We’re back with another edition of the Daubert’s 2021 NFL Draft Mailbag. If you missed the one from last week, you can read that here. We have a bunch of questions this week so I won’t waste any time. Let’s jump right into things.
What’s the earliest I would take Najee Harris? That question can’t be summarized quickly which is why I sort of wrote a post on this not too long ago. Both things can be true: Harris is the best running back in the draft but he’s also not good enough to be taken in the first round.
What’s the earliest I would take Harris? Probably at the back half of the second round. He’s going much higher than that so it’s not something I would worry about as a general manager. The thoughts are on finding that late round gem. For the record, I would take JK Dobbins, D’Andre Swift, and Cam Akers from last year’s class over Harris.
Bill Belichick. Where do I even begin? The truth of the matter is, Belichick can’t draft. I’m just the only one that brought it up prior to when Tom Brady skipped town.
Should the Patriots have their eyes set on a quarterback? Probably. However, fixing the overall roster is probably more important. Focus on getting good players in the building rather than depleting an already barren group of young talent.
Seriously, how many players on this Patriots roster would you even want? I’m not sure there is one. Let’s first take the keys away from Bill and start building a sustainable roster that can win moving forward.
Most likely to trade up? God, wish I knew. I’m not a mind reader. Let me just throw out a wildcard. Why not Washington? This is a team that already has the defensive front intact. If there’s a quarterback they like, I could see them trading up.
I don’t envy Joe Douglas. He’s in a no-win situation. Douglas will find himself fired likely regardless of what he does. If Douglas trades Sam Darnold and he goes balls out elsewhere (and will depending on the environment) he looks like an idiot. Especially if the Jets draft a quarterback and don’t compete in the division (and they won’t because the roster is in horrendous shape).
If Douglas keeps Darnold and trades the number two overall pick, he gets fired. Zach Wilson and or Justin Fields walks into a better situation and the Jets still likely have the worst roster in the league.
What should the Jets do? They should have just hired me. I can’t provide much more advice. Robert Saleh wouldn’t have been my head coaching hire. If I learned anything in life, it’s that the Jets will find a way to screw it up. What does it matter?
I’m going to use this question and rephrase it. Obviously, any wide receiver left on the board in the later rounds, the Packers can draft. Therefore, I’ll just name some of my favorite dart throws for that point in the draft.
Dez Fitzpatrick looked good at the Senior Bowl. Don’t tell anyone but he might be better than Tutu Atwell. SHHH.
I think Marlon Williams at UCF can play. I would watch out for him later.
Does D’Wayne Eskridge count?
You know what really sucks? Not having a combine!
I think the answer is Najee Harris. If Travis Etienne sneaks into round one and becomes the first one off the board, I’ll have a nice giggle to myself. I think CJ Spiller was a much better prospect than Etienne and he was a nobody. I’m not high on Etienne at all so the answer to me has to be Harris.
