The themes for the 2021 NFL draft were many, starting with the quarterbacks.
Then, of course, was an actual live draft with players and fans on hand.
And there was Alabama dominating the selections the way it overpowered college football, carrying its conference with it.
No suspense at the top: quarterback, quarterback and, yep, quarterback.
With Commissioner Roger Goodell dispensing greetings to players Thursday night, Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence went to the Jacksonville Jaguars to get things started. Next was BYU’s Zach Wilson going to the New York Jets, and North Dakota State’s Trey Lance landing with the San Francisco 49ers.
That matched 1971 (Jim Plunkett, Archie Manning, Dan Pastorini) and 1999 (Tim Couch, Donovan McNabb, Akili Smith) as the only drafts with quarterbacks taken with the top three picks. Only Plunkett won a Super Bowl among those QBs, and he didn’t do it with New England, which drafted him.
Two more passers went in the top 15: Ohio State’s Justin Fields to Chicago, which traded up to the 11th slot with the Giants, and Alabama’s Mac Jones to New England.