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Steals, surprises and reaches are what drives the intrigue of the NFL draft.
If everything went according to consensus, the draft wouldn t be the most-watched offseason event in all of sports. Broken down to its most basic element, it s about the commissioner (or sometimes celebrities, former players and fans) reading the names of players who are being selected.
The intensity, though, comes in the battle between what we expect and what actually goes down. Perceived value drives what we consider to be steals, players who weren t expected to be available.
Conversely, perceived value also makes us respond with a visceral
Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images
The Ravens elected to use both of their first-round picks in Day 1 of the 2021 NFL Draft last night. Rashod Bateman is already a fan favorite, and the promise that Odafe Owah shows is exciting for many, as well. The Ravens front office was getting a lot of praise last night and it seems that Pro Football Focus has hopped onto the hype train, as well.
Baltimore Ravens: #NFLDraft RD 1 Winners
In PFF’s 6 Best Biggest Steals of the Draft, both Bateman and Oweh made it on the list. PFF had mid-round grades on both players, so snagging both in the last six picks of the first-round is a huge win in the eyes of the analytics.
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Tony Dejak/Associated Press
If you re an NFL draft viewer, three short phrases likely dominate your living room during Round 1 every year.
1. That s a steal!
2. That s a reach!
3. That s a surprise!
Steals, of course, are players who should have come off the board earlier than they did. Reaches are players in the opposite circumstance. Surprises are, well, surprises sometimes positive, sometimes negative, always unexpected by definition.
With that in mind, let s review the opening round of the 2021 draft through those lenses.
Steal: Atlanta Falcons Select Florida TE Kyle Pitts Fourth Overall
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David Dermer/Associated Press
A tight end is drafted in the top four for the first time in modern NFL history, and we re calling it a steal? Yup, because Kyle Pitts is so much more than a typical tight end. He s arguably the top non-quarterback in this class.