2021 Nfl Draft Grading Every First Round Pick After Rookie Year

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Nov 17, 2025, 6:56 PM

2021 nfl draft grading every first round pick after rookie year

A hyped 2021 first-round draft class has left its early mark on the .css-wrcrjw{margin:0;font-size:1.6rem;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;font-family:Proxima Nova,Proxima Nova Fallback Helvetica,Proxima Nova Fallback Arial;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;letter-spacing:0rem;line-height:1.92rem;color:var(--br--palette-foreground__link__secondary__default-mainChannel);font-size:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;white-space:normal;}.css-3nqh9c{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-color:rgba(var(--br--palette-primary-mainChannel) / 0.4);margin:0;font-size:1.6rem;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;font-family:Proxima Nova,Proxima Nova Fallback Helvetica,Proxima Nova Fallback Arial;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;letter-spacing:0rem;line-height:1.92rem;color:var(--br--palette-foreground__link__secondary__default-mainChannel);font-size:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;white-space:normal;}.css-3nqh9c:hover{text-decoration-color:inherit;}.css-lu48cp{margin:0;font:inherit;color:var(--br--palette-primary-main);-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-color:rgba(var(--br--palette-primary-mainChannel) / 0.4);margin:0;font-size:1.6rem;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;font-family:Proxima Nova,Proxima Nova... Three games in, it's time to step back and dish some early grades for each first-round pick. Some of these will be incomplete, while the rest are based on the player's journey since the draft and through their first pro games. Keep in mind, a poor grade might be more the fault of circumstances, not the rookie himself. Either way, grades are subject to change for better or worse as the first-year players work through their 17-game debuts. It has been tougher-than-expected sledding for Trevor Lawrence with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

While the Jaguars started 0-3, the rookie quarterback completed just 54.2 percent of his passes and had five touchdowns and seven interceptions. Over his first two games, he threw uncatchable passes on 36 percent of his attempts, the highest mark in the league, according to Pro Football Focus' Sam Monson. With the 2022 NFL Draft rapidly approaching, we pause to look back to the 2021 class and offer up a grade for all 32 picks from Round 1 a year ago The 2022 NFL Draft is nearly here and there will be a lot of hope gained during that process. It’s really the theme of the draft every season as teams that have the lower picks are trying to rebuild their franchise while the ones selecting later are trying to stay on top. As exciting as it all is, it’s hard to really tell how good a draft is until we see the players on the field.

In the end, we need several years to accurately judge a draft but here, we go ahead and take a look back to 2021 and hand out a grade for the last NFL rookie... Trevor Lawrence was going to be the No. 1 pick in this draft and everyone knew it for years. The Clemson star was head and shoulders above every other passer for years, and he was thought to be the most pro-ready prospect since Andrew Luck back in 2012. Half a season does not make an NFL player's career, but as a draft analyst it's only natural that I check in on the rookies at the midway point of the regular season, right? Like Justin Jefferson before him, Ja'Marr Chase has future superstar written all over him, and the quarterbacks have been, well, lousy out of the gate.

Let's assign grades for the play of the first-round picks from the 2021 NFL Draft halfway through their debut seasons as professionals. And these grades are strictly performance-based. I did not factor in cost of trading up/down. Lawrence has not played like a once-in-a-generation prospect through seven games. Just hasn't. Sure, the environment in Jacksonville is hardly helping.

And it's understandable that a No. 1 overall pick takes his lumps through the first half of his rookie season. We've seen it many times before. However, in September, Lawrence was routinely clanking layup-type throws and playing uncharacteristically panicked inside the pocket. Toward the end of October, he started to resemble the Clemson version of himself a bit more, yet Lawrence has a ways to go before he's remotely close to meeting his massive expectations. The first round of the 2021 NFL Draft lived up to the hype.

We finally found out the San Francisco 49ers’ guy was Trey Lance, we witnessed multiple top 10 trades and a historic move by the Chicago Bears to go up and grab quarterback Justin Fields. Over at PFF's Live Draft Tracker that is also broadcasting our draft show (tune in a 6:00 p.m. EST tonight), we analyzed every single pick in real time and gave a grade for each selection. Here is a quick recap of all those instant reaction thoughts for all 32 first-round picks in the 2021 NFL Draft: R1 (1) JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS: QB TREVOR LAWRENCE, CLEMSON The Jaguars kick things off with the no-brainer decision to take Trevor Lawrence with the first pick of the 2021 NFL Draft — a selection roughly five years in the making.

The 21-year-old produced three 90.0-plus season grades at Clemson, starting with a breakout true freshman campaign in which he led the Tigers to a national championship. R1 (2) NEW YORK JETS: QB ZACH WILSON, BYU How well did your team fare in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft? Sporting News has you covered in tracking all the picks and issuing grades beginning in real time Thursday night. Going on the clock in Cleveland, the spotlight again is on the quarterbacks, starting with the first three picks. But there's plenty of franchise-changing talent at other positions both in terms of immediate impact and long-term shine.

MORE 2021 NFL DRAFT:Full results | Winners & losers | Team-by-team grades The key questions to ask right away: Did the team get the right player at a position of need? Did it pass on someone else who could have been a better fit? Was the player it took worthy of that high of selection vs. the promise of similar prospects? Based on our evaluations, we're providing answers for what the picks mean now and later.

From No. 1 through No. 32, this is your hub for in-depth live reaction in Round 1, grading every team and player fit. The first round of the 2021 NFL Draft is in the books. As expected, quarterbacks were the dominant storyline with five going in the first 15 picks, including the first three selections, and then both the Bears and Patriots landing new passers. Offense was the theme of the round, with 18 players going in the top 27, including the first eight picks.

FOX Sports NFL Draft analyst Rob Rang graded every pick in real time, breaking down how each prospect will fit with his new NFL team. Here are Rang's grades for every first-round selection: Welcome to our pick-by-pick first-round grades of the 2021 NFL Draft. From Trevor Lawrence to Kyle Pitts to DeVonta Smith, we analyzed all 32 selections as the action unfolded Thursday night. For those of you who think we should wait a few years before grading the picks, we disagree. NFL teams have to make decisions under uncertainty.

So we should evaluate them based on what we know at the time of the pick. The grades below will reflect not only the quality of the prospects but also the process — in other words, whether it's a wise use of resources given the state of the franchise. Having said that, feel free to report me to Old Takes Exposed in a couple years when these look foolish. Now let's get to it. There’s no guarantee that Lawrence will be the best quarterback in this class. But he has every physical trait — size, arm, athleticism — that a team could ask for.

The ceiling for Lawrence is a top-five quarterback who consistently has Jacksonville in the playoffs. The Jaguars, though, need to prove they have the organizational framework in place to help Lawrence succeed. Having finished above .500 just once in the last 13 years, Jacksonville’s fortunes now rest on Urban Meyer finding a way to maximize Lawrence’s potential. Grade: A Reaction: Andy Staples' analysis The best version of Wilson is a quarterback who breaks the will of opposing defenses with his improvisational skills and ability to make plays outside of structure. He was not a top-50 prospect entering the fall but turned in an impressive 2020 campaign, completing 73.5 percent of his passes with 33 touchdowns and three interceptions.

The upside is obvious, but the Jets are taking a gamble on someone who did not face any Power 5 competition last season. There are legitimate questions about whether Wilson’s playing style will translate against NFL athletes. Jets GM Joe Douglas has been patient thus far. This pick will define his tenure in New York one way or another. Grade: B- Reaction: Connor Hughes' analysis He’s legitimately one of the most difficult quarterback evaluations of all-time.

Lance (6-foot-4, 224) has the size and athleticism teams covet. During his one full season as a starter, he threw 28 touchdowns and no interceptions while also rushing for 1,100 yards and 14 scores as a 19-year-old. But level of competition was obviously a factor, and Lance played just one game last year. If you’re a 49ers fan, you have to be excited about this pick after weeks of Mac Jones rumors. There are no guarantees. Only 42 percent of first-round quarterbacks over the past 10 years have made it to a second contract with the team that picked them.

But Lance has smarts and athleticism and offers a huge upside. The 49ers’ goal now immediately becomes to maximize their chances of competing for a Super Bowl while Lance is on a rookie contract. Grade: B+ Reaction: Matt Barrows' analysis Historically, NFL teams have not scouted the tight end position well. Among the 22 tight ends that have been selected in the first round over the last 20 years, only two have been All-Pro selections. Having said that, there’s reason to believe Pitts can be an exception.

At 6-foot-6, 245 pounds, he ran a 4.4 40. Forget safeties and linebackers. He was beating SEC corners one-on-one. Pitts has a high bar to clear to justify being picked so high, but his realistic best-case scenario is a blend of Darren Waller, Jimmy Graham and Travis Kelce. Given that he’s only 20 years old, it’s reasonable to think Pitts has plenty of room to grow. We’ll find out whether the Falcons had opportunities to trade back.

If they did, that’s something they should have strongly considered. But if there weren’t attractive offers, taking Pitts is justifiable. With Arthur Smith calling plays and Matt Ryan returning, the Falcons are positioned to field a top-five offense in 2020. Grade: B Reaction: Tori McElhaney's analysis The 2021 NFL draft is officially underway, and we've got you covered with instant grades and analysis for every first-round pick. Keep it locked here for our live breakdowns of every pick Thursday night:

2021 Nfl Draft Grading Every First Round Pick After Rookie Year

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