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2021 NFL Draft News & Rumors

Hawks Sign Round 2 Pick D’Wayne Eskridge

May 14th, 2021 at 6:55pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Seahawks started their rookie minicamp Friday; their top 2021 draft pick is now under contract. The team agreed to terms with second-rounder D’Wayne Eskridge, Brady Henderson of ESPN.com tweets.

One of college football’s top deep threats in recent years, Eskridge went to the Seahawks at No. 56 overall. The team dipped into the Mid-American Conference’s talent pool here, with Eskridge attending Western Michigan, and will pair him with former Day 2 picks Tyler Lockett and D.K. Metcalf.

Eskridge played parts of five seasons at the mid-major program, redshirting after four games in 2019. In his final two full seasons, the 5-foot-8 wide receiver eclipsed 20 yards per reception. While Eskridge never tallied an 800-yard season, he was on pace to post a dominant stat line as a senior. The MAC limited its schedule to six games in 2020; Eskridge still posted 768 receiving yards and a career-high eight touchdowns.

Seattle lost backup wideout David Moore this offseason and recently severed ties with Josh Gordon, paving a path for Eskridge. Day 3 picks and UDFAs populate the rest of the Seahawks’ receiving corps.

Eskridge and sixth-round tackle Stone Forsythe are under contract. Fourth-round cornerback Tre Brown is participating in minicamp but is not yet signed.

Rams Sign Round 2 Pick Tutu Atwell

May 14th, 2021 at 5:29pm CST by Sam Robinson

Lacking a first-round pick for the fifth straight draft, the Rams opted to add to one of their strongest position groups with their second-round choice. They selected Louisville receiver Tutu Atwell 57th overall.

The diminutive wideout agreed to terms on his four-year rookie contract Friday, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Atwell will join a Rams receiving corps that houses Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp and DeSean Jackson. The team also drafted Van Jefferson in the 2020 second round. It has invested considerable capital at this position.

Los Angeles’ pick surprised also because of Atwell’s stature. The 5-foot-8 target checked in at 149 pounds earlier this offseason. He will be one of the smallest players to suit up for an NFL game in generations. Atwell’s size did not prevent him from becoming one of this draft’s top receivers available, however. He caught 69 passes for 1,272 yards and 11 touchdowns as a sophomore in 2019 and added a 46/625/7 line in 2020’s abbreviated season.

The Rams traded two first-round picks and change for Matthew Stafford earlier this year. Jackson and Atwell stand as players who could maximize the longtime Lion’s arm strength. They will pair with intermediate targets Woods and Kupp. Atwell, Woods, Kupp and Jefferson are signed through at least 2023, with the rookie’s deal running through 2024.

Vikings Sign First-Round Pick Christian Darrisaw

May 14th, 2021 at 1:08pm CST by Rory Parks

The Vikings have their first-round pick under contract. According to Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk, Minnesota has signed No. 23 overall selection Christian Darrisaw.

Darrisaw, a Virginia Tech product, is likely to become the Vikes’ starting left tackle right away. The team had a major need there after parting ways with Riley Reiff this offseason, and Darrisaw has a high floor thanks to his natural athleticism and the proficiency he has already displayed as both a pass-blocker and run-blocker. Some scouting reports suggest he will need to do a better job of finishing his blocks at the professional level, but there is no reason to believe he won’t develop that ability with time.

The Vikings originally held the No. 14 overall pick, and they discussed trading up from that spot in an effort to land quarterback Justin Fields. Ultimately, the Bears beat them to the punch by jumping up from the No. 20 selection to No. 11 — a move that required the forfeiture of a 2022 first-rounder — and with Fields and Northwestern LT Rashawn Slater off the board, Minnesota GM Rick Spielman dropped from No. 14 to No. 23.

However, as we later learned, Spielman was prepared to trade back up from No. 23 to make sure he landed Darrisaw (as Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press writes, Minnesota may have made an offer to the Raiders, who were holding the No. 17 pick). Ultimately, Spielman was able to keep the draft capital he acquired as part of his trade down while still getting the former Hokie to protect Kirk Cousins‘ blind side.

In addition to Darrisaw, the Vikings have signed fourth-round selection Camryn Bynum. Bynum, a cornerback out of California-Berkeley, was one of three fourth-rounders for the Vikings this year. Minnesota just traded fellow corner Mike Hughes to the Chiefs, thereby giving Bynum a bit of a better shot at immediate playing time. Over 42 collegiate games, he tallied 184 total tackles (eight TFL) and six interceptions.

Dolphins Sign Jaylen Waddle

May 14th, 2021 at 10:45am CST by Zachary Links

The Dolphins have officially signed wide receiver Jaylen Waddle (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter). Per the terms of his slot, the No. 6 overall pick will earn $27.1MM on his four-year deal.

Waddle will team with former Alabama teammate Tua Tagovailoa, giving the young quarterback one of the most dangerous weapons in the ’21 class. Early on in his career, Waddle was largely overshadowed by the likes of Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs III – two eventual first-round picks.

After they left Tuscaloosa, Waddle asserted himself as one of Bama’s two best WR talents in 2020. In his first six games, Waddle went off for 28 catches and 591 yards — good for 21.2 yards per catch on average — plus four touchdowns. He also kept up his strong work in the return game, giving evaluators even more opportunities to gawk at his speed on film. Even though he missed much of the year due to injury, Waddle stood as one of this year’s most highly-coveted prospects.

Waddle figures to be one of this year’s most exciting rookies to watch, especially with defenses also having to account for Will Fuller and DeVante Parker.

 

Bills Sign Round 2 Pick Carlos Basham Jr.

May 12th, 2021 at 6:06pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Bills operated aggressively in an effort to bolster their pass rush in the draft, taking defensive ends with each of their first two picks. The second of those selections, Carlos Basham Jr., signed his rookie contract Wednesday.

Basham will join first-round pick Gregory Rousseau in Buffalo. Cousin of Cowboys D-lineman Tarell Basham, Carlos went to Wake Forest and was a steady presence in ACC backfields.

The 6-foot-3, 274-pound pass rusher registered 10 sacks as a junior in 2019. Between his sophomore and junior seasons, the emerging Demon Deacons sack artist totaled 29 tackles for loss. Basham played in just six games last season, recording five sacks. Scouts Inc. graded Basham as the 43rd overall prospect — five spots ahead of Rousseau. The Bills drafted Basham at No. 61.

Last season, the Bills finished with just 38 sacks. No Buffalo rusher totaled more than five. The team still has thirtysomething starters Jerry Hughes and Mario Addison, but three first- or second-round picks over the past two years will be groomed to take over in the near future.

Buffalo drafted Iowa’s A.J. Epenesa in the 2020 second round and now will have two new coveted prospects set to help the cause. Hughes and Addison are set to be free agents in 2022. Addison adjusted his three-year contract in March, converting it into a two-year deal.

Ravens Sign First-Rounder Rashod Bateman

May 12th, 2021 at 3:57pm CST by Sam Robinson

The first of the Ravens’ two 2021 first-round picks, Rashod Bateman is now under contract. The former Minnesota wide receiver signed his rookie deal Wednesday.

The No. 27 overall pick, Bateman signed a $12.6MM contract — with a $6.5MM signing bonus — and is now under contract through 2024. He could be kept through 2025 on this deal via the now-fully guaranteed fifth-year option. Baltimore will not have to make that decision until May 2024. In the meantime, Bateman will be a welcome addition to a team that has changed up its receiving corps this offseason.

It has not been especially easy for the Ravens to bolster their receiving crew. They were in on Kenny Golladay, and both JuJu Smith-Schuster and T.Y. Hilton passed on better offers from Baltimore in order to re-sign with the teams that drafted them. Although the Ravens did sign Sammy Watkins, their run-heavy offense has predictably been an issue for free agent wideouts. As such, the Ravens have spent first-round picks on receivers in two of the past three years.

At 6-foot-2, 210 pounds, Bateman will bring a different skill set compared to Marquise Brown. In 2019, however, Bateman did post a Brown-like yards-per-catch figure (20.9). After that 1,219-yard, 11-touchdown season, the big-bodied wideout played a limited role in the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season. Bateman opted out, opted back in, then left the Golden Gophers during the season to prepare for the draft. He still wound up a first-round pick and will attempt to give Lamar Jackson a steady target on the outside.

Bateman is the first of Baltimore’s draftees to sign and the second first-round pick to ink his rookie contract. The Colts signed Kwity Paye last week.

2021 NFL Draft Results By Position

May 9th, 2021 at 6:27pm CST by Zachary Links

The 2021 NFL Draft made history with eight quarterbacks selected in the first three rounds. That was just enough to edge the previous record of seven QBs in the first three rounds, which had been achieved six times (most recently in 2012). However, there were only two more QBs taken in Rounds 4-7, making this a fairly light year on the whole for passers. For reference, there were 13 signal callers taken in 2018, 11 in 2019, and 15 (virtually) drafted in 2020.

Curious to see how the rest of the field panned out? After breaking it down pick by pick and team by team, here’s a look back at the 2021 NFL Draft, position by position:

Quarterback: 10

Running Back: 18

Read more

Vikings Discussed Trading Up For Justin Fields

May 7th, 2021 at 2:43pm CST by Sam Robinson

Justin Fields will begin his NFL career in the NFC North, with the Bears having traded up to land the Ohio State passer with hopes of ending their run of quarterback struggles. But one of Chicago’s top rivals was monitoring this situation.

After seeing Fields drop past the Panthers and Broncos at Nos. 8 and 9, the Vikings contacted teams about moving up for a quarterback. Fields was the primary target, according to ESPN.com’s Courtney Cronin. Although Minnesota has Kirk Cousins locked in through 2022, the team wanted to draft one of this year’s top QBs.

The Cowboys traded their No. 10 overall pick to the Eagles, who moved up for DeVonta Smith, and the Giants shipped their 11th overall choice to the Bears, scuttling the Vikings’ Fields hopes. While the Vikes sought to acquire one of the first-round-caliber QBs that did not go in the top three, they were not willing to give up the draft capital necessary for a player who would sit for at least one season, per Cronin.

[RELATED: Vikings Tried To Trade Up Twice In First Round]

A Vikings coach briefed Cousins ahead of the draft to prepare him for the prospect of a quarterback selection, Cronin adds. The team was prepared to select Fields, had he fallen No. 14. The Bears, however, beat them by three picks. It cost them a 2022 first-round pick to move up nine spots to No. 11, but it also denied their rivals a chance to create a Cousins-to-Fields QB transition.

That reality would have likely meant Fields sitting for at least one season. While the Bears hope to execute this strategy as well, it is unlikely Andy Dalton will keep Fields off the field for too long. The Vikings ended up selecting Kellen Mond near the top of the third round. Mond was the seventh quarterback off the board, with the Buccaneers ending Round 2 with their Kyle Trask selection. Mond is viewed as more of a developmental player than Fields and may not end up being a starter-level NFLer.

Rick Spielman said the Vikings tried to trade up from No. 14, and although he declined to specify the target, Cronin notes the team — presumably after Fields went to the Bears at 11 — eyed tackle Rashawn Slater. The left tackle-needy Chargers nabbed Slater at 13. Minnesota traded down to No. 23 and selected Virginia Tech tackle Christian Darrisaw.

Thanks to a clause in Cousins’ 2020 extension, his being on the roster on Day 3 of the 2021 league year guaranteed him $45MM in 2022. His run as Minnesota’s starter will almost certainly stretch to at least five seasons.

NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/7/21

May 7th, 2021 at 11:35am CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of today’s late-round signings here:

New York Jets

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