With our final 200-plus draftable prospects in the 2021 NFL Draft in the books, it’s time to shift our focus to the strengths and weaknesses of this draft at each position.

This is an offensive-heavy draft with only the key positions in defending the pass, like cornerback and edge rusher, standing out on the defensive side.

Below you’ll find the top-10 at each position and additional prospects who received a draftable grade listed in each category. You’ll find a few players who, depending on scheme, could play multiple positions and are thus ranked in two separate positions.

It’s a unique draft but the strengths of this class are mostly at premium positions which could be a real advantage for a smart team. Without futher ado, let’s dig in.

OFFENSE

Quarterbacks: A

With five quarterbacks in the top-30 and four receiving a first-round grade or higher—a strong 2020 class had three first-round graded quarterbacks—the top of this class is pretty special considering the position.

The depth is about average but there is a lack of Day 2 prospects in this group, which could have a bit of a trickle-down effect as the draft’s lower-to-middle-class could be overdrafted. 11 prospects in our top 200 is good enough to make this a special year to draft a quarterback. 

1. Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson

2. Zach Wilson, QB, BYU    

3. Justin Fields, QB, Ohio State

4. Trey Lance, QB, North Dakota State    

5. Mac Jones, QB, Alabama       

6. Kyle Trask, QB, Florida    

7. Davis Mills, QB, Stanford     

8. Kellen Mond, QB, Texas A&M

9. Brady White, QB, Memphis

10. Jaime Newman, QB, Wake Forest    

Others with a draftable grade:

Ian Book, QB, Notre Dame

Running backs: C+

This is a nice running back class that stands out most for its depth with 20 top-200 players. The top is dominated by a threesome that should command picks in the 50s and four more grading out as future starters. 

It’s not a special class but it’s deep and in a year like this with more projects than usual, this group could produce early and present safer bets than most other positions.

1. Najee Harris, RB, Alabama

2. Travis Etienne, RB, Clemson

3. Javonte Williams, RB, North Carolina

4. Chuba Hubbard, RB, Oklahoma State

5. Trey Sermon, RB, Ohio State

6. Michael Carter, RB, North Carolina

7. Demetric Felton, RB, UCLA

8. Kylin Hill, RB, Mississippi State

9. Khalil Herbert, RB, Virginia Tech

10. Rhamondre Stevenson, RB, Oklahoma

Others with a draftable grade:

Jaret Patterson, RB, Buffalo    

Jermar Jefferson, RB, Oregon State

Kenneth Gainwell, RB, Memphis

CJ Verdell, RB, Oregon

Elijah Mitchell, RB, Louisiana

Javian Hawkins, RB, Louisville

Larry Rountree III, RB, Missouri

Rakeem Boyd, RB, Arkansas

Chris Evans, RB, Michigan

Ben Mason, FB, Michigan

Wide receivers: A+

Incredibly, after a 2020 draft that produced an absurd 20 wideouts grading as future starters, this year is deeper overall with 31 draftable prospects but “only” 15 future starters.

While that top-100 depth a year ago will be hard to match, the very top of this class is slightly better with three prospects in the top-5 overall. 

We’re seeing the impact of spread formations in the college game translating directly into a pipeline of talent at receiver that is seemingly never ending.

1. Ja’Marr Chase, WR, LSU

2. Jaylen Waddle, WR, Alabama

3. DeVonta Smith, WR, Alabama

4. Kadarius Toney, WR, Florida    

5. Rashod Bateman, WR, Minnesota

6. Rondale Moore, WR, Purdue

7. Elijah Moore, WR, Ole Miss    

8. Terrace Marshall Jr., WR, LSU    

9. Tylan Wallace, WR, Oklahoma State

10. Amari Rodgers, WR, Clemson

Others with a draftable grade:

