2021 NFL Draft: Grizak’s 2-round mock draft...

2021 NFL Draft: Grisak’s Two Round NFL Mock Draft

By Blaine Grisak of DowntownRams

The NFL Draft finally takes place on Thursday. Here is Blaine Grisak’s full two-round mock draft as he predicts what will take place.

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The NFL Draft is on Thursday and teams will have a chance to add young players to their roster before training camp begins. This season is a beast of its own with COVID-19 and opt-outs, but teams will do the best that they can with the information that they have. Below is my full two-round mock draft with some analysis.

NFL Draft Round 1 (Picks 1-10)

1. Jacksonville Jaguars – QB Trevor Lawrence, Clemson
2. New York Jets – QB Zach Wilson BYU
3. San Francisco 49ers – QB Mack Jones, Alabama
4. Atlanta Falcons – TE Kyle Pitts
5. Cincinnati Bengals – OT Penei Sewell, Oregon
6. Miami Dolphins – WR Ja’Marr Chase, LSU
7. Detroit Lions – WR Jaylen Waddle, Alabama
8. Carolina Panthers – CB Jaycee Horn, South Carolina
9. Denver Broncos – LB Micah Parsons
10. Dallas Cowboys – CB Patrick Surtain II, Alabama

There shouldn’t be too many real surprises in the top-10. The top three are going to be quarterbacks. The only question is what the 49ers decide to do at three. Is it Mac Jones or is it Trey Lance? Everything to this point says that it’s Jones. The Falcons could go with Fields and it wouldn’t be surprising if they did. However, as it stands, they may try to get everything they still can with Matt Ryan. To do that, bringing in an elite weapon like Pitts makes the most sense.

Picks 6-10 is where the draft gets interesting. I fully expect the Carolina Panthers to trade back if they are able. Surtain II will be the first cornerback off the board, but Carolina will get horn in a trade back. Even though they traded for Sam Darnold, a quarterback shouldn’t totally be ruled out either.

NFL Draft Round 1 (Picks 11-20)

11. New York Giants – EDGE Kwity Paye, Michigan
12. Philadelphia Eagles – WR DeVonta Smith, Alabama
13. Los Angeles Chargers – OT Rashawn Slater, Northwestern
14. Minnesota Vikings – OG Alijah Vera-Tucker, USC
15. New England Patriots – LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Notre Dame
16. Arizona Cardinals – CB Greg Newsome II, Northwestern
17. Las Vegas Raiders – S Trevon Moerhig, TCU
18. Miami Dolphins – RB Najee Harris, Alabama
19. Washington Football Team – QB Justin Fields, Ohio State
20. Chicago Bears – QB Trey Lance, North Dakota State

11th overall may seem a little high for Kwity Paye, but he’s a sure pick at edge. He may not have the ceiling that some of the others have, but he’ll come in and make an immediate impact. I do think this is also going to be an area where you’re going to see teams fighting over the top offensive tackles in the draft. The Vikings are going to want Slater as well as the Chargers. The Raiders might make a run at him as well.

I don’t think Lance or Fields will fall all the way to 19 and 20. It wouldn’t be surprising to see a team like Carolina however trade back so that one of these two teams can get their quarterback. The Panthers are rebuilding and need picks. A team like Washington is built to win now. Meanwhile, Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy have their jobs on the line in Chicago with Andy Dalton as their current saving grace.

NFL Draft Round 1 (Picks 21-32)

21. Indianapolis Colts – OT Christian Darrisaw, Virginia Tech
22. Tennessee Titans – CB Caleb Farley, Virginia Tech
23. New York Jets – OT Dillon Radunz, North Dakota State
24. Pittsburgh Steelers – OC Creed Humphrey, Oklahoma
25. Jacksonville Jaguars – S Richie Grant, UCF
26. Cleveland Browns – EDGE Jaelan Phillips, Miami
27. Baltimore Ravens – WR Terrace Marshall Jr., LSU
28. New Orleans Saints – WR Elijah Moore, Ole Miss
29. Green Bay Packers – WR Rashod Bateman, Minnesota
30. Buffalo Bills – EDGE Azeez Ojulari, Georgia
31. Baltimore Ravens – EDGE Joseph Ossai, Texas
32. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – DT Christian Barmore

With quarterbacks dominating the first 20 picks, you’re going to see a lot of talented players fall into this area. This is where you’ll see a run at wide receiver. A team might trade up from the top of the second round in order to still get a top-10 receiver in this class. You could even see a team like the Saints move up to 22 or 23 in order to get their pick of receiver or try to get a cornerback like Farley. The Green Bay Packers finally give Aaron Rodgers a first round wide receiver and get a stud in Bateman.

