2021 NFL Draft grades: Biggest winners and losers
Jacksonville Jaguars
Picking first ensured the Jacksonville Jaguars a generational quarterback prospect, Trevor Lawrence, but Urban Meyer and Co. have done an outstanding job laying the foundation around the former Clemson standout.
With their second first-round pick, the Jaguars kept the band together, pairing Lawrence with former Clemson teammate and explosive running back Travis Etienne. Etienne is shifty, can be a dynamic target in the passing game, and averaged 3.4 yards after contact per attempt last season.
In Round 2, the Jaguars found outstanding value in Stanford offensive tackle Walker Little, who despite injury concerns, has the potential to be an anchor of the line in front of Lawrence after allowing just 24 pressures in 22 games.
Syracuse safety Andre Cisco is a safety who is as physical as linebacker, but possesses the ball-skills of a cornerback and could wind up being the steal of the Jaguars’ class.
Grade: A
Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens entered this draft as one of the teams best-positioned to challenge Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, and left it plugging two of the more glaring needs that stopped Baltimore in its postseason tracks the past two years.
Mining a wide receiver to start opposite Hollywood Brown, in hopes of elevating Lamar Jackson’s impact on the vertical passing game was clearly a priority, and the Ravens came away in the first-round with Minnesota’s Rashod Bateman in the first-round.
Bateman is a big-bodied red zone target with some field-stretching ability, who averaged 8.4 yards per target as the focal point of the Gophers’ passing game and has the kind of catch radius to quickly make him one of Jackson’s favorite targets.
Later, the Ravens added promising former Penn State pass rusher Jayson Oweh, who scouts and executives were frothing over ahead of this year’s draft after he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.39 seconds at the Nittany Lions‘ pro day and flashed plenty of athleticism last season despite not producing a sack.
Far from finished, the Ravens beefed up their offensive line in front of Jackson in Round 3, selecting Georgia guard Ben Cleveland, one of the top players at a position of dire need.
Baltimore added one of the premier pass-rushers in an effort to improve their chances of neutralizing Mahomes and a reliable receiver to keep pace with the Chiefs’ high-octane offense as part of a well-rounded haul.