2021 NFL Mock Draft Submissions

Here are my grades and thoughts for each team...

AFC East
Bills - B+: Amazing value for both Epenesa and Moss. Davis gives Josh Allen a huge target, while Fromm was a value pick and will do well as a backup. Later picks were bit of reaches.

Dolphins - B+: Tua was a steal at #5 if he can stay healthy in the Pros. Jackson was also a nice selection if we can develop him, especially since he's so young. Some Day 2 and Day 3 picks weren't very sexy, but with some coaching and development, they could turn out to good additions.

Jets - B: Becton could turn out to be great, but Wirfs was the safer pick. From there, the Jets filled needs while getting great value with picks like Mims and Hall.

Patriots - C: It's always difficult to grade the Pats since they always draft players I've never heard of. Some look to have high potential, but others seemed like reaches. Just gonna average it out.

AFC North
Bengals - B: Good value with each pick. No big reaches, but no big steals either.

Browns - A-: From Wills and Delpit to later selections, the Browns kept getting amazing value throughout the draft.

Ravens - A+: The Browns did amazing selecting best available while addressing needs, but the Ravens took it to another level. They will continue to challenge the Chiefs for the AFC.

Steelers - C: Didn't really care for the Steelers draft. I like Claypool, but they didn't really need him. Could've traded for Fournette to really help their team. They will have difficulties hanging with the Browns and Ravens next year.

AFC South
Colts - B: Pittman and Taylor will help improve their one dimensional offense. Don't really like the Eason pick, especially since they could get Lawrence next year if Rivers retires or continues to age poorly.

Jaguars - B+: Their first five picks were awesome, but after that were either a reaches or not a need. Big potential with those first five though.

Texans - B: Not many picks, but they made the most out of the ones that counted. Blacklock and Greenard were both great values. Would've graded higher if they had a few more picks that could've made a big difference next year.

Titans - C+: Filled needs but with reaches. They really need to try to get Clowney now.

AFC West
Broncos - B+: A few reaches, but I love what they did. It was clear they are gonna try to go toe to toe with the Chiefs with pure offense. Lock will have both Gordon and Lindsay in the backfield, while having Sutton/Jeudy/Hamler and Fant/Okwuegbunam to throw to. That's insane.

Chargers - B: Some good value picks, but nothing that wowed me.

Chiefs - C+: Like the Titans, filled needs but with reaches. Didn't really like what they did.

Raiders - B-: Like the Chiefs, they filled needs but with reaches. No way Ruggs should've went before Jeudy and Lamb.

NFC East
Cowboys - A+: Lamb at #17, Diggs at #51, Biadasz in the 4th, and Anae at the end of the 5th? You're kidding me, right?

Eagles - C+: A lot of early reaches, but got a few steals later on in the draft. Gonna be tough to hang with the Cowboys next year.

Giants - B+: They ruined my mock by not drafting Wirfs, but the Giants had a real solid draft. Filled needs without any major reach. Even got a few steals, like McKinney and Lemieunx.

Redskins - B+: Redskins did well to draft of value with basically each of their picks. Oh, and they got the best player in the entire draft.

NFC North
Bears - C+: A few questionable picks, but a few good ones. Nothing really incredible.

Lions - B: They filled needs and even got a steal or two, but no wow picks outside of Swift.

Packers - F: I get drafting Love, but as a whole, the Packers did nothing to try to better compete for a Super Bowl with Rodgers.

Vikings - A+: On the amount of picks they accumulated from trades was gonna get the Vikings a high grade, but they got incredible value with so many of their picks. A few later reaches, but they are for depth anyway. How they got QB Stanley with one of the last picks in the draft is incredible; he was considered a 1st Rounder before both his Junior and Senior seasons in college (before dropping to a 3rd/4th this year). Watch out Cousins, because this guy got has an arm.

NFC South
Buccaneers - A-: Wirfs and Winfield were both steals, and they did good with their later picks as well. If they had draft a QB to backup Brady, I would've given them an A+.

