Once a year, NFL teams go head to head trying to draft college players to make their teams stronger, last weekend in Cleveland Ohio, the 2021 NFL draft was held. The draft is held every year for three days in a select location. 

     “The NFL draft is important because it allows college kids to follow their dreams and play their favorite sport professionally,” sophomore Ryan Kozlowski said.

     To be eligible for drafting, a player only needs to graduate high school; however, most enter by playing football in college.

     “I think Sam Howell who graduated from Sun Valley will make it to the NFL if he wins a [college] championship,” sophomore Jacob Gantz said.

     During the first round, each team is given ten minutes to pick a player, then in rounds two and three, they are given seven minutes. Rounds four, five and six consist of five minutes to pick with teams given four minutes in the final round.

     The first three picks on this year’s draft saw teams vying for the next great NFL quarterback.  The Jacksonville Jaguars made the first pick in the 2021 draft, opting to take quarterback Trevor Lawrence from Clemson University. Next, the New York Jets also focused on the quarterback position in their selection of Zach Wilson from Brigham Young University with the San Francisco 49ers picking up Trey Lance of North Dakota State. 

     “I think the hardest position to get in would be quarterback because they have to remember all of the plays,” Gantz said.

     In the fifth round, the Cincinnati Bengals picked wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase from Louisiana State University who led in receiving yards his sophomore year. Next up in a round six pick by the Miami Dolphins was Jaylen Waddle of the University of Alabama. In round ten, the Philadelphia Eagles picked DeVonta Smith from University of Alabama. The next wide receiver was picked much later in round twenty as the New York Giants chose Kadarius Toney from the University of Florida.   In round twenty seven, the Baltimore Ravens chose wide receiver Rashod Bateman of the University of Minnesota.

     “I think the hardest position to get into is either a wide receiver or tight end, so it would be harder to get drafted for,” freshman Brayton Rivernider said.

     The draft showed plenty of love to linebackers as well:  the Dallas Cowboys picked Micah Parsons of Penn State, followed by the Arizona Cardinals choosing Zaven Collins from the University of Tulsa, and the Washington Football Team snagging Jamin Davis of the University of Kentucky. Later rounds saw a continued trend of defensive team picks.

    “I think these players have worked very hard everyday since at least high school to achieve their dreams, and I think you should dedicate most of your time to football if you want to be drafted,” Kozlowski said.

     Draft Day wasn’t fun and games for all teams, however.   The New England Patriots and Minnesota Vikings both received violations during the 2020 season, resulting in their having to forfeit one of their picks.  The Patriots were found guilty of recording teams from the sidelines and using the footage in their practices, while the Vikings were given a forfeit from the salary cap violation in 2019. Many players lost out on a chance to show their hard work and to continue playing football because of team violations made in past years. The players were not able to be drafted because what might have been a round pick for them was taken away due to these violations. 

    “Some work harder than others, but they’ve all done their time to get into the draft,” Rivernider said. 

     The 2021 draft class now vie for starting positions on their respective teams, working through Spring Training camps and pre-season games before the official 2021 NFL season begins on September 9th.  Team schedules were released May 11th and can be found at nfl.com.