The university season is over and we arrive at the NFL Conference Championships. We are a few weeks away from the 2021 low season of the NFL. As a result, Tony Pauline rummages through his mail bag below to answer some of his burning questions. Let’s dive into NFL rumors, college football and news from the 2021 NFL Draft!
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Related | December 2021 Simulated NFL Draft by Tony Pauline
This week’s installment will cover my 2021 NFL Draft potential rankings and a series of questions about player ratings and the various drivers and sliders for the college football season. But first, we start with the first off-season event – the 2021 Reese’s Senior Bowl.
Rumors and preliminary news from the NFL: The Tony Pauline Mailbag (1.20.21)
Which prospects are you most looking forward to seeing at the Senior Bowl?
Mac Jones – I want to see how he does out of the element of all that great talent that surrounded him in Alabama.
Jamie Newman – needs a great week of practice to recover his draft stock.
Kenny Yeboah – I’ll be watching to see how he performs in the blocking exercises. We all know that he is an excellent receiver.
Dillon Radunz and Spencer Brown – two great small school blockers with a lot at stake. Really looking forward to watching Brown.
Malcolm Koonce – in my opinion, one of the project’s most underrated gunners. I don’t expect him to be called up until the last rounds. Still, he is an excellent pass rusher standing on the tackle, as well as in a three-point stance.
Ifeatu Melifonwu – I thought he was the most underrated defender in Syracuse and he had the biggest positive side of the SU trio.
I see you moved Gregory Rousseau down on his big board. Do you think Rousseau made a mistake by choosing to leave the 2020 season? Any rumor from the NFL that he might fall in the first round?
He will not fall from the first round, but Rousseau made a big mistake by not playing in 2020.
He’s an excellent rusher and very athletic, but that’s where he starts and ends. He is not a strong defender and needs a lot of work in the game. I felt that he was overrated from the start.
Did Ohio State CB Shaun Wade make a mistake entering the NFL 2021 Draft? Should he have gone back to school and maybe back to the CB slot or maybe security (because he looked bad as a CB limit in 2020)?
There are pros and cons to Wade’s decision. If he came back and got hurt or didn’t get better, he would be screwed towards the 2022 NFL Draft.
Wade’s inability to prove that he is nothing but a nickel back will significantly damage his draft stock. There were scouts who classified it as a third round pick at the beginning of the year. I thought he would be able to take his game to the next level and show that he is the number one type of cornerback.
Obviously, I was wrong.
If Penei Sewell is available in choice three, do you think the Dolphins should catch him, even though they caught Austin Jackson and Robert Hunt last year? Is it clearly an upgrade like that?
He’s an upgrade over Austin Jackson, but I don’t think he’s an upgrade enough to use the draft’s third choice with him. I also have my concerns about Sewell’s ability to play the right tackle.
Do you think there are any teams (or do you know of any NFL teams or rumors) that do not have Penei Sewell as the best offensive striker in the draft?
No team I spoke to has another lineman, offensive or defensive, rated ahead of Sewell.
Why do you think there were so many teams that refused to coach the Senior Bowl? Does the media overestimate the value of coaching at the annual event?
It’s more about travel these days, and teams can’t bring entire teams to their cell phones.
This year, more than ever, it would be a great advantage to train senior Bowl players and meet them considering all the uncertainties about the training that preceded this year’s selection.
Florida TE Kyle Pitts is now among the top 5 NFL draft contenders. Do you think it could be the first TE selected among the first 7 choices since 2006? Where do you rate it compared to other recent TE potential customers?
It will be very difficult for Pitts to enter the top 10 this year. Looking at teams with teams in this range, several of them need a tight end, but they all have more urgent needs.
For the sake of comparison, I believe Pitts is the best tight end in the draft since Vernon Davis, but I believe Pitts is more complete than the previous sixth choice in the draft.
Tony Pauline is chief recruiting analyst and insider for the Pro Football Network. So, follow him on Twitter @TonyPauline and follow PFN on Twitter @ PFN365 for all the latest NFL rumors and preliminary news.