The first round of the National Football League (
NFL) draft
commands much of the attention, and rightly so.
اضافة اعلان
But the second and third rounds can be just as important because
teams often find valuable players who were not among the first 32 picks.
And don’t ignore the later rounds, either. Tampa Bay quarterback
Tom Brady, owner of seven Super Bowl rings, was drafted by New England in the
sixth round in 2000. Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, who signed a
four-year, $160-million contract this offseason, was drafted in the fourth
round in 2016.
Below is a complete guide to understanding the rest of the 2021
NFL draft.
How do I watch it?
The second and third rounds start Friday at 7 p.m. Eastern time.
The final four rounds will start Saturday at noon. American Broadcasting
Company (ABC), Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (
ESPN) and NFL
Network will continue to broadcast the event.
Who has the most picks?
The Philadelphia Eagles entered Thursday holding 11 draft picks,
the most in the league, but traded a third-round pick to end up with 10 total
selections — nine Friday and Saturday. The Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins
and Kansas City Chiefs will be very active early on Day 2, as each has two
second-round picks.
The Seattle Seahawks have a league-low three picks remaining —
one in the second round, one in the fourth and one in the seventh.
What positions will be up for grabs after the first round?
Expect to see a lot of running backs and defensive players
taken, because there are plenty of options.
With the Pittsburgh Steelers selecting Najee Harris and
Jacksonville picking Travis Etienne, some of the best running backs remaining
include North Carolina’s Javonte Williams, Ohio State’s Trey Sermon and
Oklahoma’s Rhamondre Stevenson.
Teams started taking defensive players toward the middle of the
first round, but some talented prospects still remain on the board. They
include Texas Christian safety Trevon Moehrig, Alabama defensive tackle
Christian Barmore and Florida State cornerback Asante Samuel Jr.
Regardless of position, some of the best available players
include Notre Dame linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Mississippi receiver
Elijah Moore and Oklahoma State offensive tackle Tevin Jenkins.
Which teams will own the rest of the draft?
Kansas City, along with the Houston Texans, the Seahawks and Los
Angeles Rams, did not pick in the first round. But that isn’t necessarily a bad
thing.
While the first round was full of potential talent, some general
managers use those draft picks as currency to acquire proven stars.
Look no further than the Rams, who for five consecutive years
have not participated in Day 1 draft festivities because they traded out of the
first round. After trading quarterback Jared Goff and two future first-round
draft picks to the Detroit Lions for Matthew Stafford this offseason, the Rams
are not slated to make a first-round selection until 2024.
And in 2019, general manager Les Snead used two first-round
picks in a deal with Jacksonville to acquire cornerback Jalen Ramsey, arguably
the best player at his position. In 2020, the Seahawks followed a similar model
by sending two first-round picks to the New York Jets for star safety Jamal
Adams.
When asked about the steep price of trading two future
first-round picks to Miami for this year’s third overall selection, which the
San Francisco 49ers used on quarterback Trey Lance of North Dakota State, 49ers
coach Kyle Shanahan referenced the Rams and the Seahawks, fellow members of the
National Football Conference (NFC) West.
“I think those decisions were awesome for their teams, and I
hate playing against them because of it,” he said.
Read more
Football
.jpg)
.jpg)
