DRAFT TRACKER 2021

Three-year starter with experience at both left and right tackle positions. His compact frame carries play strength that can be filed in the "grown man" category, as evidenced by his heads-up battles against 2020 No. 2 overall pick Chase Young in 2019. Slater operates with confidence and efficient movement that sees him in position to get his job done on most snaps. His lack of length will lead some teams to view him as a guard, but the footwork and talent outside might be worth allowing him to prove it at tackle first. His combination of strength, athletic ability and quick processing should make him one of the safer offensive line picks in this draft and an early starter.

Cornerback with NFL bloodlines and disruptive strength to make contested catches a true challenge for wide receivers. Samuel has good feet, but average size and transition burst to shadow breaks. He allowed too many catches in front of his face, especially early in the 2020 season. He plays with good technique in closing out and crowding receivers headed down the field but has a tendency to go overboard when face-guarding, turning his coverage into flags. He has the traits and talent to turn some catches into incompletions with a change in approach. Samuel has nickel talent, but might just be average as a pro.

While he was hurt by inconsistent quarterbacking during his time at Tennessee, the production totals are still disappointing. However, the more tape you watch of Palmer, the more you like him. He has size, clearly works on refining his route-running and has a good understanding of how to help himself with contested catches. While he doesn't appear to have great long speed, he did beat future NFL cornerbacks at Georgia (DJ Daniel) and Alabama (Patrick Surtain Jr.) down the field for scores. He's an instinctive pass catcher on all three levels with above-average ball skills, but beating press and finding separation will be his toughest challenges in the NFL. The limited production is a concern, but he appears to have the traits of a solid NFL backup.

Pass-catching tight end who can be asked to do some minor positional blocking up front, but he's better as a move blocker. McKitty's play speed doesn't always match his real speed, which is a problem in terms of his separation and ball tracking. He's better up the seam and on the move than he is getting in and out of breaks. If he can get stronger and learn to play faster as a pass catcher, he might have a chance as a developmental TE3.

Rumph is more of a litmus test than a prospect with a defined position. As a 3-4 outside linebacker, teams will worry about his edge-setting power. As a designated pass rusher, teams could have a hard time pinpointing his draft value. That said, if a team sees him as an explosive athlete with a knack for finding the pocket, it will draft the talent and figure out the rest. There is no question that his lean frame and lack of play strength will cause him to take some bad losses, but that shouldn't overshadow his ability to make plays on the other side of the line despite his strength deficiencies. He's an instinctive rusher with the skill and traits to win outside or inside and can activate a long-arm bull rush from a position of leverage from time to time. He has the talent to play off the ball on occasion as a chase linebacker and can be activated as a rusher from a variety of entry points to further stress the protection. There is some boom/bust in his projection, but I see an ascending NFL rush talent.

Jaimes offers value as an early swing tackle with experience on both the left and right sides. He appears to have the athletic ability to play left tackle even though his length and anchor strength are a little below average. He's fairly savvy in pass protection and operates with good mirroring control and technique to stay in front of rushers. He plays with active hands and feet in protection, but needs to apply that same activity in the run game, where he can do a better job of improving his block sustains with hand resets and post-contact footwork. Jaimes has some things to clean up, but the tape isn't bad. He could hear his name called in the middle rounds and offers roster flexibility as a swing tackle with the potential to also play guard.

Long, rangy linebacker with excellent speed and quickness but might need to pack on more muscle for the NFL game. Niemann plays stronger than he looks and with good core power. He understands how to use his hands and angle to improve his chances against climbing offensive linemen. He has the range and agility to flow from sideline to sideline but needs more reps to fine-tune his feel for blocking schemes and misdirection. He was a little disappointing in coverage and might not have much passing down value. Niemann has the talent to play in the league and should be a core special teams performer.

Charged-up back whose running style can teeter between urgent and out of control. Tape study was much more kind to Rountree in 2020 than 2019, where his struggles with vision and finding his rhythm were noticeable. His size, burst and finish are important traits in becoming an NFL runner and he has a nice blend of foot quickness and decisiveness to the corner when there is too much traffic in front of him. Rountree has very average vision and creativity, but could become a solid backup in the league.

Webb has handled the Star position for Georgia (which is essentially a big nickel back) but doesn't have the necessary speed or short-area quickness in coverage to continue playing that position in the pros. He's tough at the point of attack and does the dirty work in run support, so box safety is his likely designation during the evaluation process. It will be a challenge for him to make it as a defensive back, so adding weight and rebranding himself as a lighter backup linebacker and core special teamer might be a side door that could be under consideration.