Cowboys - 'Seven Future Starters?' - Vs. NFC East: Ranking Their NFL Draft Classes

How did the NFC East teams do in the 2021 NFL Draft? I used to the NFL Draft Bible rankings as a guide to rank each draft

So how did the NFC East do in the 2021 NFL Draft? Let’s rank the classes.

To put this together, I used the guidance of NFL Draft Bible, our Fan Nation NFL Draft site, which has player bios and rankings for just about every player in the NFL Draft. NFLDB uses its own rating system to create two values. The first is a ‘Current Player Value,’ which is what the player is seen as coming into the league in 2021. The second is a ‘Potential Player Value,’ which is what the player COULD become in the future, probably two or three years down the road. There is, of course, no guarantees.

But I attached those CPV’s and PPV’s to each player in each of the four draft classes.

There’s a reason why NFL general managers say you shouldn’t evaluate a draft class for three years. But let’s do it anyway, shall we?

1. New York Giants

Selections

WR Kadarius Toney (No. 20) – 7.8/9.0 – CV Average Starter/PV All Pro

OLB Azeez Ojulari (No. 50) – 8.2-9.5 – CV Average Starter/PV All Pro

CB Aaron Robinson (No. 71) – 7.4/8.6 – CV Solid Backup/PV Solid Starter

DE Elerson Smith (No. 116) – 7.4/9.0 – CV Solid Backup/PV All Pro

RB Gary Brightwell (No. 196) – 6.5/7.5 – CV Bottom of Roster/PV Solid Backup

CB Rodarius Williams (No. 201) – 7/8 – CV Backup/PV Average Starter

Current Value Starters: Two.

Future Value Starters: Five (three All-Pro, one Solid, one Average)

Review: Using NFL Draft Bible’s current player value scores, the Giants scored more current value starters (two) than any other NFC East team. Now, right now, NFLDB looks at both Toney and Ojulari as ‘average’ starters. But it’s the ceiling the NFLDB scouts see that’s intriguing. NFLDB sees Toney, Ojulari and Smith as potential future All-Pro level talents. If that’s the case, then the Giants picked up significant help at both wide receiver and in the pass rush in the years to come and maximized that value with just six selections. The only downside is that Brightwell doesn’t give the Giants a complete set of future starters, per the ratings. But, there are enough backs in front of Brightwell to give him time to develop into one. It’s a sneaky-good draft that probably won’t look that great in 2021, but by Year 2 or Year 3 might have the highest ceiling of the four teams.

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2. Philadelphia Eagles

Selections

WR DeVonta Smith (No. 10) – 8.2/9.4 – CV Solid Starter/PV All Pro

OL Landon Dickerson (No. 37) – 7.3/8.4 – CV Backup/PV Solid Starter

DT Milton Williams (No. 73) – 7.3/8.8 – CV Backup/PV Solid Starter

CB Zech McPhearson (No. 123) – 6.9/8.0 – CV Bottom of Roster/PV Average Starter

RB Kenneth Gainwell (No. 150) – 7.4/8.6 – CV Solid Backup/PV Solid Starter

DT Marlon Tuipulotu (No. 189) – 7.0/8.2 – CV Backup/PV Average Starter

DE Tarron Jackson (No. 191) – 6.7/8.4 – CV Bottom of Roster/PV Solid Starter

S JaCoby Stevens (No. 224) – 7.4/8.8 – CV Solid Backup/PV Solid Starter

OLB Patrick Johnson (No. 234) – 6.7/7.9 – CV Bottom of Roster /PV Average Starter

Current Value Starters: One.

Future Value Starters: Five (one All-Pro, five Solid, three Average)

Review: Smith is the obvious centerpiece and the one player, regardless of whether you look at the ratings, that the Eagles hope will make an impact immediately. Only Cowboys first-round pick Micah Parsons has a higher Current Value ranking, per NFL Draft Bible, than Smith. But, unlike the Giants, he’s the only future All-Pro per NFLDB’s Future Player Value ratings. 

Now, the one thing this class has over the other three NFC East teams is that the Eagles managed to get a projected starter per NFLDB’s ratings for every selection. That’s nine potential future starters, though only one projects at the highest level of the rankings. The Eagles did especially well late in the draft, with their final five picks — Gainwell, Tuipulotu, Jackson, Stevens, and Johnson — all having starter upside. Jackson and Stevens were downright larcenous that late in the draft.

