2021 NFL Draft: Team-by-team storylines to watch this fall
By David Glancy
With the 2020 NFL season just two weeks away, we take an in-depth look at each team’s storylines and how they will impact the 2021 NFL Draft.
In what has been the strangest off-season in living memory, the 2020 NFL season is just hours away, with the Houston Texans facing off against the Super Bowl Champion, Kansas City Chiefs, on Thursday, September 10. While COVID-19 has brought the world to a halt, there have been plenty of eye-brow raising moves this off-season which will impact the upcoming season and shake the 2021 NFL Draft.
What’s been by far the biggest free agency move in years, Tom Brady is a Tampa Bay Buccaneer. After 20 seasons and six Super Bowls with the Patriots, Brady will end his career in Tampa, in what should be one of the league’s most dynamic offenses. And while Brady’s snow-bird move to Florida is the most newsworthy, plenty of other marquee quarterbacks have been on the move.
After months on the market, Cam Newton looks to be the starting quarterback in New England if he can stay healthy. After releasing Newton, the Panthers handed injury-prone Teddy Bridgewater a three-year, $63-million contract. Phillip Rivers is heading to Indianapolis on a one-year deal after 16 seasons with the Chargers, while fellow 2014 selection, Ben Roethlisberger returns from an elbow tear. Meanwhile, Eli Manning’s retirement has left Daniel Jones with the keys to the Giants offense.
The 2020 NFL Draft featured four quarterbacks selected in the first round, leading off with Joe Burrow to the Bengals and ending with the Packers selecting Jordan Love out of Utah State. After an NFC Championship game appearance and failing to add playmakers around Rodgers, the Love pick certainly raised plenty of eyebrows and opened the door to questions around Rodgers’ future in Green Bay.
New stadiums are being completed for the new Las Vegas Raiders, while the Rams and Chargers new home is just one of many the two LA-based franchises have to share. Those new-look franchises won’t be the only teams getting attention out west. Plenty of attention will be on the Arizona Cardinals, where Kyler Murray’s expectations are sky-high entering his sophomore year after acquiring DeAndre Hopkins from the Texans.
From the Cincinnati Bengals to the Kansas City Chiefs, there should be more than enough to watch as we inch closer towards the highly anticipated season and the 2021 NFL Draft.