2021 NFL Draft grades: Biggest winners and losers
Carolina Panthers
When you reside in a division that houses Tom Brady and the Super Bowl champion Buccaneers, and the Atlanta Falcons who now feature Julio Jones, Calvin Ridley, and Kyle Pitts, building a defense from back-to-front feels like the key to sustained success.
That’s exactly what the Panthers seem to be doing.
Jaycee Horn might be the most polished cornerback in this year’s class, and the South Carolina product’s instincts and timing helped him develop into a true ballhawk during his collegiate career. After holding opposing quarterbacks to a 31 percent completion percentage and intercepting two passes last season, Horn now lines up against the budding and versatile Jeremy Chinn in Carolina’s secondary.
Meanwhile, not to be forgotten, Sam Darnold seems to finally have a support system around him that will put him in a position to once and for all prove if he has the ability to be an elite franchise quarterback, especially after the Panthers’ moves this weekend.
Carolina finally stopped speedy LSU wide receiver Terrace Marshall’s fall with the No. 59 overall pick in Round 2, and for good measure added tackle Brady Christensen and tight end Tommy Tremble on Friday night.
The foundation for the Panthers to rise up and challenge for a playoff berth — or at least play spoiler to the teams at the top of the division, seems to be set by this draft haul.
Grade B+
Buffalo Bills
Nothing else matters for the Bills, if they aren’t able to significantly improve their pass-rush, which they invested their first two picks in trying to do during this draft.
Buffalo scooped up free-falling Miami edge rusher Gregory Rousseau in Round 1, who has the opportunity to compete for a starting job opposite Ed Oliver. Rousseau’s stock dipped significantly after he opted out last season, but head coach Sean McDermott feels like the exact coach capable of maximizing a pass-rusher who produced 15.5 sacks and 47 pressures the last time he stepped onto a football field.
For good measure, Buffalo rounded back and picked up Wake Forest defensive end Carlos Basham Jr., who produced pressure on 22 percent of his snaps last season on his way to five sacks and 19 pressures.
As is the case with any of the legitimate AFC contenders, the Bills’ measuring stick is Mahomes and the Chiefs, and Buffalo made the kind of picks that help narrow the gap on the reigning AFC Champions this weekend.