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)
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
Rams CB Darious Williams Signs First-Round Tender
Darious Williams is re-signing with the Rams. The restricted free agent signed his first-round tender today, the team announced on Twitter. This locks the cornerback into a $4.77MM price tag for next season.
The cash-strapped Rams raised a few eyebrows when they extended Williams a first-round tender, making him the only RFA who was tendered at that value. Teams rarely use the Round 1 tender, but the team clearly wanted to ensure that Williams stuck around opposite Jalen Ramsey next season. Had another team signed Williams to an offer sheet, they would have had to sacrifice a first-round pick to the Rams. Williams’ deadline to sign an offer sheet was this Friday.
After taking on a larger role as a backup in 2019, Williams had a breakout season in 2020. The 27-year-old finished the campaign having set career-highs across the board, including tackles (44), interceptions (four), and passes defended (14). He ultimately ranked as Pro Football Focus’ No. 4 overall cornerback.
The Rams cornerbacks corps is set to look a bit different next season; Troy Hill left for Cleveland, while cornerbacks coach Aubrey Pleasant went to Detroit.
Rams Sign P Corey Bojorquez
With the Bills moving in a different direction at punter, Corey Bojorquez will head elsewhere. The Rams agreed to terms with the young specialist Tuesday.
Buffalo’s punter since 2018, Bojorquez will join a team that employs arguably the NFL’s premier punter. Four-time All-Pro Johnny Hekker has been the Rams’ punter since 2012 and is signed through 2023. Still, the Rams are adding Bojorquez, who is from the Los Angeles area.
The Rams may well only have room for Hekker on their final roster, but Bojorquez did lead the NFL with 50.8 yards per punt last season. The Bills signed former Dolphins punter Matt Haack early in free agency.
The Patriots added Bojorquez as a UDFA, but he did not kick in a game for them. The New Mexico alum found his way to Buffalo midway through the 2018 season and kicked in 16 games in each of the past two years. Hekker, 31, is due to count $4.94MM against Los Angeles’ cap this year.
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/19/21
Today’s minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Re-signed: C Trystan Colon-Castillo (ERFA), LB Kristian Welch (ERFA)
Carolina Panthers
- Placed on reserve-retired list: LB Jordan Mack; Mack opted out of the 2020 season
Detroit Lions
- Re-signed: OT Matt Nelson (ERFA)
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Re-signed: RB Dare Ogunbowale (ERFA)
Los Angeles Rams
- Waived: DB Tyrique McGhee; McGhee received a five-game PED suspension earlier this month
New York Giants
- Re-signed: RB Sandro Platzgummer
New York Jets
- Re-signed: TE Daniel Brown, WR Jeff Smith (ERFA)
Seattle Seahawks
- Re-signed: NT Bryan Mone
Aaron Donald Accuser Retracts Assault Allegations
Aaron Donald is off the hook. Following reports from earlier this week that the star defensive lineman was facing assault allegations, the victim’s attorney told a Pittsburgh television station that his client, De’Vincent Spriggs, mistook his attacker(s) for Donald (via ESPN’s Lindsey Thiry). Spriggs (via his attorney) released an apology to the Defensive Player of the Year.
Yesterday, Donald’s attorney vehemently denied the assault claims, noting that Spriggs swung a bottle at Donald before other individuals stepped in. The attorney added that they have five witness accounts that would corroborate that story, and video footage showed that Donald ultimately helped pull people away from the victim.
“Aaron actually runs over to [Spriggs’] aid and starts pulling people off of this guy,” White said. “He’s trying to get these kids off Spriggs. He gets at least two or three people off of Spriggs, and at that point in time, somebody grabs Aaron and says, ‘This is not a good situation, let’s get the heck out of here.'”
Spriggs’ attorney initially said that his client accidentally bumped into Donald inside a nightclub, leading to an argument. Donald reportedly confronted Spriggs and began punching and kicking him outside the venue, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Mick Stinelli. Spriggs, who admitted to throwing a bottle of alcohol at some point during the proceedings, required hospitalization. He suffered a broken eye socket, a broken nose, a concussion, and required 16 stitches. The initial reports indicated that Spriggs intended to press charges against the superstar Rams defensive lineman.
While the Rams and the NFL will presumably do their own investigations, this revelation would seemingly hush any whispers of punishment for the lineman. The six-time All-Pro has missed just two games in his seven seasons.
Dolphins, Rams Join Teams Skipping Offseason Workouts
Half the NFL teams have now pledged not to attend voluntary offseason workouts. Well, the bulk of the players on those teams have. The Dolphins and Rams became the latest to do so.
Both teams issued statements Friday, via the NFLPA (on Twitter), indicating their players will not attend the start of the NFL’s offseason workouts. This year’s program is scheduled to start Monday. The Dolphins and Rams are the 15th and 16th teams to have released statements indicating most or all of their players will not be in attendance.
Neither the Dolphins nor the Rams offered the “many players will not attend” caveat, as some teams have, and they will move forward with virtual programs. No on-field work can take place until May 17, the second phase of the offseason itineraries, but teams can begin work at their respective facilities from April 19 through May 14.
