin Trammell Rice

RB Jake Funk Maryland
FB Mason Stokke
FB/HB Tory Carter


DE Eli Howard Texas Tech
DE Zac Dawe BYU
DT Jack Heflin Iowa

LB Grant McDonald Calgary
LB Ben Hladik Univ of British Columbia
LB Charlie Moore Calgary
LB Ethan Tucky Cincinnati
LB David Curry Ga Tech

S Brennan Thieneman Purdue
S Brady Breeze Oregon

 

[Freethinker]

Sorry that I’ve been away from the site over the past year, as my works been really busy and takes up most of my time. I haven’t kept track of our top players this year like I normally do, and I rarely had time to tune in to any games. It’s getting close to draft time again with the College Football season over. Ive studied up on our top prospects this year, and I have a good idea of how the draft should end up! So without further ado here’s my 2021 Big Board!

Deceptive Speeds 2021 NFL Draft Big Board
(Rank/Pos/Name/Size/School/Projection)
QB’s
1. Trevor Lawrence 6’6 220 CLEMSON - #1 overall pick!

2. Zach Wilson 6’3 210 BYU - Early 1st round

3. Mac Jones 6’3 215 ALABAMA- Mid 1st round

4. Kyle Trask 6’5 240 FLORIDA- Mid-Late 1st round

5. Sam Ehlinger 6’3 225 TEXAS- Late 1st- Early 2nd round

6. Brock Purdy 6’1 212 IOWA ST - Early 2nd round

7. Shane Buechele 6’1 210 SMU - Mid-Late 2nd round

8. Ian Book 6’0 206 NOTRE DAME - Early-Mid 3rd round

9. Tanner Morgan 6’2 215 MINNESOTA- 4-5th round

RB’s/ FB’s
1.(FB) Ben Mason 6’3 254 MICHIGAN- 6th-7th round

2. (FB) Tory Carter 6’0 245 LSU- 7th round-UDFA

3. (FB) Clint Ratkovich 6’1 225 W ILLINOIS- UDFA

1. (RB) Max Borghi 5’10 198 WASH ST- 2nd-4th rd (May stay in school for another year)

2. (RB) Billy McCrary III 5’11 200 ABILENE CU- 7th round-UDFA

Wide Receiver’s
1. Dax Milne 6’1 190 BYU- 3rd-5th rd (It’s a stretch but Milne could go as early as the 3rd rd after blowing up as a Jr. with 70 Rec for 1,188 yds and 8 TD’s)

