Houston Texans
(67) Davis Mills QB Stanford
(89) Nico Collins WR Michigan
(147) Brevin Jordan TE Miami
(170) Garret Wallow LB TCU
(195) Roy Lopez DT Arizona
Immediate Impact: WR Nico Collins, TE Brevin Jordan
The Texans top WRs are Brandin Cooks, Andre Roberts, Randall Cobb and Keke Coutee, none of them are over 5’11. Collins is 6’4 215 lbs. and brings a different element to the passing game. I’m not completely sure who will be lining up at QB for the Texans but regardless, they might like having a bigger target outside from time to time. TE Brevin Jordan may have been a fifth-round pick but he brings athleticism and pass catching skills to the TE position this team is seriously lacking. He can be a playmaker over the middle and down the seam.
Best Value: Jordan
The best TEs on the Texans are Jordan Akins and Pharoah Brown. Akins is a decent player and Brown is okay but neither is an elite pass catching target. Jordan could definitely be more of a playmaker than either one and he could end up starting. Pretty solid value for a fifth-round pick.
Sleeper: QB Davis Mills
It’s a little awkward to pick their first pick in this draft to be the sleeper but Mills is a pretty good QB prospect that got a little lost in the shuffle on draft weekend. The situation with Deshaun Watson is volatile at best which is probably why the team signed steady veteran Tyrod Taylor. Taylor can step in and stabilize things for awhile but if Watson’s legal issues or his desire to get out of Houston end his tenure with the Texans, they need a new QB moving forward. Mills is a good talent with little experience and he needs some time to develop but he has all the tools to be a starting NFL QB down the line.
Overall Analysis
The Texans draft was a bit strange because they had traded both their 1st and 2nd round picks so they didn’t pick until round three. Those picks were traded in the Laremy Tunsil trade and the DeAndre Hopkins trade, Bill O’Brien is still screwing up things in Houston. Then with their first pick they took a QB because no one knows what’s going to end up happening with Deshaun Watson, the Texans are still a mess and the future is really unstable.
Mills is a solid player who could develop into a future starter. It would be nice if the team was better equipped to develop him. WR Nico Collins and TE Brevin Jordan are solid additions to the offense even if they aren’t high round picks. The Texans defense isn’t great but I’m not so sure LB Garret Wallow or DT Roy Lopez are ready to contribute. They seem like practice squad guys at best. Sorry, that’s the whole draft, all five guys. Unless Davis Mills and Brevin Jordan become Hall of Fame level players, this draft isn’t doing much for the franchise.
Indianapolis Colts
(21) Kwity Paye DE Michigan
(54) Dayo Odeyingbo DE Vanderbilt
(127) Kylen Granson TE SMU
(165) Shawn Davis S Florida
(218) Sam Ehlinger QB Texas
(229) Mike Strachan WR Charleston
(248) Will Fries OL Penn St
Immediate Impact: DE Kwity Paye
The team lost Justin Houston and Denico Autry so they need pass rush help. Paye is ready to step in immediately and help bring that off the edge. He’s a talented player who played all over the line at Michigan and can pass rush from any spot. He will fit in nicely with Matt Eberflus’ style and he should help immediately.
Best Value: Paye
Arguably the best pass rusher in this draft and the Colts got him at #21, that’s good value.
Sleeper: OL Will Fries
The Colts have one of the best offensive lines in the league but they lost Anthony Costanzo and they didn’t have a plan to replace him. Fries isn’t it (they will go with Sam Tevi and Eric Fisher once he’s healthy) but he may be a replacement for RG Mark Glowinski, eventually. The team won’t be able to re-sign everyone (Quenton Nelson, Ryan Kelly, Braden Smith) so they need to save money somewhere. Fries has all kinds of versatility so he can fill a number of spots.
Overall Analysis
This draft isn’t going to bring much immediate help and that’s okay considering the Colts were pretty good last season. Their fate is really in the hands of Carson Wentz and this draft class adds some depth to the roster more than anything. Paye is the one guy who can really help this season. It was a little odd to see the Colts bypass any offensive line help until their very last pick. It was doubly strange they passed on some offensive line or even secondary help to take Dayo Odeyingbo in round two. Odeyingbo is coming off a major injury that will likely sideline him for the 2021 season and he was redundant being another DE after they took Kwity Paye in round one.
Kylen Granson is a decent move TE prospect but he’s undersized and the Colts already have Jack Doyle and Mo Alie-Cox so his potential to help is limited. S Shawn Davis is a limited safety, he doesn’t cover much and that doesn’t work great in today’s NFL. Maybe he helps on special teams. QB Sam Ehlinger was a heck of a college QB but he isn’t really an NFL level player. Mike Strachan is a small school WR who is huge and a good athlete, you can do worse late in the draft. I like the Fries pick, at worst he’s a valuable backup for the next several years.
Jacksonville Jaguars
(1) Trevor Lawrence QB Clemson
(25) Travis Etienne RB Clemson
(33) Tyson Campbell CB Georgia
(45) Walker Little OT Stanford
(65) Andre Cisco S Syracuse
(106) Jay Tufele DL USC
(121) Jordan Smith DE UAB
(145) Luke Farrell TE Ohio St
(209) Jalen Camp WR Georgia Tech
Immediate Impact: QB Trevor Lawrence, RB Travis Etienne
Trevor Lawrence’s impact on the Jaguars franchise will not just be felt on the field but off it too. He’s the best chance they have had to be relevant since the days of Mark Brunell. Lawrence has a chance to be an all-time great, not just for the franchise but in the NFL. They drafted his college teammate Etienne with their second first-round pick and he will certainly juice up the offense. He’s the definition of a homerun hitter, he can take it to the house any time he touches the ball. They will use him as a running back and a receiver to get him on the field as much as possible. These two could make the Jaguars offense legit.
