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[Dynasty] 2021 NFL Draft Class (3 Viewers)

NFL analyst Greg Cosell said "desperation" is driving teams to try to land one of the NFL Draft's top quarterbacks. 

We could, for the first time in league history, see QBs drafted with the first four picks in the upcoming NFL Draft. “In a league that has veered dramatically toward the passing game and toward three and four-receiver sets, it makes sense the quarterback becomes more in demand,” Cosell told NBC Sports' Peter King. “You need a really good quarterback to play the game that exists now. It leads to the need, and sometimes the desperation, of trying to find ‘that guy.’" The success rate for highly-drafted quarterbacks has been a disaster of late: None of the 15 quarterbacks picked in the top-10 from 2009 to 2016 are on their original teams. King quoted a "middle-aged coach whose team is in the market to draft a quarterback" this year who said Trevor Lawrence is clearly the No. 1 pick, but that he has three receivers, a tight end, and two offensive tackles ahead of the next signal caller. NFL teams' thirst for franchise quarterbacks is understandable, and will likely normalize desperate QB picks among the first ten picks in many drafts to come. 

RELATED: 

San Francisco 49ers

SOURCE: FMIA 

Apr 12, 2021, 8:36 AM ET
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Smith over Chase? One respected talent evaluator doesn’t even rank him ahead of Waddle

At the close of the college football season, the NFL Draft seemed to have a three-man top tier of pass-catchers: Florida’s Kyle Pitts, LSU’s Ja’Marr Chase and Alabama’s DeVonta Smith.

But that might never have actually been the case, and it almost certainly is not now.

Smith was a marvelous college player, but most every talent evaluator views Pitts and Chase as the superior prospects.

And if the player and positional rankings provided by the Athletic’s Dane Brugler reflect the thinking of NFL execs, Smith might not even be the third skill position player taken in two weeks.

Brugler has released his universally celebrated and immensely helpful annual draft guide — a 262,000-word tome known commonly as The Beast — and in it he lists Smith as WR3 behind Chase and Crimson Tide teammate Jaylen Waddle.

He explained why to the Miami Herald Monday: 

“I think we’re splitting hairs on these top three receivers. You can make a case for any of them being the top guy. For me, I gave Waddle the slight edge over Smith due to his athletic creativity. He’s not as polished as Smith, but he understands the details of route-running, and his special athleticism makes him a unique threat before and after the catch. He’s not Tyreek Hill, but he’s in that mold.”

Of course, this is just one person’s opinion, but Brugler is super credible. Peter King shouted Brugler out in his weekly “Football Morning In America” column, saying he’s “in awe awe of Brugler’s work ethic, and the info.”

Brugler ranks Pitts, the Gators’ dynamic tight end, as the draft’s No. 2 prospect behind only Trevor Lawrence. Then it’s BYU quarterback Zach Wilson at 3 and Chase at 4.

Waddle, who averaged 18.9 yards per catch in three seasons at Alabama, comes in at No. 6 on Brugler’s big board. As for Smith, the Heisman Trophy winner? He’s the draft’s ninth-best player, regardless of position.

Naturally, the Dolphins will draft based on their own needs and grades, and perhaps they disagree with Brugler’s order at the top.

But if they, like Brugler, see the top three receivers closely bunched, it explains why they were comfortable sliding down from third to sixth in a series of trades. That decision might ultimately cost them the chance at Pitts or Chase, but Smith or Waddle would be an excellent consolation prize in that scenario.

Plus the high-end depth of playmakers in this year’s draft could allow the Dolphins to trade yet again in the first round. 

After quarterbacks go in the top three picks, the draft will begin in earnest when the Falcons go on the clock at No. 4. 

Should Atlanta take Pitts, as many around the league anticipate, and Cincinnati take Chase at No. 5, it’s not hard to envision the Dolphins getting some sweet offers to move out of the sixth spot. The Broncos (who pick ninth) need a quarterback. Perhaps they would be willing to part with a second-rounder to move up three spots to get one.

With Smith and Waddle still available at sixth, the odds are quite high one would still be there at ninth.

Taking either one of them at sixth might be a bit of a letdown for Dolphins fans, but it would be solid value, based on Brugler’s evaluation.

Taking one of them at No. 9 and picking up another valuable draft asset?

A win-win.
 
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Marauders said:
That's interesting. Everyone I see discussing these QBs is saying Fields is a first read only guy and this seems to indicate the opposite. I believe I also read that he has the fewest yards from screens of any of the top QBs, which I think says a lot too. Curious if he'll end up on the Jets or Niners. 
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As that data set shows, the first read only criticisms aren't rooted in fact. He has spells of slow processing speed and they seem to layer on top of each other. I think the 'why' behind that would be interesting to learn, but I'm not expecting that to become available for public consumption until after it's too late for our purposes.

 
MAC_32 said:
As that data set shows, the first read only criticisms aren't rooted in fact. He has spells of slow processing speed and they seem to layer on top of each other. I think the 'why' behind that would be interesting to learn, but I'm not expecting that to become available for public consumption until after it's too late for our purposes.
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Is it that or is it indecisiveness? I don't watch much OSU or college football.

 
Andy Dufresne said:
Is it that or is it indecisiveness? I don't watch much OSU or college football.
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I haven't settled on a definitive answer. It could be anywhere between slow processing, indecisiveness, too much trust in his line, a preference to pass v run, etc. The effect is domino, but the cause that gets us to that point I'm less certain. I'm confident it can be coached up/masked so long as he doesn't go to a dysfunctional organization though.

 
In his latest mock draft, ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. projected the Washington Football Team to select Stanford QB Davis Mills with the No. 51 pick.

Kiper writes that he would feel far more comfortable taking Mills on Day 2 -- as is the case in this mock -- rather than on Day 1. He cites a lack of games played in college (just 14 games; that would be the fewest by a drafted quarterback in the last 15 years) and inconsistency on the field for his slightly muted view on Mills, noting that the signal-caller would benefit from being brought along in slow fashion. CBS Sports' Chris Trapasso sees matters in a very similar light. In his own recent mock draft, he also had Mills off the board on Day 2 -- to the Bears at pick No. 52, one pick later than Kiper's projection.

SOURCE: ESPN Plus

Apr 13, 2021, 1:54 PM ET
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MAC_32 said:
I haven't settled on a definitive answer. It could be anywhere between slow processing, indecisiveness, too much trust in his line, a preference to pass v run, etc. The effect is domino, but the cause that gets us to that point I'm less certain. I'm confident it can be coached up/masked so long as he doesn't go to a dysfunctional organization though.
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They were talking about this on path to the draft and one of the analysts said it had a lot to do with the route combinations on OSU offense and him waiting too long sometimes,  having too much faith that he could make something out of nothing.  It will be interesting to see where he goes.  I have a feeling he'll go at 3.

 
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