2. Ben Skowronek 6’3 220 NOTRE DAME- 4th-5th round

3. Dillon Stoner 6’0 200 OKLAHOMA ST- 6th-7th round

4. Thomas Hennigan 6’1 210 APP ST- 7th-UDFA

5. Nico Ragaini 6’0 193 IOWA - 7th-UDFA

Tight End’s
1. Pat Freiermuth 6’5 258 PENN ST- Late 1st-Early 2nd round

2. Charlie Kolar 6’6 257 IOWA ST- Late 2nd-3rd rd

3. Hunter Long 6’5 253 BC - 3rd rd

4. Noah Gray 6’4 240 DUKE- 3rd-4th rd

5. Matt Bushman 6’5 240 BYU- 4th-5th rd

6. (TE/FB) Brant Kuithe 6’2 230 UTAH- 5th-6th round

7. Tony Pouljan 6’7 265 VIRGINIA- 6th-7th rd

OT’s
1. Samuel Cosmi 6’7 309 TEXAS- Early 1st round

2. Walker Little 6’7 315 STANFORD - Mid-Late 1st round

3. Liam Eichenberg 6’6 305 NOTRE DAME- Late 1st-Early 2nd round

4. Daniel Radunz 6’5 299 N DAKOTA ST- Early 2nd round

5. Spencer Brown 6’9 319 N IOWA- Mid-Late 2nd round

6. Tyler Vrabel 6’5 305 BC - 3rd-4th round

7. Brady Christenson 6’6 300 BYU- 4th round

Center/OG’s

1. (C) Landon Dickerson 6’5 325 ALABAMA- Late 1st-Early 2nd round

2. (C) Creed Humphrey 6’5 320 OKLAHOMA- Mid 2nd-Late 2nd round

3. (C) Josh Myers 6’4 312 OHIO ST- 3rd-4th round

4. (OG) Ben Cleveland 6’6 335 GEORGIA- 2nd-3rd round

5. (OG) Jack Anderson 6’5 315 TEXAS TECH- 3rd round

6. (OG) Tommy Kraemer 6’6 317 NOTRE DAME- 3rd-4th round

7. (C) Jimmy Morrissey 6’3 305 PITT - 4th-5th round

DT’s

1. Forrest Merrill 6’1 349 ARKANSAS ST - 4th-5th round

2. Ben Stille 6’5 295 NEBRASKA- 5th-6th round

3. Jack Heflin 6’4 312 IOWA- 6th-7th round

Edge/DE’s

1. Aidan Hutchinson 6’6 269 MICHIGAN- 3rd round

2. Eli Howard 6’4 280 TEXAS TECH - 5th-6th round

3. Wyatt Hubert 6’3 270 KANSAS ST- 6th-7th round

4. Jacub Panasiuk 6’4 250 MICHIGAN ST- 7th rd- UDFA

ILB’s

1. Paddy Fisher 6’4 240 NORTHWESTERN- Mid 2nd-3rd rd

2. (ILB/S) Grant Stuard 6’1 225 HOUSTON- 3rd rd
(He played safety the majority of his career and was projected as a mid-rd pick this preseason, but he’s listed at ILB now!?? Only God knows why you’d change a guy’s position who played so good at it the NFL wanted him???Smh....)

3. Tuf Borland 6’1 234 OHIO ST- 3rd-4th rd

4. Nate Landman 6’3 235 COLORADO- 4th-5th rd

5. Riley Cole 6’3 225 S ALABAMA - 5th-6th rd

6. James Skalski 6’0 240 CLEMSON- 6th-7th rd

7. Zane Zandier 6’3 230 VIRGINIA - 7th-UDFA

OLB’s
1. Pete Werner 6’3 242 OHIO ST- 2nd-3rd rd

2. Garret Wallow 6’2 230 TCU- 3rd-5th rd

3. Micah McFadden 6’2 235 INDIANA-4th-5th rd

4. Blake Gallagher 6’1 228 NW- 5th-6th rd

5. Jake Hansen 6’1 230 ILLINOIS- 6th-7th rd

6. Troy Anderson 6’4 235 MONTANA ST- 7th-UDFA

Safety

1. Reed Blakenship 6’1 200 MTSU- 2nd-4th rd

2. Brady Breeze 6’0 198 OREGON- 3rd-5th rd

3. Nolan Turner 6’1 205 CLEMSON- 5th-6th rd

Thank you for the helpful list for a casual NCAAF fan like myself. Also, welcome back and I hope your schedule allows you the time to post more!

 

[Leonardfan]

132 players invited to the Senior Bowl. Subtract 6 special teams players - 126 position players invited. 28 of the athletes are white which is approx 20.5% of the roster. Just like every year with the draft.

DE Wyatt Hubert Kansas St
LB Paddy Fisher Northwestern
LB Garret Wallow TCU
LB Riley Cole South Alabama
LB Tuf Borland Ohio St

OL Robert Hainsey Notre Dame
OT Brenden James Nebraska
OG Royce Newman Ole Miss
OT Carson Green Texas A&M
OT Liam Eichenberg Notre Dame
OT Spencer Brown Northern Iowa
OT Dillon Radunz North Dakota State
OC Drake Jackson Kentucky
OG Ben Cleveland Georgia
OL Landon Dickerson Alabama - injured
OG Jack Anderson Texas Tech
OC Creed Humphrey Oklahoma
OL Jake Curhan Cal
OL Quinn Meinerz Wis-Whitewater

QB Sam Ehlinger Texas
QB Ian Book Notre Dame
QB Mac Jones Alabama
QB Kyle Trask Florida

TE Tony Poljan UVA
TE Noah Gray Duke
TE Hunter Long Boston College

WR Ben Skowronek Notre Dame

FB Ben Mason

 

[Leonardfan]

For comparison's sake the 2021 Shrine Game had 43 white invites out of 142 position players = a modest jump to 30% but when compared to actual draft numbers we have monitored here over the last decade or so it's between a 7-10% improvement. Granted there is no actual game or practices this year but like I said in a previous post we can only remain optimistic that this year's virtual events may allow some of the white athletes a little more exposure in one on one settings with teams/coaches.

 

[white lightning]

Whatever team takes a chance on this kid will have one of the steals of the NFL Draft. Jake Funk is an all round elite running back that can help any team win more games.
Here is a video of him doing many of the NFL Type Scouting Combine Workouts. He looks incredible.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1352739221539323905

 

[Rocky B]

Whatever team takes a chance on this kid will have one of the steals of the NFL Draft. Jake Funk is an all round elite running back that can help any team win more games.
Here is a video of him doing many of the NFL Type Scouting Combine Workouts. He looks incredible.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1352739221539323905

I think the same about Groshek......He could be any teams second or third running back, if not first string......So many strengths. Run, block, catch, gadget passes (qb in HS).....

