The first two days of the 2021 NFL draft didn’t see any Duke players come off the board. The final day, however, saw four, count them 1-2-3-4, Blue Devils get drafted. Leaving Durham for the NFL by way of the draft are Chris Rumph (4th, Chargers), Michael Carter (5th, Jets), Noah Gray (5th, Chiefs) and Victor “Big Vic” Dimukeje (6th, Cardinals). In addition, Deon Jackson, Mark Gilbert and Devery Hamilton signed undrafted fee agent deals and are headed to the Colts, the Steelers and the Raiders respectively. All told, seven players from last year’s team are going to the NFL. That’s a positive development.
Of the players who got drafted, I think we can all agree that Gray is in the best spot and is most likely to get to the playoffs and win a Super Bowl right away. If you disagree, I’d like to hear why. The thought on Rumph is he needs to put on some weight, but I expect him to make plays early because that’s how he plays. I also like Big Vic to come on strong towards the end of this season. He knows how to make plays and will do so if given the opportunity. As for Carter, he’ll be fine so long as he stays healthy. I’ll be interested if Deon and Mark make a roster. I think that Deon will, but Gilbert has a lot of health questions which: a) explain why he wasn’t drafted; and b) may make it harder for him to stay in the league. I want him to, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he has to grind it out for a few years before ending up in a Breon Borders situation. As for Hamilton, he’s going to be a project. It wouldn’t stun me if he gets playing time in a few years like Lucas Patrick and Matt Skura did, but he may also end up playing in Canada. We’ll have to see how it plays out.
My first reaction as the draft unfolded over the weekend was, “Man, that’s great! This is the highest number of draft picks since 1973. All this publicity will be great and kill a recruiting argument against Duke!” My second thought was, “How in the hell did Deon go undrafted?” It’s now Monday and I’m still befuddled. If someone can explain why he didn’t get his named called, I’d appreciate it. Not selecting Deon seems like an obvious miss. I know that RBs aren’t as highly valued as they used to be, but with his speed and ability to catch passes, he would have been a great fit in a place like Kansas City. Moving on – my third and final thought is that this doesn’t necessarily bode well for Cutcliffe’s tenure if the team struggles in 2021.
I haven’t looked at the roster to see who is leaving after the 2021 season and who is likely to get drafted (why change coaches if the talent pool is improving and more players are going to the pros?), but I can say the new AD is probably going to ask Cut why he went 5-7 and 2-9 over the last two seasons with a core that put seven players into the NFL. He is going to need to be ready to explain why he got so few wins out of so much talent over the last two seasons. If the losses start to pile up next year, I wouldn’t be surprised if a new AD isn’t as patient and makes a change to bring in his “own guy.” We all know that AD turnover can be the kiss of death for a coach on the hot seat and I think that, despite the good draft, the head coach’s seat may have gotten just a bit hotter.
That said, let’s hope for the best next season. I’m ready for the Blue Devils to get back to, and win, a bowl game. Go Duke!
Bull City Coordinators - A Duke Football Blog 
The only mark against DJ that I could see were the fumbles last year. That wasn’t an issue until last year, though—and I’m not sure that all of them were on him.
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That’s about the only explanation, but I don’t think that would be enough to keep him off the board. You have to wonder if Cut doesn’t stick with the play call against UNC in 2019 and Duke wins that game if Deon gets drafted.
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