Detriot Lions

The Detroit Lions have been nothing short of underwhelming since the franchise’s beginnings in 1930. After their 3rd consecutive losing season and an offseason that saw Detroit trade away their franchise QB Mattew Stafford, fans were not hopeful coming into this year’s draft. Sitting at pick 7 in the 1st round, most analysts agreed that the Lions would most likely trade back or draft one of the premier wideouts in the class. However, in a surprising move, Detroit was able to pick one of the best OL prospects of our generation with their 7th pick, as they drafted OL Penei Sewell. The 6’5″, 331 lbs machine out of Oregon was seen as arguably the best player in the draft and a lock to be a top 5 pick. Despite these pre-draft rankings, with teams favoring QB´s and skill players early, the Lions were able to land Sewell, who will likely anchor Detroit’s O-Line for years to come.

Other than that quality 1st round selection, the Lions made a lot of great picks throughout the draft. Following Sewell, the Lions addressed their glaring needs on defense, taking DT Levi Onwuzurike, DT Alim McNeill, and CB Ifeatu Melifonwu. With each of these players having 1st or 2nd round grades according to PFF, being able to get such talent in the 2nd and 3rd rounds were clear steals for them. Furthermore, the Lions also got their new QB Jared Goff some weapons, as they drafted USC phenom WR Amon-Ra St. Brown in the 4th round as well. Overall, for a team that didn’t have an overwhelming amount of talent coming into the night, Detroit is one team that greatly improved following the draft. 

Baltimore Ravens

Following the Ravens pre-draft trade with the Chiefs, Baltimore was heading into the draft looking to utilize the draft capital they received for their former starting OT Orlando Brown. Having two 1st round picks, the Ravens were able to use both to address glaring issues on both sides of the ball. With their 27th overall selection, Baltimore took WR Rashod Bateman, an intriguing prospect out of Minnesota. It was clear following their disappointing 2020 campaign that they would target weapons for former MVP QB Lamar Jackson, and this pick seemed all but too good to be true. After drafting one of the draft’s best receivers, the Ravens were able to fill another hole on their team with the 31st pick, selecting DE Jayson Oweh. Both of these picks not only filled some big needs for the Ravens, but also were the best players available, which is a huge plus especially towards the back end of the 1st round.

In the following rounds, Baltimore continued to make quality selections, drafting the dominant run blocking OG Ben Cleveland in the 3rd round, followed up by DB Brandon Stephens out of SMU. Both players fit the Ravens scheme very well, making them great picks for the 3rd round. Baltimore went on to finish their draft getting even more depth at their three biggest positions of need, as they finished Day 3 by adding an additional WR, DB, and DE. Although many experts are knocking the Ravens for not drafting OT Orlando Brown’s replacement, they have plenty of depth at the position, with veteran OT Ronnie Stanely and free agent OT Alejandro Villanueva slated to start on either side of Lamar. 

New England Patriots

After a disappointing 2020 season that saw New England miss the playoffs for the first time since 2012, the Patriots were able to capitalize on their improved draft position with numerous great selections. The pick that got a lot of attention was the selection of QB Mac Jones in the 1st round. Regardless of what you think of Mac Jones as a player, being able to get him at 15 without making any trades was an absolute steal by New England, and gives them some excitement at the QB position following a lackluster season by former MVP Cam Newton.

With all the hype surrounding Jones, many have overlooked the rest of New England’s draft, especially their 2nd round selection of DT Christian Barmore. Other than some attitude issues, Barmore was widely considered a top defensive player in this class and definite 1st round selection, as he brings a great blend of size, explosiveness and versatility at the position. Other than this steal, the Patriots were able to get a few projected Day 1 starters in DE Ronnie Perkins and LB Cameron McGrone. Although New England could have benefitted from selecting more weapons to surround their new QB, the Patriots made enough quality selections to be considered clear winners of this year’s draft.