Thursday was a significant day for initial-spherical picks from the 2021 NFL draft.
It marked the deadline for NFL groups to choose regardless of whether or not to exercise the fifth-12 months choice for the 2025 year on the contracts of 2021 first-spherical picks.
Of the 32 to start with-round choices from that calendar year, 30 ended up eligible for a fifth-year choice. And 12 of these 30 gamers noticed their fifth-year solution declined.
That listing involved 4 of the five quarterbacks picked in the very first round. Trevor Lawrence, the leading select of the 2021 draft, was the only quarterback picked to have his fifth-yr solution picked up.
The other four—Zach Wilson, Trey Lance, Justin Fields and Mac Jones—all have been declined a fifth year on their rookie offers. In truth, all 4 of those quarterbacks are with distinct teams than the just one that picked them in 2021.
Wilson, the No. 2 choose, was traded to the Denver Broncos in April. Lance was traded from the San Francisco 49ers to the Dallas Cowboys last summer time. In March, the Pittsburgh Steelers obtained Fields from the Chicago Bears, who moved on from the No. 11 decide on in 2021 just after landing the prime decide in the 2024 draft and sooner or later using it to decide on Caleb Williams, their new franchise quarterback. Jones, the No. 15 decide, is now in Jacksonville backing up Lawrence.
The other customers of the 2021 draft class to see their fifth-12 months choice declined: Cardinals linebacker Zaven Collins, Commanders linebacker Jamin Davis, Chiefs receiver Kadarius Toney, Titans cornerback Caleb Farley, Steelers working back Najee Harris, Saints defensive close Payton Turner, Packers cornerback Eric Stokes and Buccaneers linebacker Joe Tryon-Shoyinka.
The 12 players not acquiring a fifth-yr choice just isn’t an anomaly. Fourteen initial-spherical picks in 2020 were not given a fifth year on their rookie deal, and that number was 11 gamers in ’19.
But right after the 2024 draft, an function that noticed a file six quarterbacks be taken in the initial 12 picks, the ’21 class is a good reminder of how tough it is to locate a franchise participant underneath center.