Falcons - C+: A number of reaches, starting with Terrell at #16. But they filled needs.

Panthers - A+: They went all defense, and for good reason. Brown at #7 was a steal, and then they got both Gross-Matos and Chinn in the 2nd. That's crazy.

Saints - B+: I can't give them an A because they only had four picks, but each were really good / great picks.

NFC West
Cardinals - A-: Simmons at #8 and Jones at #72 were both steals. They rest of their picks were of good value as well.

Niners - B+: Limited picks, but walked away with Trent Williams (as well as Kinlaw and Aiyuk). Can't ask for much more for only having two picks in the first 150.

Rams - B+: No 1st Rounder, but they made the most out of the rest of their picks.

Seahawks - D: A lot of reaches, more so than other teams. It outweighs them filling needs.

« Last edited by Warrior13 on Apr 26th 2020 »

The Dolphins trade a fifth-round pick to the 49ers for RB Matt Breida. The guy is a speed demon, he runs a 4.3 40 yard dash. Guess Miami see him sneaking out of the backfield and being a deep threat for Tua to target.

Trent Williams has gone to the 49rs for a 5th round pick this year and 3rd round pick in 2021. All things considered it's not too bad, the Redskins could get a decent player from that pick next year or use it along with another pick to trade up into the second or first round.

Aaron Rogers will leave the Packers before this contract is up, what team takes him? I still say Dallas if things don't work out with Prescott. Jerry Jones only has a few more years left in this world and he needs to win now, who better than Aaron Rogers to get him to the Super Bowl. With the weapons at his disposal at Dallas Rogers would jump at the opportunity if a deal could be made.

Who the hell is Antonio Gibson? I saw highlights of the Redskins third round pick and he looks like a nightmare for opposing teams. He listed himself as a running back but is really a wide reciever with blazing 4.3 40 speed, if Gibson had of listed as a wide reciever the scouts are saying he would have been graded considerably higher. Looks like Haskins has another weapon alongside McLaren to hit. Gandy Golden another wide reciever the Redskins drafted looks decent as well. I'm quite pleased with the Redskins haul in the draft this year.

How about you guys with Miami?

Nice grading. I agree with most of what you said. Don't take my grading seriously, but this is what I would grade: (I will expand on Miami later)

New England - C+: As always, it's hard to grade an NE draft given that Belichick drafts so differently to most. I really like them taking two TEs though.

Buffalo - B+: Traded their 1st rounder to get a star in Stefon Diggs, and then got a 1st rounder with theit 2nd round pick in Epenesa. Fromm is be a very good backup with good accuracy and value of ball-protection.

NY Jets - B+: Wirfs should've been the pick, but Becton is still good. I had Mims and Hall as 1st rounders at various points.

Miami - A: This is simply due to the insane number of picks Miami had and how we wee able to address several needs by drafting raw players with high ceilings.

Baltimore - A: Queen and Dobbins as their first two picks was perfect. A strong team go stronger.

Pittsburgh - B-: Wide receiver as their first pick in a draft where they have no 1st rounder? As someone who is not a fan of the Dogs, I like their draft. I gave them a good score because they used their 1st rounder to trade for Minkah Fitzpatrick.

Cleveland - A: Wills and Delpit falling perfectly in place? Faultless.

Cincy - B: Burrow and Higgins could create a Dalton-Green connection, but I don't give them a B+ because they drafted zero OTs to protect Burrow.

Houston - C: Blacklock and Greenard are great additions considering their draft capital. They used their 1st rounder to trade for Tunsil, but his 3-year $66M extension makes Watson's contract extension a bit tricky. I originally gave a B but had to put them down after trading away Hopkins for a 2nd round pick.

Tennessee - B: Wilson (OT) and Fulton (CB) are 1st-round talent who improve some of Tennessee's few weaknesses. Solid without being spectacular.

Indy - B-: Taylor is a great pick, and while Pittman was a reach, getting a WR was vital. I also really like the Eason pick, given that they were able to take him as late as the 4th round. He is a boom (20%) or bust (80%) prospect, but it's worth taking a chance. However I wasn't a fan of them trading away pick 13 for Buckner. It coat them access to Lamb or Love.

