2021 NFL Draft grades: Biggest winners and losers
New York Jets
Zach Wilson was the prize of the Jets’ draft haul, and general manager Joe Douglas is conducing a masterclass over the past two drafts in how to set a young quarterback up for immediate success.
Multiple NFL coaches and scouts have lauded Wilson’s ability to make throws off schedule and make plays on the run, in conversations with FanSided leading up to this draft, but after this weekend, the BYU alum might not need to do much scrambling.
After securing Wilson with the No. 2 overall choice, Douglas added USC offensive tackle Alijah Vera-Tucker, one of the top linemen in the class, to pair opposite bookend Mekhi Becton. Vera-Tucker, 6-foot-3 and 315 pounds allowed just two sacks and four pressures last season for USC, and is a significant addition to the Jets’ front.
As if keeping Wilson upright wasn’t enough, Douglas added Mississippi wide receiver Elijah Moore, one of the speedier deep-threats at the position to drop into a receiving corps that already includes Corey Davis, Denzel Mims, and Jamison Crowder.
These aren’t your grandfather’s Jets, and they likely won’t have any of the same quarterback problems that have plagued the franchise for decades thanks to Wilson’s addition and Douglas’ prudent building around him.
Grade: A
New York Giants
This NFL Draft has been a philosophical sea-change for general manager Dave Gettleman and the Giants.
Gettleman, who previously had never traded back in the NFL Draft in his career, earned the name “Trader Dave” from fellow executives and coaches inside the Giants’ war room this weekend, after acquiring a highly-coveted additional first-round pick in the 2022 draft in a blockbuster with the Chicago Bears, trading back in Round 2, and then up in Round 3.
New-age Gettleman also added some impact players after all that maneuvering, including a speedster at wide receiver in Kadarius Toney in Round 1, one of the more dominant edge rushers in the class; and Azeez Ojulari in Round 2.
Toney is a playmaker in the slot, who averaged 11.3 yards per target in 2020 and 7.3 yards after the catch per reception last season, according to Sports Info Solutions. The former Florida Gator is exactly the type of weapon the Giants sought to add, and continue to surround quarterback Daniel Jones with as he enters his pivotal third NFL season.
Gettleman not only fortified the Giants’ roster this weekend to the point that competing for a berth in the NFL Playoffs seems a reasonable expectation, but bolstered the organization’s war chest in next year’s draft that is expected to be significantly deeper than this one.