It’s officially the NFL draft season. Let’s start with my preliminary projections for the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, starting with the Jacksonville Jaguars at No. 1.
This will be one of the most interesting drafts since I started covering them over 40 years ago. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought extraordinary changes to the pre-draft process. There is no NFL combined. Professional days will be limited to teams. This week, the Senior Bowl is the only event where coaches, scouts and front office executives will be able to meet potential customers via Plexiglas.
A year ago, the whole talk was about Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow, and his rise to the top. There was little drama surrounding the Cincinnati Bengals ’selection at No. 1. This year? Well, let’s just say the draft starts with the New York Jets at No. 2. There will be a lot of drama over the next three months until the first round begins on April 29th.
Let’s choose. The draft order of selections 1-30 is defined and we are using ESPN’s Soccer Power Index to project the numbers 31 and 32. I will be on the program throughout the day, culminating in our SportsCenter Special: Mock Draft 1.0 of the NFL by Mel Kiper at 5pm ET on ESPN2 and the ESPN app.
