The 2021 NFL Draft has been finished up and teams’ rosters are almost set for the season as cuts begin before the season kicks off. Teams are supposedly improving their rosters, but some teams naturally take a step back in the NFL Draft. Some teams made questionable decisions throughout the NFL Draft. Here are the teams that are early losers of this year’s 2021 draft.
Denver Broncos
The Broncos drafted Patrick Surtain with the 9th pick, which was questionable to say the least simply because Ohio St. QB Justin Fields was still there for the taking. The Broncos desperately needed a franchise quarterback with superstar potential, which they will regret in the long term. The Broncos then traded up to draft UNC RB Javonte Williams. Trading up for Javonte Williams was an unnecessary risk to make. The value of running backs can be found anywhere. The Broncos also gave up draft capital for former Panthers QB Teddy Bridgewater. He will be competing with QB Drew Lock for the starting job. They should have waited till after the NFL Draft to make that decision in order to potentially get Ohio St. QB Justin Fields. There were just not enough inspiring picks that were made. A lot of decisions were just not calculated correctly by the Broncos front office.
The Broncos did not improve enough to be true contenders in the vaunted AFC West Division. They did not improve in the 2021 NFL Draft on paper as questionable decisions were made consistently.
Green Bay Packers
The Packers made yet another questionable decision in Round 1 of the 2021 NFL Draft. The Packers desperately needed a WR2 to pair with Davante Adams in order to keep pace in the NFC. Instead, they drafted a CB from Georgia in Eric Stokes. This is one of the main reasons why Aaron Rodgers is unhappy with the Packers front office. They keep making questionable moves all the time. This season will most likely be Aaron Rodgers’ final season in Green Bay.
The Packers did get Aaron Rodgers a WR during Round 3 as they drafted WR Amari Rodgers from Clemson. He will be an impact player for the Packers. However, Aaron Rodgers really wanted help on the offensive side of the ball in Round 1 of the 2021 NFL Draft. There was a lack of urgency from the Packers’ front office. The rest of the NFL Draft was uninspiring to say the least as well. The Packers have made the NFC Championship in back-to-back seasons. However, the Packers front office seems more interested in breaking up that core. General manager Brian Gutekunst better know something that no one else knows about these draftees. Otherwise, the Packers front office will continue to be criticized and frowned upon in the NFL.
Overall, Brian Gutekunst lost this draft with his questionable selections and making Aaron Rodgers unhappy with the Packers in the process. They have better hope that those questionable picks will pan out way better than what their current projections are saying what they will perform.
Los Angeles Rams
The Rams did not have a first-round pick to work with since they traded that away for CB Jalen Ramsey. They also went 10-6 and won a playoff game last season, which caused their draft position to fall. That left them selecting at pick 57, which they used to reach for WR Tutu Atwell from Louisville. They made a blockbuster trade with the Lions, swapping QB Jared Goff for QB Matthew Stafford. New Rams QB Matthew Stafford is an upgrade over the new Lions QB Jared Goff. However, QB Matthew Stafford needs protection due to past injuries that he has in his body. Selecting an offensive lineman should have been a main priority for the Rams. In fact, they did not spend one pick on an offensive lineman, which is strange to say the least. They better hope that the Rams offensive line improves internally.
Overall, this was a strange draft for a Rams team that made gutsy roster moves to put themselves as NFC contenders on paper. If this 2021 NFL Draft does not pan out well for the Rams, there will be a lot of criticism going on from their fanbase for their questionable decisions.
Houston Texans
The Texans did not get to make a pick until Round 3 of the 2021 NFL Draft due to a trade that they overpaid for with the Laremy Tunsil deal. Instead of trying to boost up the offensive line, they used the 67th pick on QB Davis Mills from Stanford. Davis Mills might be a capable backup QB in the NFL, but with this Texans team, he will be a disaster at the NFL level. The Texans offensive line is really bad. They will get exposed even worse without QB Deshaun Watson, assuming that he gets suspended for the allegations that are going on. They then traded up for Michigan WR Nico Collins, which was not necessary for them to do since they need to obtain future draft capital, not throw draft picks away. Their defense was pretty bad last season, yet they did not address that area until pick 170 in the 5th round. They did not do any favors to improve their roster in the 2021 NFL Draft.
The Texans are set up for failure with the selections that they made in the 2021 NFL Draft as their team did not improve overall on paper.
New Orleans Saints
The Saints made a lot of strange decisions in the 2021 NFL Draft. Houston DE Payton Turner was a reach with the 28th pick in Round 1. The Saints also needed to upgrade the QB position as current Saints QBs Jameis Winston and Taysom Hill do not seem to be reliable full-time starting QBs in the NFL. However, they did not address that until the 133rd pick in the 4th round, which they used to select Notre Dame QB Ian Book. That was not a good selection by the Saints since he should have gone undrafted or drafted in the later rounds. A lot of picks were reaches for the Saints, but especially with those two picks that were just pointed out. They do not look like a good team in setting up consistent success for life after former Saints QB Drew Brees.
The Saints had a disappointing draft as their team did not improve overall on paper. At least they still have Sean Payton as their head coach though, so maybe he will keep them competitive in the NFC South division.