2021 NFL Draft First-Round Winners & Losers

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.

There was buzz that Atlanta might be looking to move on from two of its franchise cornerstones: Ryan and Julio Jones. A Jones trade still seems to be on the table, but for now it appears Ryan’s status as the team’s QB is secure.

Instead of picking its next signal-caller, Atlanta took Florida tight end Kyle Pitts, considered one of the safest picks in the draft. With his selection at No. 4, Pitts became the highest-selected tight end in the common draft era (which began in 1967).

This might have turned out differently if Lance had fallen past San Francisco at No. 3. Instead, Atlanta broke the run of QB selections (Nos. 1-3), in the process making Ryan’s night a good one.

While one veteran quarterback was sitting pretty at the end of the night, you have to imagine Rodgers was fuming. Well, reportedly he is. Will Green Bay ever get this guy some help in the draft?

The Packers instead selected Georgia CB Eric Stokes, presumably creating a 1-2 punch at corner with Alexander. That’s nice. It’s not, however, going to directly help Rodgers. Granted, most of the top receivers were off the board by the time Green Bay picked at No. 29 (Rashod Batemen, the last wide out selected, went No. 27 to Baltimore), but the Pack could’ve moved up, or at least used the pick on the offensive side of the ball.

Hey, at least this draft was more enjoyable for Rodgers than last year’s, when his squad selected QB Jordan Love.

The Jags got the guy everyone expected at No. 1: Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence. But their second pick was a big surprise: Lawrence’s former backfield mate in RB Trevor Etienne.

Many have criticized the pick. Selecting a running back in the first-round is not a good look these days, even if Etienne came off the board at the end of the round (No. 25) and immediately after another running back (Najee Harris, who went No. 24 to Pittsburgh). Further, Jacksonville already has a solid young running back on the roster in James Robinson, and Etienne could play more of a third-down role.

Nonetheless, you have to be excited if you’re a Jags fan. Whether new coach Urban Meyer’s strategy will translate into long-term success remains to be seen, but in the meantime, it seems you’re going to have a dynamic offense to watch. Meyer wants a top rushing offense, and Lawrence seems destined for stardom. That type of dynamic attack sure sounds better than another season of Gardner Minshew and Foles. Getcha popcorn ready, Jacksonville.

Micah Parsons is a good player. The Penn State product was a Butkus Award finalist in 2019 and didn’t see his draft stock hurt (at least too considerably) by sitting out the 2020 season due to COVID-19 concerns.

But Dallas needed a cornerback. The Cowboys lost Byron Jones in free agency in 2020 and badly need to reinforce their passing defense, which gave up 34 passing TDs and only had 10 picks last season.

Their chances of getting a top-flight, lock-down corner took a big hit when Dalton stepped in and actually performed well. He led Dallas to wins in three of its final four games, hurting the franchise’s draft stock. Having fallen to No. 10, the Cowboys watched as the draft’s two most revered corners, Horn (No. 8, Carolina) and Patrick Surtain II (No. 9, Denver) went right in front of them. At least one of those two was expected to fall to No. 10. Then Dallas traded back with Philly two spots to take Parsons at No. 12.

Bad beat, Dallas.

For a minute there, we thought Andy Dalton was actually going to be the Bears’ starter in 2021. The Red Rifle might hold that role for a time, but it seems inevitable that at some point the reins will be passed to the team’s new QB of the future: Fields.

Chicago moved up four years ago to take Mitchell Trubisky, but that gamble didn’t take long to look foolish. This one, on the other hand, looks wise. Chicago gave up its 2021 first-round (No. 20) and fifth-round picks, in addition to first- and fourth-rounders next year. That’s a lot of draft capital—but no risk-it, no biscuit, you know?

“We got excited when the quarterbacks came off that way and Justin continued to fall,” said Bears GM Ryan Pace.

No one should be more excited than Allen Robinson, who’s built one hell of a career considering the QBs he’s been stuck with: Blake Bortles, Trubisky, and Nick Foles. Think of who he played with in college, too: Matt McGloin and Christian Hackenberg. Fields might not start until later in the season, but expect Robinson to go earlier than usual in fantasy drafts this year.

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.

We spoke earlier of Jones playing with star receivers in college. That same knock was levied against Hurts (and Tua Tagovailoa) in the 2020 draft process, but after his rookie season, it looks like the former Alabama and Oklahoma quarerback was a sage pick. The jury is still out, but Hurts flashed enough potential to prompt Philly to move on from Carson Wentz, who’s now with Indianapolis.

Hurts must be excited to reunite with one of his former star teammates, as Philly traded up to take Alabama WR DeVonta Smith No. 10. The reigning Heisman Trophy winner is a game-changing receiver, fierce competitor, and consummate teammate.

Smith should be a great help in the process of developing Hurts into a franchise QB. Whether Hurts will be the QB of the future is garnering more debate in Philly than discussion of Pat’s versus Geno’s, but Smith, for one, is destined to be a star in the land of cheesesteaks.

Corners are valuable in today’s NFL, and sometimes spending a first-rounder on a bona fide prospect proves well worth it. Just look at Jalen Ramsey (No. 5 overall, 2016), Tre’Davious White (No. 27, 2017), or Jaire Alexander (No. 18, 2018)—these guys are franchise cornerstones.

On top of that, Jaycee Horn (son of Joe Horn) has received rave reviews by scouts and could be a future Pro Bowler. So, we’re not saying Carolina spending the No. 8 pick on the South Carolina CB was a waste, by any means.

But Panthers fans can’t be thrilled with the team’s QB situation when they consider how Thursday could’ve gone differently. Is Sam Darnold really the answer for Matt Rhule moving forward?

Carolina could’ve had dynamic Ohio State QB Justin Fields, who slipped to No. 11.