Jacksonville - A-: Great first 3 picks, and an underrated selection in QB Jake Luton. Trading away locker room cancer Jalen Ramsey for pick 20 and a 2021 1st rounder was good business.

Kansas City - C-: Not a bad draft, but a very lackluster one. Also passing on Swift was a risky decision.

Las Vegas - C+: Don't get me wrong, Ruggs and Arnette are good players, but they were the wrong picks. Ruggs is the #3 WR, and Arnette was at best the #4 CB behind Diggs. Although drafting 3 WRs in the first 3 rounds will make Derek Carr very happy.

Denver - A: Jeudy was an absolute score. Adding Hamler strengthens their WR group even further. A very sensible and good-value draft which will give Drew Lock the best chance of succeeding.

LA Chargers - A-: Didn't have to trade up for Herbert, and acquired Murray through a trade. Then replaced Gordon and gave Herbert a weapon.

Philly - C: Reagor was a bad pick and is as good as Mims (who was taken in R3), Hurts was a wasted pick, but Tega Wanogho in the 6th round was an absolute STEAL. Their mid-range picks seemed ok.

Dallas - A+: They sadly won the draft. Lamb was a STEAL. Diggs was an even bigger STEAL. Gallimore was a good value pick too for the 3rd round. Biadasz in the 4th is also a STEAL (I had him in the 1st round in my Jan mock). Given how pathetic the NFC East is, I genuinely believe they are the favourites for the #1 seed, since the other divisions have MIN-GB, TB-NO-ATL, and SF-SEA.

NY Giants - B: Thomas was an unfortunate reach even if he has the highest floor of the OTs. But McKinney outside the 1st round was a STEAL, as was Lemieux in the 4th.

Washington - C+: Young is obviously a fantastic pick, but I didn't like anything else Washington did. I know it was hard given they had a 64-pick gap between Young and Gibson, but drafting 2 WRs was a waste given they have McLaurin already. Zero CBs drafted too. Though getting rid of Williams for a good price was a decent result, and will help them next draft.

Green Bay - D-: Keep in mind, this grade was an F on day 2. I'll start with the positive. Plenty of o-line players were drafted, which will help Rodgers IF they are good enough to start. Now the negative. Wide receiver was arguably Green Bay's biggest need. So what did they do? Drafted ZERO WRs. ZERO. Not even one in the 7th round.

Minnesota - A-: Filled every need while only slightly reaching for 1 of their first 4. With Green Bay's horror show, this is their division to lose. Stanley as a 7th rounder is a good pickup too.

Chicago - B-: Given how little draft capital they had, they went ok. Kmet is an interesting pick, and Johnson is a good value pick who could've been a 1st rounder. Though they need to keep an eye on the QB situation. Neither Trubisky OR Foles is a viable option. Foles WILL bust, just as he has in every non-Philly team.

Detroit - A: Great draft. Okudah, Swift, and Okwara as their top 3 picks. Enough said.

New Orleans - C+: They didn't have many options here. Ruiz was an unfortunate reach given that Queen was on the board, but they made up for that by STEALING Baun in the 3rd (!!!) round.

Atlanta - B-: Terrell was a reach and a half, but Davidson was a good pick in the 2nd round.

Tampa Bay - A: Got fantastic value picks in Wirfs and Winfield, whila also getting a RB. Trading a 4th round pick for an already-retired Gronkowski is as much a steal as you will ever see.

Carolina - B+: While Simmons should have been the pick, Brown is still a very good player. Gross-Matos in the 2nd round is a STEAL. However zero LBs being drafted is a big issue.

San Francisco - C-: Poor draft. Kinlaw is a good pick yes, but better players were available (Lamb & Jeudy). Then they reached on a 2nd tier WR by trading UP (!!!) And to top it off, they traded Matt Breida for a 5th round pick (rofl) and Marquise Goodwin for something else. Getting Williams for a cheap price was a good pickup, but SF drafted ZERO CBs. Do they remember the Superbowl collapse where Mahomes passed deep and destroyed the secondary?

