2021 Day One Draft Grades: AFC South
How did your favourite AFC South team do one day one of the draft?
Jacksonville Jaguars: B
Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson: Do I really have to say anything here? Lawrence is potentially the best QB to come out of college since Andrew Luck. Lawrence will be the day one starter in Jacksonville. Him and Urban Meyer are gonna be together for a lot of years.
Travis Etienne, RB, Clemson: This is the reason I’ve given the Jags a B here. Like…. what? Travis Etienne isn’t a bad pick in a vacuum. He’s an electric playmaker and he’s familiar with Trevor Lawrence as well, but James Robinson just had a great season as an undrafted rookie and you’re spending a first-round pick on another RB? I don’t see the logic here. Considering the fact that the Jags need help on pretty much every level of their defence, they definitely could have made a smarter pick here. After all, teams that go 1-15 don’t get to make luxury picks.
Indianapolis Colts: A+
Kwity Paye, DE, Michigan: Loved this pick. I mocked Paye getting drafted as high as 12. While that may have been pretty high for him, few would argue that he wasn’t a top 15 or 20 player and the Colts got him at 21. Paye can make a difference early on both in the pass and the run game. Mark my words, the Colts are going to have a really good defence in 2021.
Houston Texans: No pick
Remember when the Texans sold their souls for Laremy Tunsil? They’re still paying for it. He’s not bad, but they simply gave up way too much draft capital for him.
Tennessee Titans: B+
Caleb Farley, CB, Virginia Tech: This is about where I thought he would get picked, but not before Eric Stokes. Farley could be good, but the fact that he just got off of a major surgery scares me a lot. This isn’t a terrible pick, but it could turn out to be a big, fat nothing if he struggles with injuries for his first few years.
