2021 NFL Draft: Team By Team
The 2021 NFL Draft has arrived! Soon, picks will soon be swapped and shuffled at lightning speed. But, before the trading frenzy starts, here’s a look at the draft picks owned by each team:
[RELATED: 2021 NFL Draft Order By Round]
Arizona Cardinals – Picks: 6
Round 1: No. 16 overall
Round 2: No. 49
Round 5: No. 160
Round 6: No. 223 (from Vikings)
Round 7: Nos. 243, 247 (from Bears through Raiders)
Atlanta Falcons — Picks: 9
Round 1: No. 4 overall
Round 2: No. 35
Round 3: No. 68
Round 4: No. 108
Round 5: Nos. 148, 182, 183
Round 6: Nos. 187, 219
Baltimore Ravens – Picks: 10
Round 1: Nos. 27, 31 (from Chiefs) overall
Round 2: No. 58
Round 3: Nos. 94 (from Chiefs), 104
Round 4: Nos. 131, 136 (from Chiefs)
Round 5: Nos. 171, 184
Round 6: No. 210
Buffalo Bills — Picks: 7
Round 1: No. 30 overall
Round 2: No. 61
Round 3: No. 93
Round 5: Nos. 161 (from Raiders), 174
Round 6: No. 213
Round 7: No. 236 (from Panthers)
Carolina Panthers — Picks: 8
Round 1: No. 8 overall
Round 2: No. 39
Round 3: No. 73
Round 4: No. 113
Round 5: No. 151
Round 6: Nos. 191 (from Broncos), 193, 222
Chicago Bears — Picks: 8
Round 1: No. 20 overall
Round 2: No. 52
Round 3: No. 83
Round 5: No. 164
Round 6: Nos. 204, 208 (from Seahawks through Dolphins), 221, 228
Cincinnati Bengals — Picks: 8
Round 1: No. 5 overall
Round 2: No. 38
Round 3: No. 69
Round 4: No. 111
Round 5: No. 149
Round 6: No. 190
Round 7: Nos. 202 (from Dolphins through Texans), 235 (from Lions through Seahawks)
Packers GM: Aaron Rodgers Is “Our Guy”
Aaron Rodgers‘ immediate future is not in jeopardy, Packers GM Brian Gutekunst says (Twitter link via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com). Despite the lingering contract talks and all the speculation, Gutekunst insists that everything will work out between the quarterback and the front office. 
“Aaron’s our guy; he’s going to be our quarterback for the foreseeable future,” Gutekunst said. “We’re excited about the kind of the things we’re going to try to accomplish here over the next couple years. So we certainly think with the contract that you’re kind of talking about is something we’ll work through. We’re going to have to do probably a few things with different contracts as we head toward the season and then through the season to make sure that our salary cap situation, not only this year, but in 2022 is square. So we’re not done yet. We’ve done a lot to get here. We’ve kind of been doing things as we go and we will continue to do that as we go.”
The two sides are still “working through” Rodgers’ contract, which has no remaining guarantees. As it stands, the Packers could part ways with Rodgers next year and save ~$25 million against the 2022 cap. That doesn’t sit well with Rodgers, who knows that the Packers project to be top-heavy beyond 2021.
Rodgers, 37, captured his third MVP trophy last year while rookie Jordan Love watched from the sidelines. Thanks to Rodgers and his NFL-leading 48 touchdown passes, the Packers reached the NFC championship game and fell just short of beating the Buccaneers.
Packers To Pick Up CB Jaire Alexander’s Fifth-Year Option
No surprise on this one. The Packers are expected to pick up the fifth-year option on cornerback Jaire Alexander, general manager Brian Gutekunst told reporters (via ESPN’s Rob Demovsky on Twitter).
As the reporter notes, the only question is if the team can sign their All-Pro to a contract extension. Alexander’s fifth-year option is valued at $13.294MM thanks to him making the Pro Bowl in 2020, and the defensive back will surely see a pay raise (along with long-term security) in any extension.
Alexander, the 18th-overall pick in the 2018 draft, was more than solid through his first two years in the NFL, including a 2018 campaign where he received All-Rookie team honors. The cornerback started earning some league-wide accolades in 2020, including a Pro Bowl nod and second-team All-Pro recognition. The 24-year-old ultimately finished the campaign having compiled 51 tackles, 13 passes defended, one interception, one sack, and one forced fumble in 15 starts. He also came up big during the postseason, snagging a pair of interceptions in two games.
