The NFL Draft can have a legitimate impact on a team’s Super Bowl aspirations. For evidence, one needs to look no further back than last year.
Though the addition of Tom Brady clearly was the lynchpin in Tampa Bay’s title run, the Buccaneers’ selections of Tristan Wirfs and Antoine Winfield Jr. were also key. The two rookies were season-long starters. Winfield even picked off Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl.
There is lots of draft movement left, with Rounds 2-3 Friday and 4-7 Saturday. But the first round always brings the most excitement, and—par for the course—Thursday night’s first-round of the 2021 NFL Draft left football fans with plenty to talk about.
Which teams and players ended the night feeling like champs? Which fan bases should be shaking their heads? Let’s speculate on how Thursday night will impact the NFL moving forward.
Winner: Matt Ryan
Loser: Aaron Rodgers
Winner: Jaguars Fans
Loser: Cowboys
Winner: Allen Robinson II
Loser: Mac Jones
On one hand, you could look at Thursday’s events as a resounding W for the Alabama QB. He gets to be mentored by Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels, and he steps into the role that Brady built. Jones has long garnered comparisons to Brady, both for his playing style (awareness, accuracy) and physique—comparisons he seems to very much enjoy.
There were rumors that San Francisco (coach Kyle Shanahan, in particular) wanted him at No. 3, but the Niners were blowing smoke and took the guy they really wanted: North Dakota State’s Trey Lance. There were also rumors that New England was looking to move up to take a QB, but Jones fell to them at No. 15. So the folks in Foxboro must be happy.
But from a financial perspective, this night was a definite L for Jones. With the drop from Nos. 3-to-15, Jones’ bank account took a hit. He would’ve made $34 million if he’d gone at No. 3, but instead stands to make $16 million.
Additionally, Jones just went from playing with a murderer’s row of receivers in college—Jaylen Waddle, DeVonta Smith, Henry Ruggs III, Jerry Jeudy, and John Metchie III—to throwing passes to probably the weakest receiver unit in the NFL. Nelson Agholor and Jakobi Meyers might not have started at Alabama the past few years.