2021 NFL 1st-round redraft
(Audacy) With 13 weeks of the first 18-week NFL season behind us, there are some adjustments that teams would like to make in terms of how the first half of the 2021 NFL Draft played out. So let's run through the exercise. Here's a look at our 2021 NFL redraft.


1. Jacksonville Jaguars: Trevor Lawrence, QB
Lawrence hasn't been great in his rookie season -- he has thrown nine touchdowns and 10 interceptions -- but he has also done nothing to make us think he wasn't the right decision with the top overall selection. If he's lucky, he'll have a more stable coaching staff in his second season -- along with the return of his college teammate, running back Travis Etienne.

2. New York Jets: Mac Jones, QB
Jones wasn't a prospect who was going to blow you away on his pro day, but he has done an excellent job in his rookie season with the New England Patriots. With 16 touchdowns to eight interceptions -- and a quiet confidence that any organization could use from its leader -- Jones would be as good of a fit as any quarterback for the unstable Jets.

3. San Francisco 49ers: Zach Wilson, QB
With just six touchdown passes and 11 interceptions, Wilson has really struggled in his rookie season with the Jets. However, he has flashed some of the elite tools that made some believe during the draft cycle that he was the most talented quarterback in the 2021 class. With uncertainty about whether Trey Lance will even be ready to start in his second season, we're going to bet that 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch would probably like a mulligan on the No. 3 overall pick. The reality is, they'd probably like to undo the franchise-altering trade that saw them mortgage the future to move all the way up from No. 12 to No. 3. But if they were still picking third, we like the idea of Wilson going to a much more stable situation than New York and working with one of the game's most innovative offensive minds.

4. Atlanta Falcons: Kyle Pitts, TE
Perhaps because he has only found the end zone once and isn't on a good team, Pitts' rookie season hasn't drawn the buzz that it deserves. But the 21-year-old Pitts has looked the part of being the next great pass-catching tight end, as he has hauled in 49 passes for 709 yards in 12 games. So far, the Falcons are getting the return that they expected from Pitts, so there would be no reason to change this pick.

5. Cincinnati Bengals: Ja'Marr Chase, WR
Chase has cooled off a bit since he had eight catches for 201 yards in Cincinnati's throttling of the Baltimore Ravens in Week 7, but he still finds himself likely to surpass 1,000 yards receiving this weekend. It appears that the Bengals made the correct decision to reunite Chase with quarterback Joe Burrow, his college teammate.

6. Miami Dolphins: Jaylen Waddle, WR
When the Dolphins selected Waddle with the No. 6 overall pick in April, we wrote this:
"Jaylen Waddle may not lead the 2021 NFL Draft class in receptions at the conclusion of his career, but from here, it would be far from shocking if he proves to be the most valuable overall weapon at the position from this crop of wideouts."
What's crazy is that while Waddle has demonstrated his game-breaking ability during his rookie season in Miami, he has also adapted to being a bit more of a volume receiver in an offense not built to take a ton of downfield shots. The former Alabama star, Waddle has 86 catches for 849 yards and only figures to become a more valuable piece as either Tua Tagovailoa begins to take more deep shots or someone else more capable of doing so becomes the quarterback for the Dolphins.

7. Detroit Lions: Rashawn Slater, OT
We're not suggesting that Penei Sewell wouldn't still be taken at some point in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, but to this point, Slater has outperformed him. Slater is graded at 82.5% by Pro Football Focus in his rookie season, which isn't just the top mark among rookie offensive tackles but also No. 7 overall at the position in 2021.

8. Carolina Panthers: Patrick Surtain II, CB
It's perhaps unfair to write Jaycee Horn off given that he has only played in three games at the NFL level, but while he has been recovering from a broken right foot, Surtain has racked up 38 total tackles and four interceptions during an impressive rookie season for the Denver Broncos. Obviously, the biggest need in Carolina is a quarterback, but none of the remaining rookies have done enough to warrant being taken over Surtain here.
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9. Denver Broncos: Micah Parsons, LB
Not only is Parsons likely to win Defensive Rookie of the Year, but he figures to garner some consideration from Defensive Player of the Year voters. A Penn State product, he has 72 combined tackles, 10 sacks and two forced fumbles. Parsons is the type of player whom you draft him who's immediately in his prime. If Denver can't keep Surtain in our redraft, Parsons is a good fallback option.

10. Philadelphia Eagles: DeVonta Smith, WR
Nick Sirianni and the Eagles coaching staff have built a run-first offense around Jalen Hurts, but Smith still has 50 receptions for 701 yards in his rookie season. While the linebacker-needy Eagles probably would've been pretty happy with Parsons as well, they appear to have secured a No. 1 wideout in Smith.

11. Chicago Bears: Justin Fields, QB
Fields has flashed enough in his rookie season to intrigue you, but he still has a ways to go before you feel comfortable saying that the Bears made the right trade in sending four picks to the New York Giants to move up and select him. Fields has 311 rushing yards in 2021 but has thrown four touchdowns against eight interceptions, so he has been a mixed bag in a bad offense. We're excited to see whether the Bears -- who almost certainly will have a new head coach in 2022 -- can unlock Fields' superstar potential.

12. Dallas Cowboys: Creed Humphrey, C
The Chiefs offense has disappointed in 2021, but they appear to have found a couple offensive line stalwarts. Taken with the 63rd overall pick out of Oklahoma, Humphrey has been the No. 1 rated center during his rookie season, per Pro Football Focus. Of course, the Cowboys are ecstatic about Parsons in real life. But he's gone in our mock redraft, and Humphrey would help them to once again have one of the NFL's elite offensive lines.

13. Los Angeles Chargers: Jaelan Phillips, edge
With Slater long gone, the Chargers could consider Sewell here in an attempt to protect quarterback Justin Herbert. But the Chargers need edge help, and Phillips has recorded 8 1/2 sacks during his rookie season for the Miami Dolphins. He would be a valuable addition for a team that has to face Patrick Mahomes two times a year.

14. New York Jets: Trey Smith, OG
With Mac Jones under center for the Jets in this redraft, the No. 14 overall pick should be used to build a stout offensive line in front of him. With all due respect to Alijah Vera-Tucker -- the real-life pick the Jets made at No. 14 -- Smith is graded by Pro Football Focus as the No. 9 overall offensive guard in the league this season. He has played at a first-round caliber level despite being a sixth-round selection by Kansas City in the actual 2021 NFL Draft.

15. New England Patriots: Nate Hobbs, CB
For the Patriots, it would be hard to imagine not having Jones, who appears ready to be the team's quarterback for at least a decade. But based on how the board has lined up here, our guess is that the Patriots wouldn't reach for a quarterback and instead they would select Hobbs, who has gone from a fifth-round pick to the No. 7-rated cornerback in the NFL this season. In fact, Hobbs is graded one spot above J.C. Jackson, who would be his teammate in this scenario.
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