The Packers have been busy retaining their cornerbacks corps this offseaosn. They re-signed starter Kevin King, and they also brought back restricted free agent Chandon Sullivan. This trio will join former second-rounder Josh Jackson and perhaps a rookie on the Packers depth chart.
Packers Going All Virtual First Month
- One team that won’t have anybody showing up is the Packers. That’s because rather than having some in and some out, Green Bay has elected to have the entire first month of their offseason program be virtual, a source told Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. Demovsky writes that the Packers will re-evaluate ahead of the start of the second phase of the offseason on May 17th. That’s when real on-field work is supposed to start, while right now programs are limited to weight room and conditioning work. The source also told Demovsky that players with workout bonuses “will be credited for attendance by logging on virtually.” Several high profile Packers have big bonuses, like Aaron Rodgers‘ $500K one, but as of right now we won’t get to see whether he would’ve chosen to show up or not.
Updated 2021 NFL Draft Order: Round 1
The Ravens sent Orlando Brown to the Chiefs on Friday, shuffling the first-round order of the NFL Draft once again. Now, the Ravens are one of four teams to hold multiple first-round picks, joining the Jaguars (Nos. 1 and 25), Jets (Nos. 2 and 23), and Dolphins (Nos. 6 and 18). In turn, Chiefs no longer have a top-32 choice, joining the Seahawks, Texans, and Rams.
As we look ahead to Thursday, here’s how the first round currently stands:
1. Jacksonville Jaguars
2. New York Jets
3. San Francisco 49ers (from HOU via MIA)
4. Atlanta Falcons
5. Cincinnati Bengals
6. Miami Dolphins (from PHI)
7. Detroit Lions
8. Carolina Panthers
9. Denver Broncos
10. Dallas Cowboys
11. New York Giants
12. Philadelphia Eagles (from SF via MIA)
13. Los Angeles Chargers
14. Minnesota Vikings
15. New England Patriots
16. Arizona Cardinals
17. Las Vegas Raiders
18. Miami Dolphins
19. Washington Football Team
20. Chicago Bears
21. Indianapolis Colts
22. Tennessee Titans
23. New York Jets (from SEA)
24. Pittsburgh Steelers
25. Jacksonville Jaguars (from LAR)
26. Cleveland Browns
27. Baltimore Ravens
28. New Orleans Saints
29. Green Bay Packers
30. Buffalo Bills
31. Baltimore Ravens (from KC)
32. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Packers’ Chandon Sullivan Signs RFA Tender
It’s officially official. On Friday, Packers cornerback Chandon Sullivan announced that he has signed his restricted free agency tender for the 2021 season.
Sullivan, a 2018 undrafted free agent out of Georgia State, first entered the league with the Eagles. After appearing in five games as a rookie, he joined up with the Packers in 2019 and proceeded to appear in 16 games with 30 tackles, six passes defended, one interception, and one forced fumble.
Last year, Sullivan started ten times out of his 16 games, notching 41 stops, six passes defensed, and a pick-six. His worked earned him a solid performance-based pay bump. With a playing time rate of 77.4% on defense, Sullivan collected a cool $500K to lead the Packers, topping the payouts of wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling, guard Lucas Patrick, and tight end Robert Tonyan.
Even with Sullivan in the fold, the Packers could still consider cornerbacks in next week’s draft. For now, Sullivan will return to a CB group that includes All-Pro Jaire Alexander, Kevin King, and Josh Jackson, who has yet to live up to his second-round billing.
Packers Propose Bonus Compromise
- While a small number of the NFL’s 4,500 players have workout bonuses (230), many on the Packers do. Green Bay’s players have not joined the NFLPA boycott, but the Packers have offered an interesting compromise to their workforce. The Packers proposed a deal that would allow players to satisfy their workout bonuses without coming to the facility to train for Phase I, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk notes. Although various teams’ statements cite COVID-19 concerns, Florio adds that the boycott effort is more about players learning last year they do not need to spend extensive time training at team facilities in the offseason. Many veterans would prefer to train on their own before on-field work starts May 17, and Florio notes they are prepared to assume the risk of an offsite injury. The Packers’ proposal would not protect players if they suffered injuries away from the team’s facility.
