So I will watch the first round once it is over, but I will make sure that I know nothing about what has happened. There are also a couple of things to sort out before it all begins:

29/04/21 – Trade – Blockbuster player trade on draft day! I have decided that the potential of this LB class is too big to pass up on. I have looked around and I make a trade with the Browns:

Browns receive Bobby Wagner to put them over the top on challenging for a SB.

I receive Pick 26 and Pick 90 to try and get myself in the spot to land 2 LBs early on.

Here is a look at my updated picks:

Day 1

Round 1 (12th overall, 26th overall)

Day 2

Round 2 (43rd overall)

Round 3 (65th overall, 69th overall, 74th overall, 90th overall)

Day 3

Round 4 (118th overall)

Round 5 (156th overall)

Round 6 (195th overall)

Round 7 (241st overall)

I will not be trading back with the 26th overall pick unless there is nothing available that I like at that spot. With the 12th overall I will most likely trade back at least once, but I will do there tradebacks in realtime using the following for reference: https://www.drafttek.com/NFL-Trade-Value-Chart.asp

OPEN THREAD://

Day 1, round 1 is alread in the bag IRL, but I have just woken up and hope to be able to go through the draft before I have to go to work. I havent seen any results, so this is perfect. I will be doing a pick by pick of where my head is at, either compared to my own picks or in general. Let’s GO!

RD1 PK1: Jaguars / QB Trevor Lawrence: no surprise there, I feel like there is a lot I am unsure about with him, but he has the talent to be special if he is willing to put himself through it.

RD1 PK2: Jets / QB Zach Wilson: another unsurprising pick there, another QB who can start early, eager to see how he does in the NFL.

RD1 PK3: 49ers / QB Trey Lance: they ended up making the best decision, in my opinion. They can develop him behind Garapolo and he has exciting traits. This takes one player off the board for me, but opens up new opportunities: Fields or Mac Jones could drop. I have no interest in Jones, but if Fields drops to 12th I have to consider him.

RD1 PK4: Falcons / TE Kyle Pitts: the Falcons had 3 options QB, Best Player available or trade down. I’m guessing they had no big offers to trade down and they are betting on a few more years out of Matt Ryan so they went with an absolute weapon, good pick. This takes another wildcard off my board.

RD1 PK5: Bengals / WR Ja’Marr Chase: this pick just makes sense to me. You have a deep tackle class where you can pick a guy up in the second round. Chase and Burrow already have chemistry out of College and that puts Chase in the best situation to hit the ground running, on top of that he is a physical beast. Smart pick.

RD1 PK6: Dolphins / WR Jaylen Waddle: the Dolphins basically do the same as the Bengals and reunite Tua with his old WR Waddle. An absolute speedster and another weapon, which shows that they are all in on Tua. I think it is a little high for him though.

RD1 PK7: Lions / OT Peneii Sewell: Im sure that the Lions were made up that Sewell was still available at this point, I think he is decent value at this point because he is a quality prospect who brings a lot to the table. One good thing for me is that the Lions were a potential player at LB. By not picking one it pushes the higher talents down the board, which has to be a good situation for me.

RD1 PK8: Panthers / CB Jaycee Horn: first CB off the board = I agree. Makes a fantastic addition to that exciting young D. It also makes my decision easier at pick 12, because all non-LB players I was considering are off the board. Naturally I am still considering Fields.

RD1 PK9: Broncos / CB Patrick Surtain II: this pick also seemed locked in and shows how high the team is on Lock. What it could also show is that there are serious doubts about Fields in the NFL. I wander whether that is due to his epilepsy. I am getting warning signs when a player drops that far. At this point I am starting to look at trading back in the draft, dropping a couple of picks.

RD1 PK10: TRADE / Eagles trade up with the Cowboys / WR DeVonta Smith: This is a good pick for me for multiple reasons. It gives me an idea of what a trade back could be worth: 3rd round pick. I want another pick in the 2nd so I might have to move down further. As to the pick itself: the trend continues. Another former Alabama QB gets reunited with his former target. Smith is silky smooth and has that special something. He might not have the desired frame but I think that he could be something special in the NFL.

RD1 PK11: TRADE / Bears trade up with the Giants / QB Justin Fields: This trade is also interesting: moving up 9 spots nets the giants an extra 1st rounder next year as well as a 5th this year and a 4th next year, a huge haul. The pick is good too, I feel like Fields will elevate the team over what they have had out of Foles and Trubisky.

RD1 PK12: TRADE / Patriots trade up with me / : I am happy to move down at this point and trade down with the Patriots for the 15th overall and the 46th overall pick in round 2. So far none of the LBs are off the board so I am not worried.

RD1 PK12: TRADE / Patriots trade up with me / LB Micah Parsons: hahaha, maybe I shouldn’t have said anything about no LB being picked… this is a good pick and it makes sense for him to go to the giants. I am still a bit surprised that OT Slater is still on the board, but I think that will change before I am on the board again. I think 2 Linemen might go next.

