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The Athletic surveyed NFL evaluators about how the 2021 draft played out.
Front office people said they were impressed with the drafts of the Cowboys, Chargers, Giants, Jaguars, Jets, Ravens, Steelers and Vikings, among others.
The Chargers were praised for their solid first two picks, offensive tackle Rashawn Slater and cornerback Asante Samuel Jr., as well as wide receiver Josh Palmer. One front office person said he thinks all three are starters, with Palmer being a No. 2 receiver who runs excellent routes. Their second pick in the third round, Tre’ McKitty, was called “the best blocking tight end in the draft.” One predicted fourth-round pick Chris Rumph II will enhance the team with excellent technique, intelligence, savvy, athleticism and character.
RAIDERS: Raiders general manager Mike Mayock said he knew the selection of offensive tackle Alex Leatherwood with the 17th overall pick would be controversial, and he was right. Several of his peers questioned the choice.
Leatherwood was the third offensive tackle taken, but he was ranked sixth-best by one general manager. Another general manager said he was sure the Raiders were going to take Darrisaw instead of Leatherwood. Said a third, “Darrisaw would have been a more solid pick.”
Leatherwood had impressive workout numbers, but he turned off some people by being late for commitments at the Senior Bowl, one scouting director said. An evaluator said Leatherwood has the athleticism and length of the best tackles in the draft, but he doesn’t show it consistently. “Every game, he does something you question,” he said. Another said he didn’t think Leatherwood was the best fit for the Raiders’ power-blocking scheme, and that he would have been better in a zone-blocking offense.
BRONCOS: The Broncos mostly were praised for taking Surtain even though they passed a quarterback with excellent potential in Fields. “He’s the most well-rounded cornerback I’ve seen in a very long time, and he got one of the highest grades I gave a corner in a while,” one scout said. “He doesn’t have many holes.”
Cornerback wasn’t a pressing need for the Broncos, but a scout said he understood why they would take a cornerback with Patrick Mahomes in the same division. Last season the AFC West had the top-ranked passing team (Chiefs), the No. 6 passing team (Chargers) and the No. 7 passing team (Raiders).
• More than one front office person remarked that area scouts and even scouting directors had less influence than usual over the 2021 draft and were marginalized in the process.
Part of it is because they didn’t have as much valuable information as in a normal year because they couldn’t travel as much during the fall. And part of it is because they had less face time with their teams’ top decision-makers. They usually weren’t physically in their draft rooms, and in some cases, they weren’t even at their team facilities. As a result, general managers, head coaches, and even assistant coaches wielded more influence over this draft than usual.
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