Seattle - D+: Horrible. All I can see are reaches. Passing on McKinney and Wilson in the 1st was unforgivable. Seattle sure know how to waste a talent in Russel Wilson.

LA Rams - A-: I gave them such a high score because they turned bad draft capital into a flurry of value picks. Akers, Jefferson, and Lewis (him especially) were great picks considering they had no 1st rounder. Their situation isn't as bleak anymore.

Arizona - A+: Insane STEALS with Simmons at #8 and Jones at #72. Jones is a 1st-rounder no doubt. Also traded away a 2nd rounder for possibly the best WR in football.

Draft winner - Shared between Dallas and Arizona (I can't split them).
Draft loser - Green Bay

« Last edited by Matt77 on Apr 26th 2020 »

Double posting to talk about Miami.

As you can see I gave us an A. Remember, yesterday as a whole I gave Miami a C+. That is because I was angry that we passed on Swift and reached for a few players. But then the ball got rolling.

Solomon Kindley (G) - Great value pick with great size. Is also a developmental player with a high ceiling.
Jason Strowbridge (EDGE) - Seems like he is also a good value pick with high potential.
Curtis Weaver (EDGE) - S.T.E.A.L. Absolute bargain. Weaver was viewed as a potential 1ST ROUNDER, and we took him in the 5TH ROUND.
Blake Ferguson (Long snapper) - A bit of a reach in the 6th, but he's said to be by far the best long snapper in the draft. He also has amazing leadership qualities. Interestingly, Miami have had 3 different long snappers in the past 3 seasons, so they obviously wanted to sort the position out once and for all.
Malcolm Perry (QB, RB, WR) - A multi-position player out of the Navy who can play QB, RB, and WR. Has electric speed and makes big rushing plays. Taysom Hill 2.0. Brilliant value pick considering it's the 7th round.

And to top it off, we traded a 5th round pick (LOL) for 25-year old RB Matt Brieda, who averaged 5.0 yards per carry for San Francisco!

We even managed to trade a 7th round pick for a 2021 6th round pick!

Make no mistake, in the 2021/22 season Miami will be Superbowl contenders, considering we have two 2021 1st round picks. We have filled so many needs it's crazy.



« Last edited by Matt77 on Apr 26th 2020 »

Matt: Love how they included Breida in that post. lol Our draft class could easily be an A if Flores can develop these guys. We'll know for sure in a year or two, especially if we let Tua sit this year.

Here's how I would rank the Draft Classes (I'm only considering Draft Picks and Draft Day Trades, not any trades prior to the start of the Draft)...

1) Ravens (Drafted Best Available - Loads of Picks)
2) Cowboys (Drafted Best Available While Filling Needs)
3) Vikings (Made Value Picks - Loads of Selections)
4) Panthers (Overhauled Defense - Value Picks)
5) Browns (Made Value Picks - Loads of Selections)
6) Cardinals (Made Value Picks - Somewhat Limited Picks)
7) Buccaneers (Made Value Picks - Somewhat Limited Picks)
8) Jaguars (Great First Five Picks - Later Reaches)
9) Dolphins (Loads of Picks - Developmental Prospects)
10) Broncos (Overhauled Offense - Loads of Selections)
11) Giants (Solid Draft - More Value Picks Than Reaches)
12) Bills (Many Value Picks - Limited Picks)
13) Niners (Many Value Picks & Trent Williams - Limited Picks)
14) Saints (Many Value Picks - Limited Picks)
15) Redskins (Best Player In Draft - Drafted Players In Range)
16) Rams (Good Value Picks - No High Draft Picks)
17) Lions (Drafted Players In Range - No Wow Picks)
18) Colts (Good Value Picks - No High Draft Picks)
19) Jets (A Few Steals - A Few Reaches)
20) Bengals (Drafted Players In Range - No Wow Picks)
21) Chargers (Drafted Players In Range - No Wow Picks)
22) Texans (Good Value Picks - No High Draft Picks)
23) Raiders (Filled Needs - Many Reaches)
24) Falcons (Filled Needs - Many Reaches)
25) Eagles (Filled Needs - Many Reaches Including Hurts)
26) Chiefs (Filled Needs - No Wow Pick)
27) Titans (Filled Needs - No Wow Pick)
28) Bears (Some Head Scratchers - No High Draft Picks)
29) Patriots (Developmental Prospects - Many Reaches)
30) Steelers (Many Reaches - No High Draft Picks)
31) Seahawks (Many Head Scratchers - Many Reaches)
32) Packers (Many Head Scratchers - Many Reaches)

