The ongoing anthology of (almost) all of Rajan’s published content on sports, food, health & fitness, pop culture, and more.
Sports Columns
NFL Columns
Nick Sirianni To The Philadelphia Eagles: A Surprising Yet Sound Hire (2021) Will The Saints Go Marching Right Through The NFC Playoffs? (2021) The Buffalo Bills Are the Best Team in the 2021 AFC Playoffs (2021) Will The New York Jets (Finally) Rebuild Things The Right Way? (2021) Subtraction By Addition: What Caused The Statistical Dip(s) From Mike Evans and Chris Godwin (2020) Matt Nagy Sits on the Hottest of Hot Seats (2020) Can Damien Harris Jumpstart A Stalled New England Patriots’ Offense? (2020) The Detroit Lions Have a (Rapidly) Rising Star in D’Andre Swift (2020) Davante Adams Is the…
An athletic and instinctual defensive back who could be an interesting chess piece for defending the league’s fastest receivers.
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 192lbs
Class: Junior (RS)
NFL Comparison: William Jackson
One of the cornerstones of a Northwestern Wildcats’ defense that finished among the best in the nation in lowest passing efficiency by opponents and points allowed, cornerback Greg Newsome routinely matched up against the best receiver the other team had to offer, and spent the game daring the quarterback to throw it to that receiver — followed by swatting away the pass if the QB did make such an errant decision.
Newsome represents a valued combination of height (6’0), instincts, and a competitive, feisty demeanor on the field…
An offensive line prospect with as much potential as we’ve seen in years —assuming a team is patient enough to develop it.
Height: 6'6"
Weight: 331lbs
Class: Sophomore (RS)
NFL Comparison: a more raw and more bulky Terron Armstead
The team that finds itself in the situation in which they’re considering drafting University of Oregon offensive tackle Penei Sewell will likely find themselves in a classic gambling thought experiment: if they were making a wager (in the form of their Draft pick), would they rather make the wager that has almost guaranteed odds to pay out 2:1, or pretty-good-but-far-from-guaranteed odds of a 10:1 payout?
The selection of Sewell aligns with the latter scenario. Standing 6’6” and 331lbs, Sewell combines a massive…
The “evidence-based matchmaking” edition.
Though I’ve always made my stance clear about generally despising the utterly contemptible and useless practice of preparing and reading any NFL Mock Drafts that are published more more than 7-to-10 days out the actual Draft itself, the only thing worse than those aforementioned Mock Drafts are the versions which people create based on what they think a given team should do, versus what they believe a given team will do.
Like, seriously: who cares what you think any given team should do? Even if you’re the General Manager of any of the other 31 teams in the NFL, what…
A desirable combination of acceleration, closing speed, and overall football instincts, but may lack the requisite bulk or tackling ability some teams desire.
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 190lbs
Class: Junior
NFL Comparison: A lot of Marcus Williams with a little of Marcus Maye
The idea of the “centerfielder” free safety is something of a lost art in today’s NFL. So many teams are looking for a level of interchangability at the position — guys who can play both in coverage and down in the “box” — to the point where they’ve somewhat accustomed to diluting a player’s ability to do one of those things particularly well.
That latter point is very likely why we don’t see safety Jevon Holland ranked higher up on…
One of the most explosive players in the 2021 NFL Draft, Rondale Moore’s combination of blistering speed and ferocious on-field mentality have drawn comparisons to former star receiver Steve Smith Sr.
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 180lbs
Class: Junior
NFL Comparison: A rocked-up and lionhearted Tavon Austin
The exercise of projecting the NFL future of wide receiver Rondale Moore from Purdue University is very much akin to the concept of whether someone sees four ounces of water in an eight-ounce glass as being “half empty” or “half full.”
The “glass-half-full” crowd, or those who are more bullish in their beliefs pertaining to Moore, can point to the fact that he could very well be contending with Jaylen Waddle of the University of Alabama for the title of the singular most “explosive” wide…
The do-it-all defender has the potential to transcend the typical rover or viper-type “big nickel” linebacker we see in the NFL.
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 215lbs
Class: Senior
NFL Comparison: More instinctive & more polished Deion Jones
For those who believe that we’re slowly on the path of evolution to “position-less football” on defense, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah from the University of Notre Dame could serve as a ‘patient zero,’ of sorts.
The super-sudden and ultra-twitchy do-everything linebacker was the proverbial heartbeat of Notre Dame’s airtight defense over the last couple of seasons, lining up seemingly at every position on the back seven (or eight) of the defense of the Fighting Irish at some point.
An explosive runner who’s a threat to score anytime he touches the ball, Etienne could be a potent weapon for an NFL team if he can consistently make plays when given the opportunity.
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 212lbs
Class: Senior
NFL Comparison: A more-well-rounded Ronald Jones
Just in case there weren’t enough explosive plays generated by quarterback Trevor Lawrence and the passing game of the Tigers, Clemson’s opponents also had to deal with the threat of running back Travis Etienne ripping off massive chunks of yardage on his own, anytime he touched the football.
While he fits in the mode of your classic speed-based “slasher” running back, Etienne shows a welcome level of patience in watching the blocks in front of him develop and waiting patiently until that proper moment to attack the…
Had it not been for a season-ending ankle injury, Alabama’s electric receiver might’ve cemented “WR1” status in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 182lbs
Class: Junior
NFL Comparison: Henry Ruggs III, v1.5
Entering the 2020 season, wide receiver Jaylen Waddle was coming off a 2019 campaign in which he garnered Second-Team All-American status, and was considered to be one of the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy. And had Waddle not suffered the season-ending ankle injury in late October, he could’ve very well been the Crimson Tide receiver holding up said trophy in December, considering he started off last season with 25 catches for 557 yards, and four touchdowns in his first four games.
The NFL ceiling for the new-school linebacker with the old school body will be defined by the way his professional coaching staff chooses to use him.
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 260lbs
Class: Senior
NFL Comparison: Six of Anthony Barr plus a half-dozen of Tremaine Edmunds
Perhaps my favorite player in the entirey of the 2021 NFL Draft, I fully believe that the reason you don’t see linebacker Zaven Collins from Tulsa University ranked as highly on other Big Boards as you do on mine is because don’t know what to make of the paradoxical juxtaposition he presents: the highly unusual (in a good way) player possessing a “throwback body” combined with the modern skillset to thrive in today’s NFL; put much more succinctly, he’s a big…
