Ranking all First Round Picks From Best to Worst | A surprise at 32

By: Josh Shippen

1. Zach Wilson, QB, NYJ

Brand new Jets quarterback Zach Wilson is the best player in the 2021 NFL Draft and I am confident that the Jets will be seeing a double digit win season from Zach and the Jets within the next two seasons. He is that good.

2. Trevor Lawrence, QB, JAC

Trevor Lawrence was the obvious pick for the Jags to make and he will of course be instrumental in the Jaguars future plans. Good job by Duval for making the right decision.

3. Jaylen Waddle, WR, MIA

Jaylen Waddle looks like the best receiver in this draft and looks like the perfect tool to get every close minded Tua hater to shut the hell up. I am proud of the Dolphins for making the decision to take Waddle instead of being roped in by the Heisman winner DeVonta Smith.

4. Justin Fields, QB, CHI

The Bears reached up and grabbed Fields at 11th overall, and I am very pleasantly surprised that they did. Fields is an excellent quarterback and I am shocked that he fell as low as he did. Great job by the Bears

5. Alex Leatherwood, OL, LV

Alex Leatherwood might be the best offensive lineman in this draft, yes that includes Penei Sewell, and the fact that the Raiders were able to sneak him in at the 17th pick is ridiculously good value.

6. Kadarius Toney, WR, NYG

Pop quiz, does anybody else remember the last time that the Giants drafted a freakishly athletic wide receiver in the first round, and does anyone remember what happened afterwards? If you said that they drafted Odell Beckham and he popped the hell off in his rookie year, you’d be right! Get the picture?

7. Gregory Rousseau, DE, BUF

Rousseau is essentially going to be an A level Trent Murphy, and is going to strengthen this defense and hopefully bring it back to the glories that it once knew in 2019.

8. Kwity Paye, DE, IND

Paye is hopefully going to offer a seamless transition from Justin Houston who has probably aged to the point of no return. Considering that Paye could have probably been drafted in the top 15, this is a great value add.

9. Rashawn Slater Jr., OT, LAC

Rashawn Slater was the obvious pick for the Chargers, I had Slater going to the Chargers in all of my mock drafts and that is exactly how things ended up turning out. PFF ranked the Chargers as the worst offensive line of 2020, so this should definitely help.

10. Najee Harris, RB, PIT

The Steelers had nothing at running back, and now they have Harris who looks like a great asset in more ways than one. Harris is a great running back who has the advantage of being known as a great community man.

11. Greg Newsome II, CLE

I’m not honestly sure what else the Browns need at this point, a starting tandem as good as Newsome and Troy Hill is extremely good, and it has to be pointed out that they also have Denzel Ward and John Johnson on their roster. Wow.

12. Patrick Surtain II, CB, DEN

I am actually happy that the Broncos did not go with a quarterback here, it would have been a waste of a pick and would not have helped the team as immediately as Surtain probably will.

13. DeVonta Smith, WR, PHI

The former Heisman winner was right to be picked at about the exact position that he was picked in the draft. The Eagles are very short on wide receivers with Jalen Reagor and J.J. Arceaga-Whiteside, so Smith will definitely help.

14. Alijah Vera-Tucker, OL, NYJ

I think the consensus is that everybody generally supported the Vera-Tucker pick and the decision to trade up to get him, and I feel about the same as the general populous about it.

15. Mac Jones, QB, NE

There are two very distinct sides to this coin – The Patriots have a need at quarterback with Cam Newton Jarrett Stidham as their two options at starter and Jones looks like a quarterback that will fit the New England mold. On the other hand, Mac Jones doesn’t look like a particularly talented quarterback.

16. Caleb Farley, CB, TEN

The Titans have a really sneaky desperate need at wide receiver but the corner position needs work as well. Farley could have easily gone in the mid-10’s range so this is a great value add for the Titans.

