What Happened at the NFL Draft?
Contents
It was an eventful NFL Draft, and there were plenty of surprises. Here’s a look at what happened, and what it could mean for the future of the league.
Introduction
The 2019 NFL Draft was held April 25-27 in Nashville, Tennessee. A record-breaking 600,000 fans attended the three-day event, which was held outdoors for the first time in its history. The draft featured 250 players from colleges across the United States.
The first overall pick was Kyler Murray, a quarterback from Oklahoma. Murray had been drafted by the Oakland Athletics in 2018, but chose to play football instead. He is the first player to be drafted in the first round of both the NFL and MLB drafts.
The Arizona Cardinals selected Murray with the first pick, making him the fourth consecutive quarterback to be drafted first overall. The last time a non-quarterback was taken first overall was in 2015, when Jameis Winston was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
After Murray, the next four picks were all defensive players. Nick Bosa, an edge rusher from Ohio State, was drafted second overall by the San Francisco 49ers. Quinnen Williams, a defensive tackle from Alabama, was taken third overall by the New York Jets.
The Oakland Raiders selected Clelin Ferrell with the fourth pick. Ferrell is a defensive end from Clemson. Ed Oliver, another defensive tackle from Houston, rounded out the top five when he was selected by the Buffalo Bills.
In total, seven quarterbacks were taken in the first round of the draft. This is tied for the most quarterbacks ever taken in the first round of an NFL Draft with 1983 and 1999
The First Round
32 NFL teams made their picks in the first round of the NFL Draft. The first pick was made by the Jacksonville Jaguars, who selected Trevor Lawrence from Clemson. The second pick was made by the New York Jets, who selected Zach Wilson from BYU.
The First Pick
The NFL Draft is an annual event in which the 32 teams in the National Football League (NFL) select college football players to join their ranks. The draft order is determined by each team’s regular-season record, with the worst team picking first and the best team picking last.
This year, the Cleveland Browns had the first pick and used it to select Hayden Hurst, a tight end from the University of South Carolina. Hurst is 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds, and he was considered one of the best tight ends in the draft. He joins a Browns team that already has a talented young quarterback in Baker Mayfield, who was taken first overall last year.
The Second Pick
In 2019, the Arizona Cardinals made history by using the first overall pick in the NFL draft to select Kyler Murray, a quarterback from Oklahoma. This was the first time in NFL history that a team had used the first overall pick on a quarterback in back-to-back drafts. In 2018, the Cardinals used the first overall pick on Josh Rosen, who they later traded to the Miami Dolphins.
The Third Pick
The Cincinnati Bengals selected former Louisiana State University star LSU wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase with the fifth overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
With the third pick in the 2021 #NFLDraft, the San Francisco 49ers select… pic.twitter.com/0GEJuV3gf6
— NFL Draft (@NFLDraft) April 30, 2021
Chase was widely expected to be drafted by the Bengals, who drafted him with the fifth overall pick.
The 6-foot-1, 207-pound wideout is coming off a season in which he caught 84 passes for 1,780 yards and 20 touchdowns, leading LSU to a national championship. He opted out of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Second Round
The First Pick
The First Pick of the 2020 NFL Draft was none other than Joe Burrow, the LSU quarterback who led his team to an undefeated National Championship season. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell made the announcement from a podium in Las Vegas, Nevada, where the NFL Draft was being held virtually for the first time due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“With the first pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, the Cincinnati Bengals select…Joe Burrow, quarterback, Louisiana State University,” Goodell said.
Burrow was the clear favorite to be taken first overall heading into the draft, and he didn’t disappoint during his rookie season. He started all 16 games for the Bengals and completed 65.3 percent of his passes for 3,68 yards and 13 touchdowns. He also ran for another five touchdowns as he led Cincinnati to a playoff berth.
The Second Pick
The second pick in the NFL draft often goes to the team with the second-worst record from the previous season. This year, that was the New York Giants. The Giants used their pick on Duke quarterback Daniel Jones, who some pundits feel was a reach at No. 6 overall.
The Third Pick
After the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco
49ers both passed on quarterbacks in the first two picks of the NFL draft, most assumed that LSU’s Joe Burrow would go third overall to the Detroit Lions. But the Lions had other plans, instead selecting corner back Jeff Okudah from Ohio State.
The Third Round
The First Pick
The first pick of the third round was Houston Texans quarterback Davis Mills. The Stanford product was the 11th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
The Second Pick
With the first selection in the 2021 NFL Draft, the Jacksonville Jaguars selected quarterback Trevor Lawrence from Clemson. The next two picks were also quarterbacks: The New York Jets drafted BYU’s Zach Wilson second overall, and the San Francisco 49ers took Ohio State’s Justin Fields third.
The Third Pick
The third pick in the NFL draft is a big deal. It’s the point in the draft where the top prospects are gone and teams are looking for players who can come in and make an immediate impact. This year, the third pick was used on quarterback Josh Allen by the Buffalo Bills.
Allen is a big, strong quarterback with a good arm. He’s also been very accurate in college, completing over 56 percent of his passes. However, he’s also been very inconsistent, completing just 49 percent of his passes in his final season at Wyoming.
The Bills traded up to get Allen, giving up their first-round pick (12th overall), their second-round pick (22nd overall) and their third-round pick (65th overall) to move up to seventh overall and select him.
Conclusion
It was an eventful NFL Draft, with plenty of trades, surprises and drama. Here’s a look at the biggest moments:
1. The Browns made the boldest move of the draft, trading up to the No. 4 spot to select Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett.
2. The Bears traded up one spot to take North Carolina quarterback Mitchell Trubisky at No. 2 overall.
3. The 49ers shocked everyone by selecting Louisiana State running back Leonard Fournette at No. 3 overall.
4. The Jaguars took UCLA linebacker Takkarist McKinley at No. 26 overall, adding another edge rusher to their defense.
5. The Packers selected Washington cornerback Kevin King at No. 33 overall, giving them a tall, physical presence in the secondary.
