Notre Dame had 9 players picked in the 2021 NFL Draft, the most since the 1994 Draft when 10 players came off the board from South Bend. Don’t you worry about what happened in the ’94 season when the Irish lost that much talent. Anyway, except for their top prospect falling it was a surprisingly impressive weekend for just about every other Notre Dame player.
Here’s the full 2021 NFL Draft recap:
OT Liam Eichenberg
Miami Dolphins
2nd Round, 10th Pick
42nd Overall
I liked Eichenberg with Kansas City at the back of the 2nd round but it always seemed likely he’d be gone before that spot. The Dolphins traded up to take Eichenberg and it’s expected he will be a starter for them in 2021 either at tackle or guard. He should sign a deal for just over $8 million with a $3.18 million signing bonus.
OG Aaron Banks
San Francisco 49ers
2nd Round, 16th Pick
48th Overall
Banks surely made the right decision to pass up his 5th year at Notre Dame as this was 19 spots higher than I predicted he’d come off the board. He’s expected to compete and win the vacant right guard job for the 49ers. Banks should sign a deal for just over $7 million with a $2.5 million signing bonus.
LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah
Cleveland Browns
2nd Round, 20th Pick
52nd Overall
This inexplicable drop for JOK made little sense (there have been some reports surfacing that a heart issue was discovered late in the process) but at least he slots into a playoff team with a quality defense. I had him going 25th overall which in comparison to this draft slot is a loss of roughly half his base salary and $4.68 million in a signing bonus. It’s expected Owusu-Koramoah will initially play as a 3rd safety for Cleveland and his deal should be for $6.47 million with a signing bonus of just over $2 million.
TE Tommy Tremble
Carolina Panthers
3rd Round, 20th Pick
83rd Overall
Only 1 tight end came off the board in the first 69 picks (4th overall, Kyle Pitts) which didn’t look like great news for Tremble who we thought would be closer to the 10th tight end off the board. However, he was the 4th tight end drafted and 75 spots higher than we believed! The Panthers don’t really have a top tight end (Ian Thomas led the team with 20 catches last year) so Tremble could get considerable playing time as a rookie.
OG Robert Hainsey
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
3rd Round, 31st Pick
95th Overall
Hainsey came off the board 57 spots higher than I predicted going to the Super Bowl champions no less. The Buccaneers have already said he’s an option for them at guard or center, although they are loaded with returners and it’s not expected he’ll start in 2021. Hainsey is expected to sign a $4.8 million contract with a $855,000 signing bonus.
QB Ian Book
New Orleans Saints
4th Round, 28th Pick
133rd Overall
Most agree this was a reach for New Orleans (114 spots higher than we predicted Book to be drafted!) but this is a massive personal vindication for Book, so good for him. This was the only quarterback pick from 67th overall (Davis Mills, Stanford) until 218th overall (Sam Ehlinger, Texas) as the last signal-caller off the board. Book will join a quarterback room with Jameis Winston (1-year deal), Taysom Hill (newly signed 4-year deal that is easy to get out of after 2022), and Trevor Siemian on a 1-year deal. You’d think they will want Book on the roster so will Winston be traded or Siemian cut? Book is set to sign a $4.15 million deal with a $673,000 signing bonus.
DE Daelin Hayes
Baltimore Ravens
5th Round, 27th Pick
171st Overall
Hayes came off the board more than a round earlier than I predicted. He should be competing with Pernell McPhee who is on a 1-year deal and 32 years old plus Jaylon Ferguson who has 2 years remaining on his rookie deal. Hayes may not play much as a rookie but a roster spot could be available. He’s in line to sign a $3.77 million contract with a $293,000 signing bonus.
DE Ade Ogundeji
Atlanta Falcons
5th Round, 38th Pick
182nd Overall
Someone went later than we expected, by just 5 picks! The Falcons have quite a bit of depth at defensive end so Ogundeji could be in a fight for a roster spot to open 2021. He’s set to sign a $3.72 million contract with a $240,000 signing bonus.
