2021 NFL Draft: Alabama Crimson Tide Mock Predictions

The 2021 NFL Draft will begin on Thursday, April 29 and ends on Saturday, May 1.

2020 NFL Draft Schedule

• Round 1: Thursday, April 29, 7:00 p.m. CT
• Rounds 2-3: Friday, April 30, 6:00 p.m. CT
• Rounds 4-7: Saturday, May 1, 11:00 a.m. CT

Undrafted free agents can begin negotiations with teams the moment the last pick is announced - though some teams skirt the unsupervised guidelines and contact players of interest earlier.

TV Broadcasts

This year’s draft will be broadcast by three outlets. ABC’s coverage will be hosted by the College GameDay crew of Rece Davis, Maria Taylor, Kirk Herbstreit, et al. ESPN will utilize Mike Greenberg, Mel Kiper, and Louis Riddick. The NFL Network will also air the event with Rich Eisen, Daniel Jeremiah, and Charles Davis.

Last year’s draft was supposed to be held in Las Vegas. Instead of returning there for this year, the draft will be held in... Cleveland. Ugh. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will continue the tradition of announcing the names and dispersing awkward hugs.

Draft Order

Below is the order teams will select in the first round. However, the possibility of trades are always lurking.

1. Jacksonville Jaguars
2. New York Jets
3. San Francisco 49ers
4. Atlanta Falcons
5. Cincinnati Bengals
6. Miami Dolphins
7. Detroit Lions
8. Carolina Panthers
9. Denver Broncos
10. Dallas Cowboys
11. New York Giants
12. Philadelphia Eagles
13. Los Angeles Chargers
14. Minnesota Vikings
15. New England Patriots
16. Arizona Cardinals
17. Las Vegas Raiders
18. Miami Dolphins
19. Washington WTF
20. Chicago Bears
21. Indianapolis Colts
22. Tennessee Titans
23. New York Jets
24. Pittsburgh Steelers
25. Jacksonville Jaguars
26. Cleveland Browns
27. Baltimore Ravens
28. New Orleans Saints
29. Green Bay Packers
30. Buffalo Bills
31. Baltimore Ravens
32. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Unless the Jags pull off a complete stunner, it is expected that they will take Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence so he can begin his mediocre pro career. BYU’s signal caller Zach Wilson appears to be locked in for the second spot. And then things get interesting.

After Miami traded their first first-round selection (3rd overall) to San Francisco in exchange for first and third-round selections (12th and 102nd overall), a 2022 first-round selection, and a 2023 first-round selection, the buzz made the rounds that it was so the 49ers could grab Mac Jones. DraftKings has the former Crimson Tide quarterback as the odds-on favorite to be the third player selected.

(SIDE NOTE: The above trade would also appear to signify that Miami is sticking with Tua Tagovailoa under center.)

PROP BETS

Also from DraftKings, are these amusing little prop bets:

First Round College Totals

• Alabama Players Over 5.5 (-200) Under 5.5 (+155)
• ACC Players Over 5.5 (+125) Under 5.5 (-159)
• Big 10 Players Over 6.5 (+100) Under 6.5 (-125)
• SEC Players Over 12.5 (+140) Under 12.5 (-177)

First RB Drafted Odds

• Najee Harris (-150)
• Travis Etienne (+150)
• Javonte Williams (+400)

First WR Drafted Odds

• Ja’Marr Chase (-625)
• Jaylen Waddle (+600)
• DeVonta Smith (+700)

First OL Drafted Odds

• Penei Sewell (-500)
• Rashawn Slater (+250)
• Christian Darrisaw (+3300)
• Alijah Vera-Tucker (+3300)

First DL Drafted Odds

• Kwity Paye (-200)
• Jaelan Phillips (+200)
• Christian Barmore (+800)
• Gregory Rousseau (+800)

First LB Drafted Odds

• Micah Parsons (-400)
• Azeez Ojulari (+700)
• Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (+700)

First CB Drafted Odds

• Patrick Surtain II (-305)
• Jaycee Horn (+200)

First S Drafted Odds

• Trevon Moehrig-Woodard (-400)
• Jevon Holland (+400)
• Richie Grant (+500)

First Non-QB Drafted Odds

• Kyle Pitts (+125)
• Ja’Marr Chase (+220)
• Penei Sewell (+250)

Alabama Mock Selections

Below is a compilation of first round mock drafts from 18 national NFL writers. ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay have their full mocks behind a paywall. So, fESPN.

