On Tuesday,
ESPN’s Mike Clay published an article ranking the NFL’s top 25 veteran position upgrades in the 2021 offseason. At No. 1, he listed the Arizona Cardinals’ acquisition of defensive end J.J. Watt to replace Zach Allen, followed by the Los Angeles Rams’ replacing quarterback Jared Goff with Mathew Stafford and the Cleveland Browns switching out safety Andrew Sendejo for John Johnson III.
Then just a few spots further down the list, he had one of the Kansas City Chiefs’ moves.
6. Kansas City Chiefs: Orlando Brown Jr. and Joe Thuney replace Eric Fisher and Nick Allegretti
Fisher’s 2020 stat line: 88% PBWR, 70% RBWR, 80 PFF grade
’ 2021 draft process is complete, it’s time to start evaluating how each player fits into the team’s scheme, how they’ll factor into the 2021 depth chart and how they project to contribute in the long term. I finish my breakdown of the draft class with 2021’s 226th overall selection: Tennessee offensive lineman Trey Smith.
Team fit
During his final two seasons, Smith started at left guard for Tennessee earning first-team All-SEC honors in both years and becoming a second-team All-American in 2020. However, he started his college career as a left tackle, playing there as a true freshman and before his blood clot issue took him off the field, for the first seven games of his sophomore season, too.
5 free-agent offensive linemen the New York Giants could consider
After not drafting any offensive linemen, the Giants may look for more veteran help
Photo by Jorge Lemus/NurPhoto via Getty Images
A big concern for New York Giants fans was the lack of investment into the offensive line during the 2021 NFL Draft, specifically the interior. New York traded back twice, picked up extra capital for the 2022 draft (
10 selections), and traded up once to draft UCF cornerback Aaron Robinson.
The Giants had to add skilled position players to bolster their roster this season, so Daniel Jones can have a shot to maximize his potential. Adding Kenny Golladay, John Ross, Kyle Rudolph while drafting Kadarius Toney, and getting a healthy Saquon Barkley back will allow Jones to live up to the sixth overall selection.
The Daily Norseman Mailbag, May 6th, 2021
Post Draft Mailbag
Good Morning!
This is probably the future of the mailbag going forward with my new schedule, article on the front page soliciting for questions on Monday, with the follow up post on Wednesday or Thorsday depending on what’s going on in my life.
We got a Twitter question this week!
For salary cap questions I’ll continue using overthecap.com so I’m consistent with the numbers I throw out there.
Any trades involving draft picks I’m using the updated NFL Trade Value Chart developed by Rich Hill available at https://www.drafttek.com/NFL-Trade-Value-Chart-Rich-Hill.asp