Thursday Fan Confidence Poll: Is 2021 the biggest “crapshoot” draft ever?

The LA Rams have already traded away first round picks for 2021, 2022, and 2023. The Seattle Seahawks have also traded away first round picks in 2021 and 2022. The San Francisco 49ers have traded away first round picks for 2022 and 2023. Is it possible that maybe these teams are not as big of fans of the first round as most of the league?

Well, 2021 might be the perfect year to be avoiding round one and that could potentially set off some chaotic dominoes in the following drafts, given potential trends from the past year that could become tradition. Like skipping your final eligible season of college football. Or eradicating the NFL Scouting Combine.

The 2021 first round class is expected to be an exciting one but perhaps there are going to be some records set for quarterbacks going early in part because of how unusual the 2020 college season was for everybody.

Trevor Lawrence was held out of five games because of COVID. Trey Lance only put on a single-game Trey Lance showcase. Mac Jones is projected as a round three quarterback to some, but is now expected to go as high as number three overall. The best school that Zach Wilson faced — by far — was Coastal Carolina. Which is partly surprising because Coastal Carolina was ranked around the top-10 but also notable because Wilson did face a soft schedule, sometimes facing teams that had played far fewer games than BYU had going in. And Justin Fields has been called both the most talented quarterback in the class and the fifth-ranked as of Todd McShay’s latest mock.

If you’re a GM in the first round who needs a quarterback: good luck. Some general managers will be fired directly because of what happens on April 29th.

And if that’s how split opinions are on the quarterbacks — the most over-analyzed position in professional sports — then think about how wonked the analysis could be on offensive linemen, linebackers, cornerbacks, and so on.

No, the Rams do not pick in the first round. But they will have three picks on day two and a couple more on day three. Adding a day one pick may not be as important right now as adding picks on days two and three, unless the day one pick is used to trade down for more lottery tickets.

Maybe the Rams don’t have to be that envious of the teams picking at the top of round one this year. What do you think?