Live from Cleveland, Ohio! Last year, the Draft was completely remote but this year the hosting Browns coming off a playoff appearance have been working with the NFL to offer some in-person activities around their stadium, Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame, and Cleveland harbor area.
This will be the 11th Draft for Brian Kelly during his tenure at Notre Dame. To date, 45 players have been selected since 2011 with several more hoping to have their names called through the weekend.
The 2021 NFL Draft
Day 1
Round 1
Thursday, April 29th
8:00 PM
Day 2
Rounds 2-3
Friday, April 30th
7:00 PM ET
Day 3
Rounds 4-7
Saturday, May 1st
12:00 PM ET
*TV Coverage will be on ABC, ESPN, and NFL Network for every round.Â
This spring, we featured scouting reports on the 7 Notre Dame players we believe will be drafted, plus another article on the other hopefuls.
18 Stripes Scouting Reports:
OL Liam Eichenberg
LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah
QB Ian Book
DE Ade Ogundeji
OL Aaron Banks
OL Robert Hainsey
DE Daelin Hayes
TE Tommy Tremble
The Fringe Prospects
I always chuckle at how difficult the internet makes it to find a full list of all NFL Draft picks each year. Go ahead, try to Google it and see how quickly you can find the correct full order. Anyway, I’ve always bookmarked the Tankathon page for this time of year:
Tankathon FULL NFL Draft Order
18 Stripes Mock 1st Round Draft
1. Jacksonville Jaguars – QB Trevor Lawrence, Clemson
2. New York Jets – QB Zach Wilson, BYU
3. San Francisco 49ers – QB Justin Fields, Ohio State
4. Atlanta Falcons – TE Kyle Pitts, Florida
5. Cincinnati Bengals – OT Penei Sewell, Oregon
6. Miami Dolphins – WR Ja’Marr Chase, LSU
7. Detroit Lions – WR Jaylen Waddle, Alabama
8. Carolina Panthers – QB Trey Lance, North Dakota State
9. New England Patriots – QB Mac Jones, Alabama
*(Patriots send 15th & 46th Pick to Denver)
10. Dallas Cowboys – LB Micah Parsons, Penn State
11. New York Giants – OL Rashawn Slater, Northwestern
12. Philadelphia Eagles – WR DeVonta Smith, Alabama
13. Los Angeles Chargers – CB Patrick Surtain II, Alabama
14. Minnesota Vikings – S Trevon Moehrig, TCU
15. Denver Broncos – OT Christian Darrisaw, Virginia Tech
16. Arizona Cardinals – DL Christian Barrimore, Alabama
17. Las Vegas Raiders – CB Jaycee Horn, South Carolina
18. Miami Dolphins – OT Alijah Vera-Tucker, USC
19. Washington Football Team – WR Rashod Bateman, Minnesota
20. Chicago Bears – CB Greg Newsome II, Northwestern
21. Indianapolis Colts – WR Rondale Moore, Purdue
22. Tennessee Titans – WR Elijah Moore, Ole Miss
23. New York Jets – DE Kwity Paye, Michigan
24. Pittsburgh Steelers – OT Alex Leatherwood, Alabama
25. Jacksonville Jaguars – LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Notre Dame
26. Cleveland Browns – DE Jason Oweh, Penn State
27. Baltimore Ravens – WR Terrace Marshall, LSU
28. New Orleans Saints – CB Caleb Farley, Virginia Tech
29. Green Bay Packers – CB Asante Samuel, Jr., Florida State
30. Buffalo Bills – DE Jaelan Phillips, Miami
31. Baltimore Ravens – DE Ronnie Perkins, Oklahoma
32. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – DE Azeez Ojulari, Georgia
The 3 Biggest Storylines of the 1st Round
1) The Draft Starts at No. 3 Overall
Back in the later stages of the 2020 season I felt like it would be a huge race for the No. 2 overall pick but somehow Wilson has reportedly locked up that spot and it’s been that way for several weeks, if not longer.
Now, the league awaits the decision of the 49ers who have been linked heavily with Alabama quarterback Mac Jones for at least a month and lately with North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance. I’m not buying it. San Francisco sent a damn bounty to Miami for the rights to the No. 3 overall selection, including:
*2022 No. 12 Overall pick (Miami packaged this to Philadelphia for the No. 6 pick)
*2022 1st Round pick
*2022 3rd Round compensatory pick
*2023 1st Round pick
This is clearly a smokescreen to grab Justin Fields, right? Right!?? Nobody gives up that much to draft Mac Jones* with Fields (and even Lance) still available. Immediately upon breaking this news, Adam Schefter said the 49ers weren’t settled on their pick–or even a quarterback–then all the rumors of Mac Jones started happening. I’m not really sure a smokescreen was needed in this case but I would be surprised if San Francisco gave up this much and skipped over Fields. But man, it seems like they are really going with Jones or Lance it seems outrageous.
*I like Jones, though! I think he’ll be a very solid to good professional with a 10-year NFL career.
2) Receivers Ahead of the Heisman Winner?