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3. Dallas Cowboys

Selections

LB Micah Parsons (No. 12) – 8.3/9.5 – CV Average Starter/PV All Pro

CB Kelvin Joseph (No. 44) – 7.2/8.6 – CV Backup/PV Solid Starter

DL Osa Odighizuwa (No. 75) – 7.6/8.8 – CV Solid Backup/PV Solid Starter

DE Chauncey Golston (No. 84) – 6.6/7.6 – CV Solid Backup/PV Solid Backup

CB Nahshon Wright (No. 99) – 6.8/7.9 – CV Bottom of Roster/PV Average Starter

LB Jabril Cox (No. 115) – 7.5/8.5 – CV Solid Backup/PV Solid Starter

OL Josh Ball (No. 138) – 6.4/7.5 – CV Developmental/PV Solid Backup

WR Simi Fehoko (No. 179) – 6.6/7.8 – CV Bottom of Roster/PV Solid Backup

NT Quinton Bohanna (No. 192) – 6.5/7.5 – CV Bottom of Roster/PV Solid Backup

CB Israel Mukuamu (No. 227) – 6.9/7.9 – CV Bottom of Roster/PV Average Starter

OG Matt Farniok (No. 238) – No rating

Current Value Starters: One.

Future Value Starters: Seven (one All-Pro, four Solid, two Average)

Review: Parsons is the only player the Cowboys selected that NFL Draft Bible projects as a starter in Year 1. However, count on Joseph, Odighizuwa, Golston, and Cox making contributions in 2021 because, well, the Cowboys need them to (there’s a reason the Cowboys went almost entirely defensive in this draft). NFLDB projects six of the players as future starters, with Parsons as a future All-Pro and Joseph, Odighizuwa, and Cox entering the ‘solid starter’ category. 

But, grabbing four ‘bottom of roster’ players for 2021, especially one on Day 2 in the form of Wright, leaves you with the feeling that the Cowboys reached quite a bit. The Cowboys might have been better served packaging picks on Day 3 to move up. But they opted for volume. This doesn’t feel like that good a draft right now. But, if the draft really does produce seven starters down the line, then it will look a lot better two or three years from now.

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4. Washington Football Team

Selections

LB Jamin Davis (No. 19) – 7.1/8.3 – CV Backup/PV Average Starter

OL Samuel Cosmi (No. 51) – 7.9/8.9 – CV Average Starter/PV Solid Starter

CB Benjamin St.-Juste (No. 74) – 7.1/8.4 – CV Backup/PV Solid Starter

WR Dyami Brown (No. 82) – 7.2/8.4 – CV Backup/PV Solid Starter

TE John Bates (No. 124) – 6.6/7.6 – CV Bottom of Roster/PV Solid Backup

S Darrick Forrest (No. 163) – 6.6/7.6 – CV Bottom of Roster/PV Solid Backup

LS Camaron Cheeseman (No. 225) – No rating

OLB William Bradley-King (No. 240) – 6.5/7.5 – CV Bottom of Roster/PV Solid Backup

DE Shaka Toney (No. 246) – 6.6/7.9 – CV Bottom of Roster/PV Average Starter

WR Dax Milne (No. 258) – 6.9/7.9 – CV Bottom of Roster/PV Average Starter

Current Value Starters: One.

Future Value Starters: Six (no All-Pro, four Solid, two Average)

Review: WFT had almost as much volume as the Cowboys, but it looks like it did just a bit less with it. NFL Draft Bible has Cosmi as the only Current Value starter, and average at that. But he’s likely to work his way into a primary role this season. Down the line, NFLDB’s Potential Player Values show six starters, but none reach the All-Pro level that the Giants, the Eagles and the Cowboys all cultivated. Like the Eagles, WFT pulled a couple of potential value starters with their final picks. Like the Cowboys, WFT might have been better served packaging some of those late picks and moving up on Day 3, as five of their picks have Bottom of the Roster ratings for current value.

NFL Draft Bible Player Value Chart

CPV = Current Player Value

PPV = Potential Player Value

10-9.6 = FRANCHISE TALENT

9.5-9.0 = ALL PRO

8.9-8.4 = SOLID STARTER

8.3-7.9 = AVERAGE STARTER

7.8-7.4 = SOLID BACKUP

7.3-7.0 = BACKUP

6.9-6.5 = BOTTOM OF ROSTER

6.4-6.0 = DEVELOPMENTAL

5.9-5.5 = PRACTICE SQUAD

5.4-5.0 = XFL/CFL

4.9-0.0 = REJECT

You can follow Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.