NFL Draft: 5 biggest winners from Round 1
The first round of the 2021 NFL Draft featured several bold trades, and those teams stand out as Thursday night’s biggest winners
Several teams made aggressive moves in the NFL Draft, some with sights set on adding an impact player in 2021, while others were looking towards the promise next year’s class holds, but those trades stand out from a frenetic first-round.
Whether it was the NY Giants adding several first-round picks in a blockbuster trade with the Chicago Bears, or the Monsters of The Midway hoping they finally stepped out of quarterback purgatory, the teams that were the most aggressive on Thursday night have the chance to be rewarded long into the future.
But, which teams helped themselves the most in the long-term and got the 2021 NFL Draft started off on the right foot? Five stand out from the pack.
Here’s a look at the five biggest winners from Round 1 of the 2021 NFL Draft:
5. team. 55. . . . Pittsburgh Steelers
Running backs might not be valued around the NFL as much as other skill positions, but after getting run out of their own building by the Cleveland Browns in the AFC Playoffs back in January, the Pittsburgh Steelers ripped a playbook from their arch-rivals.
Thursday night, unlike several teams who pulled off big trades (more on that later) the Steelers sat back patiently and watched as one of the premier players at his position, Alabama’s Najee Harris fell to them at No. 24 overall.
Harris, who averaged 5.8 yards per attempt last season and caught 43 passes, is exactly the counter-punch the Steelers needed in response to the Browns’ ground-and-pound duo of Kareem Hunt and Nick Chubb.
“I love Najee,” an AFC scouting director recently told FanSided. “He’s a three-down running back, who is talented as a receiver and is a very instinctive runner.”
As the Steelers remain committed to quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, Harris is exactly the type of player who can take some of the pressure off the 39-year-old and perhaps prevent teams from providing too much cushion over the top for playmaking receivers Dionte Johnson, Juju Smith-Schuster, and Chase Claypool.