2021 Day One Draft Grades: NFC West
How did your favourite NFC West team do one day one of the draft?
Seattle Seahawks: No pick
Seattle traded away their first round pick this year for Jamal Adams. Adams hasn’t quite hit his stride yet as a Seahawk, but this feels like it was worthy of giving up some high picks.
Los Angeles Rams: No pick
The Rams are in a good position to be a contender this year. They traded this pick for Jalen Ramsey, which, like Adams, feels like it’s a good call. With Matthew Stafford in LA, the Rams look to reclaim their former glory under Sean McVay.
San Fransisco 49ers: B+
Trey Lance, QB, North Dakota State: I was so sure that this pick would be Mac Jones. Shanahan’s history shows that Jones would be the kind of QB that the 49ers head coach prefers. That being said, I guess they figure that they can bring Lance along slowly with Jimmy G as their starter for a couple more years. Lance is crazy talented, but he will need some TLC if he is to become the star that such a high pick would suggest. The reason that the grade’s a B+ is this: the 49ers spent a king’s ransom to get to #3. I would have a hard time taking a guy that may not even play for a couple of years with a pick that I just invested so much into. I guess only time will tell if it was worth it.
Arizona Cardinals: A-
Zaven Collins, LB, Tulsa: Anybody who has read some of my stuff knows that I am a big Zaven Collins guy. He honestly reminds me of Anthony Barr. The reason that this is an A- is mostly because I feel like the corner position was a bigger draft need for the Cardinals. With Farley and Newsome still on the board at that point, I would have picked one of them over Zaven Collins, especially since Chandler Jones is still productive. Maybe they just thought that after Jones’ injury-plagued season, it may not hurt to find his replacement. Still, it wasn’t very long ago that Jones boasted a 19-sack season. It’s not the worst pick in the world though. You can never have too many good pass-rushers in a division with Russell Wilson and Matt Stafford.