DeVonte Smith had one of the best–if not the very best–seasons for a receiver in the history of college football in 2020. His accolades, included:
117 receptions
1,856 receiving yards
23 receiving touchdowns
11 punt returns for 237 yards and 1 touchdown
National Champion
Rose Bowl MVP
National Championship MVP
Heisman Trophy
Maxwell Award
Biletnikoff Award
AP College Player of the Year
Paul Hornung Award Winner
Unanimous All-American
1st-Team All-SEC
I’m probably missing a few but you get the idea. Can Smith really not be the first receiver off the board because…he’s too skinny?^ In maybe 8 out of 10 drafts he’d be the first guy gone no problem, but perhaps not with Chase and Waddle there with him.
Remember, Waddle was on pace for a huge year too prior to his injury. If he stayed healthy, through 5 games he averaged 73 receptions, 1,418 yards, and 12 touchdowns for a 13-game schedule. However, he’s not even that big (5’10” 182 lbs.) and Smith gained 1,966 more receiving yards over their careers so I’d still lean towards drafting the Heisman winner first.
Chase is interesting. He had an okay freshman season, an absolutely absurd Biletnikoff-winning 2019 (84 receptions, 1,780 yards, 20 TD), and sat out last year to prepare for the NFL.
^The irony in a pretty tone but certainly slim DeVonte Smith at 180 pounds is getting pushed down the board while Mac “Dad Bod” Jones could go 3rd overall is rich indeed.
3) Squeezing out the Defenders
So many quarterbacks and receivers are expected to go early in this draft and it’s squeezing nearly every other position deeper in the draft, but particularly everyone on defense. In this mock draft, we only have a single defender going in the first 12 picks and we’re not being outlandish with that prediction.
Months ago I was really hoping for a nice and steady rise by Owusu-Koramoah into the Top 10 and that seems super unlikely he’ll go anywhere near that high. That 15th spot at Denver is probably the ceiling for our dear Rover.
Smith was apparently 166 pounds recently at his NFL medical check. He’s absurdly light. I guess he could be a Marvin Harrison or DeSean Jackson type but, jeez, wonder how he will handle the NFL sized secondaries.
Pretty good mock. I have a feeling the Steelers trade down about a few spots (staying ahead of Buffalo and TB) and get an extra mid-round pick and take Najee Harris later in the first. Just a hunch..
If it was 15-20 years ago Smith would a kick/punt returner and that’s it (he would have been like Gerald “Ice Cube” Mcneil) — he would have been a concussion waiting to happen on a crossing route. However, with the rules that limit defenses today he might have a chance to be a productive receiver.
If true, 166 is very light. But, his track record is pretty impressive. I don’t think he missed a game over the past 3 seasons and he was completely fine against a brutal schedule this past year too.
I agree. And to spider’s point it’s not like they’re going to be sending him across the middle near the line where LB’s can get to him.
And to yours, he dominated college just fine. For non-QB’s, would it be fair to say Smith was as good a skill player as Notre Dame has competed against since maybe Reggie Bush? I can’t think of too many others where they are just in complete control like he was, but not sure if that’s recency effect on my part where you just know you’re dealing with an exceptionally special player .
https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2021/04/21/report-devonta-smith-measured-6-feet-166-pounds-at-indianapolis-medical-check/
Watching him against Ohio State was comical. Clever play calling helped, but OSU couldn’t stop him even when they knew the ball was going to him.
“The Notre Dame product was slipping down boards due to role concerns and an unknown medical issue, but he was our 19th-ranked player in the class and well-deserving of a first-round selection.”
https://www.pff.com/news/draft-2021-nfl-draft-winner-losers-day-2-round-two-three
So perhaps a medical issue played a role in this???
Poor JOK.
Seriously. What the heck!
For those scoring at home, that makes THREE Butkus winners that ND has produced in the past decade, none of whom were ultimately drafted in the first round.
It’s got to be a combo of LBs are not as highly valued in the draft, plus JOK would be fantastic in the right system but possibly a dud if a defense used him the wrong way.
Pretty surprised that two ND guys went before JOK. But the draft guys had him as a clear 1st round pick. Browns got a steal in the 2nd round. He will definitely be a starter from Day 1 on a pretty talented Browns D.
I feel vindicated for the Tommy Tremble draft preview talk!
Great day for Notre Dame today in the draft….Shocking and weird Wu dropped way too far but Banks going 48 and Hainsey going 95th is great for both of them and higher than many expected!
Hopefully this keeps rolling tomorrow for Hayes and Ade and Book. That would make 8 total drafted, and with all the love the ND offensive line has been getting, now more than ever I no longer think it would be shocking if Kraemer gets in there late too to make it 9 total players picked.
I’m still a Tremble doubter (hands) but I hope I’m wrong. Does McCloud have a chance to be picked(40 time) ? I hope JOK reaps havoc for the Brownies!!
Wow Book in the 4th round to the Saints. Most places had him in 6th round at best. He’ll get a real shot at some point then. It’s like Winston will start – but has lots of TO’s. Hill will be the backup so Book will definitely be the 3rd QB this year unless he shows up unexpectedly. But neither Winston or Hill are likely long-term options.