Tutu Atwell, WR, Louisville 

D’Wayne Eskridge, WR, Western Michigan

Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR, USC

Marquez Stevenson, WR, Houston

Nico Collins, WR, Michigan

Dyami Brown, WR, North Carolina    

Seth Williams, WR, Auburn

Anthony Schwartz, WR, Auburn

Jaelon Darden, WR, North Texas

Warren Jackson, WR, Colorado State

Semi Fehoko, WR, Stanford

Cade Johnson, WR, South Dakota State

Josh Imatorbhebhe, WR, Illinois

Shi Smith, WR, South Carolina

Marlon Williams, WR, UCF

Josh Palmer, WR, Tennessee 

Trevon Grimes, WR, Florida

Tyler Vaughns, WR, USC

T.J. Vasher, WR, Texas Tech

Ihmir Smith-Marsette, WR, Iowa

Ben Skowronek, WR, Notre Dame

Tight ends: C+

Tight-end classes have to be graded on a curve as it’s never a deep position and often there aren’t even many prospects worth selecting in the top three rounds. This year, there’s a generational talent leading the way and a top five that’s quite intriguing.

However, there’s a massive drop off after the top handful of prospects as this is the only group to have players who graded out as undrafted prospects making it in the top-10 by postion. 

Keep an eye out for converted receiver Jacob Harris who’s long-limbed and a willing blocker who with some long-term molding could turn into a real receving threat. 

1. Kyle Pitts, TE, Florida    

2. Brevin Jordan, TE, Miami

3. Hunter Long, TE, Boston College

4. Pat Freiermuth, TE, Penn State

5. Tommy Tremble, TE, Notre Dame

6. Jacob Harris, TE, UCF

7. Tre McKitty, TE, Georgia

8. John Bates, TE, Boise State

9. Kenny Yeboah, TE, Ole Miss

10. Quintin Morris, TE, Bowling Green

Offensive tackles: B+

This tackle class is extremely deep with 21 prospects in our top-200 and 13 with future-starters on our board. What will be most interesting is to see how much this group is valued by the NFL, as there are plenty of prospects who have borderline measurements to stick at the position.

Put Slater, Cosmi, Vera-Tucker, Eichenberg, etc. in the right scheme and they could easily stick at tackle but there are potentially over half of these players who’ll have to transition inside.

Finding adequate tackles in the NFL is never easy and while this class doesn’t have the loaded top four we saw in 2020 it’s still one of the more talented groups in 2021. 

1. Penei Sewel, LT, Orgon

2. Christian Darrisaw, OT, Virginia Tech    

3. Teven Jenkins, RT, Oklahoma State 

4. Rashawn Slater, OL, Northwestern

5. Alijah Vera-Tucker, OL, USC    

6. Alex Leatherwood, OL, Alabama

7. Samuel Cosmi, OT, Texas

8. Spencer Brown, RT, Northern Iowa

9. James Hudson, OT, Cincinnati

10. Stone Forsythe, OT, Florida

Others with a draftable grade:

Liam Eichenberg, OT, Notre Dame    

Walker Little, OT, Stanford

Brenden Jaimes, OT, Nebraska

Dillon Radunz, OT, North Dakota State    

Jackson Carmen, OT, Clemson

Dan Moore Jr., OT, Texas A&M

Larry Borom, RT, Missouri

Tommy Doyle, OT, Miami (Ohio)

Jaylon Moore, OT, Western Michigan

Landon Young, LT, Kentucky

Royce Newman, OT, Ole Miss

Interior Offensive line: A+

There’s so much talk about the quarterbacks and receivers this year that a pretty special class of guards and centers is being lost in the shuffle. Most years it’ll be an upset for more than two interior offensive linemen to be selected in round one, this year you can easily double those projections. There are also 11 total prospects with future-starter grades and 19 draft-worthy players. 

As mentioned in the tackle group, there could easily be some transplants from there that will only make this group deeper than it already is. 

