NFL Draft: Pro comparisons for the top 32 prospects in 2021
By Adam Patrick
What are the pro comparisons for some of the top prospects available in the 2021 NFL Draft?
It won’t be long before the 2021 NFL Draft is underway and a new crop of players are added into the league.
This year’s draft pool is unique in a number of ways due to the impact of the current COVID-19 pandemic. The group features prospects that only appeared in a handful of games last season and others that haven’t participated in a meaningful football contest for more than a year.
This year’s pre-draft process is also going to be unlike anything ever before as well thanks to the impact of the pandemic. The traditional version of the NFL Scouting Combine won’t be happening, so teams will have to rely more on a prospect’s game film than they ever have in the past.
As the film is being reviewed by coaches and scouts over the next few weeks, the traits of a number of prospects will likely look similar to some of the current and former players from the NFL.
Looking at the top 32 players from this year’s draft pool, what pro comparisons do each of these guys deserve?
NFL Draft 2021 Pro Comparisons: Rondale Moore → Steve Smith
After his first season at Purdue, it seemed like Rondale Moore was on his way to having a highly productive college football career. As a freshman in 2018, Moore hauled in 114 passes for 1,258 yards and 12 touchdowns. He also ran the ball for an additional two scores while averaging 10.9 yards per carry.
Unfortunately for Moore, he wasn’t able to duplicate this level of production during his next two seasons at Purdue. Due to a number of different factors (including injuries), the young wide receiver only appeared in a total of seven games during the 2019 and 2020 campaigns.
Why he compares to Steve Smith:
Few exceeded their expectations and proved as many doubters wrong as former Carolina Panthers and Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Steve Smith during his time in the NFL.
Like Moore (5-foot-9, 175 pounds), Smith was far from being the biggest receiver in the league at 5-foot-9 and 195 pounds. But he didn’t let his lack of size get in the way of him being productive.
Moore was able to do this at times during his college career and he’ll have to continue doing it once he starts his tenure in the NFL. If he lands with the right offense, he has the chance to be the latest undersized receiver to find success in the league.