Either way, this bottom half of the first round could get crazy just because of how much talent is falling in this area. It could even be more if a team reaches on a second or third round talent as happens every year in the draft.

NFL Draft Round 2 (Picks 33-40)

33. Jacksonville Jaguars – TE Pat Freiermuth, Penn State
34. New York Jets – CB Ifeatu Melifonwu, Syracuse
35. Atlanta Falcons – RB Travis Etienne, Clemson
36. Miami Dolphins – OT Samuel Cosmi, Texas
37. Philadelphia Eagles – LB Zaven Collins, Tulsa
38. Cincinnati Bengals – WR Kadarius Toney, Florida
39. Carolina Panthers – OT Teven Jenkins, Oklahoma State
40. Denver Broncos – LB Jamin Davis, Kentucky

This could be a trade back spot for some of these teams just because a lot of talent did fall into their laps. The Jaguars start it off bye giving Trevor Lawrence a big tight end. Freiermuth to Jacksonville makes a ton of sense. Melifonwu might be a little high there, but the Jets like lengthy cornerbacks and he fits the bill. Zaven Collins and Jamin Davis will make immediate impacts on the Eagles and Broncos.

NFL Draft Round 2 (Picks 41-50)

41. Detroit Lions – LB Baron Browning, Ohio State
42. New York Giants – OG Wyatt Davis, Ohio State
43. San Francisco 49ers – CB Kelvin Joseph, Kentucky
44. Dallas Cowboys – S Jevon Holland, Oregon
45. Jacksonville Jaguars – DT Levi Onwuzurike, Washington
46. New England Patriots – WR Rondale Moore, Purdue
47. Las Angeles Chargers – OG Trey Smith, Tennessee
48. Las Vegas Raiders – OT Alex Leatherwood, Alabama
49. Arizona Cardinals – OT Liam Eichenberg, Notre Dame
50. Miami Dolphins – OC Landon Dickerson, Alabama

The offensive line could dominate the early parts of the second round. Landon Dickerson may seem high at 50 given his injury concern, but the Dolphins are one of a few teams that can take that risk given the number of picks that they have. They could take another interior offensive lineman later in the draft. Rondale Moore is an intriguing prospect, but the Patriots are a team that can put him in position to succeed.

NFL Draft Round 2 (Picks 51-57)

51. Washington Football Team – LB Jabril Cox, LSU
52. Chicago Bears – CB Eric Stokes, Georgia
53. Tennessee Titans – WR Dyami Brown, North Carolina
54. Indianapolis Colts – EDGE Gregory Rousseau, Miami
55. Pittsburgh Steelers – RB Javonte Williams, North Carolina
56. Seattle Seahawks – OC Quinn Meinerz, Wisconsin-Whitewater
57. Los Angeles Rams – CB Asante Samuel, Florida State

The Seattle Seahawks sit right in front of the Los Angeles Rams at 56th overall and I fully expect them to snipe someone that the Rams have their eyes on. The Seahawks get Meinerz is order to protect Russell Wilson and hopefully make him happier. The Rams still end up with a great prospect in Asante Samuel Jr.. It’s going to take a lot for Samuel Jr. to fall here, but if he does, I fully expect the Rams to take him. He fills an immediate need at cornerback after the team lost Troy Hill in free agency.

NFL Draft Round 2 (Picks 58-64)

58. Kansas City Chiefs – LB Pete Werner, Ohio State
59. Cleveland Browns – LB Cameron McGrone, Michigan
60. New Orleans Saints – CB Aaron Robinson, UCF
61. Buffalo Bills – CB Tyson Campbell, Georgia
62. Green Bay Packers – OT Brady Christensen, BYU
63. Kansas City Chiefs – WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, USC
64. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – RB Kenneth Gainwell, Memphis

And we are here at the end of the second round. Brady Christensen is a great pick for the Packers at 62. If Green Bay ended with Bateman and Christensen in the first two rounds, Rodgers will be a very happy camper. Gainwell may seem high here for the Buccaneers, but he’s a pass-catching running back that they need.