Penn State football: Potential landing spots for Micah Parsons in 2021 NFL Draft
By John Buhler
New England Patriots. 47. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. 2. player. AFC East. (No. 15)
It was a down year for the New England Patriots by every reasonable measure. The former gold standard of NFL excellence was not so excellent in the immediate aftermath of the Tom Brady divorce. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won Super Bowl 55 in his first year down in the Florida Gulf Coast, while the Patriots missed the playoffs for the first time since he tore his ACL back in 2008.
The good news for the Patriots is head coach/de facto general manager Bill Belichick has a great eye when it comes to defensive talent. Because the Patriots are rarely picking in the top half of any round, they are rarely getting the opportunity to take the best prospects of the bunch. That is until now. If Belichick got his hands on Parsons, he could become a believer of The Patriot Way.
New England had more players opt out of the 2020 NFL season than any team in the league, so that is not going to matter to Belichick when scouting a player the talent of Parsons. What will matter is productivity and inherent leadership traits. There are very few defensive-minded coaches better to play for if you are a linebacker than Belichick. Parsons could be his next star.
Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. AFC North. (No. 7). 50. Detroit Lions. 1. player
When it comes down to need and fit, the Detroit Lions have to be at the top of the list to land Parsons at No. 7 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft. He is a top-10 talent in this draft, and while the Lions could look to upgrade at quarterback, they did trade for a guy who played in a Super Bowl three years ago in Jared Goff. New head coach Dan Campbell will want a star to build around.
So with the Lions orchestrating wholesale changes all across the board, it would be in their best interest to get as close to a sure-thing at inside linebacker. To give this potential draft pick even more hype, guess who is back in the Lions organization? Former standout linebacker Chris Spielman, who leaves the FOX booth to be a special assistant to the owner.
Taking a linebacker in the top 10 does not seem sexy, but there is nothing sexy about the turnaround that is required in Detroit. This downtrodden NFC North team needs more good players pronto and hopefully, a guy like Parsons can provide them that. For the Lions to resemble anything close to a winning organization, they need to draft major building blocks like Parsons.
Overall, Parsons will have plenty of interest from prospective teams in the 2021 NFL Draft. It is not just the five teams listed above who could end up selecting him. Teams like the Atlanta Falcons, the Minnesota Vikings and the Washington Football Team could maneuver up and down the draft board to potentially be in the right position to take him. He will be a hot commodity.
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