4 best-value first-round picks in the 2021 NFL Draft
By Tommy Jaggi
First-round picks can help reshape a franchise quickly. Here are the four best-value picks in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft.
The NFL Draft is always full of surprises. Every year, I find myself playing a game where I try to predict how many picks I can get right in the first round. While I successfully predicted the six picks correctly this year, there were a lot of surprises from that point until the end of the first round.
When it comes to football, there aren’t many things that are typically more important than striking gold with your first-round draft choice. By doing so, teams can land cornerstone players who they can build football teams around for years to come.
Though some first-round draft picks this year left me scratching my head, others could very well prove to be terrific value to their respective franchises, as players who I believe should have been taken much earlier ended up sliding this year. Here are the four best-value first-round picks in the 2021 NFL Draft:
4. CB Greg Newsome, Browns
I initially thought that Greg Newsome would be off the board somewhere in the teens – especially considering the injury concerns around Virginia Tech CB Caleb Farley. However, the Cleveland Browns were able to poach him with the 26th overall pick in the NFL Draft. There really aren’t a lot of knocks on Greg Newsome’s game at all. The Northwestern standout is tall and athletic with the ability to routinely locking down the opposing team’s best wide receiver. At 6’0 1/4” and 192 pounds, Newsome was clocked running a 4.39-second 40-yard dash at his Pro Day, according to Mockdraftable, and this lines up with what we see on tape.
Newsome does come with a few minor concerns. He has played just 17 games in three seasons at Northwestern, and his arm length and wingspan are slightly undersized for the position. Still, Newsome is about as well-rounded as they come and the Browns got one of the best players available when they were on the clock with the 26th pick.