2021 NFL Draft Round 1, Recap

The 2021 NFL Draft’s first round is complete and the offensive players took much of the focus early. Five quarterbacks were selected in the draft’s first 15 selections. Later in the round, teams made sure that they took plenty of pass rushers to contend with some of the NFL’s high-powered offenses. In fact, defensive players comprised the final five picks of the first round. We look at each pick in our recap of the draft’s first night.


Round 1
Selection	Team	Player selection	Position-School	DN Big Board Rank/Grade	Notes
1st overall	Jacksonville Jaguars	Trevor Lawrence	6’5 5/8” 213/QB-Clemson	5/1st Round	Lawrence's underrated athleticism works for an offense that already features a 1,000-yard rusher and two 1,000-yard receivers.
2nd overall	New York Jets	Zach Wilson	6’2 214/QB-BYU	25/2nd Round	Wilson could be a BYU mix of former Cougar standouts Jim McMahon and Steve Young.
3rd overall	San Francisco 49ers	Trey Lance	6’4 226/QB-North Dakota State	34/2nd Round	Lance goes to an offense that should spotlight his ability to operate on the edges or from inside the pocket.
4th overall	Atlanta Falcons	Kyle Pitts	6’6 245/TE-Florida	10/1st Round	New HC Arthur Smith adds to Ryan's vast array of weapons in hopes of recapturing MVP form.
5th overall	Cincinnati Bengals	Ja’Marr Chase	6’0 201/WR-LSU	12/1st Round	Chase re-unites with his former Heisman QB in hopes of re-igniting their 2019 national championship rhythm.
6th overall	Miami Dolphins	Jaylen Waddle	5’9 1/2” 180/WR-Alabama	28/2nd Round	Waddle is the next receiver to go off the board to be re-united with his former college QB. His foot speed expands the Dolphins’ vertical passing game.
7th overall	Detroit Lions	Penei Sewell	6’5 331 OT-Oregon	3/1st Round	Sewell’s nastiness made him one of the best picks in this year’s draft and fits what the Lions are trying to do with a physical running game.
8th overall	Carolina Panthers	Jaycee Horn	6’1 205 CB-South Carolina	19/2nd Round	The Panthers needed a big corner and they took one of the draft’s longer ones in Horn.
9th overall	Denver Broncos	Patrick Surtain II	6’2 208 CB-Alabama	7/1st Round	The Broncos take the second consecutive CB off of the board and his technique is arguably the best.
10th overall	Philadelphia Eagles (from Dallas Cowboys)	DeVonta Smith	6’0 166 WR-Alabama	1/1st Round	The 2020 Heisman Trophy winner will get an opportunity to re-unite with his former QB too, just like Waddle and Chase earlier in the draft.
11th overall	Chicago Bears (trade from New York Giants)	Justin Fields	6’3 227 QB-Ohio State	31/2nd Round	Fields goes to a football team where he can add arm strength to pierce balls through the wind and add diversity to the team’s running team.
12th overall	Dallas Cowboys (from Philadelphia Eagles)	Micah Parsons	6’3 246 LB-Penn State	2/1st Round	Parsons’ speed goes with rare size at the position. He has a chance to develop in Dan Quinn’s system.
13th overall	Los Angeles Chargers	Rashawn Slater	6’4 304 OT-Northwestern	16/2nd Round	Slater’s technique gives the Chargers added flexibility on its offensive lineman, as the former OL has started at both RT and LT.
14th overall	New York Jets (from Minnesota Vikings)	Alijah Vera-Tucker	6’4 302 OT-USC	6/1st Round	Vera-Tucker could pair with Becton on the left side to potentially power an offensive line that could develop into one of the AFC’s best.
15th overall	New England Patriots	Mac Jones	6’2 217 QB-Alabama	39/2nd Round	Jones goes to the Patriots to develop in a system that could spotlight all of his respective strengths.
16th overall	Arizona Cardinals	Zaven Collins	6’4 260 LB-Tulsa	13/1st Round	Collins’ skills can now pair with Simmons to give the Cardinals defensive flexibility in spades. The team adds a player who creates difficult one-on-one matchups for teams on third down.
17th overall	Las Vegas Raiders	Alex Leatherwood	6’5 312 OL-Alabama	104/3rd Round	The 2020 Outland Trophy winner may make a move to the inside, where he was a second-team All-SEC player at RG in 2018.
18th overall	Miami Dolphins	Jaelen Phillips	6’5 260 DE-Miami (Fla.), UCLA	43/2nd Round	Phillips has all of the tools to become an instant contributor opposite Emmanuel Ogbah. Can he stay healthy?
19th overall	Washington Football Team	Jamin Davis	6’4 234 LB-Kentucky	61/2nd Round	HC Ron Rivera finds a linebacker who has the traits to become like the LBs he had in Carolina.
20th overall	New York Giants (from Chicago Bears)	Kadarius Toney	5’11 189 All-Purpose/Florida	49/2nd Round	His ability to get in-and-out of traffic with the ball in his hands makes him a threat as an all-purpose prospect and slot WR.
21st overall	Indianapolis Colts	Kwity Paye	6’3 270 DE-Michigan	9/1st Round	Paye was one of the draft’s best run defender and he is going to get better as a pass rusher.
22nd overall	Tennessee Titans	Caleb Farley	6’2 207 CB-Virginia Tech	17/1st Round	One of the draft’s most talented corners has ball skills, instincts and health concerns. His skills fit Tennessee’s defensive
23rd overall	Minnesota Vikings (from New York Jets)	Christian Darrisaw	6’5 314 LT-Virginia Tech	4/1st Round	The Vikings get one of the draft’s best offensive line talents after sliding back in the first round. Good moves again by the Vikings front office.
24th overall	Pittsburgh Steelers	Najee Harris	6’1 231/RB-Alabama	11/1st Round	The Steelers get the former five-star recruit whose game continues to grow both as a receiver and blocker. They get one of the better prospects in the 2021 NFL Draft.
25th overall	Jacksonville Jaguars	Travis Etienne	5’10 215/RB-Clemson	22/1st Round	Etienne reunites with Trevor Lawrence in what could prove to be a game-changing backfield combination. He will team with James Robinson for a powerful one-two punch.
26th overall	Cleveland Browns	Greg Newsome II	6'1 190/CB-Northwestern	64/2nd Round	Newsome’s technique goes along with smooth on-field movement. The Browns now have three cornerbacks to match up with the AFC’s fast-paced offenses.
27th overall	Baltimore Ravens	Rashod Bateman	6’0 190/WR-Minnesota	18/2nd Round	Bateman gives Jackson yet another weapon after the signing of Sammy Watkins. The team is continuing to attempt to get it right at the position.
28th overall	New Orleans Saints	Payton Turner	6’5 290/DE-Houston	111/3rd Round	Turner impressed on his Pro Day with a 4.33 20-yard shuttle time at 290 pounds. Turner got better during his career week-to-week.
29th overall	Green Bay Packers	Eric Stokes	6’1 194/CB-Georgia	35/2nd Round	Stokes continued to get better year-to-year, but prior to 2020 he hadn’t finished on the ball. The 10.39 100-meter sprinter finished with four interceptions as a senior.
30th overall	Buffalo Bills	Gregory Rousseau	6’6 5/8” 266/DE-Miami (Fla.)	8/1st Round	The Bills take a pass rusher with 11-inch hands and an 83” wingspan. Rousseau had 15.5 QB sacks in 2019 and was tough to latch while working from a number of spots.
31st overall	Baltimore Ravens	Jayson Oweh	6’5 252/DE-Penn State	143/3rd Round	The Ravens bet on Oweh’s upside, which includes 4.3 speed and very good upper body strength.
32nd overall	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Joe Tryon	6’5 252/DE-Washington	69/2nd Round	Tryon has played from a two-point stand-up OLB or with his hand in the dirt. This was a perfect scheme-fit for the Buccaneers.

