By Andrew Rovit ‘22, Sports Writer

The NFL Draft is approaching, bringing excitement to NFL fans across the world. Taking place in Cleveland at the end of April, the draft will be a time when athletes’ dreams come true, but fans should look out for these four things when watching the draft.

4 Things to Watch at the 2021 NFL Draft

1. COVID-19 Opt-Outs

There are numerous players who opted out of the 2020 NCAA season due to COVID who are projected to be drafted in the first couple of rounds. It will be interesting to see how NFL front offices and scouts will judge their potential to star in the NFL after not playing in competitive games the past year. Similarly, the teams that played this season had fewer games than in years past, so it will be difficult to compare players’ statistics from different years.

2. No NFL Combine

For the first time since arriving in Indianapolis in 1987, the on-field workouts at the NFL combine were canceled. This was extremely unfortunate because this is often a time for players from smaller conferences to showcase their talent to NFL GMs and head coaches. The cancellation of this event makes it difficult for players to better their draft stocks and puts more weight onto these players’ pro days, an on field workout performed by players at their colleges.

3. The Cleveland Spectators

Last year, all of the draft festivities were held virtually with the commissioner announcing the draft picks sitting on his basement couch. This year, the NFL draft is taking place in Cleveland, which is the home of the Browns. Browns fans have endured hardships and below average seasons for so long, but last season, they made it to the playoffs for the first time since 2002 and won a playoff game. The Browns fans will have some excitement when watching the draft, but the NFL is incentivizing fans who come to be vaccinated against the virus by making some viewing areas for vaccinated individuals only. It will be interesting to see the social distancing going on during the draft.

4. Quarterbacks

This draft provides a rare opportunity for all of the first four picks to be quarterbacks. The first two teams in the draft, the New York Jets and Jacksonville Jaguars, are almost certainly taking a QB with their selection, and the 49ers traded up to the 3rd overall selection to take a QB. The Atlanta Falcons, who are currently sitting with the 4th pick in the draft, have an aging QB, Matt Ryan, so they could also be in the market for a QB. However, there is a possibility that they trade the pick to another team looking for their franchise QB, including the Broncos or Patriots. Nevertheless, nothing is guaranteed, so it will be interesting to see where the QBs will be playing next season.