 

[Leonardfan]

Early Declarations
OT Brady Christensen BYU
C Drew Dalman Stanford
TE Pat Freiermuth PSU
QB Davis Mills Stanford
WR Dax Milne BYU
OG Jack Anderson Texas Tech
OT Sam Cosmi Texas
DE Wyatt Hubert Kansas St
C Creed Humphrey Oklahoma
QB Mac Jones Alabama
TE Hunter Long Boston College
C Josh Myers Ohio St
WR Blake Proehl ECU
QB Trevor Lawrence Clemson
OT Walker Little Stanford

 

[Leonardfan]

While I was getting a haircut today the NFL Network was on replaying the Rams-Packers game and Daniel Cuckemiah's mock draft scrolled across the bottom of the screen - Lawrence and Wilson went number one and two and the rest of the mock was non-white - he even had a black LB from Tulsa thrown into the mix for good measure.

 

[Booth]

Bret Farve said in an interview on CBS sports that Jags should pick Devonta Smith with number 1 pick. No disrespect to Lawerence but, Smith could be another Jerry Rice and a real game-changer.

 

[Leonardfan]

Bret Farve said in an interview on CBS sports that Jags should pick Devonta Smith with number 1 pick. No disrespect to Lawerence but, Smith could be another Jerry Rice and a real game-changer.

Smith could also end up being another Ted Ginn though too.

 

[Booth]

I agree and hope he's not as good as Ginn was because he was a pretty big bust.

 

[La France Blanche]

No one here seriously thinks Favre is right about the Devonta Smith thing, right? A QB-needy team with the #1 overall pick has access to one of the best QB prospects ever in Lawrence. The answer is so obvious. Sometimes (usually, actually) the simplest answer is the correct one. I just hope the Jags don't outsmart themselves.

WR is the most overvalued position in the draft. Even when the receiver you draft is truly great, it's not a good investment to pick them too early. Calvin Johnson, a genuinely great receiver, was drafted #2 overall by the Lions in 2007. They went 7-9 that year, then the year after was their infamous 0-16 season. Why? Because they had issues at almost all their other positions.

If I had been drafting for the Lions in '07, I would have laughed at the Raiders for picking Jamarcus Russell, then picked Joe Thomas for my team.

 

[Extra Point]

Bret Farve said in an interview on CBS sports that Jags should pick Devonta Smith with number 1 pick. No disrespect to Lawerence but, Smith could be another Jerry Rice and a real game-changer.

CTE?

 

[Bucky]

CTE?

Yeah getting sick of hearing from Brett. Lawrence should be number 1, no debate.

 

[backrow]

There's usually several white, unheralded white WRS who could be next Jerry Rice if given a chance. Haven't followed college football in a while but a good QB should always take precedence over a good WR.

 

[Booth]

Extra Point mention CTE concerning Farve's statement about drafting Smith ahead of Lawrence, he might be right. During the interview, he seemed to struggle with the words he wanted to say and he looked down a lot also.

 

[Warhawk_46]

I’m a build from the trenches guy (both sides of the line). Lawrence should be #1 but they need to build their trench or his career will not go as we all hope (see Andrew Luck, for latest example).

Indy stupidly built up their line after Luck had been beaten and batteries for years. What a waste of a potentially all-time great.

 

[Extra Point]

I’m a build from the trenches guy (both sides of the line). Lawrence should be #1 but they need to build their trench or his career will not go as we all hope (see Andrew Luck, for latest example).

Indy stupidly built up their line after Luck had been beaten and batteries for years. What a waste of a potentially all-time great.

Agreed. These teams always make the same stupid mistake. They draft a franchise quarterback then they go after, say, a receiver, neglecting the offensive line. Their quarterback has no protection and gets killed.

The Bengals did that this year. They didn't help their offensive line and Joe Burrow, their franchise quarterback ended up on IR.

Teams that draft a potential franchise quarterback should immediately start drafting offensive linemen.

 

[Leonardfan]

Sounds like Trask is out of the Senior Bowl due to an ankle injury.

Brining the discussion going on the Championship Thread over here regarding the OL - this is a really good class in terms of talent and depth for white OL.

 

[Bucky]

DraftDiamonds has Lawrence, Jones, Trask, and Wilson all drafted in 1st Rd! That's it for pale faces though.

Fully agreed on strong OL class @Leonardfan . Jags should be able to follow up Lawrence pick with a stud Tackle Early 2nd Rd.

 

[white is right]

Yeah getting sick of hearing from Brett. Lawrence should be number 1, no debate.

The only way Lawrence shouldn't be taken number one is Jacksonville could plunder a teams draft for X years and get a proven veteran qb that wanted to leave their languishing team ie a Stafford.