Last year, the NFL and NFLPA came to an agreement — in the initial months of the pandemic — the offseason would be entirely virtual. The NFLPA is pushing for that arrangement to continue, even as COVID-19 vaccines are now available. A rookie minicamp will be part of the on-field workouts that begin in Phase 2, so it will be interesting to see how teams’ rookie draftees and UDFAs proceed.
Here are the teams that have issued statements regarding their players’ intention not to attend offseason programs:
Aaron Donald Facing Assault Allegation
A man filed a police report accusing Aaron Donald of committing assault outside a bar in Pittsburgh, KDTV reports. The alleged incident occurred in the morning hours of April 11.
The accuser, DeVincent Spriggs, intends to press charges against the superstar Rams defensive lineman, whom Spriggs alleges attacked him after the two were asked to leave a bar on Pittsburgh’s South Side. Police have not issued a charge against Donald, a Pittsburgh native.
Spriggs’ attorney said his client accidentally bumped into Donald inside the nightclub. This led to an argument and both being asked to leave the club, with Spriggs’ attorney then indicating Donald confronted Spriggs and began punching and kicking him outside the venue, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Mick Stinelli. Spriggs, who admits to throwing a bottle of alcohol at some point during the proceedings, required hospitalization. He suffered a broken eye socket, a broken nose, a concussion and required 16 stitches.
Neither Donald, 29, nor Spriggs, 26, are named in the police report. This does not appear to have progressed to the point a possible Donald suspension would be in play, but the Rams are monitoring the situation. The six-time All-Pro has missed just two games in his seven seasons; both came because of a 2017 holdout.
NFL Distributes Performance-Based Payouts
Since 2002, the NFL’s performance-based pay system has rewarded low-salary players who exceed their expected playing time. This year, due to the pandemic, the league and the players’ union negotiated a gradual payout schedule, one that will meter out the money between now and 2024.
All in all, the league divested $8.5MM per club. This year’s top earner is Buccaneers guard Alex Cappa, a 2018 third-round pick who played every single snap for the eventual champs. Cappa will now receive an extra $622K on top of his $750K base salary for 2021. Per the union’s records, 25 other players also topped $500K, including Cardinals tackle Kelvin Beachum ($604K), Bills cornerback Taron Johnson ($579K), Rams guard Austin Corbett ($573K), Lions cornerback Amani Oruwariye ($572K), Bears tackle Germain Ifedi ($571K), Steelers offensive lineman Chukwuma Okorafor ($568K), Vikings offensive lineman Dakota Dozier ($561K), Ravens safety DeShon Elliott ($557K) and Bucs safety Jordan Whitehead ($555K).
The full list, going team-by-team, can be found here, courtesy of the NFLPA.
This Date In Transactions History: Rams Trade Brandin Cooks To Texans
Today marks the one-year anniversary of the Rams trading Brandin Cooks to the Texans. The deal netted the Rams a second-round pick in exchange for the wide receiver and a future fourth-round choice. For Cooks, it was familiar territory — this was the third trade of his career. 
[RELATED: Patriots Trade Cooks To Rams]
Cooks, who was still only 26 at the time, was well-traveled at this point. Two years prior, the Patriots sent him to L.A. (along with a fourth-rounder) for a first-round choice and a sixth-rounder. And, in 2017, the Saints traded Cooks to the Patriots for a first- and third-round pick. It’s not unusual for players on the NFL fringe to cycle through teams, but Cooks had the rare distinction of being simultaneously desirable and very much tradable.
In 2018, his first year with the Rams, Cooks managed a career-high 1,204 receiving yards. Things were going well for all parties in L.A. — Cooks helped the Rams reach the Super Bowl and he had a contract to match his performance, a pricey five-year, $81MM extension with $50.5MM locked in. Then, in 2019, Cooks capped his year with just 635 yards. The most troubling part was that he suffered yet another concussion, which sidelined him for two games.
Cooks’ talent has never been in question, but his health history was another story. The Rams were now in a difficult spot, with millions and millions of dollars committed to Cooks through 2023. The deal left them with $21.8MM in dead money and less draft capital than they gave up just a couple years prior. The Texans got Cooks and the rest of his contract — an $8MM base salary in 2020, followed by $12MM, $13MM, and $14MM through 2023.
The Rams went on to turn that pick into Van Jefferson. The wide receiver out of Florida was used sparingly in the regular season, catching 19 balls for 220 yards and one touchdown. All in all, he was targeted just 31 times with 118 special teams appearances. On the plus side, he flashed in the playoffs with six grabs for 46 yards and one TD vs. the Packers. Aaron Rodgers & Co. came out on top, but Jefferson gave a glimpse of what could be in store.
Cooks went on to turn 81 receptions into 1,150 yards and six touchdowns for the Texans. In an otherwise tumultuous year, he was a bright spot. Now, they’ll count on him and Randall Cobb to keep the chains moving with Will Fuller out of the picture. If Cooks stays concussion-free, the trade will go down as a clear win for the Texans, even as their quarterback situation remains murky.