Biggest risers, fallers in Daniel Jeremiah's top 50 draft rankings 2.0
NFL.com's Daniel Jeremiah revealed the second edition of his 2021 draft prospect rankings on Tuesday.
It features several players rising from their spots on his original list published last month. The biggest riser was Northwestern CB Greg Newsome II, who climbed nine spots to No. 31.
"Newsome is a tall, agile cornerback," Jeremiah writes. "He played a lot of off coverage in Northwestern's scheme. He stays crouched in his pedal and is always under control. He's fluid when he opens up to turn and carry vertical routes. He stays in phase and he can locate/play the ball. He doesn't have an explosive plant/drive, but he does have the awareness to anticipate throws. He has excellent instincts versus the run and pass. Against the run, he will hang on blocks too long at times, but he is a solid tackler once he frees himself. I expect Newsome to develop into a reliable starting cornerback very early in his NFL career."
Another big riser was Alabama IOL Landon Dickerson, who jumped seven spots to No. 37.
As Jeremiah writes, "Dickerson is an enormous interior offensive lineman. The Florida State transfer has experience at center and guard. He has very quick feet in pass protection. He keeps his hands tight and plays with a wide base. He does have some issues when redirecting, but he uses his upper-body strength to wrestle his way back into position. In the run game, he uncoils on defenders over his nose, creating movement at the point of attack. He has enough quickness to reach/cut off. I love his tenacity to finish. The only issue I see is his durability. He suffered an assortment of injuries at FSU and tore his ACL in the SEC Championship Game this past season. Dickerson has first-round ability, but will likely fall to the second round based on injury concerns."
Jeremiah's updated list also includes five players making their first appearance in the rankings- Kentucky LB Jamin Davis (No. 35), Oklahoma EDGE Ronnie Perkins (No. 38), Kentucky CB Kelvin Joseph (No. 42), LSU LB Jabril Cox (No. 43), and Minnesota WR Rashod Bateman (No. 46).
As some players rose in Jeremiah's rankings, others fell. The biggest fall in the NFL Network analyst's updated prospect list came from Penn State TE Pat Freiermuth, who fell 11 spots to No. 49. Iowa DT Daviyon Nixon dropped 10 spots to No. 45, while UCF CB Aaron Robinson slipped nine spots to No. 48.
With five new players featured in the latest prospect rankings, five players also fell out of Jeremiah's original top 50 list. The players who dropped off are Pittsburgh EDGE Patrick Jones II (was No. 42), USC DT Marlon Tuipulotu (was No. 45), Cincinnati OT James Hudson (was No. 46), Georgia CB Eric Stokes (was No. 47), and Vanderbilt EDGE Dayo Odeyingbo (was No. 50).
NFL Media analyst Daniel Jeremiah updated his ranking of the top 50 prospects in the 2021 NFL Draft for the final time before the start of the draft.
No. 50 Georgia CB Eric Stokes
No. 49 Oregon S Jevon Holland
No. 48 LSU WR Terrace Marshall Jr.
No. 47 Notre Dame OT Liam Eichenberg
No. 46 Penn State TE Pat Freiermuth
No. 45 Wisconsin-Whitewater IOL Quinn Meinerz
No. 44 Oklahoma EDGE Ronnie Perkins
No. 43 Alabama DT Christian Barmore
No. 42 Houston EDGE Payton Turner
No. 41 Minnesota WR Rashod Bateman
No. 40 Alabama IOL Landon Dickerson
No. 39 Florida State CB Asante Samuel Jr.