1. Rashawn Slater, OL, Northwestern

2. Alijah Vera-Tucker, OL, USC    

3. Creed Humphrey, OC, Oklahoma

4. Landon Dickerson, OC, Alabama    

5. Trey Smith, OG, Tennessee

6. Ben Cleveland, OG, Georgia

7. Wyatt Davis, OG, Ohio State

8. Jalen Mayfield, OT, Michigan

9. Deonte Brown, OG, Alabama

10. Aaron Banks, OG, Notre Dame

Others with a draftable grade:

Josh Meyers, OC, Ohio State

Quinn Meiner, OC, Wisconsin-Whitewater

Kendrick Green, OG, Illinois

Brady Christensen, OC, BYU

Robert Hainsey, OL, Notre Dame

Drew Dalman, OC, Stanford

David Moore, OG, Grambling

Drake Jackson, OL, Kentucky

Tristen Hoge, OG, BYU

DEFENSE

Interior Defensive Line: F

This is by far the weakest class of the 2021 draft and easily the weakest class I’ve ever studied in the defensive trenches, with only six projected starters.

Think about that, the Broncos in their base defense start three interior defensive linemen and there are only six who project to be real three-down linemen.

18 draft-worthy prospects help the depth of the class, as there are a significant number of contributors who can give you something against the run but finding a high-end starter will be a near-impossible task without a single player graded above the second round. 

1. Christian Barmore, DT, Alabama

2. Levi Onwuzurike, DT, Washington

3. Carlos Basham, DE, Wake Forest

4. Dayvion Nixon, DT, Iowa

5. Marvin Wilson, NT, FSU

6. Alim McNeill, DT, NC State

7. Jay Tufele, DT, USC

8. Tyler Shelvin, NT, LSU

9. Marlon Tuipulotu, DT, USC

10. Tommy Togiai, DT, Ohio State

Others with a draftable grade:

Dayo Odeyingbo, DE, Vanderbilt 

Jalen Twyman, DT, Pitt

Osa Odighizuwa, DE, UCLA

Bobby Brown, DT, Texas A&M

Elijah Ponder, DT, Cincinnati 

Milton Williams, DT, Louisiana Tech

Darius Stills, DT, West Virginia

Khyiris Tonga, NT, BYU

Edge rushers: A-

This edge rusher class would be special if it wasn’t for every one of these top prospects having some significant question marks. Despite the lack of a clear-cut blue-chipper, there are a class-leading 17 in our top-100. Given the importance of outside edge rushers, double digits among starter-worthy prospects is common but 17 is a lot.

There are nothing but projects in this group but put in the right hands there’s a lot of talent to work with.

The depth is really strong beyond the top-100 with a grand total of 27 draft-worthy prospects. 

1. Azeez Ojulari, EDGE, Georgia    

2. Micah Parsons, OLB, Penn State

3. Kwity Paye, EDGE, Michigan

4. Gregory Rousseau, EDGE, Miami

5. Jalen Philips, EDGE, Miami

6. Joe Tryon, EDGE, Washington

7. Joseph Ossai, EDGE, Texas    

8. Ronnie Perkins, EDGE, Oklahoma    

9. Carlos Basham, DE, Wake Forest

10. Quincy Roche, EDGE, Miami    

Others with a draftable grade:

Jayson Oweh, DE, Penn State

Hamilcar Rashed Jr., EDGE, Oregon State

Chris Rumph II, OLB, Duke

Janarius Robinson, EDGE, Florida State

Elerson Smith, DE, Northern Iowa

Adetokunbo Ogundeji, EDGE, Notre Dame

Payton Turner, EDGE, Houston

Jordan Smith, OLB, UAB

Daelin Hayes, EDGE, Notre Dame

Patrick Jones II, DE, Pittsburgh    

Malcolm Koonce, EDGE, Buffalo

Victor Dimukeje, EDGE, Duke

Chauncey Golston, EDGE, Iowa

Tarron Jackson, DE, Coastal Carolina

Joshua Kaindoh, EDGE, Florida State

Rashad Weaver, EDGE, Pittsburgh 

Cameron Sample, DE, Tulane

William Bradley-King, DE, Baylor

Linebackers: C+

Depending on how you feel about the top-four linebackers in this class you either love or hate this group. Based on our grades it falls somewhere in between. There are serious concerns across the board at the top and a lack of reliable three-down contributors, at least early on. 

