Disclaimer: There is something everyone needs to know about this draft. Somewhere around the middle of round five this draft took a serious dive in quality. There were somewhere around 150-160 good prospects in this draft and then there was a cliff. Some teams reached before the 150th pick so the depth goes a little farther but by the time rounds six and seven came around, it got pretty bleak. There were a few contributing factors. One is the covid year has given players the opportunity to stay in college for an extra year and plenty of guys are taking that opportunity. Second is the name, image, and likeness (NIL) opportunities for guys to make money in college. Being a late round pick isn’t as attractive if you can get paid to be a good player in college. Finally, the transfer portal (coupled with NIL) means guys don’t have to go pro to cash in. If another school wants you more than the one you’re at (this is especially true for small school guys), just transfer somewhere and take the payday. There are usually between 100-130 early entry candidates for the draft, this year, there were less than 60 and it showed.
Dallas Cowboys
(29) Tyler Guyton OT Oklahoma
(56) Marshawn Kneeland DE Western Michigan
(73) Cooper Beebe OL Kansas St.
(87) Marist Liufau LB Notre Dame
(174) Caelen Carson CB Wake Forest
(216) Ryan Flournoy WR SE Missouri St.
(233) Nathan Thomas OL Louisiana
(244) Justin Rogers DT Auburn
Immediate Impact: OT Tyler Guyton, C/G Cooper Beebe
The Cowboys had a couple of major areas of concern with offensive line being the biggest and they went to work. Tyler Guyton is a young, underdeveloped tackle with serious physical talent and he will be the LT. His presence means Tyler Smith can stay at LG where he’s been really good and that should help Guyton develop. Beebe started for years at Kansas St. and has played basically everywhere except center, the Cowboys are going to make him a center. His lack of length makes him a better fit inside and his power should help him in the pivot. He has said while he never played center in a game, he has practiced there. If center doesn’t work out, worst case scenario, he’s Zack Martin’s eventual replacement at RG.
Best Value: C/G Cooper Beebe
I don’t care that Beebe has short arms, this dude is a player. They’re going to ask him to play center, a position he’s never played, and he’ll be good at it because he’s just a good lineman. He’ll start on day one at a very important position and they got him in the third round, great value.
Sleeper: WR Ryan Flournoy
I don’t know much about this guy but I’ve seen some clips and he’s got the size to be an NFL receiver and Dallas isn’t teeming with great options there. After CeeDee Lamb and Brandin Cooks this WR corps is wide open.
Overall Analysis
The Tyler Guyton pick was one that almost everyone had mocked before the draft for the Cowboys and they traded down and still got him. He’s going to take some time but he’s a worthy project and he could be their starting LT for the next decade. Marshawn Kneeland is a small school DE who should fit well in their defense. He gives them a guy to play opposite Demarcus Lawrence on the end so they can move Micah Parsons around on the defense to find the best matchup. Love the Beebe pick. He’s just going to be a good solid interior lineman for a long time, can’t ask much more from a third-round pick.
The fourth round went off the board with LB Marist Liufau. He was not considered that level of prospect so he was a bit of a reach. They definitely need help at LB but they could have done better in round four. CB Caelen Carson has a chance to make the roster, they have three good CBs and then it’s pretty open. If you told me Flournoy ends up as the third WR on this team, I won’t be shocked. The last two picks were two big dudes. Nathan Thomas at OT is probably a practice squad project for now. Justin Rogers is a huge NT and they need help there so he could back up Mazi Smith.
New York Giants
(6) Malik Nabers WR LSU
(47) Tyler Nubin S Minnesota
(70) Andru Phillips CB Kentucky
(107) Theo Johnson TE Penn St.
(166) Tyrone Tracy Jr. RB Purdue
(183) Darius Muasau LB UCLA
Immediate Impact: WR Malik Nabers, S Tyler Nubin, CB Andru Phillips
While Nabers was my third WR I can’t fault the Giants for taking a playmaker like him. Nabers changes the dynamic of this WR corps, he’s the game breaker they just haven’t had. It remains to be seen if Daniel Jones or Drew Lock will know what to do with Nabers’ immense talent but he’s a legitimate WR1 and this team hasn’t had that since Odell Beckham’s heyday. This team lost it’s best safety when Xavier McKinney left for Green Bay, Nubin might be their new best safety. He’s not the most athletic player but I’ll trade some athleticism for smarts at safety any day and Nubin is a smart football player. Phillips should finally fill the nickel back role the Giants have been trying to fill for years with Darnay Holmes and Cor’Dale Flott. Phillips is better than either one.
Best Value: CB Andru Phillips
Everyone plays a ton of nickel coverage these days and the Giants just haven’t had a guy they could truly count on at that spot. He’s not only perfectly built for it with the exact physical tools, he will bring an attitude to the CB spot this team needs more of. He won’t back down from anyone and he’s just a tough player on the field.
Sleeper: RB Tyrone Tracy Jr.
It took Tracy five years in college to figure out he was a RB and not a WR. He turned down scholarships to certain schools and initially chose Iowa because they wanted him as a WR and not a RB. Eventually he transferred to Purdue and for his last year, he finally moved to RB full-time and got drafted. The team signed Devin Singletary to replace Saquan Barkley and they like Eric Gray but there’s a place for Tracy on this roster and at RB, anything is possible. He’s just scratching the surface of what he can be as a RB because his instincts aren’t developed when it comes to reading where the hole is and how best to get there. As he gets more reps, he should only get better. For now, he can stick on the roster as RB depth, a return man, and a special team’s coverage guy.
Overall Analysis
This was a small draft class with only six picks but they did a really good job of supplementing what they did in free agency and filling some holes. Nabers has superstar potential at WR even if he makes some of their current WRs redundant, he’s the upgraded version of those guys. They needed help in the secondary and they drafted two potential starters in Nubin and Phillips, also upgrades of the guys they have.
There was a chance Theo Johnson was going to get over drafted because of his physical traits but the Giants took him in an appropriate spot in round four. Johnson isn’t going to become Jimmy Graham but with Darren Waller contemplating retirement after another year with some injuries, Johnson is a solid choice. He gives them options with Daniel Bellinger to replace some of Waller’s production. Love the Tracy pick in round five, he’s making this roster and probably a useful player in a couple of ways. The last pick is a LB who will have to make the team on special teams if at all.
Philadelphia Eagles
(22) Quinyon Mitchell CB Toledo
(40) Cooper DeJean DB Iowa
(94) Jalyx Hunt LB Houston-Baptist
(127) Will Shipley RB Clemson
(152) Ainias Smith WR Texas A&M
(155) Jeremiah Trotter LB Clemson
(172) Trevor Keegan OL Michigan
(185) Johnny Wilson WR Florida St.
(190) Dylan McMahon OL North Carolina St.
Immediate Impact: CB Quinyon Mitchell, DB Cooper DeJean
The secondary was a mess last year and Howie Roseman got lucky twice in the first two rounds with guys falling in the draft and filling huge needs for the Eagles. Mitchell was my CB1 and he’s going to make James Bradberry expendable. Both Bradberry and Darius Slay are aging and while Slay is older, Bradberry fell off a cliff last season. Mitchell takes the outside spot opposite Slay right away. I listed DeJean as a DB and not CB because he’ll play all over in Vic Fangio’s defense. In the simplest terms, he’ll become the nickel corner over Avonte Maddox. His versatility will be utilized by playing him there in conjunction with CJ Gardner-Johnson who is also like a Swiss-army knife. Fangio will mix and match with these two to get the best matchups. Covering slot receivers, TEs, RBs, blitzing, you name it, these two can do it. DeJean could eventually move to the outside CB spot and replace Slay but for now, he’s a chess piece inside.
Best Value: DB Cooper DeJean
Some might say DeJean’s value at this pick was diminished for Philly because they traded some assets to move up and take hin after he fell all the way to 40th. The thing people aren’t accounting for is DeJean doesn’t just fill one position. He’s the nickel back, he can play outside CB, he can play LB in certain alignments, he’s an electric punt returner, an amazing gunner on special teams, and with the new kickoff rules, you have to give him a chance there. Oh, and it you don’t think that’s enough, give him a whirl at receiver, he’s dynamic with the ball in his hands.
Sleeper: WR Ainias Smith
This team has two elite WRs in AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith but after those two they are counting on DeVante Parker or Parris Campbell to be the next guy, yikes. Smith is only 5’9 190 lbs. but he plays with more power than you would think and he’s good in the slot. He can also be a gadget guy which would work in this offense with Jalen Hurts just looking to get the ball to his playmakers. Parker is my least favorite WR in the NFL and the only thing you can count on from Campbell is that he won’t be healthy all season. Smith was missing a little explosion in his game last year after breaking his leg the year before, I think he can find that again. If I were a betting man, I would bet he plays more snaps than Campbell and catches as many passes as Parker.
Overall Analysis
Howie Roseman had another good draft, which he does regularly. He was gifted Mitchell in round one as the defensive players got pushed down the board and then he made an aggressive move to get DeJean when he was falling down the board. He knew he had to get ahead of Green Bay in round two to do so and he made the deal, smart choice. The Jalyx Hunt pick is one for the future. Hunt is coming from a small school where his athletic traits were on full display but he needs to time to hone his skills as a pass rusher. The team has Bryce Huff, Josh Sweat, Brandon Graham, and Nolan Smith ahead of him, he’ll get the time he needs.