• DeVonta Smith = DEV
• Jaylen Waddle = WAD
• Pat Surtain = PSII
• Mac Jones = MAC
• Najee Harris = NAJ
• Landon Dickerson = LaD
• Christian Barmore = BARM
• Alex Leatherwood = LTHW
• Deonte Brown = BROWN
• Dylan Moses = MOSES
• Miller Forristall = MILLER
• Thomas Fletcher = FLETCHER

* Denotes a mock trade. Team in parentheses is team taking the player.

* Denotes a mock trade. Team in parentheses is team taking the player.
** Ignore Bucky Brooks. I meant to omit him since he has not updated his mock since San Francisco acquired pick No. 3.

Chad Reuter of CBS did a full seven rounds. His additional Bama picks:

50 MIA LaD
69 CIN BARM
96 NE MOSES
184 BAL BROWN
241 LAC MILLER
246 WTF FLETCHER

Vinnie Iyer of Sporting News also did seven rounds:

37 PHI MOSES
53 TEN LaD
56 SEA LTHW
68 ATL BROWN
154 NYJ MILLER
246 WTF FLETCHER - that makes two mocks for the former Tide long snapper in the seventh round.

• If you believe the experts, Mac will be scooped up by the Niners at No. 3 and will surely not drift past the Pats at 15.
• The best bet is that Surtain joins former DB teammate Trevon Diggs in Dallas.
• There appears to be a variety of landing spots for Waddle and Smith between Detroit at 7 and Philly at 12. The odds are in favor of both of them coming off the board in the top dozen picks.
• Not every mocker has Harris as a first rounder but of those who did, Pittsburgh at No. 24 came up the most often.
• Barmore also got some picks at the back end of Day 1. No. 26 Cleveland came up four times.
• Three mockers see Green Bay picking up Dickerson at 29. That would be a perfect pick. AJ Schulte of PFN also mentioned LaDick going No. 65 to JAX.
• Leatherwood got three mocks to Baltimore at 31 and pone a pick later at Tampa. Gary Gramling SI.com also has Alex landing with the Ravens but at No. 40.

OTHER SNARKY ANALYSES

TREVOR LAWRENCE, QB, CLEMSON: Many on the RBR staff think that Sunshine is not the next coming of Joe Montana the way many people do. Personally, I see him having a ten+ year NFL career but he’ll never be anything great. Maybe a Ryan Tannehill or a Matthew Stafford?

ZACH WILSON, QB, BYU: It’s funny how everyone points out DeVonta Smith’s slim frame but nobody says it about this guy. He is listed at 6’ 3”, 210 lbs. I’ll buy the height but he’s pretty skinny.

Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images

TREY LANCE, QB NORTH DAKOTA STATE: If I am a GM, I’m not using a first round pick on this guy. He has played one full season and that was against FCS competition. NDSU had a one game fall schedule to supposedly showcase his talent. What part of 15 for 30 passing for 149 yards, 3 sacks, 2 TD and an interception against Central Arkansas sounds impressive to you? He also ran for 143 yards but he isn’t doing that against NFL foes.

JUSTIN FIELDS, QB, AN OHIO STATE: This former Georgia Bulldog is immensely talented and tough but his consistency bothers me. He looked great against Clemson, but faltered against Alabama. He threw three picks against Indiana and almost blew that game. He also had a very blah game against Northwestern (12-27, 114, 0 TD, 2 INT). He gets sacked a lot (52 times in two seasons) and tends to fumble the ball (9 in 2019 with 5 lost). If the NFL had a real minor league system, you draft this guy and leave him in the minors a few years. Put him on the Chiefs, they might do okay. Add him too the Jets, and he is just another Sam Darnold.

PENEI SEWELL, OL, OREGON: A year ago this beast looked like a top 3 picks and possibly the top overall player selected. With all the quarteback hungry teams out there, he has slid and slid and slid. Some team, maybe Cincy, is going to fall into a future 15-year perennial All-Pro.