Let’s re-draft the 2021 NFL Draft after 5 years

Let’s go back in time and see who made the right choices in 2021.

Apr 6, 2026, 4:18 PM UTC

AFC Wild Card Playoffs - Buffalo Bills v Jacksonville Jaguars

JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA - JANUARY 11: Trevor Lawrence #16 of the Jacksonville Jaguars runs out prior to the AFC Wild Card Playoff game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Buffalo Bills at EverBank Stadium on January 11, 2026 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images)

Getty Images

Five years is plenty of time to evaluate a draft class, and hoo boy is there a lot of room to correct what happened in 2021. It was a year of desperate quarterback reaches, mammoth busts at a variety of positions, and a plethora of teams that simply screwed up the process — but also gave us some of the best talent in all of the NFL.

Now’s our chance to right the wrongs of the past and re-draft the first round from 2021.

Pick	Team	Original Pick	Position	New Pick	Position
1	Jacksonville Jaguars	Trevor Lawrence	QB	Trevor Lawrence	QB
2	New York Jets	Zach Wilson	QB	Micah Parsons	EDGE
3	San Francisco 49ers	Trey Lance	QB	Patrick Surtain II	CB
4	Atlanta Falcons	Kyle Pitts	TE	Ja’Marr Chase	WR
5	Cincinnati Bengals	Ja’Marr Chase	WR	Penei Sewell	OT
6	Miami Dolphins	Jaylen Waddle	WR	Amon-Ra St. Brown	WR
7	Detroit Lions	Penei Sewell	OT	Jaylen Waddle	WR
8	Carolina Panthers	Jaycee Horn	CB	Landon Dickerson	OT
9	Denver Broncos	Patrick Surtain II	CB	Jaelan Phillips	EDGE
10	Philadelphia Eagles	DeVonta Smith	WR	Trey Smith	OL
11	Chicago Bears	Justin Fields	QB	Rashawn Slater	OT
12	Dallas Cowboys	Micah Parsons	EDGE	Travis Etienne	RB
13	Los Angeles Chargers	Rashawn Slater	OT	Creed Humphrey	OL
14	New York Jets	Alijah Vera-Tucker	OL	Spencer Brown	OL
15	New England Patriots	Mac Jones	QB	Gregory Rousseau	EDGE
16	Arizona Cardinals	Zaven Collins	LB	Kwity Paye	EDGE
17	Las Vegas Raiders	Alex Leatherwood	OT	Nico Collins	WR
18	Miami Dolphins	Jaelan Phillips	EDGE	Jonathon Cooper	EDGE
19	Washington Commanders	Jamin Davis	LB	Nick Bolton	LB
20	New York Giants	Kadarius Toney	WR	Kyle Pitts	TE
21	Indianapolis Colts	Kwity Paye	EDGE	Azeez Ojulari	LB
22	Tennessee Titans	Caleb Farley	CB	Jaycee Horn	CB
23	Minnesota Vikings	Christian Darrisaw	OT	Christian Darrisaw	OT
24	Pittsburgh Steelers	Najee Harris	RB	Najee Harris	RB
25	Jacksonville Jaguars	Trevor Etienne	RB	Chuba Hubbard	RB
26	Cleveland Browns	Greg Newsome II	CB	Pete Werner	LB
27	Baltimore Ravens	Rashod Bateman	WR	Quinn Meinerz	CB
28	New Orleans Saints	Payton Turner	EDGE	Dan Moore	OL
29	Green Bay Packers	Eric Stokes	CB	Rhamondre Stevenson	RB
30	Buffalo Bills	Gregory Rousseau	EDGE	Talanoa Hufanga	S
31	Balitmore Ravens	Odafe Oweh	EDGE	Christian Barmore	DT
32	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Joe Tryon-Shoyinka	LB	Odafe Oweh	EDGE

We went from four first round quarterbacks to one. Regardless of how great the other players in this class were, I still think the Jaguars go with Lawrence here to find their franchise QB.
In total we had 15 players fall out of the first round who were originally first round picks.
The biggest riser in the 2021 class was OL Trey Smith, who moves from pick No. 226 to No. 10.
The biggest conceivable fall in the redraft would be OL Alex Leatherwood, who was the No. 17 pick, but out of the NFL in two years. He would fall to UDFA.

See More: