The 2021 NFL Draft class is 4 years into their careers and in today’s video we’re going to be going back and grading the back half of the first round of the 2021 draft which is picks 17-32. We graded picks 1-16 in last weeks video and that will be linked at the end. The 2021 draft class was a very talented draft class especially in the upper half of the first round and I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say – that several players from this class are on a hall of fame trajectory. But what about the back half of the first round? Well we’re going to break everything down in today’s video. As always, we will be going in reverse order and will be starting with the Bucs selection of pass rusher Joe Tryon – Shoyinka – and finishing with the Raiders selection of offensive lineman Alex Leatherwood. And we all know why we’re here so let’s dive right in
32 – Joe Tryon-Shoyinka was the Bucs first round pick back in 2021 and this was coming off of their dominating Super Bowl performance against the Chiefs. I really liked this pick at the time because I thought the process from GM Jason Licht was pretty simple – we already have a good roster – and ultimately pass rush for that matter – why not add to it by bringing in a solid prospect that will get to learn from veterans like Shaq Barrett, and Jason Pierre – Paul? JPP was 32 at the time and obviously wasn’t going to play forever and this was a good pick to get ahead of a need a year or two in advance. But it doesn’t always work out the way you plan and JTS is a perfect example of this. In 4 years he had just 15 sacks despite playing in 66 of 68 possible games and what Bucs fans were frustrated with from Tryon-Shoyinka – is when he would get in the backfield – he would over pursue and miss out on the sack. And I do think actually sacking the quarterback is an art – and that sacks do matter to a degree – as sometimes they can be misleading – but unfortunately Tryon-Shoyinka couldn’t get the job done – at least consistently. He is now a member of the Browns and this is a C-
31 – Odafe Oweh was the Ravens second first round pick during the 2021 draft and then known as Jayson Oweh was a really raw prospect coming out of Penn State. Like a lot of Penn State prospects – he tested extremely well in the pre draft process as he was in the 90th percentile or better in every running or jumping drill. He’s had 48 or more pressures in 3 of his 4 seasons which is pretty consistent production and I do think he’s improved every year since entering the league – which specifically for him is huge because he was a project to begin with. He had a career high 23 quarterback hits in 2024 as well as a career high 10 sacks and it is worth noting the Ravens picked up his 5th year option last year – and that I’m sure both parties will be interested in a contract extension. Owen has consistently been a good player for the Ravens since being drafted but never an elite player. He’s definitely not in the top 5 or 10 edge rushing conversations but Oweh will stick around the league for a long long time. Having a guy you can pencil in for 45 pressures or more in every season is huge – and I truly think the best is yet to come for him. Lifetime he has 23 sacks and 7 forced fumbles and has been a pretty consistent player. And 4 years later this gets an A-
30 – Greg Rousseau of the Buffalo Bills is up and Rousseau was recently extended by the Bills as he signed a 4 year $80 million dollar extension with $54 million being guaranteed. In 4 years Rousseau has 25 career sacks and has been a really solid player for Buffalo since being drafted. He had a career high 63 pressures in 2024 which was good for 12th in the NFL. Grading Rousseau is an interesting thought process because Rousseau is a good player. Not an elite player that you build a defense around – but a good player. And he’s a guy that a lot of teams would love to have. And given what guys like Myles Garrett and Max Crosby have signed extensions for – it’s pretty clear Rousseau is not on their level. And while not many players are – you can make a case that Greg Rousseau is pretty much everything the Bills have asked for when they were on the clock back in 2021. If you would have said that we are going to give this guy a second contract and he will have back to back seasons of 55+ pressures prior to his contract extension – the Bills – and every other NFL team would sign up for that – immediately. But because he’s not a premier player at the position the question becomes – how high of a grade can we give this pick? And for me, 4 years later – this pick gets an A-
29 – The Packers selected corner Eric Stokes and the hope with this pick was that they would have a really good corner duo of Jaire Alexander and Eric Stokes for the next few years. Stokes had a pretty solid rookie season all things considered as he played in 16 of 17 possible games and started 14 of them – and also had 14 pass deflections. But unfortunately he missed a lot of time over the next two years as he suffered an ankle injury in 2022 that limited him to 9 games, and had a hamstring injury in 2023 that limited him to just 3 games. So pretty quickly Stokes went from a promising rookie corner to a player that played in just 12 of 34 possible games in year 2 and year 3. 2024 was a now or never season for him and he didn’t play bad in 2024 – but he didn’t play good either. The Packers could have had far worse than Eric Stokes at corner in 2024 and he is now a member of the Las Vegas Raiders. He started 32 games for the Packers over his time there and had a single interception. He would probably be considered a draft disappointment- but as you’ll see later in today’s video – the Packers could have done a lot worse. And 4 years later this gets a D-
28 – Payton Turner was the Saints first round pick and the hope for Turner was that he would initially be a robin to Cam Jordan’s batman and that he would eventually take over as the teams premier pass rusher. It was also a surprise to a lot of people that Turner went in the first round and the Saints were betting on his upside. Unfortunately he only played in 5 games as a rookie as he suffered a shoulder injury during his rookie year and was placed on injured reserve. And that would unfortunately be a theme for Turner throughout his Saints tenure as he only played in 15 of 51 possible games in the first 3 years of his career. 2024 was going to be a season in which he was not just fighting for his job – but for his career and fortunately he played in 16 games in 2024 and was able to stay healthy for the first time in his career. The problem for the Saints was – even when he was on the field in 2024 – Turner wasn’t good as he couldn’t generate pressure consistently, he missed more tackles than you would like when he was on the field, and was a non impact player. He signed with the Cowboys this offseason and finished his Saints career with less than 700 snaps played and had 5 sacks in 4 seasons. An F grade
27- Rashod Bateman was the first of two first round picks for the Ravens back in 2021 and when this pick was made – the thought process was that Lamar Jackson was going to have a good receiving duo to throw to for the next several years in Bateman and Hollywood Brown. Bateman didn’t have a bad rookie season as he had over 500 yards in limited time and even had a 100 yard game and the future looked bright. Hollywood was traded prior to the 2022 season and it was effectively Bateman’s time to shine. Unfortunately, he missed a lot of his second season as he only played in 6 games and he only hauled in 15 receptions in those 6 games. 2023 was a frustrating year for Bateman as he caught just 32 passes in 16 games and had just 367 yards in 2023. Bateman had just 1,167 yards and 4 touchdowns in his first 3 years but in 2024 he had a career high in receiving yards and touchdowns as he had over 750 yards and 9 receiving touchdowns. Rashod Bateman isn’t a bad player, but he certainly hasn’t lived up to being a first round pick as he has less than 2,000 career receiving yards and 13 total touchdowns. This may go up if he has another good year in 2025 because 2024 looked like a legitimate breakout year – but for now – 4 years later this is a C.
26 – Greg Newsome of the Cleveland Browns is up and the hope for this pick was that Newsome would be a good number two corner behind Denzel Ward. This selection was made when the Browns were coming off of a playoff win against the Steelers and at the time – it looked like they were on the rise in the AFC. Selecting Newsome made a lot of sense because he was a really good corner at Northwestern and as we know – you can never have enough corner help in today’s NFL. Newsome had a bit of a down year in 2024 relative to who he was as a player in the first 3 years of his career as he had a career high in touchdowns allowed as well as a career high in opposing passer rating when targeted. But for the most part – Newsome has been a viable starting corner since being a first round pick 4 years ago. He hasn’t been elite by any means, but he’s been about what you would expect from a number two corner in today’s era. When push comes to shove I think the Browns would like to extend him as he will play this season at just 25 years old. He’s not a household name by any means but he gets the job done. Sure you can say you would have rather had more from a former first round pick – but the Browns could have down a lot worse with this pick. A C+ grade
25 – Travis Etienne was the second running back drafted in consecutive picks and this is a really weird pick to grade for a couple of reasons. Unfortunately, Travis suffered a lisfranc injury during the 2021 pre season and he missed his entire rookie year. It was unfortunate, but injuries are a part of the game. And since then – Etienne has played in 49 of 51 possible games for the Jags and the results have been up and down – especially recently. He had back to back 1,400 total yard seasons in 2022 and 2023 – but his yards per carry took a big turn in the wrong direction from 2022 to where we are today as he’s averaged 3.8 yards per carry or less over the last two years. I think two things can be true with Etienne in 2024 specifically – the offensive line wasn’t great – and Etienne himself wasn’t great. I also personally think 2025 will be his final year as a Jag. I don’t think he’s been in a position to maximize success as a Jag as an NFL player either and I think the organization in a lot of ways has limited his potential since being drafted. I think the talent is around an A- area – but with where we are today with Travis Etienne – in what has been a complicated first 4 years his career – I think this grade gets a B-.
24 – Najee Harris was the Pittsburgh Steelers first round pick and this isn’t the easiest pick to grade for a couple of reasons. If you would have said 4 years ago – that Najee Harris would start all 68 possible games over the next 4 years – while rushing for 1,000 yards in every year and ultimately having over 1,200 total yards in evert season – any team would sign up for that when drafting a running back in the first round. But Najee Harris isn’t an elite running back by any means and lifetime has averaged just 3.9 yards per carry. He’s never had double digit rushing touchdowns in a season and despite weighing 240 pounds – plays nothing like you would expect a 240 pound running back to play. He’s not very efficient, he doesn’t have the burst other backs do, and his vision at times isn’t great either. Yet during his time with the Steelers he pretty much did what was expected of him. This is honestly why I think the Najee Harris selection is one of the more difficult ones to grade because you can say he’s not an elite player, and you would be right – but the production in theory is there. Najee signed with the Chargers this offseason and 4 years later this is a B.
23 – Christian Darrisaw was the Vikings first round pick and this was after the Vikings traded back with the Jets as they traded up to pick 14 to go get Alijah Vera – Tucker. Darrisaw missed the first few games of his rookie season due to a groin injury, but since he took over the starting job – he has been a really good player for the Minnesota Vikings. He was playing at a really high level in 2024 before unfortunately suffering a torn ACL which prematurely ended his season. When healthy – Darrisaw is one of the best tackles in the NFL and prior to the 2024 season starting – the Vikings gave Christian Darrisaw a 4 year contract extension worth up to $113 million dollars. Despite how good Darrisaw is – he doesn’t have any pro bowls to his name which I thought was a tad surprising. I also think it’s worth noting that Darrisaw has only played in 48 of 68 possible games and given that’e he’s missed nearly 30% of his career games – I think that’s pretty substantial at this point in his career as we all know the best ability is availability. The talent is an A+ level and I think everyone would acknowledge that – but due to the amount of missed games – which we of course hope changes in the near future – this grade is an A.
22 – Caleb Farley was a high risk high reward cornerback coming out of Virginia Tech as there were several injury concerns throughout the draft process that included – but was not limited to back problems. Unfortunately, Farley suffered a torn ACL in just week 6 of his rookie season and in week 10 of his second season – suffered a herniated disk which prematurely ended year 2. He didn’t play at all in 2023 and unfortunately also suffered a personal tragedy prior to the 2023 season and the Titans released him in August of 2024. Farley was picked up by the Panthers this past year and actually played 9 games for them down the stretch of the 2024 season and started in a game too. Unfortunately, Caleb Farley only played in 12 games as a Titan and was picked on quite a bit when he was on the field. Whenever you have high risk players in the draft – there’s time where they work out like Jeffery Simmons – and there’s times where they don’t. I wish the best for Caleb Farley but unfortunately this pick is an F.
21 – Kwity Paye for the Colts is up and in a draft class with guys like Micah Parsons, Greg Rousseau, and Jaelan Phillips – you may be surprised to know that Kwity Paye is actually 2nd in the class in sacks with 26.5 in the first 4 years of his career. Sacks are not everything but I thought that was interesting in the research for this video. And Colts fans would also be the first to tell you how frustrated they’ve been with Kwity Paye at times. Paye had a career high 37 pressures in 2024 and while that’s not bad by any means – it’s not what they were envisioning when they were on the clock with the 21st overall pick a couple of years ago. Paye is a pretty solid run defender and he’s an ok number two pass rusher. We are far enough into his career at this point to realize who he is as a player and realize he will never be a 65 or 70 pressure a year player that teams legitimately game plan around. He will have a role in the NFL for quite some time – but the old saying of about a third of first round picks are stars, a third are average, and a third are busts applies to Kwity with him being an average pass rusher. He’s not an awful player, but he’s not certainly close to a top 15 or 20 edge rusher either. But Indy could have done a lot worse with this pick. And this gets a C
20 – Kadarius Toney was the Giants first round pick and obviously we know about Kadarius Toney the player and he’s probably most known for lining up offsides in a regular season game he played for the Chiefs during the 2023 season – but – my frustration with this pick wasn’t Toney himself going in the first round – it was how the Giants got here to begin with. It was an extremely poor kept secret that they wanted Devonta Smith – and they not only drafted a bust rather than drafting Devonta Smith – but they had the double whammy of the Eagles trading directly in front of them to go get Devonta Smith. I credit the Giants for acquiring another first round pick when they were on the clock at pick 11 – but this was a poor process to begin with when you think of the simple goal of the NFL draft – which is to acquire as much talent as you can. Toney was eventually traded to the Chiefs midway through his second season and again I do credit the Giants for receiving a third round pick for trading him. If you want to bump this grade up ever so slightly for the Giants receiving a day 2 pick back for Kadarius Toney – be my guest – but he finished his Giants tenure with 41 receptions for 420 yards and zero receiving touchdowns as a first round pick. And 4 years later this is an F.
19 – Jamin Davis was the Commanders first round pick in 2021 and prior to Jayden Daniels getting to Washington – they were not a good franchise for several reasons and drafting productive players was one of those reasons. There was a 3 year span where Washington’s first round picks were Jamin Davis, Jahan Dotson, and Emmanuel Forbes – all of which are no longer on the roster – and Davis and Forbes were both flat out released. Jamin Davis in particular is frustrating because he is a phenomenal athlete even for NFL standards. He’s not just an above average athlete – no. He tested in the 95th percentile or better int he 10 yard split, the 40, the broad jump, and the vertical jump as he had a 42” inch vertical which is downright insane. But linebacker is a position where instinct matter more than athleticism and there’s of course a threshold for athleticism – but instincts ultimately matter more. And Jamin Davis is a good example of this. Now while he is a draft disappointment, he racked up over 280 tackles, had over 20 TFL’s, and started for two seasons for Washington. Meaning – he is far from an F grade especially compared to some other players in this class. And that’s why we ultimately went with a D+
18 – Jaelan Phillips of the Dolphins is up and I’ll be honest – this was one of the more difficult picks to grade because of the volatility within Phillips short career. For those that may not remember – Jaelan Phillips was forced to medically retire at a point during college and there was significant risk in drafting Jaelan Phillips. But credit to him – he played all 34 games in the first two years of his career and looked like he was a budding star. He had 8.5 sacks as a rookie and had 7 in his second season – but believe it or not – more than doubled his pressures in 2022 despite having less sacks. But 2023 was not a good year for Phillips as he suffered a torn achilles in the Black Friday game against the Jets which prematurely ended his season. He had 6.5 sacks in 8 games and looked good. Injuries happen but he was ready for opening day in 2024. I was ready for Jaelan to have a big year and was rooting for him but unfortunately he suffered another season ending injury in week 4 against the Titans. Phillips has played in just 12 of the last 34 possible games and has now missed 32% of his career games. I am a huge Jaelan Phillips fan and based on his talent alone I think this grade is an A – but I think with injuries factored in this comes down to a B.
17 – Alex Leatherwood was the Raiders first round pick and everyone groaned when this selection was made. Leatherwood himself wasn’t a bad prospect – as he was a consensus early to mid second round prospect – but why everyone groaned when this pick was made – was – a clearly better prospect was available at the same position in Christian Darrisaw. Unfortunately Leatherwood’s play during his rookie year confirmed why everyone was upset with the Raiders when this pick was made as he had one of the worst rookie seasons imaginable. He led the league in pressures allowed back in 2021 as he allowed 65 pressures on 708 pass blocking snaps and also allowed 8 sacks. He had multiple games – as in plural – where he allowed 2 sacks and actually had a game against the Chiefs where he had a pass blocking grade of 0.0 from PFF. He split time between right tackle and right guard during his rookie year and it did not work out for the Raiders. Believe it or not – Leatherwood was actually released prior to his second season starting – not even traded for a 7th round pick – but released. He has bounced around a few practice squads but has not played in an NFL game since 2022. And this grade is is an F. I hope you enjoyed and if you did please like and subscribe as only about 46% of people watching are subscribed and helps the channel tremendously. Until next time, please be safe and have a great day. Love you guys.