I agree with most of those, except San Francisco. I graded their draft a C-. They needed a new WR, passed on both Lamb and Jeudy, selected Kinlaw which was a good pick, and then traded up (thus losing some of their limited draft capital) to reach for a 2nd tier WR. They then traded Marquise Goodwin yesterday, officially making WR a main need. Also being a major need, was CB, especially after being carved up in the 4th quarter of the SB. The secondary also struggled in big games against the better teams. So what do they do? Draft ZERO CBs.

Also Dallas clearly won the draft. I also think Arizona won it with them. I liked Baltimore's selections, but they weren't on the same caliber of steals as Dallas & Arizona.

« Last edited by Matt77 on Apr 26th 2020 »

Some GMs had Aiyuk graded as the fourth best WR above Justin Jefferson (who was also drafted after Jalen Reager). I liked Jefferson more as well, but they needed another WR. I don't really consider the Goodwin trade a huge loss, especially since he's had loads of injuries thus far in his NFL Career. Kinlaw has Top 10 talent, and they did have a need at DT with Buckner now gone. They even got Trent Williams, a Top 10 LT, for a 3rd & 5th, which filled a huge need after it was announced that Joe Staley was going to retire. Sure, they could've used a CB, but their secondary was good enough last year to defeat basically every team outside of the Chiefs (which most teams can't handle anyway). Can you honestly say the Niners aren't solid basically everywhere outside of CB (which isn't the worst in the league)?

Who do you guys think will be superstars in the league and who will be busts. Let's make our predictions now for Defensive and Offensive rookies of the year.

Defensive Rookie of the year: Isiah Simmons
Offensive Rookie of the year: Ceedee Lamb

Bust: Joe Burrow, the Bengals only win three games all season and Burrow gets banged up and reverts to his mediocre form of a couple of years ago.

Warrior - After extensive analysis, I've concluded that it wasn't only the secondary that choked, but it was the entire defense in general. It makes the Kinlaw pick look even better. It seems I was influenced by a few particular results towards the end of the season. I'm still not a fan of the Aiyuk pick. I know he was a draft bolter, but imo he was worthy of being a 2nd round pick. Passing on Lamb and Jeudy was criminal. They should've drafted Lamb and then traded DOWN from their pick 31, not up. That would've allowed them to draft a WR, DT, and CB within the first 4 rounds. C+ now.

Dennis:

DROTY - Chase Young (best player in the draft)
OROTY - Jerry Jeudy (less competition at Denver, hence he will be thrown to more than Lamb will be at Dallas)

Bust - Justin Herbert (I have previously rated him, but I keep hearing more and more worrying things about him. Apparently he is too cautious with his passes, and he also has the prototype build that is common with bust QBs (tall with streaky accuracy))

« Last edited by Matt77 on Apr 27th 2020 »

Offensive Rookie of the Year: Jonathan Taylor
The Colts have one of the best Offensive Line's in all of football, and they will look to run quite a bit due to Rivers' age. Taylor rushed for 1900+ yards in each of his three seasons at Wisconsin. He's gonna get the ball quite often.

Defensive Rookie of the Year: Chase Young
Chase Young should easily be the Defensive Rookie of the Year. Unlike at Ohio State, he won't get many double teams since he'll be lining up with Allen, Payne and Sweat. This should allow him to thrive pretty early. Additionally, he gets to play the Giants twice a year. The Giants did well to rebuild their O-Line in the draft, but they are still young enough where Young should dominate.