No. 38 Virginia Tech OT Christian Darrisaw
No. 37 North Dakota State OT Dillon Radunz
No. 36 Oklahoma State OT Teven Jenkins
No. 35 Michigan OT Jalen Mayfield
No. 34 Missouri LB Nick Bolton
No. 33 Washington EDGE Joe Tryon
No. 32 Alabama QB Mac Jones
No. 31 Penn State EDGE Jayson Oweh
No. 30 Georgia EDGE Azeez Ojulari
No. 29 Washington DT Levi Onwuzurike
No. 28 Florida WR Kadarius Toney
No. 27 Northwestern CB Greg Newsome II
No. 26 Mississippi WR Elijah Moore
No. 25 North Carolina RB Javonte Williams
No. 24 Tulsa LB Zaven Collins
No. 23 Kentucky LB Jamin Davis
No. 22 Virginia Tech CB Caleb Farley
No. 21 Miami EDGE Jaelan Phillips
No. 20 Alabama RB Najee Harris
No. 19 Clemson RB Travis Etienne
No. 18 Miami EDGE Gregory Rousseau
No. 17 Michigan EDGE Kwity Paye
No. 16 TCU S Trevon Moehrig
No. 15 Notre Dame LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah
No. 14 South Carolina CB Jaycee Horn
No. 13 USC OL Alijah Vera-Tucker
No. 12 Penn State LB Micah Parsons
No. 11 Oregon OT Penei Sewell
No. 10 Northwestern OT Rashawn Slater
No. 9 Alabama CB Patrick Surtain II
No. 8 Ohio State QB Justin Fields
No. 7 North Dakota State QB Trey Lance
No. 6 Alabama WR DeVonta Smith
No. 5 Alabama WR Jaylen Waddle
No. 4 BYU QB Zach Wilson
No. 3 LSU WR Ja'Marr Chase
No. 2 Florida TE Kyle Pitts
No. 1 Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence
NFL franchise tag window opens; Giants' tag history
Tuesday marks the beginning of a two-week period for clubs to designate franchise or transition players among their pending free agents. Front offices have until 4 p.m. ET on March 9 to do so before free agency opens on March 17, the day the 2021 league year officially starts.
Last season, 14 players were given the franchise tag, including Giants DT Leonard Williams. The others were:
- LB Matthew Judon (Bears)
- WR A.J. Green (Bengals)
- QB Dak Prescott* (Cowboys)
- S Justin Simmons (Broncos)
- Yannick Ngakoue (Jaguars)
- DT Chris Jones (Chiefs)
- TE Hunter Henry (Chargers)
- S Anthony Harris (Vikings)
- OL Joe Thuney (Patriots)
- LB Bud Dupree (Steelers)
- LB Shaquil Barrett (Buccaneers)
- RB Derrick Henry (Titans)
- OL Brandon Scherff (Washington)
*Denotes Exclusive Franchise Player
One player – Cardinals RB Kenyon Drake – was designated as a transition player.
Since the system's inception in 1993, the New York Giants have used the tags nine times – six franchise and three transition – on eight players.
- OT Jumbo Elliott (franchise) in 1993
- LB Carl Banks (transition) in 1993
- TE Howard Cross (transition) in 1994
- RB Rodney Hampton (transition) in 1996
- RB Brandon Jacobs (franchise) in 2009
- P Steve Weatherford (franchise) in 2012
- DE Jason Pierre-Paul (franchise) in 2015 and 2017
- DT Leonard Williams in 2020
View the players set to become free agents when the new league year begins March 17.
DB Adrian Colbert (UFA)
S Nate Ebner (UFA)
LB Kyler Fackrell (UFA)
OT Cameron Fleming (UFA)
RB Wayne Gallman (UFA)
DT Austin Johnson (Update: The New York Giants have re-signed Johnson)
LS Casey Kreiter (Update: The New York Giants have re-signed Kreiter)
RB Dion Lewis (UFA)
QB Colt McCoy (UFA)
RB Alfred Morris (UFA)
C Spencer Pulley (UFA)
LB Jabaal Sheard (UFA)
DL Dalvin Tomlinson (UFA)
DL Leonard Williams (Update: The New York Giants placed the franchise tag on Williams for the second consecutive year.)
WR C.J. Board (Update: The New York Giants have re-signed Board)
LB Devante Downs (RFA)
Inside the Film Room: Shane Lemieux plays smart and physical
Two-time Super Bowl champion David Diehl breaks down the film of rookie guard Shane Lemieux on this edition of Inside the Film Room.
