The 2021 NFL Draft‘s first round is in the books, and it was a ton of fun. There were wild twists and turns throughout just like everyone expected, and some unexpected Aaron Rodgers drama.
There is nothing worse than some person in the media taking shots at your favorite team’s first-round pick, but I drew that short straw this year. Keep in mind, I’m an extremely positive person and my preferred method of evaluation is to find the best possible outcome for players that get selected and follow that track as long as possible.
With that being said, there are picks that just flat out don’t make sense or players that teams pass on for other players that don’t make a lot of sense. Let’s dive into the top-five worst picks in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft.
1. Alex Leatherwood, OL, Alabama (17th pick, Raiders)
The Las Vegas Raiders, with Jon Gruden at head coach and Mike Mayock as general manager, have not been making good use of their high draft selections.
In 2019, they used first-round picks on Clelin Ferrell, Josh Jacobs, and Johnathan Abram. In 2020, they used first-round picks on Henry Ruggs and Damon Arnette.
The most successful of those selections so far is Jacobs, who plays the least valuable position in the NFL.
The Raiders seem to have a significant bias toward Alabama, Clemson, and Ohio State players since Mayock took over, and that obsession has obviously taken root.
Alex Leatherwood was a popular first-round mock draft selection in many mock drafts that were made a year ago. The versatile lineman could play guard or tackle for the Raiders and there’s no doubt he can end up a good pro, but at pick 17 overall?
Dane Brugler of The Athletic had Leatherwood rated as the 34th overall prospect overall in this draft.
The Raiders could have had a pass rusher like Jaelan Phillips, they could have gone after Leatherwood’s teammate Christian Barmore, or they could have moved some assets to get up for Rashawn Slater, a vastly superior prospect.
Ultimately, Leatherwood will have to be a day one starter and he’s capable of it, but you have to wonder if what the Raiders passed on was worth it here.
2. Alijah Vera-Tucker, OL, USC (14th overall, Jets)
We get it.
The New York Jets want to do for Zach Wilson what they were essentially unable to do for Sam Darnold.
Moving up to the 14th pick for Alijah Vera-Tucker, who could end up playing left guard next to Mekhi Becton for them, was one of the worst picks in the first-round of the 2021 NFL Draft, in my opinion.
Look, you cannot fault the Jets for wanting to do all they can to literally protect their investment in Zach Wilson, but they gave up some prime real estate in the 2021 NFL Draft to move up nine spots to get Vera-Tucker, who is a very good player but is he worth potentially a couple of starters at other positions?
I’m not sure about that, especially considering the Jets still have a shot at a guy like Teven Jenkins and the top interior linemen besides Vera-Tucker remain on the board.
The value here for the number of picks the Jets traded up to get Vera-Tucker just does not match up.
Hopefully, he and Becton start pitching shutouts early for Zach Wilson, otherwise this trade up will look bad for the Jets.
3. Payton Turner, EDGE, Houston (28th overall, Saints)
When other NFL teams are zigging in the 2021 NFL Draft, the New Orleans Saints decided to zag.
I’m all about off-the-wall picks for teams, but the Saints really dug deep here with this one.
Payton Turner is a replacement for the departed Trey Hendrickson in New Orleans, and at 6-foot-6, 270 pounds, there’s no question that he’s an imposing figure off the edge.
The Saints apparently were trying to trade up in this draft, possibly into the top-10 selections. My guess is they wanted Joe Horn or Patrick Surtain’s kids to pair with Marshon Lattimore at the cornerback position, but by the time they got on the clock, all of the top corners in this class were gone.
Payton Turner gives them an option off the edge, but he’s only proven to be solid, not spectacular.
In four seasons at Houston, Turner racked up just 9.5 sacks and one forced fumble.
I love the way this guy is trending. He had a big-time Senior Bowl and he has shown some impressive versatility and bend off the edge for a guy with his size and length.
With that being said, the Saints definitely reached on this guy here in my opinion and could have gone with someone like Eric Stokes or moved up a handful of spots for Greg Newsome.
4. Caleb Farley, CB, Virginia Tech (22nd overall, Titans)
Caleb Farley would have been CB1 of this 2021 NFL Draft class potentially, were it not for a bad history of injuries at Virginia Tech and the threat of potential future surgery needed for his back.
Farley is the latest in a fairly long line of very risky picks in recent years by the Titans in the first round.
Neither of the team’s 2017 first-round picks — Corey Davis and Adoree Jackson — are with the team anymore.
2018 first-round pick Rashaan Evans looks like a strong pick and 2019 first-rounder Jeffery Simmons does as well, but there’s no denying that Simmons — coming off of a serious injury — was a huge risk in the first round in 2019.
The Titans’ top pick in the 2020 NFL Draft — offensive tackle Isaiah Wilson — is off the team already and has issues beyond football that he needs to work out.
Needless to say, despite the fact that Farley could work out and be great, the Titans needed a bit less of a risk with this pick, in my opinion. They could have gone with Greg Newsome out of Northwestern here, or even another offensive tackle like Teven Jenkins to replace Wilson.
5. Micah Parsons, LB, Penn State (12th overall, Cowboys)
The Dallas Cowboys missed out on the guys they really wanted with the 10th overall pick, perhaps in order when the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos selected Jaycee Horn and Patrick Surtain II, respectively.
Without their top two targets on the board, the Dallas Cowboys traded down with their division rival Philadelphia Eagles, and despite picking up an additional third-round pick in the process, the Cowboys took a pretty big risk on Penn State’s Micah Parsons.
The Cowboys are no strangers to taking big, athletic off-ball linebackers, but Parsons is a guy that is a bit tough to project in the NFL.
With the Cowboys in Dan Quinn’s defense, you could project him as either a Bruce Irvin type or KJ Wright type, but this selection is riskier for off-field reasons than Parsons’ lack of overall development on it.
There have been plenty of documented incidents with Parsons off the field since his high school days, all of which can be found with a simple Google search. Parsons addressed those issues by saying ahead of the 2021 NFL Draft that everyone makes dumb decisions when they are 17 or 18 years old.
That’s not exactly the type of response you want from a guy you’re about to throw a truckload of money at.
Perhaps the media has been too hard on Parsons, and he’s just misunderstood. Dallas has a chance to have a star on their hands here, but they could also be bringing in a guy whose off-field habits and history could be a problem.
Maybe the Cowboys should have gotten aggressive and tried to move up a bit, but no one knows if that was ever really a possibility. The Cowboys thought they’d be able to stay at 10 and get one of Horn or Surtain, but that didn’t happen.