Long Term Best Player From Draft: Tua Tagovailoa
If Tua can stay healthy, he should be the best player throughout the span of his career. The Dolphins finally seem to have a plan in place for long term success. They had a really solid draft, and they have tons of capital in next year's draft. This should give Tua all the tools to succeed, again if he can remain healthy. He's a cross between Brees & Wilson.

Highest Chance To Bust From Draft: Jordan Love
I wish Love the best, but there is a high chance he turns out to be a bust. Rodgers was in consideration to go #1 Overall in the 2005 Draft, but after Smith went before him, no teams really needed him until he fell to the Packers. The same isn't for Love, who some GMs had him as a 3rd Round Prospect. If he doesn't grow in his decision making and being able to break down defenses, he will be a pick machine in the pros once Rodgers has retired or left Green Bay.

2021 Draft Underrated Prospects Watch List
LB Micah Parsons, WR Rondale Moore, TE Kyle Pitts, WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette

« Last edited by Warrior13 on Apr 27th 2020 »

Oh, and I forgot to mention, Jamieis Winston has signed a 1-year deal with New Orleans.

I can't argue with any of that. Taylor is a bold choice, but it makes sense. I think regardless of injuries, Tua will be successful. Look at Carson Wentz. He is injury-prone, but when healthy he is a top-10 QB at minimum. And I would've said Love at the bust player, but I was focusing on next season only. In the long term he is a big risk. Plus I don't see Rodgers as a great mentor...

Unbelievably, a professional journalist wrote that Green Bay had a BETTER draft (B) than Arizona (B-) in an article. Several articles in fact graded Green Bay's draft as B range. That same article also had Seattle's draft as an A-...(better than Miami's B grade).

My rough draft (draft only) power rankings:

1 - Dallas
2 - Arizona
3 - Minnesota
4 - Denver
5 - Miami
6 - Baltimore
7 - LA Chargers
8 - Jacksonville
9 - Cleveland
10 - Detroit
11 - Carolina
12 - Tampa Bay
13 - NY Jets
14 - Indy
15 - Buffalo
16 - LA Rams
17 - NY Giants
18 - Cincy
19 - New Orleans
20 - Houston
21 - San Francisco
22 - Las Vegas
23 - Tennessee
24 - Pittsburgh
25 - Chicago
26 - Atlanta
27 - Washington
28 - New England
29 - Philly
30 - Kansas City
31 - Seattle
32 - Green Bay

There's always one player that goes under the radar and ends up on the finalists list for either OROTY/DROTY, and I think Taylor has a shot. I was going to go with Swift at first, but Taylor will have the added bonus of a run first offense with a stellar O-Line.

Baltimore is the consensus pick for best draft, while the Packers are for the worst. Sounds about right.

No Matt, I don't see Rogers as a great mentor either. The great ones never are for some reason. Joe Montana and Brett Favre come straight to mind. Both had bad relationships with their backups in Steve Young and Aaron Rogers that were well documented.

Biggest steal of the draft will be Antonio Gibson, I've watched his highlight reel from college and he is going to be a nightmare in the pros with his blazing speed and Haskins big arm throwing him the ball. The best part though is he is an aggressive runner who is tough to bring down. Arm tackles will not get the job down which means small cornerbacks are going to struggle, his stats for breaking tackles is unreal. The Redskins are going to use him like the Panthers use McCathery.

Still no news as to where Cam Newton and Jadeveon Clowney are going to end up?

I see the favourites to pick up Newton are the Cardinals, Seahawks, and Chargers. The only one out of those three to me that make sense is the Chargers so they don't have to throw Herbert into the deep end straight away. Still can't figure out why Belichick hasn't picked Newton up, unless it's true and the Patriots are tanking for Lawrnence or Fields.