Aaron Rodgers’ Contract Holding Up Packers?
Aaron Rodgers is content to go year-to-year with the Packers, but that’s not necessarily ideal for their 2021 cap situation. This week, one agent told Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com that the uncertainty surrounding his contract has prevented the team from making moves in free agency.
“It’s screwing the Packers in a lot of ways right now because there’s just no cap space,” the agent said. “They’ve called me about one of my players and said ‘Hey, this is where we are now, and until we get something big done — hint, hint — we don’t have any space.’ It’s kind of like a lose-lose situation right now. That’s what [is] surprising to me is, you’d think there would be a middle-ground situation to get something done.”
The Packers could do a simple conversion, turning a piece of Rodgers’ $14.7MM base salary into a signing bonus. However, that would only kick the can down the road, leaving them in a worse spot next year. A restructured deal could make sense for both sides, but it’s not a given that Rodgers is in a cooperative mood right now.
Meanwhile, Rodgers is still not over the team’s first-round selection of Jordan Love last year.
“All I can do is play my best and I feel like last year I did do that,” the reigning NFL MVP said recently. “[I] may have thrown a wrench into some timelines that may have been thought about or desired.”
Rodgers Wants To Be Full-Time Jeopardy Host, Continue NFL Career
While Aaron Rodgers is content to go year-to-year with the Packers, who have declined to restructure his contract to create cap space this offseason, the reigning MVP has made no secret of the fact he is gunning for the job Alex Trebek held for 36 years. The first week of the Jeopardy! episodes Rodgers previously taped wrapped Friday, and although the show’s run of guest hosts will continue after next week’s shows, the 37-year-old quarterback wants to become Trebek’s successor. With Jeopardy! filming five episodes per day two days a week — on Mondays and Tuesdays — Rodgers believes he can become the show’s next full-time host without retiring from the NFL.
- Among QBs in his age range, Ben Roethlisberger stands alone. The other two 2004 first-round QBs — Eli Manning and Philip Rivers — retired. So did Drew Brees. Tom Brady relocated, and the Packers drafted Rodgers’ would-be heir apparent in Jordan Love. The Steelers, however, are still Roethlisberger-dependent. They will not trade up from No. 24 to draft a quarterback, according to Mark Kaboly of The Athletic (subscription required), who notes that it would not be too surprising if Roethlisberger ended up staying on for his age-40 season in 2022 while the organization figures out its long-awaited plan.
Aaron Rodgers On Packers Future
Aaron Rodgers was vague about his future when appearing on SportsCenter over the weekend, and during a Monday appearance on the ‘Pat McAfee Show,’ he elaborated more on his situation with the Packers (Twitter video link).
Rodgers certainly didn’t sound like someone expecting to be a Packer for life, saying “my future, is really, a lot of it’s out of my control.” He added that it’s “quite uncertain which directions things are going to go.” Any eyebrows that weren’t already raised around the league certainly are now.
“All I can do is play my best and I feel like last year I did do that,” the reigning NFL MVP explained. The real kicker came next, when Rodgers said he “may have thrown a wrench into some timelines that may have been thought about or desired” with his stellar 2020 season.
He clearly was referring to the fact that Packers brass drafted Jordan Love in the first-round in 2020, and may have been planning to put him out to pasture sooner rather than later. His dominant campaign and run to the NFC Championship Game obviously made things a lot more difficult for Green Bay.
Rodgers is reportedly seeking a new contract this offseason, and some rival execs and coaches think he wants a fresh start elsewhere. The Rams apparently made a push for Rodgers before dealing for Matthew Stafford, although the Packers have insisted for now that he isn’t available. Interestingly Rodgers said the adjustments he made to his mentality and general life outlook, which he’s discussed heavily over the past year, happened before the drafting of Love.
“The change was before that. The perspective adjustments and the course corrections with my own life, personal life, headspace,” all came prior to that, and “the draft was just an opportunity for those to play out in real time where I had an opportunity to respond using the tools that I’ve tried to cultivate and the habits I was trying to form and adjust in real time. And so I got a great opportunity to show where I was at mentally and to grow and to just be myself.”
Rodgers seems content not knowing if he’ll be in Green Bay long-term, and it’s a very interesting dynamic for a team with Super Bowl aspirations to have coming off a 13-3 season. Things could come to a head sometime in the near future, but for now all we’ve got is cryptic comments.