2021 Draft Winners

The NFL Draft is full of promise and talented prospects for teams who underperformed during the season to turn their franchise around. Fans of losing teams during the regular season can look to the draft to potentially find the future of their franchise. These prospects can transform your team in every round of the draft from the first overall pick to Mr.Irrelevant. "Winning" the NFL is hard to gauge even a month after the draft is over. Coming out on top of the NFL draft is something that takes a season or two to fully develop. However, it's interesting to see which teams these prospects go to that they can make an immediate impact or grow into their starting role. This year, there were many teams who improved their team at impact positions, but these were the three teams that stood out the most...

Miami Dolphins

1(6) Jaylen Waddle - WR BAMA

1(18) Jaelan Phillips - EDGE MIA

2(4) Jevon Holland - S ORE

2(10) Liam Eichenberg - OT ND

3(18) Hunter Long - TE BC

7(3) Larnel Coleman - OT UMASS

7(17) Gerrid Doaks - RB CINC

Before the draft began, the Dolphins traded up with Philadelphia to acquire the 6th overall pick and used it on a playmaking difference-maker in Jaylen Waddle. 106 receptions and 1999 yards in his career at Alabama, Waddle is dangerous with the ball in his hand along with being extremely elusive. Waddle is more than just a receiver; in 2019 he led the NCAA in punt return yards (487) and average punt return yards (24.4). He uses his lateral quickness to get in and out of cuts with speed and to change direction on returns. Jaylen Waddle isn't the only high ceiling difference-maker they chose, however. Jaelan Philips and Jevon Holland are players who come in immediately at high-impact positions on the defensive side of the ball that will be game-changers on day one. Phillips was easily one of my favorite prospects who I spent a ton of time watching in his breakout season at Miami. At 6'6 260, Phillips manages to have incredible speed making him a threat on the line penetrating both from the outside and inside. I love his game, and I think for a team that blitzed at the third-highest rate this past season, he will be in a position to play to his strengths. Jevon Holland is a versatile defender who is a safety that played 64% of his snaps defending in the slot during his career at Oregon. Holland was a playmaker during his time at Oregon and an interception machine. He led the Pac-12 with four interceptions in 2019, and five more the year before that. He fits extremely well with the single-high-safety-dominant style of defense that Miami ran last season as either a deep safety or as a man-to-man slot coverage defender. HC Brian Flores and DC Josh Boyer are going to have fun finding the role where Holland's strengths will be highlighted. Miami also selected Liam Eichenberg early in the second round to protect Tua at the right tackle position while Robert Hunt moves inside to guard. Eichenberg, who is coming out of Notre Dame, only allowed pressure on 1.1% of snaps since 2019 which will be critical to protecting Tua's blindside. The last notable draft selection for Miami in this draft was Hunter Long, the tight end from Boston College. Long has the appropriate speed and frame to be a vertical threat in the seam plus the ability to be an open field runner after the catch. Make no mistake, Mike Gesicki is 100% the starting tight end, but with the possibility that he leaves in free agency, Long is a developmental insurance policy that has the opportunity to learn under a top tight end.

