Let me make something clear right out of the box -- I am not a fan of the National Football League. I don't watch, save for when the Dallas Cowboys are playing, and I probably couldn't name more than 25 or 30 percent of the players in the league.
Yet for some reason I have always been enthralled by the NFL Draft. Going back to when ESPN ran a spartan operation, the draft was must-see TV. It was fun to learn about the new faces and how they would fit in with their new employer, and projecting the booms from the busts was a big part of the fun.
It's the same with the NBA. I stopped watching once Larry Legend and Magic decided to dribble off into the sunset, and I wouldn't walk across the street to take in a second of the game. And until recently, I was a fan of the NBA Draft. I always loved the suits, and seeing the announcers botch the names of the international players was always good for a laugh. When I followed college basketball it was natural to at least watch the NBA Draft. But now that I only watch college hoops when Ohio State plays, the draft has become ancient history for me.
The NFL Draft is current, however, and even though I won't be watching the vast majority of these guys at the next level, I will take part in trying to guess where they will be playing ball for the next 5-10 years. There are a few projected trades in this mock, trades I know won't pan out because they almost never do. The teams you think will move up or down stay put, while the ones you can't envision going anywhere always make a bold move.
I am not a draft guru by nature. I watch a ton of college football during the season, take notes during games and then go back and watch players after the season is over. It's more of a hobby than a living for me, so that's why I am often reluctant to do player rankings and mock drafts. I look at it more from a college perspective than how they will project at the next level. It's different, for sure -- whether it's effective remains to be seen.
This is my take on what I think the teams will do, not what I would do -- though if it must be known, I WOULD have Dallas take the same guy at 10 as I am projecting here.
2021 NFL DRAFT
1 Jacksonville: QB Trevor Lawrence/Clemson
2 NY Jets: QB Zach Wilson/Brigham Young
3 San Francisco (from Miami via Houston): QB Justin Fields/Ohio State
4 Atlanta: TE Kyle Pitts/Florida
5 Cincinnati: OT Penei Sewell/Oregon
6 Miami (from Philadelphia): WR Ja’Marr Chase/LSU
7 Detroit: QB Trey Lance/North Dakota State
8 LA Chargers (projected trade with Carolina): OT Rashawn Slater/Northwestern
9 New England (projected trade with Denver): QB Mac Jones/Alabama
10 Dallas: CB Jaycee Horn/South Carolina
11 NY Giants: WR Jaylen Waddle/Alabama
12 Philadelphia (from Miami): CB Patrick Surtain II/Alabama
13 Carolina (projected trade with LA Chargers): OT Christian Darrisaw/Virginia Tech
14 Minnesota: EDGE Kwity Paye/Michigan
15 Denver (projected trade with New England): LB Micah Parsons/Penn State
16 Arizona: WR DeVonta Smith/Alabama
17 Las Vegas Raiders: EDGE Jaelen Phillips/Miami Fla
18 Miami: LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah/Notre Dame
19 Washington: OT Alex Leatherwood/Alabama
20 Chicago: OG Alijah Vera-Tucker/USC
21 Indianapolis: DT Christian Barmore/Alabama
22 Tennessee: WR Rashod Bateman/Minnesota
23 NY Jets (from Seattle): CB Caleb Farley/Virginia Tech
24 Pittsburgh: RB Najee Harris/Alabama
25 Jacksonville (from LA Rams): S Trevon Moehrig/TCU
26 Cleveland: LB Zaven Collins/Tulsa
27 Baltimore: EDGE Azeez Olujari/Georgia
28 New Orleans: CB Greg Newsome II/Northwestern
29 Green Bay: OT Teven Jenkins/Oklahoma State
30 Buffalo: EDGE Jayson Oweh/Penn State
31 Baltimore (from Kansas City): OT Jalen Mayfield/Michigan
32 Philadelphia (projected trade with Tampa Bay): WR Kadarius Toney/Florida
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