That said, it’s a fairly deep group with 18 draft-worthy prospects and in some ways mirrors the running back class. 

1. Micah Parsons, OLB, Penn State

2. Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, SS/LB, Notre Dame    

3. Jamin Davis, LB, Kentucky 

4. Zaven Collins, OLB, Tulsa

5. Pete Werner, ILB, Ohio State

6. Baron Browning, OLB, Ohio State

7. Jabril Cox, LB, LSU    

8. Cam McGrone, LB, Michigan

9. Nick Bolton, LB, Missouri    

10. Chazz Surratt, LB, North Carolina    

Others with a draftable grade:

Monty Rice, LB, Georgia

Dylan Moses, LB, Alabama  

Jordan Smith, OLB, UAB

Charles Snowden, OLB, Virginia

Ernest Jones, LB, South Carolina

Derrick Barnes, LB, Purdue

K.J. Britt, LB, Auburn

Darrian Beavers, LB, Cincinnati

Tuf Borland, LB, Ohio State

Cornerbacks: B

Much like edge and receiver, this cornerback class is deep with 22 prospects in our top-200 and 13 receiving starter-level grades.

Similar to the edge group, outside of the top guy there’s talent but also some lack of refinement pushing prospects who’ll be considered early on down our board a bit.

1. Patrick Surtain II, CB, Alabama

2. Caleb Farley, CB, Virginia Tech    

3. Eric Stokes, CB, Georgia

4. Jaycee Horn, CB, South Carolina    

5. Greg Newsome II, CB, Northwestern 

6. Israel Mukuamu, CB, South Carolina 

7. Elijah Molden, CB, Washington

8. Asante Samuel Jr., CB, Florida State

9. Aaron Robinson, CB, UCF

10. Kelvin Joseph, CB, Kentucky

Others with a draftable grade:

Tyson Campbell, CB, Georgia    

Paulson Adebo, CB, Stanford

Ifeatu Melifonwu, CB, Syracuse 

Olaijah Griffin, CB, USC

Robert Rochell, CB, Central Arkansas

Thomas Graham, CB, Oregon

Benjamin St-Jude, CB, Minnesota

Ambry Thomas, CB, Michigan

Shaun Wade, NB, Ohio State

Camryn Bynum, CB, Cal

Bryan Mills, CB, North Carolina Central

Safeties: D

After the interior defensive line class, this is the weakest group in 2021 with only five starter-level prospects per our rankings and 18 who made it into the top-200.

There isn’t a safety to make it before the second-round tier but it’s undeniable the athletes are there but finding reliable last-line of defense guys will be hard. As always in the safety group there will be someone with underrated tools who does have the IQ and gets paid big in four years.

1. Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, SS, Notre Dame    

2. Jevon Holland, S, Oregon

3. Trevon Moehrig, S, TCU

4. Richie Grant, S, UCF

5. Talanoa Hufanga, SS, USC

6. James Wiggins, S, Cincinnati

7. Jamar Johnson, FS, Indiana

8. Darrick Forrest, S, Cincinnati

9. Hamsah Nasirildeen, S, Florida State

10. Joshua Bledsoe, NB, Missouri

Others with a draftable grade:

Richard Lecounte III, S, Georgia    

Andre Cisco, S, Syracuse

Ar’Darius Washington, S, TCU

Zech McPhearson, DB, Texas Tech

Caden Sterns, S, Texas

Shaun Wade, DB, Ohio State

Darren Hall, S, San Diego State

Paris Ford, S, Pittsburgh