17. Micah Parsons, LB, DAL

I’ve been seeing a lot of hate towards the Parsons pick but it seems like something that the Cowboys and Parsons were both set on, and the Cowboys definitely need help on defense. While they probably should have gone secondary instead of linebacker, the pick is still excellent.

18. Jayson Oweh, EDGE, BAL

The depth is good at edge rushers now. Most people would like this pick better than me because I actually think the Ravens have a future defensive player of the year candidate in Tyus Bowser. But this was a good pick all the same with the loss of Judon.

19. Jaelen Phillips, EDGE, MIA

The Dolphins are shallow, but not terrible at pretty much every single position. Jaelen Phillips being the best edge rusher available certainly makes this an excellent pick for the Dolphins, and since they grabbed Waddle early I have no qualms with this pick at all.

20. Christian Darrisaw, OT, MIN

This was a good pick by the Minnesota Vikings who were in desperate need of a good offensive tackle before they lost Riley Reiff. This was a good value add by the Minnesota Vikings.

21. Jamin Davis, LB, WAS

The Washington Football Team lost Kevin Pierre-Louis and Ryan Kerrigan in the offseason, both of whom were in the center of this Washington defense. Hopefully Jamin Davis will be a good centerpiece in the near future, but this was a bit of a reach.

22. Penei Sewell, OL, DET

Penei Sewell is a bit of a letdown for the Lions because the Lions have a massive hole at wide receiver. The Lions two starting receivers are Breshad Perriman and Tyrell Williams at the moment. Let that sink in.

23. Rashod Bateman, WR, BAL

I honestly had a side hope that the Ravens would trade up to a much higher pick to grab one of the premium receivers like Ja’Marr Chase or DeVonta Smith because this is a sorry receiver group, and I am not sure that Bateman is going to help much.

24. Joe Tyron, EDGE, TB

This is a depth move by the Bucs, but considering that all 22 starters from the Bucs’ Super Bowl team were retained there isn’t too much of a point to draft anybody too special.

25. Jaycee Horn, CB, CAR

It’s lazy to go with Sam Darnold as the starting quarterback of the Carolina Panthers in 2021, and I am really upset that they opted out of taking Justin Fields who practically fell into their lap at pick number 8.

26. Trey Lance, QB, SF

This was a stupid pick at third overall. Justin Fields was handed to the Niners and they turned him down for a C level Josh Allen. This is going to be a wasted pick that I do not believe is going to ever benefit the San Francisco 49ers.

27. Ja’Marr Chase, WR, CIN

What a dumb choice to not go with Sewell and instead go with Joe Burrow’s old buddy from college. It really takes the cake that Joe Burrow is going to get annihilated behind an awful, awful line before he can even think about dumping the ball off to Chase.

28. Zaven Collins, LB, ARI

This was a really weird pick; the Cardinals need running backs and cornerbacks extremely badly. It makes no sense that the Cardinals would decide to go linebacker rather than snag Najee Harris or Caleb Farley. No sense at all.

29. Eric Stokes, CB, GB

The Packers need a receiver desperately, and after Jaire Alexander’s breakout season the need at cornerback is nothing desperate. For the second year in a row, the Packers have failed to capitalize on their first round pick.

30. Payton Turner, DE, NO

None of this makes sense on any level for the Saints. The Saints have very little need at the defensive end position and Payton Turner was easily the biggest reach of the first round. This just makes no sense at all.

31. Travis Etienne, RB, JAX

I get that Trevor Lawrence’s old buddy is back in town, but what happened to the 1070 yard season that James Robinson just had? And this is keeping in mind that Robinson was an undrafted rookie.

32. Kyle Pitts, TE, ATL

This pick sucked. This was the highest a tight end had ever been picked in NFL draft history, and there’s a reason for that. Tight ends are extremely hit or miss, especially this high in the draft, and if the Falcons are going to go with Pitts instead of defense, this guy better be Rob freaking Gronkowski or better.