Was just reviewing team drafts. Urban Meyer is an evil being, but dude put together a nice looking draft. Those first 4 rounds are slick. Not a big Etienne guy, but the two 2nd rounders, 3rd rounder, and 4th rounder are all valuable picks. I preferred Jay Tufele over Hunter Long (and I don't think Long is a bad player, just not great value for the Phins unless they'd have traded Gesicki).
Urban Meyer using 247 recruiting rankings for his draft board is now a meme.
His draft is the definition of boom or bust. Its definitely an interesting draft and one to monitor moving forward.
Beyond Trevor Lawrence...because ultimately, he's the make or break pick of the draft. If he hits, Jacksonville will be a playoff team pretty regularly moving forward. If he's not...well...Urban will be having heart problems soon enough.
I happen to like Travis Etienne as a player and barring injury...IMO, he should be a very productive pro. I don't agree with taking running backs in Round 1...Jacksonville found a 1000 yard rusher on the scrap heap just a year prior...and after watching all of Jacksonville's games in 2020, he's actually pretty good via the eyetest. With that said, many metrics and models say Etienne is going to be a very productive player. From Hayden Winks for one:
Buffalo was going to take him at 30...so, the price is the price, I guess...but RB itself goes against common sense in R1. The player, IMO, will be good...but R1P25 is just rich for my blood.
Moving into R2...
Tyson Campbell is a scheme fit and probably has a lot more to give the sport of football...but I can't help but think he's going to be one of those corners that starts for a very long time, but kind of sucks for a long time as he gives up a lot of catches, especially in zone...but plays better in man coverages. Basically...Kevin King. ymmv if thats a good pick or not. Jacksonville needed DBs in the worst way in this draft. CJ Henderson, Shaq Griffin, Tyson Campbell, Sidney Jones...eh, we'll see how that group develops.
Walker Little's tape from two years ago - basically, the last time we saw him - is very good. He tested like a top athlete. If he's healthy...he's probably starting for Jacksonville next year at LT after they let Cam Robinson go (a certainty after this pick). Boom or bust pick though, that I lean to thinking he'll be a good solid starter in the NFL provided he stays injury free.
R3
Andre Cisco is another boom or bust player. Will likely start for Jacksonville sooner rather than later, but coming back from an injury. This one seems like a scout pick for Jacksonville...but I can see Urban thinking he's got a nice Malik Hooker center fielder type.
Day 3
Basically all backups. Jay Tufele is just a backup, rotational guy to me...one that Urban had a history with during the recruiting process. I figured Jacksonville would take him or Tommy Togiai right around here. Meh. But its a need for the team, especially after losing Tyson Alualu who chose to stay in Pittsburgh. He'll probably be on the 53 at some point, but again, backup. Jordan Smith and Luke Farrell are two others that are just deep backups and developmental practice squad players. Smith has character concerns (was involved in a credit card scheme at Florida that got him on probation), and while he's been productive at Butler CC and UAB, is nearly a non-NFL athlete. Some people like him, and Jacksonville traded up for him, but whatever. Jacksonville needs a TE and surely, Luke Farrell isn't it. Maybe he's a special teamer.
My one take away from Urban's first off-season...he low key makes a lot of excuses. COVID excuses for why they didn't sign free agents that the staff didn't have connections with. He spent a good portion of the post R1 press conferences saying how much he loved Kyle Pitts and couldn't get him. Discussed the troubles of assembling a draft board during COVID and meeting on ZOOM too much. As a result...first off-season, he relied a lot on what / who he knew. We'll see if that was wise or lazy.
Edit - In an interview with the NFLN team on Day 3...one thing really stood out. As a college coach, he noted, when you take a player from a bad high school...it takes a year and a half to teach them how to prepare, the fundamentals, etc. When you take players from good, well run operations, the learning curve shortens and they are more likely ready to go and contribute. Something to keep in mind for all levels of football discourse, I suppose.