As for Clowney, apparently the Cleveland Browns and Indianapolis Colts are favourites to get him if he doesn't return to Seattle. I can't figure out why he wasn't interested playing for the Dolphins, they wanted him but he turned his nose up. The Dolphins are going to in the playoffs regularly in the next couple of years and he could have been one of the stars of the team.

« Last edited by Sanzano on Apr 28th 2020 »

I'm not so sure about Gibson. I've seen several people call him a massive reach as a 3rd rounder. Typically 3rd round picks are boom or bust, especially WRs and RBs. I guess Washington will find out which type of player they've got.

I only read yesterday about the dummy spit that Favre had after Rodgers eventually won the starting job (in Rodgers' 3rd year at the club). That doesn't bode well, given that Rodgers is known for being a diva, and he is in a similar position. Rodgers was tipped to be the #1 pick before his stocks fell, and he only fell the massive distance he did because other teams didn't need a QB. Love's stocks fell this year because he had a poor season after having a brilliant 2018/19 season. Had Love's seasons been reversed, he would've been the #5 pick to Miami.

The worry is that when I look at it, there are only a few teams with a starting position available. Jacksonville won't be a contender for another 15 years so they're not an option. Dallas have already signed Dak with the franchise tag, to they're not an option. Indy have already signed Rivers so they aren't an option. There are really only 2 other options:
New England - Jarrett Stidham is an unproven 4th round pick, even if NE believe he can be a franchise QB. Playing under the GOAT coach could do wonders for Rodgers. It also gives Stidham the opportunity to backup two of the best QBs ever to play the sport.
Chicago - Favre went from Green Bay to Minnesota (a divisional rival). Rodgers could join a divisional rival too, to stick it to Green Bay. Chicago have an above average at worst defense, and even if they may not contend this season, in year 2 Chicago would then draft or trade for some offensive talent.

I think the reason Newton can't get a backup job is because teams can't evaluate him medically due to the coronavirus restrictions. He's very injury-prone and teams may want a stable backup instead. If I were Tampa Bay, I would bring him in to backup Brady. It's clear that Tampa Bay are in win-now mode, so they should get an insurance policy for if Brady gets hurt. It would also be a divisional rival for Newton, so he may get a chance to play Carolina again (keep in mind, I don't think Newton ever said thank you to the Carolina Panthers organisation).

« Last edited by Matt77 on Apr 28th 2020 »

Like Jameis Winston, Cam Newton is going to have to accept the fact that he will most likely have to be a backup this year. The only places he could possibly start are in New England or Jacksonville, with the higher chance of doing so with the Patriots (since the Jags are looking to tank this year for Lawrence). Basically every other team after the draft now has a Starting QB and Backup QB besides those two.

If Cam truly wants to start, he'll probably have to wait to sign with a team until a QB gets hurt.

Has the Dak Prescott scenario been resolved? I know the Cowboys have franchise tagged him but what is happening long term regarding a new contract for him. Dallas are going down the same slippery road Washington went down with Kirk Cousins. If the Cowboys plan on tagging Prescott for the next three years they might as well give him the money he wants now. At the moment the Cowboys have got a disgruntled and bitter quarterback leading them, can't be good for team morale. Not that I'm complaining being a Redskins fan. With the weapons that team now has on offense they can compete with anyone in the league by just outscoring them.

Jamies Winston went to New Orleans? I bet that stressed out Cam Newton, one less landing spot for him. He's best bet now is being Russel Wilson's backup. Unbelievable how quickly the guy has gone from elite to can't get a job.


« Last edited by Sanzano on Apr 29th 2020 »

Interestingly, yesterday Alex Smith has said he is still trying to make a comeback. While it was a very bad injury, he's had close to 2 years of recovery time. There's going to be a documentary about his injury & recovery released on May 1st I think. Today there were some pictures revealed of how bad Smith's injury was. He has had a combined 17 surgeries on his leg, and 4 days after his first, there was an image showing a huge part of his leg black with infection.

