NFL Draft

While most suspected the San Francisco 49ers were going to draft a quarterback at No. 3 overall in the 2021 NFL draft, Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay thought the team could pick Kyle Pitts.

The 49ers traded up from No. 12 to No. 3 in March, eventually taking North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance ahead of other top options like Justin Fields and Mac Jones. Pitts, the top non-QB playmaker on the board, was also still available, and McVay thought 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan might want to go that route.

The Rams coach explained his theory on the Flying Coach podcast (h/t Kevin Patra of NFL.com):

I thought there was a possibility that Kyle was gonna go Pitts at three. In all seriousness, because he's such a visionary. I'm telling you, I didn't think it was going to be a crazy thought because you go back to when New England had the two-tight end set, and they were doing things totally different. You think about what [George] Kittle. And then, the thing that makes sense is that, hey, Jimmy [Garoppolo]'s produced all the way. This isn't a production thing. This is an availability thing that you're saying, 'We can't have that,' like, all the things.

The 49ers already have one of the top tight ends in the NFL in George Kittle, but adding Pitts would have given the offense another dimension while making the duo extremely difficult to defend.

Shanahan will instead look to build the offense around Lance, a dual-threat quarterback who already has several exciting targets in Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel.

Pitts was taken one pick later by the Atlanta Falcons at No. 4 overall.

The Houston Texans selected Stanford quarterback Davis Mills with the 67th pick in the 2021 draft, and it appears they would've gone with a different option in their ideal world.

The father of former Texas A&M quarterback Kellen Mond said the Texans made it clear they planned to take Mond, only for the Minnesota Vikings to beat them to the punch with the 66th pick.

"[There was a] phone call from his agent, text message, and the agent said, 'Hey, the Houston Texans are getting ready to select [Mond] at pick 67,'" Kevin Mond said, per the Pioneer Press' Chris Tomasson. "So, we're sitting [at the San Antonio family home] on the couch and [Mond] gets the phone call a couple of minutes later and it's a team.

"Then, when he hung up the phone, he goes, 'I'm going to the Vikings.' The Texans had already told his agent they're getting ready to take him at pick 67. The Vikings happened to have the pick 66."

For now, it looks like a bit of bad luck for Mond.

In addition to playing for the Aggies, the 21-year-old is a native of San Antonio, so suiting up for the Texans would've put him much closer to home. Based on Houston's quarterback situation, he could've started at some point as a rookie, too.

Deshaun Watson's status is unclear since he is the subject of 22 lawsuits centered around allegations of sexual assault and misconduct. ESPN's Sarah Barshop wrote Tuesday that "it seems unlikely" Watson will play for the Texans again.

Before news of the allegations broke, Adam Schefter of ESPN (via Barshop) reported in January that the three-time Pro Bowler had requested a trade.

Tyrod Taylor seems the most likely candidate to start in Week 1, which would leave Houston in need of a long-term solution at quarterback. The Texans presumably targeted Mond to address that issue and had to pivot to Mills.

Mond, meanwhile, will back up Kirk Cousins.

The Vikings' decision to pick Mond seemingly points to a level of dissatisfaction with Cousins, who threw for 4,265 yards and 35 touchdowns with 13 interceptions last year. Cousins is a serviceable quarterback but has a clear ceiling.

He has two years left on his contract, though, so Mond might have to bide his time before he gets a shot.

But playing the waiting game in Minnesota might be preferable since he got to steer clear of the general dysfunction in Houston.

Mac Jones did enough throughout his time at Alabama to impress the New England Patriots, who hadn't drafted a quarterback in the first round in the first 21 years that Bill Belichick has run the show. 

The team's offensive coordinator, Josh McDaniels, opened up about what drew the team to Jones, who they drafted with the No. 15 overall pick in April.

"He certainly stood out in certain obvious ways relative to throwing the football and command and protecting the ball and not hurting his football team," McDaniels told reporters on Thursday. "A lot to look at and digest when you studied him." 

McDaniels praised Jones' experience in "big games" and "pressure situations" while competing in a difficult Southeastern Conference. 

The star led the Crimson Tide to a perfect season in 2020, going 12-0 with a national championship victory. He threw for 4,500 yards and 41 touchdowns with four interceptions and a 77.4 completion percentage. 

New England using such a high pick on Jones demonstrated its faith in him. The Patriots have him practicing with the second team thus far in OTAs, per Kyed. Belichick has maintained that Cam Newton will be starting for the second year in a row.

Newton signed a one-year deal this offseason. 

The Patriots are also carrying Jarrett Stidham, their fourth-round pick in 2019, though he has yet to make a start through his two seasons with the team. The Patriots had an excuse in his rookie year, when they had Tom Brady under center, but last season Newton—who had struggles of his own and dealt with COVID-19 during the season—led the Pats to their worst finish in decades. And even when he was sidelined, they turned to longtime backup Brian Hoyer to make the start. 

Suffice to say that if anyone is challenging Newton for the top spot this season, it's Jones, who has made quite the impression on the coaching staff in New England.