RD1 PK13: Chargers / OT Rashawn Slater: No surprise here, the Chargers choose someone to protect Herbert’s blindside for years to come.

RD1 PK14: TRADE / Jets trade up with Minnesota / OL Alijah Vera-Tucker: The Jets make an aggressive move to go back up 9 spots and I feel like the Viking had their pocket picked a bit. While the do get two 3rd round picks they also give up a fourth to move down? As to the pick, the Jets increase the power on their OL to protect their second overall pick with another big man.

RD1 PK15: me / LB Zaven Collins: There are a lot of teams coming up who could be interested in my no.1 guy, so I stick here and pick the big man. (IRL QB Mac Jones went here. an intelligent QB to Bellicheck, NFL beware).

RD1 PK16: Cardinals / LB Zaven Collins (IRL): lucky me! nothing more to say. I was seriously considering a trade down and I am so happy that I didn’t.

RD1 PK17: Raider / OT Alex Leatherwood: The raiders continue to do things their way. mixed reviews on this one and I didn’t see him as a first rounder. The positive: JOK is dropping a little.

RD1 PK18: Miami / EDGE Jaelen Phillips: Miami didn’t have to move up and got their pick of the EDGE class at 18. Says a lot about the class, but good for the dolphins.

RD1 PK19: Washington / LB Jamin Davis: BIG MISS for me. I was hoping I could get him in the second round. I was analysing his tape last night and there is a lot to like. he would have completed my LB corp because he is special. Well done to Washington.

RD1 PK20: Giants / WR Kadarius Toney: a dynamic player who is all over the place in my opinion. freelancer and I don’t see him gelling with Daniel Jones.

RD1 PK21: Colts / DE Kwitty Paye: what a story, difficult background and I am happy for him to end up on a quality team in the NFL. Great value at the 21st pick as well. I have to say that at this point I am getting a bit antsy, I want another LB and JOK is still on the board, there are a couple of teams who could be interested on him so I may have to move up, I have enough 3rd round picks to do so.

RD1 PK22: Titans / CB Caleb Farley: the main thing with Farley are injury concerns and time at the position. apart from that he has the talent to be one of the best CBs in this class. Vikings could go OL next, but then there are a couple of teams who could go for LB.

RD1 PK23: Vikings / OT Christian Darrisaw: no surprise here, they moved down and still addressed their biggest need at a high level. I am going to wait one more pick and then make a decision about moving up.

RD1 PK24: Steelers / RB Najee Harris: a quality runningback. the fans got what they wanted here. Surprised that they went there in the first round though. If he continues in the great line of Alabama RBs in the NFL they made a good pick though. I am now looking at the roster of the Jaguars and I just struggle to see them picking up JOK, They have Miles Jack (who is a similar mold to JOK) and a whole bunch of other LBs so I’m going to stay put.

RD1 PK25: Jaguars / RB Travis Etienne: this is getting comical. ANOTHER team marries their QB with a former offensive target. I am so glad I stayed put with my pick and I will be practically sprinting the card in next.

RD1 PK26: me / LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah: I get my LB combo! so happy about this and the future looks good! I am happy with my result. a bit gutted with missing out on Jamin Davis, he became a frontrunner for that second pick for me late in the evening yesterday, but I don’t feel like JOK is a big drop off. The biggest difference may be the Davis is more of a MIKE, while JOK is a Nickle/WILL, putting Collins at MIKE and Chinn as the other Nickle/WILL. (IRL the Browns select CB Greg Newsome – a good addition to make their D even better especially with Ward missing time).

RD1 PK27: Ravens / WR Rashod Bateman: the biggest technician at the position in the draft. The Ravens get a great weapon here.

RD1 PK28: Saints / DE Payton Turner: really liked his tape, going to be a great player in the NFl in my opinion.

RD1 PK29: Packers / CB Eric Stokes: Packers needed a replacement at CB and get it. Another year without a target for Rodgers.

RD1 PK30: Bills / EDGE Gregory Rousseau: Exciting build for the position, had a bad pro day though. Has a big potential for growth.

RD1 PK31: Ravens / EDGE Jayson Oweh: in comparison to Rousseau he had pro day for the ages. physical freak but still raw.

RD1 PK32: Buccaneers / EDGE Joe Tryon: another big guy off the edge. Tampa adds another impact player to their SB squad.

Summary

A quick summary before I have to start work.

• I got my no1 LB in Collins so thats a win, the guy is a freak and I am excited.
• Jamin Davis and JOK were my guys for the other pot in my Defense. We have seen again that size matters at the position, Davis was bigger and more explosive in the testing and therefore was picked off before I managed to get him, my biggest regret of the first round.
• JOK completely dropped out of the first round, so I could have waited on him and maybe not traded Wagner, at the end of the day though I have and I got JOK who I believe can be a difference maker on my team. perhaps seeing him drop will make him play with even more of an edge.

Side note: interesting how many teams opted to pair QBs with talent they already knew, maybe lots of teams playing it safe because of Covid.