The question is, if he gets back to full fitness (he has said he does want to play again), would he be useful to another team in the same way Cam Newton could be? We have to remember, in Smith's first season at Washington he lead them to a 6-3 record and a home game against Houston to go 7-3. I wonder, if Haskins under-performs this season, would Smith be able to step in? The defense is underrated, and the offense isn't that bad either. NFL.com had Washington 30th in their power rankings, but they could legitimately contend for playoffs.

You're right, Dallas are copying Washington's strategy. If they keep copying it, Dak will walk for nothing, just like Cousins did (SF offered Washington pick 2 for Cousins). At the end of next season Dallas have 4 options:
1. Sign Dak to a long-term deal and pay him 35M+ per season
2. Franchise tag Dak again and keep him
3. Franchise tag Dak again, but let him seek a trade
4. Let Dak walk for nothing
Option 4 is absolutely stupid, and I can't see Dallas repeating the same mistakes their division rivals did.
Option 2 would only make Dak angry, and wouldn't be good for locker room culture or Dak's relationship with the executives/head coach.
Option 1 could be done, but Dallas would have to let another key player or three leave, in order to create cap space.
Option 3 would be the safest choice, but Dallas would have to get a replacement QB. They could potentially use the pick they would get from Dak's new team in order to either trade up and draft a rookie QB, or to trade for a veteran/talented backup. Or, trading NOW for Josh Rosen or Cam Newton could be an even better choice.

« Last edited by Matt77 on Apr 29th 2020 »

I'm thinking the same as you Matt, if I were Dallas I would get rid of Dak Prescott, sign Cam Newton for a discount price as there is obviously no takers for his services and he must be desperate to get his foot in the door at any team at the moment and the chance to start for Dallas would be perfect for him. Prescott is a greedy bugger who should be shown the door before he ruins the construction of a promising franchise. Dallas will never win a Super Bowl with Prescot under center, the stats don't lie, in the second half of games where he has to improvise and not follow a script the guy is terrible.

Josh Rosen I feel would be too much of a gamble, he under performed at Arizona and has been benched at Miami. At least Dallas know Newton has what it takes to get to the big game.

« Last edited by Sanzano on Apr 29th 2020 »

I can't see Newton being signed by the Cowboys, either as a Starter or a Backup. Cam doesn't fit what they want in a QB, plus they would have to trade Dak if they do want Cam as the Starter. As noted with Cam, really only the Pats and Jags have an immediate need at QB. However, I seriously doubt either would want to trade for Dak.

Dak for Rodgers would be interesting, but I don't see it happening.

Like if the Cowboys want to really move on from Dak, they would trade him for as much as possible and then tank for Lawrence. lol

« Last edited by Warrior13 on Apr 29th 2020 »

Dennis - That's an interesting point you make about Dallas and Dak. I seem to remember that quite often they would score a TD on the opening drive, but lose the game. In fact, in consecutive winnable games against Buffalo and Chicago, Dallas scored a TD on the opening drive, but lost both games 15-26 and 24-31. In the BUF game they went up 7-0 and then it was 7-26 before garbage time. In the CHI game they went up 7-0 and then before Dallas scored 17pts in Q4, it was 7-24.

In all honesty I think Dak is an ok QB and is definitely starter material. Probably a top-16 QB too. But the fact he rejected a 34M per season contract because it wasn't big enough, and wants to be the highest paid QB in the league, is a joke. Will he get Dallas to the playoffs? Probably more times than not. Will he win playoff games? Maybe. But you're right, he doesn't seem like an NFC Championship game, let alone Superbowl QB.

2016: 13-3 (#1 seed, 0-1 playoff record)
2017: 9-7 (no playoffs)
2018: 10-6 (#4 seed, 1-1 playoff record)
2019: 8-8 record (no playoffs, 5-8 in last 13 games)

Funnily enough, when I watched the draft coverage, they put up a graphic which listed teams who hadn't reached a Conference Championship game for 30 years I think. And guess who was also on there ? ;) The first 7 teams are arguably the 7 worst teams of the past 3 decades too:
Cincy
Buffalo
Detroit
Miami
Washington
Cleveland
Houston
Dallas

« Last edited by Matt77 on Apr 29th 2020 »