CLEVELAND, Ohio — The draft is here.
It begins tonight in Cleveland with the Jacksonville Jaguars on the clock, and Urban Meyer expected to take Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Here are the latest NFL Draft 2021 rumors and reports from around the league, as of Thursday morning, leading into the final hours:
Quarterbacks till Falcons take Pitts
Nothing has changed in regards to the top three picks.
Jacksonville is slated to take Lawrence, followed by the New York Jets with BYU’s Zach Wilson. Alabama’s Mac Jones is the favorite to go third with San Francisco, which also could consider Ohio State’s Justin Fields and North Dakota State’s Trey Lance.
Atlanta could trade the No. 4 pick to another quarterback-hungry team, but doesn’t appear to be the case.
Florida tight end Kyle Pitts is the favorite to land in Atlanta, according to ESPN, which noted that could change with a surprise offer but “Atlanta is expected to stay put and take Pitts, whom some would tell you is the best player in the entire draft.”
This is despite Pitts not believing Atlanta will take him at No. 4.
“I think the first four picks will be quarterbacks,” he told NFL Network. “If I do get a chance to be drafted at third, that would be … I don’t even know. That would be too crazy. That would be really exciting. I don’t know what will happen. I think my heart will just fall out of my chest.”
Bengals thinking line and receiver
LSU wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, a former teammate of Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, and Oregon offensive tackle Penei Sewell are the favorites to go fifth.
Those two and Pitts are believed to be the Bengals’ top three choices, writes Tyler Dragon of the Cincinnati Enquirer.
“Anybody we take with that fifth pick, the expectation is he’s going to come in and help us win immediately and play a big role,” Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin said, as reported by Dragon. “That’s the expectation. We’ll have a vision for that guy. It won’t be a long development process for the guy we take there. His expectation will be to come in, be a starter and be a producer for us.”
The Enquirer is projecting Chase to be that pick.
Elsewhere, Cincinnati was active on Wednesday by declining the fifth-year option of center Billy Price. That decision will make the former Ohio State lineman a free agent next year.
Cincinnati took Price with the No. 21 pick in the 2018 draft. He has 19 starts in his career, but only one last season. He received a 50.7 grade last season from Pro Football Focus, which tallied 208 snaps in five games.
Steelers look to run
Meanwhile, Pittsburgh made sure safety Minkah Fitzpatrick isn’t going anywhere. They exercised his fifth-year option on Tuesday, but on Thursday will pick 24th in the first round.
So what could they do with that pick?
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Ray Fittipaldo projected Alabama running back Najee Harris to them, noting “What makes him a coveted player in the draft is his ability to be a receiver out of the backfield and pass protect. Harris caught 70 passes for 729 yards the past two seasons. He never has to come off the field and can be the next ‘bell cow’ Mike Tomlin always wants in his feature back.”
Steelers president Art Rooney II seemed to give a directive last month to address the running game.
“We’ve got to be a lot better in running,” Rooney said, as posted by Steelers.com. “Certainly, we don’t want to see the Pittsburgh Steelers being last in the league in rushing again ever. I think it’s something our coaches are focused on, and w’'ll be looking for ways to improve in the draft.”
That should mean a running back or offensive lineman is taken in the first round.
Worried Pittsburgh makes a splash by trading up for Justin Fields? Don’t be, according to Paul Zeise’s mailbag for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
“There isn’t going to be any chance for the Steelers to draft him and trading up to get him would cost an enormous amount in draft picks,” Zeise wrote.
Baltimore a fit for Julio Jones, but when?
The battle for the AFC North could get more interesting if the Baltimore Ravens can add Julio Jones to their offense.
The Atlanta wide receiver has been linked to Baltimore, mostly from speculation by multiple outlets including NBC Sports Washington and KOA Colorado analyst Benjamin Allbright, who added the Las Vegas Raiders as another suitor.
As NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport noted, a trade cannot happen before June 1 for cap reasons. It could happen after that. The Ravens are under the cap, and quarterback Lamar Jackson’s cap hit in 2021 is $3 million. It balloons to $23 million next year in the final season of his rookie deal.
With two picks Thursday in the first round, expect the Ravens to address their offensive line. They traded tackle Orlando Brown Jr. to Kansas City and got back the 31st pick in addition to No. 27.
Oklahoma State’s Teven Jenkins, Alabama’s Alex Leatherwood, Notre Dame’s Liam Eichenberg — a St. Ignatius grad — Texas’ Samuel Cosmi, Michigan’s Jalen Mayfield and North Dakota State’s Dillon Radunz are the candidates identified by Daniel Oyefusi of The Baltimore Sun.
Browns playoffs shirts, hats for sale: Here’s where Cleveland Browns fans can order shirts and hats celebrating the team qualifying for the 2020 NFL playoffs.
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