Best Value: DT Jay Tufele
The Taven Bryan pick in the first round a few years ago hasn’t really worked out. They need to get some more pass rush up front and Tufele can do that. He’s not great against the run but he can collapse the pocket from the inside. I think he gets quite a bit of playing time for a fourth-round pick.
Sleeper: OT Walker Little
The Jaguars probably took Little sooner than other teams would have but that’s only because he hasn’t played in two years. Little opted out of last season after missing 2019 with a knee injury. If he had been healthy two years ago there’s a very good chance he would have come out and been a first-round pick. He’s going to have to knock off some rust but I think he competes with Cam Robinson for the starting LT spot and if he’s fully healthy, he wins it.
Overall Analysis
Trevor Lawrence, Travis Etienne and Walker Little could all be major contributors to the Jaguars offense. Clearly, Lawrence is a massive upgrade over Gardner Minshew and any of the hundred other QBs the team has had since Mark Brunell’s heyday. Etienne is a different type of RB compared to James Robinson, Robinson is a grinder, Etienne is a gamebreaker. Little could be a massive upgrade over the unreliable Cam Robinson.
The Tyson Campbell pick to kick off the second round was a little odd. They must really like him because they have CJ Henderson, a first-round pick from last year and they spent a bunch of money on Shaq Griffin in free agency. It’s nice to have three CBs but they also have Tre Herndon and a couple of other veterans, they could have spent that 33rd pick on something else. Andre Cisco was another pick for the secondary in round three and while he’s coming off an ACL injury, I think he’s a great pickup. He has a chance to be a starter in the near future, like in August, if he’s fully healthy.
I love the Tufele pick, especially because it came in round four. He can be a player. While I would have prioritized the pass rusher over the CB in round two, they did pick one later in round four, Jordan Smith. I like Smith, he’s long, he’s bendy and he was productive in college. I like him better than last year’s 1st round pick K’Lavon Chaisson. If you told me in two years, Jordan Smith is starting for the Jaguars and Chaisson is playing for another team, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised. The Jaguars are pretty pathetic at TE but I don’t think Luke Farrell is going to change that for Urban Meyer. The Ohio St. connection might help Farrell stick around. Jalen Camp is a big WR who just isn’t making this roster, too much veteran depth at WR.
Tennessee Titans
(22) Caleb Farley CB Virginia Tech
(53) Dillon Radunz OT North Dakota St
(92) Monty Rice LB Georgia
(100) Elijah Molden CB Washington
(109) Dez Fitzpatrick WR Louisville
(135) Rashad Weaver DE Pittsburgh
(205) Racey McMath WR LSU
(215) Brady Breeze S Oregon
Immediate Impact: CB Caleb Farley, OT Dillon Radunz
The Titans bought the first-round lottery ticket, Caleb Farley. If his back is healthy and he can keep it that way, he’s a star CB. The odds of that happening seem pretty bad. He’s had two back surgeries for the same issue and with the twisting and turning required to play CB, I’m not optimistic. He’s a serious talent, and a major risk. Radunz has a clear opportunity to step in at RT. He needs to add some bulk and strength but the Titans need someone on the right side after Isaiah Wilson was a massive bust from last year’s draft. They have a few veterans who can hold down the spot but I think Radunz eventually wins it.
Best Value: CB Elijah Molden
The Titans secondary needed an overhaul and while Farley will be a big part of it if he can be, they didn’t stop there in the draft. Molden is one of the better nickel corners in this draft and it just so happens the Titans need a nickel corner pretty badly. There’s a fairly good chance Molden plays more snaps than Farley if Farley’s back gives him any problems. Nickel corners play quite a bit in the NFL anyway and Molden should win that job without a problem. Nice value for the 100th pick in the draft.
Sleeper: WR Dez Fitzpatrick
Fitzpatrick has size at 6’2 210 lbs. and he has good deep speed and excellent hands. The Titans lost Corey Davis and Josh Reynolds isn’t really built to replace Davis on the outside, Fitzpatrick is. With AJ Brown being such a good intermediate threat, Fitzpatrick can threaten defenses deep and back the defense away from the line so they can’t stack up against Derrick Henry.
Overall Analysis
Farley’s health is largely going to determine the success of this draft but it won’t be the only determining factor. Radunz has a chance to solve the Titans hole on the right side of a line that is otherwise pretty good. LB Monty Rice may not seem like a major need but ILB Rashaan Evans is coming up on free agency and if he proves to be too expensive to keep, Rice may step in. I love the Molden pick, great player, great value, fills a huge need. Dez Fitzpatrick was a very solid choice for a WR in round four.
The last three picks are going to struggle to make the team. Their second fourth-round pick, DE Rashad Weaver, had a pretty good chance to make the team considering their crying need for pass rushers. However, Weaver got arrested for an assault after the draft and that’s not a good situation. Clearly, the NFL and NFL teams have no problem forgiving guys for horrible actions but their level of forgiveness is directly proportional to your level of talent. I’m not sure Weaver is good enough to overcome his off-the-field issues. (I do not condone what he did or how the NFL handles these cases but this is simply stating the fact) The Titans finished off the draft in the sixth round with another WR and a safety. WR Racey McMath has a nice size/speed combo but he’s extremely raw and I just don’t see him sticking. S Brady Breeze is a versatile safety prospect and given the secondary overhaul this team has undertaken, maybe he makes the roster.
The Hott Read 