NFL Draft Day 1 Recap

Cleveland was rocking on Thursday as Roger Goodell took to the podium to announce the start of the long-awaited NFL Draft. From there, it wasn’t long until we saw the dominoes start to fall, and some picks truly shocked the crowd and viewing audience. 

Here are some of the biggest moments from the first night of the draft, starting with the Bengals and Browns finally making their selections.

Bengals get their WR1

After the first four picks went according to plan, the Bengals were left with the obvious question draft analysts were split on: take Ja’Marr Chase or Penei Sewell? In the end, it was Chase who had his name called with the fifth pick.

The fit with Chase is obvious. With Joe Burrow as his quarterback in 2019, the sophomore receiver was dominant at LSU, racking up 84 catches for 1,780 yards and 20 touchdowns. His final collegiate game was one of his best, getting nine catches for 221 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the National Championship against Clemson.

With this selection, it’s clear that giving Burrow weapons was always the top priority. Combined with last year’s second-round pick Tee Higgins as well as veteran Tyler Boyd, Cincinnati's wide receiver room has tons of talent and the potential to become one of the best receiving corps in football.

While plenty of experts feel the Bengals missed an opportunity to take Sewell to protect Burrow along the line, the good news is the wealth of o-lineman available on Day 2. Oklahoma State’s Teven Jenkins, Texas’ Samuel Cosmi, and Notre Dame’s Liam Eichenberg are a few options for Cincy to take on Friday.

Browns add to secondary

The first round played out very nicely for the Browns, with running backs going back-to-back just before they went on the clock with the 26th pick. Faced with a variety of options, Greg Newsome II ended up as the pick, exciting the fan base that was there in person.

In previous articles, we had mentioned the possibility of Cleveland going with a corner. Pro Bowler Denzel Ward has been strong but had his season cut short due to injury, while Greedy Williams will have a make-or-break season after missing all of 2020. The injury history of their top two outside cornerbacks likely factored into Cleveland wanting to get another high-caliber option that is ready to play right away.

Newsome now gives the Browns another corner option in a league where you could never have enough talented players in the secondary. Last year at Northwestern, Newsome allowed an opposing QBR of 3.4 as the primary defender in coverage, the third-best mark in the FBS. The pick was also considered good value, with some believing Newsome would be selected somewhere in the teens.

As far as what’s next, don’t expect the Browns to turn away from their defense. While they don’t pick again until 59th, they could add a linebacker or d-lineman, as well as a slot receiver if the value is good.

The Bears play the field(s)

In hindsight, we should’ve expected the Bears to be aggressive in their pursuit of the quarterback in this year’s draft. So with Andy Dalton and Nick Foles already on the roster, Chicago made the move of the night, trading up to pick number 11 and selecting Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields.

Fields served as the Buckeyes’ starting QB for two seasons, throwing 63 touchdowns to just nine interceptions in Columbus. Lauded for his accuracy, Fields is a much more highly-regarded pro prospect than Mitch Trubisky was when the Bears famously traded up a spot to select him second overall in 2017.

It wasn’t cheap for the Bears to make this move. In trading up to 11, Chicago parted with the 20th pick, a 5th rounder this year, as well as a 1st and 4th round pick in 2022. But if Fields ends up being the franchise QB they believe he is, then the trade will have been well worth it.