Live Updates from the First Round of the 2021 NFL Draft
Live picks and analysis as the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft gets underway on Thursday in Cleveland
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(updates will be in descending order to preserve pick order)
The 2021 NFL Draft is officially open, and the Jacksonville Jaguars are on the clock with the first pick of the draft. The Jaguars will have 10 minutes to make a selection.
Pick No. 1: With the first pick of the 2021 NFL Draft, the Jaguars select quarterback Trevor Lawrence from Clemson.
The New York Jets are now on the clock, and they will have eight minutes to make their pick.
NFL Draft 2021: Top Remaining Prospects, List of Second-Round Picks and How to Watch on TV
On 4/30/21 at 8:35 AM EDT
Having selected Trevor Lawrence with the first overall pick of the NFL Draft on Thursday night, the Jacksonville Jaguars are again set to be the first team on the clock when the second round gets underway on Friday.
Behind Lawrence, the New York Jets also followed the script and picked BYU quarterback Zach Wilson, while the San Francisco 49ers selected Trey Lance out of North Dakota State.
Alabama signal caller Mac Jones, who had emerged as the presumptive No. 3 pick over the last two months, fell all the way down to No.15 and was selected by the New England Patriots.
04/30/2021
Thursday’s coverage of the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft drew solid numbers across ESPN/ABC/NFL Network. It dropped off from last year’s record of 15.26 million average English-language viewers, but as per Paulsen at Sports Media Watch, the draft drew its second-highest viewership numbers ever across networks this year:
The opening round of the NFL Draft averaged 12.52 million viewers across ESPN, ABC and NFL Network Thursday night, the second-largest audience in the history of the event. Viewership declined 18% from last year’s all-time record of 15.26 million, set during a period in which all other competing sporting events were on hiatus.
2021 NFL Draft: Schedule, Start Time, Where to Watch on TV and Online
On 4/29/21 at 8:00 AM EDT
A year after NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced draft picks from the basement of his home with the U.S. in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the NFL Draft returns to a more familiar environment in Cleveland, Ohio, this week.
Gone are the awkward Zoom exchanges between Goodell and the players 58 prospects have been invited to attend the event and most of the events that normally provide the backdrop to the NFL s annual extravaganza have been restored.
After being forced to contribute to telecasts remotely last year, crews from ABC, ESPN and NFL Network will instead report from Cleveland this week and fully vaccinated fans are allowed to attend the event.