Cleveland Browns

1(26) Greg Newsome II - CB NW

2(20) Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah - LB ND

3(28) Anthony Schwartz - WR AUB

4(5) James Hudson - OT CINC

4(27) Tommy Togiai - OHIO ST

5(9) Tony Fields II - LB WVU

5(25) Richard LeCounte - S UGA

6(27) Demetric Felton - RB/WR UCLA

During our pre-draft analysis of the Browns, Danny and I did not find many holes with this loaded roster. We concluded that corner and inside linebacker were the two positions where we felt Cleveland could improve the most, and they addressed both of those needs with their first two picks. Greg Newsome II is someone who in another draft could potentially be considered the best corner available. He is a scary addition with top-tier speed and the ability to compete in man-coverage along with making plays in zone coverage. After Greedy Williams had a concerning shoulder injury causing nerve damage that forced him to miss the entire 2020 season, drafting Greg Newsome II gives them the flexibility to play him across from Denzel Ward and decrease William's role. Newsome II will come in and immediately improve the Cleveland defense which ranked as the 22nd best passing defense in the statistical defensive study that I conducted. Owusu-Koramoah will also prove as a day one impact player as an inside linebacker with upper echelon lateral quickness. As Danny mentioned in Episode 10 of the iFormSports podcast, the biggest threat the Cleveland Browns will have to face as they are reaching their peak potential is Lamar Jackson. Everyone understands the lethal rushing threat that Lamar Jackson poses, however, Owusu-Koramoah profiles as the ideal defender. As a quick, agile, and fluid linebacker prospect, he could potentially play a major role on the Browns' defense in some of their most important games. Falling to the 52 overall pick was one of the most unexpected outcomes in the entire draft, and makes him a potential major steal for the Browns. The Browns furthered their draft success by selecting Anthony Schwartz for depth in their receiving core which has struggled with injury the last season and took a risk on a high ceiling player on day three in Demetric Felton. Felton was one of the players highlighted in the underrated draft prospect episode released shortly before the draft. The reason why he gained our attention was his versatility as a running back prospect with incredible route running displayed at the senior bowl. Although the Browns already have a two-headed snake at the running back position with Chubb and Hunt, I trust that HC Kevin Stefanski will find a way to utilize him.

Minnesota Vikings

1(23) Christian Darrisaw - OT VTECH

3(2) Kellen Mond - QB TA&M

3(15) Chazz Surratt - LB NCAR

3(23) Wyatt Davis - IOL OHIO ST

3(27) Patrick Jones II - DE PITT

4(14) Kene Nwangwu - RB IOWA ST

4(20) Camryn Bynum - CB CAL

4(29) Janarius Robinson - DE FL ST

5(13) Ihmir Smith-Marsette - WR IOWA

5(24) Zach Davison Central - TE CENTRAL MISSOURI

6(15) Jaylen Twyman - DL PITT

Successfully navigating the draft board is no easy feat, yet, Minnesota managed to do it masterfully. Coming into the 2021 NFL Draft, Minnesota had the 14th overall pick but traded back with the Jets and acquired the 23rd overall pick, 66th overall pick, and the 86th overall pick along with sending the Jets the 143 overall pick. Even after moving back, the Vikings still managed to draft the player they initially intended to select at 14, Christian Darrisaw. The athletic prospect who measured in at 6'5 322, he was a top-three offensive tackle in this year’s draft for good reason. Darrisaw possesses a violent first step and lateral quickness to get in position protecting the quarterback from outside pass rushers, but athletic enough to recover to the inside as well. Along with that, he has strong hands to fight in contact, he is mobile enough to make impact blocks in the screen game, and stays level so that he doesn’t get out of position when blocking. However, most important for the Vikings will be his innate ability to elevate to the second level to continue to block on rushing plays. For a rushing-oriented team with a superstar running back like Dalvin Cook that needed to solidify their offensive line, Darrisaw was an amazing addition. The Vikings also used the two additional picks they acquired wisely by selecting Kellen Mond, the quarterback from Texas A&M, and Wyatt Davis, an IOL from the Ohio State. Mond is a developmental quarterback who has a high ceiling and a bright future with the chance to develop under Kirk Cousins. With a record of 25-21-1 and a single playoff win in three years, Cousins is the definition of doing the bare minimum to be considered an above-average quarterback. There is no denying that at the age of 33 next season and a massive contract in 2022, Cousins has hit his ceiling as a quarterback. Mond is an interesting dual-threat prospect with lots of college experience and stands to learn a lot from Cousin's deep-ball ability. Wyatt Davis, on the other hand, fills an immediate need on the weak Vikings' interior offensive line. Last season, one of the weakest parts of the Vikings was undoubtedly the protection from the interior of their offensive line, and Wyatt Davis addresses that as a technically polished interior offensive linemen who finishes his blocks with authority and physicality. The last two notable selections were two University of Pittsburg defensive linemen, Patrick Jones II in the 3rd round and Jaylen Twyman in the 6th round. Jones II was selected with the pick they acquired from the Yannick Ngakoue trade with Baltimore, and he will serve as a primary pass rusher in the future. Twyman, who was also on highlighted in the underrated prospect episode, was training with Aaron Donald throughout the draft process and possesses a lethal swim move and two hand swipe.

Notable mentions: Chicago Bears, Carolina Panthers, Detroit Lions