WR Ben Skowronek
Los Angeles Rams
7th Round, 22nd Pick
249th Overall
We did not predict Skowronek would get drafted and he sneaks in as the third to last receiver off the board. He’ll walk into a wideout room in LA that isn’t quite loaded but still solid with Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp, and Desean Jackson, plus they drafted Louisville’s Tutu Atwell in the 2nd round. However, the Rams let bigger receiver Josh Reynolds (52 catches in 2020) walk in free agency which opens up a need at this side of the field. Skowronek can sign a $3.5 million contract with a $84,000 signing bonus.
Free Agent Signings
WR Javon McKinley
Detroit Lions
TE Brock Wright
Detroit Lions
OG Tommy Kraemer
Detroit Lions
DB Nick McCloud
Buffalo Bills
DB Shaun Crawford
Las Vegas Raiders
No surprises in this group, although McCloud’s Pro Day (particularly his 40-time) had some folks wondering if he’d sneak into the 6th or 7th round. I’m not sure what the odds are for this group but perhaps 1 out of 5 can stick around the NFL for a while?
Some big names who went undrafted:
QB Jamie Newman, Georgia/Wake Forest
QB Shane Buechele, SMU
QB K.J. Costello, Miss State
QB Feleipe Franks, Arkansas
RB Jaret Patterson, Buffalo
RB Javian Hawkins, Louisville
WR Tamorrion Terry, Florida State
WR Tyler Vaughns, USC
OG Tristen Hoge, BYU
DT Marvin Wilson, Florida State
LB Dylan Moses, Alabama
LB Justin Hilliard, Ohio State
LB Tuf Borland, Ohio State
DB Paris Ford, Pitt
- It never made sense that Newman was receiving 1st round buzz following a really thin resume at Wake Forest. You have to feel bad for him opting out and watching his stock plummet as he never had the chance to suit up for Georgia.
- Patterson was the MAC Player of the Year and dominated the Buffalo record books last season.
- Terry spent most of his time at FSU as their No. 1 receiver, totaling nearly 1,200 yards in 2019.
- Tyler Vaughns put up 2,801 receiving yards at USC.
- Marvin Wilson was a 5-star and No. 1 defensive tackle in the 2017 recruiting class.
- Dylan Moses was a 5-star and really productive at Alabama, but his medical sheet is a nightmare.
I did not have “fourth-round draft pick Ian Book” on my 2021 bingo card.
Just listened to Daniel Jeremiah on the Russilo podcast talk about Book. Not sure how much of this is revisionist history but he mentioned he was super intrigued by him. Not the same player but kind of eerie how similar of a body-type to Brees. He said Book was outstanding in interviews, sought out Jeremiah via text and asked for help with dealing with teams. Thinks he could be a Rich Gannon-type of player.
I thought there was a chance that he might not be drafted. One thing that I think we forget is that when Book first emerged as the starter he was thought of as a pretty good passer — one of the reasons why we liked him replacing Wimbush. Lately we seem to think of him as a scrambler, but he showed passing skills in his earlier starts
Rich Gannon was league MVP in his sixteenth season despite only starting 132 out of 288 regular season games during his eighteen year career. Amazing game log.
Yeah, it’s a weird comparison. Does he mean Book will hang around and in 8 years become this really good QB? Because Gannon was much bigger and had a better arm. I’d be really surprised if Book ever rises to being a starting quarterback that’s not in a situation where there was an injury in front of him.
Yeah, I don’t get the Gannon comparison at all as a playing style. Must be career path, I guess as a QB who flies under the radar and hangs around for a long time and maybe gives himself a chance to have a chance at it one day?
Weird one though, since Book is so different physically. I don’t know what I would say for an actual like good NFL career QB is to Book….Maybe even Doug Flutie? Flutie was never afraid to let it fly, though, so that’s not even a great one…But just for being short and very mobile and having some magic and maybe always being a little better than expected I’d compare Book to Flutie before Rich Gannon or Drew Brees.
Not sure what a better one would be though. Don’t think Book is the next Russell Wilson or anything.
Rich Gannon seems… optimistic.
But Chase Daniel is still cashing checks.