The 2021 NFL draft is less than a week away as teams begin to finalize draft boards and hone in on prospects. The lead-up to this year’s event is unprecedented; opt-outs and season cancellations hindered scouting efforts, and the loss of the NFL Scouting Combine leaves just pro day evaluations. Lack of game film and measurables present a unique challenge for teams performing due diligence on prospects.
Resultantly, predicting the first round picks for each team is a bit esoteric. I surveyed several recent mock drafts to identify positional trends and researched team needs accordingly to create something close to realistic result.