RB Will Shipley is an interesting pick. They signed Saquon Barkley to be the workhorse and they still have Kenneth Gainwell, who they like. Shipley is a finesse runner with homerun potential but the pick felt a bit too soon and I’m just not sure what he is in the pros. I love the Smith pick, that was a good bet, especially in round five. The Jeremiah Trotter Jr. pick took some criticism because some thought it was a sentimental pick because he’s father is a beloved former Eagle. That’s nonsense. The fifth round was about his value and while the team finally invested a little bit in LB signing Devin White and Oren Burks, they are still counting on Nakobe Dean at MLB and he came into the NFL with injury concerns and then missed most of last season with an injury. Trotter was a value pick and might be needed this season.
Two of their last three picks were interior linemen and with Jason Kelce retiring and Tyler Steen penciled in to start at RG, it wasn’t a bad idea to get some options. If offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland signed off on these two guys as guys he can work with, that’s good enough for me. WR Johnny Wilson came in between the two linemen. He’s an interesting player as he’s 6’7 237 lbs. and seems resistant to the move to TE. He’s going to end up a hybrid WR/TE at some point, whether he sticks around in Philly will end up being about the backup options to Dallas Goedert at TE and what they think of DeVante Parker and Joseph Ngata as their “big” WR options.
Washington Commanders
(2) Jayden Daniels QB LSU
(36) Johnny Newton DT Illinois
(50) Mike Sainristil CB Michigan
(53) Ben Sinnott TE Kansas St.
(67) Brandon Coleman OT TCU
(100) Luke McCaffrey WR Rice
(139) Jordan Magee LB Temple
(161) Dominique Hampton S Washington
(222) Javonte Jean-Baptiste DE Notre Dame
Immediate Impact: QB Jayden Daniels, DT Johnny Newton, CB Mike Sanristil, WR Luke McCaffrey
Daniels’ impact is both on the field and off. He’s the day one starting QB and he’s the face of the franchise. His impact will be felt on so many levels and the only thing that will limit his impact on the field is his horrendous offensive line. Last season at LSU he’s starting OTs were Will Campbell and Emory Jones Jr., those two are better than every OT on this roster. He may be the first QB with 2000 yards rushing in a season simply because he’s running for his life.
Newton is a beast at DT. His impact won’t be quite as great because Jonathan Allen and Deron Payne are the starters, but Newton will make the most of his opportunities. I do worry a bit as he’s having surgery on his left foot after having surgery on his right foot before the draft. I don’t like it when big guys have foot issues. Sainristil steps in as the nickel corner, he’s too good not to win that job. He’s undersized but you’ll never know it, the way he plays. He will also bring leadership and attitude to this secondary. McCaffrey can easily be the third WR on this team and start in the slot behind Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson. I don’t think beating out Olamide Zaccheaus or Dax Milne is going to be all that difficult.
Best Value: DT Johnny Newton
An early second round pick on one of the most disruptive DTs you’ll find is a total steal. Newton had a foot injury that kept him mostly out of the pre-draft process and that had to have had something to do with his fall because it wasn’t his play on the field. He’s a monster and it probably means Jonathan Allen will be playing somewhere else by 2025, if not sooner.
Sleeper: OT Brandon Coleman
Coleman was a three-year starter at LT at TCU and most people expect he’ll slide inside to guard in the NFL. That might be his eventual spot and with Nick Allegretti and Sam Cosmi penciled in now it could be sooner rather than later. Just one problem, this team has no real options at LT. Cornelius Lucas is the starter on the depth chart right now and he’ll get Jayden Daniels killed by week one. There are rumors they will try moving Sam Cosmi there, he played there in college but he’s mostly been a guard in Washington. I think there’s a chance Coleman is their best option at LT this season. It won’t be pretty at times but he has plenty of experience and I think he might be the best option, I would give him a real shot.
Overall Analysis
This roster needs plenty of help and this draft did a nice job of getting some guys who can help now. Daniels is the headliner and his success or failure will determine the success of this class overall, that’s just how it works. However, Newton has bright future. Sainristil is going to be a very good nickel corner for a long time even if that’s all he ever is. TE Ben Sinnott could have been my sleeper pick because I don’t think Zack Ertz is going to be the guy at TE, he’s washed. Coleman might have to play LT and if he doesn’t, I think he could beat out Allegretti at LG. McCaffrey has an open lane to be the starting slot receiver, he just has to take it.
The last three guys are just depth pieces who have to make the team on special teams but Jordan MaGee is a nice player at LB who could develop into a player. Dominique Hampton is a big safety worth the pick. And if you’re going to take a shot on a pass rusher late in the draft, you can do worse than Javonte Jean-Baptiste.
The Hott Read 