Round 1 trades/notes:

•   The Dallas Cowboys traded the 10th pick overall to the Philadelphia Eagles to the Dallas Cowboys for the 12th overall pick and the Cowboys picked up Philadelphia’s 2021 third-round pick.
•   New York Giants traded the 11th overall pick to the Chicago Bears in return for the Bears 2021 fifth-round pick, 2022 first-round pick and  2022 fourth-round pick   
•   Minnesota Vikings traded the 14th overall pick to the New York Jets in exchange for the 23rd overall pick 
•   The first quarterback to ever get selected in the first round of the draft by a Bill Belichick-led team becomes Alabama’s Mac Jones
•   New York Giants GM Dave Gettleman traded back for the first time in his career
•   There were four sets of teammates reunited in the first round.  Former LSU WR Ja'Marr Chase (1st Round, 5th pick overall) teams back up with his Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback in Cincinnati, Alabama WR/All-Purpose threat Jaylen Waddle (1st Round, 6th pick overall) teams up with former Alabama quarterback and current Miami Dolphins starter Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama WR DeVonta Smith (1st Round, 10th pick overall) will play with former Alabama starting quarterback Jalen Hurts in Philadelphia, Clemson RB Travis Etienne (1st Round, 25th overall) gets to share the backfield again with Jacksonville first overall pick Trevor Lawrence.