No wide receiver should ever get taken number 1 as he needs somebody to throw him the ball, at least with a running back even a god awful starter can hand the ball off to a running back's bread basket.

 

[Booth]

CBS Sports has Lawrence no.1 Wilson at no. 4 Jones at no. 15 and Cosmic an OL at no.25 but no Trask or any other white players. Four out of 32 players as of now.

 

[Leonardfan]

The Senior Bowl practices have all completed for the week with the game being tomorrow. I haven't watched any of the practices just a few clips of our guys where I could find them. I've read over several different practice reports and this is just a condensed version of what I saw in regards to things that interest us here at CF.

Alabama QB Mac Jones bet on himself and went to the Senior Bowl after winning a national championship and has probably played his way into the first round. To me he is the 2021 version of Joe Burrow - a guy who played at an elite level all season after coming into it as more of an overlooked player. He is probably a plug and play QB right now for some of these QB needy teams.

Notre Dame QB Ian Book had a solid week but did not move the needle up too much. Good short and intermediate passing game, athletic. Alot of these draft weenies are saying his is fringe draftable but I would put him in the 4th round and he could be a really solid 2nd QB, low end starter if you ask me. If Midget Murray can go 1st overall then Book should be looked at more favorably than not. Quality QB play is hard to come by and I think Book will be a great value pick.

Texas QB Sam Ehlinger is basically being called another Tebow with throwing mechanic issues. His stock seems to be trending down right now which is unfortunate. I feel he is a good QB and if he runs a 4.5/4.6 should be open to playing RUNNING BACK - not Fullback, H-Back or Tight End.

The best news is the three quotas pretty much stunk - I saw the word "inconsistent" thrown around alot with all three of them. Newman had a good practice on Tuesday but then performed worse and worse the next two days of practice. Hopefully he ends up as a late round flier and Mond/Franks go undrafted.

As for the TEs - Boston College Hunter Long was the best in Mobile. Probably a 2nd round pick now. A true TE - not some tweener black TE that runs a fast 40 but can't block or catch the ball. His stock is going up. Boise St TE John Bates was a late add and seemed to perform well in all aspects - good blocker, good hands and seems to have improved his stock. Duke TE Noah Gray was labeled as bad to average in blocking but made some plays in the passing game. I can't find anyting on UVA TE Tony Poljan

Notre Dame WR Ben Skowronek had a decent couple of practices but was injured. Foot injury - a "jones fracture" which has a 6-8 week recovery. Hopefully he was able to open some eyes. Don't worry all the draft cucks on twitter think he should bulk up and play "move TE". His physical measurements were very good - I think one of the top 2 or 3 best wingspans for WRs, he was the strongest WR and yet only 211 lbs. Plenty of black WRs play at that weight in the NFL.

Michigan FB Ben Mason was supposedly really strong all week. Just goes to show the ineptitude of Haurbaugh and his coaching staff at Michigan to not utilize the guy more. Hopefully he becomes another Kyle Juzczyk type in the league. Sounds like he is being looked at as a 4th rounder.

Now for some of the OL for @Tannehill17 and new member @Snowplow :

North Dakota St OT Dillon Radunz had a strong week of practices after starting a little slow. He might be the biggest riser on the OL.
UW Whitewater OG/OC Quinn Meinerz was dominant all week. If it's not Radunz then Meinerz is surely the OL who benefitted the most from this week. He was tough, strong and mean from what I read.
N. Iowa Spencer Brown OT - had an uneven week, played well but also got beat some. My guess he is a mid round guy.
Notre Dame OL Robert Hainsey - solid all week. Showed himself well.
Texas Tech OL Jack Anderson - was solid all week and probably a 3rd-4th rounder now.
Ole Miss OL Royce Newman - another solid OL who showed himself to be a consistent performer all week
Texas A&M OT Carson Green - seemed to have an average week of practices and fared better in team drills than 1 on 1 drills.
Nebraska OT Brenden Jaimes - came into the came more of an unknown but raised his stock - should now be looked at as a 5th/6th rounder
Oklahoma OC Creed Humphrey - played really well all week - my guess is he is a late 1st round pick and unfortunately the Ravens are going to get him

As for defensive players - TCU LB Garrett Wallow tested positive for Covid and could not participate. Kansas St DE Wyatt Hubert performed well, got pressure on the QB during team drills and beat the Iowa sumo in 1 on 1s a few times. He will still get drafted a few rounds lower than he should. Perhaps another Jared Allen type? LB Tuf Borland was supposedly all around the ball and tough in the run game but lacking in pass coverage - hopefully he shocks everyone like his brother did. Northwestern LB Paddy Fisher was solid all around as was South Alabama LB Riley Cole. Plenty of the same tired raced base cliches/stereotypes were used for them all too.