The Carolina Panthers set and tied franchise records in the 2021 NFL Draft. The Panthers set the franchise record with five trades during the draft and tied the franchise record with 11 drafted players.
Bears General Manager, Ryan Pace, was all about making moves in the 2021 draft. In fact, outside of the compensatory picks, the Bears did not draft from their original draft position in any of the seven rounds of the draft. They were all acquired during trades. The Bears had seven total picks after trading up twice in the first two rounds and trading back in round six. In moving up, they lost their first and fourth-round pick in 2022. Pace definitely made a splash in this year’s draft.
Los Angeles Chargers general manager Tom Telesco rolled the dice on a few projects in the early rounds of the 2021 NFL draft. Fortunately, Telesco also came away with some bargains during the middle rounds and onwards. Specifically, the Chargers found a replacement for Hunter Henry in Round three and even added a potential starter at inside linebacker in the sixth.
Among the final five selections in the first round for the second season in a row, the Baltimore Ravens headed into the 2021 NFL draft with two of the five.
General Manager Rick Spielman, head coach Mike Zimmer, and the Minnesota Vikings stuck to a trusted formula during the 2021 NFL draft. They beefed up the trenches on both sides of the ball, added depth at key positions, and may even have found their quarterback of the future.
The 2021 NFL draft is now officially over and the grading process begins. Overall, the first round had some surprises, some valuable picks, but also some reaches. I evaluate the process by which the pick was made, the value of the position, the scheme fit, and the player himself. With that said, let us dive in, starting with the grading chart I used to evaluate each pick.
It was a draft filled with ups and downs for the Cincinnati Bengals and one that had some controversy to it. In the later rounds, the Bengals took some hit or miss prospects and even a kicker but overall had a really nice draft.
The New Orleans Saints came into the 2021 NFL Draft with a couple of needs spread out. They didn’t have anything to gaping to address and ended up going best player available a couple of times. In the first round, the Saints took athletic freak Payton Turner who will get to learn behind Cameron Jordan for a year or two and will look to develop into a star pass-rusher. The Saints were also fairly busy in the trade market over the weekend and traded up multiple times on days two and three.
The Detroit Lions came into this draft with a new regime in the front office. Their plan was simple: build the trenches. The Lions began their draft by taking offensive tackle Penei Sewell at pick seven. They then went to the defensive side of the line and selected defensive tackles Levi Onwuzurike and Alim McNeill. All three of these guys are players who fit new head coach Dan Campbell’s style of toughness and physicality. The Lions also hit the trade market a few times on day three as they moved up to select two times in a row at picks 112 and 113.
Coming off of an aggressive free agency, the New England Patriots looked to build on an already super strong offseason with this year’s draft. The Patriots struck early on with the selection of quarterback Mac Jones to be their future franchise signal-caller. Then in the later rounds, they turned to more needs and players that will fill positions right away. The Patriots were also busy in the trade market as they sent picks 46, 122, and 139 to the Cincinnati Bengals for pick 38.
The first round of the 2021 NFL Draft was one of the most entertaining in recent memory. Many superstars fell
The Carolina Panthers set and tied franchise records in the 2021 NFL Draft. The Panthers set the franchise record with five trades during the draft and tied the franchise record with 11 drafted players.
Bears General Manager, Ryan Pace, was all about making moves in the 2021 draft. In fact, outside of the compensatory picks, the Bears did not draft from their original draft position in any of the seven rounds of the draft. They were all acquired during trades. The Bears had seven total picks after trading up twice in the first two rounds and trading back in round six. In moving up, they lost their first and fourth-round pick in 2022. Pace definitely made a splash in this year’s draft.
Los Angeles Chargers general manager Tom Telesco rolled the dice on a few projects in the early rounds of the 2021 NFL draft. Fortunately, Telesco also came away with some bargains during the middle rounds and onwards. Specifically, the Chargers found a replacement for Hunter Henry in Round three and even added a potential starter at inside linebacker in the sixth.
Among the final five selections in the first round for the second season in a row, the Baltimore Ravens headed into the 2021 NFL draft with two of the five.
General Manager Rick Spielman, head coach Mike Zimmer, and the Minnesota Vikings stuck to a trusted formula during the 2021 NFL draft. They beefed up the trenches on both sides of the ball, added depth at key positions, and may even have found their quarterback of the future.
The 2021 NFL draft is now officially over and the grading process begins. Overall, the first round had some surprises, some valuable picks, but also some reaches. I evaluate the process by which the pick was made, the value of the position, the scheme fit, and the player himself. With that said, let us dive in, starting with the grading chart I used to evaluate each pick.
It was a draft filled with ups and downs for the Cincinnati Bengals and one that had some controversy to it. In the later rounds, the Bengals took some hit or miss prospects and even a kicker but overall had a really nice draft.
The New Orleans Saints came into the 2021 NFL Draft with a couple of needs spread out. They didn’t have anything to gaping to address and ended up going best player available a couple of times. In the first round, the Saints took athletic freak Payton Turner who will get to learn behind Cameron Jordan for a year or two and will look to develop into a star pass-rusher. The Saints were also fairly busy in the trade market over the weekend and traded up multiple times on days two and three.
The Detroit Lions came into this draft with a new regime in the front office. Their plan was simple: build the trenches. The Lions began their draft by taking offensive tackle Penei Sewell at pick seven. They then went to the defensive side of the line and selected defensive tackles Levi Onwuzurike and Alim McNeill. All three of these guys are players who fit new head coach Dan Campbell’s style of toughness and physicality. The Lions also hit the trade market a few times on day three as they moved up to select two times in a row at picks 112 and 113.
Coming off of an aggressive free agency, the New England Patriots looked to build on an already super strong offseason with this year’s draft. The Patriots struck early on with the selection of quarterback Mac Jones to be their future franchise signal-caller. Then in the later rounds, they turned to more needs and players that will fill positions right away. The Patriots were also busy in the trade market as they sent picks 46, 122, and 139 to the Cincinnati Bengals for pick 38.
The first round of the 2021 NFL Draft was one of the most entertaining in recent memory. Many superstars fell and extreme reaches were flying
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