The first round of the 2021 NFL Draft began as many expected with quarterbacks selected first, second and third, but things got wild once the Panthers and Broncos took cornerbacks with the eight and ninth picks, respectively. The Eagles, Bears and Jets traded up over the course of five picks to grab the players they badly wanted with Chicago paying a high price for Justin Fields.

1) Jacksonville Jaguars - Trevor Lawrence, Clemson QB
2) New York Jets - Zach Wilson, BYU QB
3) San Francisco 49ers (from Texans through Dolphins) - Trey Lance, NDSU QB
4) Atlanta Falcons - Kyle Pitts, Florida TE
5) Cincinnati Bengals - Ja'Marr Chase, LSU WR
6) Miami Dolphins (from Eagles) - Jaylen Waddle, Alabama WR
7) Detroit Lions - Penei Sewell, Oregon OT
8) Carolina Panthers - Jaycee Horn, South Carolina CB
9) Denver Broncos - Patrick Surtain II, Alabama CB
10) Philadelphia Eagles (from Cowboys) - DeVonta Smith, Alabama WR
11) Chicago Bears (from Giants) - Justin Fields, Ohio State QB
12) Dallas Cowboys (from Eagles via 49ers through Dolphins) - Micah Parsons, Penn State LB
13) Los Angeles Chargers - Rashawn Slater, Northwestern OT
14) New York Jets (from Vikings) - Alijah Vera-Tucker, USC OL
15) New England Patriots - Mac Jones, Alabama QB
16) Arizona Cardinals - Zaven Collins, Tulsa LB
17) Las Vegas Raiders - Alex Leatherwood, Alabama OT
18) Miami Dolphins - Jaelan Phillips, Miami DE
19) Washington Football Team - Jamin Davis, Kentucky LB
20) New York Giants (from Bears) - Kadarius Toney, WR Florida
21) Indianapolis Colts - Kwity Paye, Michigan DE
22) Tennessee Titans - Caleb Farley, Virginia Tech CB
23) Minnesota Vikings (from Jets via Seahawks) - Christian Darrisaw, Virginia Tech OL
24) Pittsburgh Steelers - Najee Harris, Alabama RB
25) Jacksonville Jaguars (from Rams) - Travis Etienne, Clemson RB
26) Cleveland Browns - Greg Newsome, Northwestern CB
27) Baltimore Ravens - Rashod Bateman, Minnesota
28) New Orleans Saints - Payton Turner, Houston DE
29) Green Bay Packers - Eric Stokes, Georgia CB
30) Buffalo Bills - Gregory Rousseau, Miami DE
31) Baltimore Ravens (from Chiefs) - Jayson Oweh, Penn State DE
32) Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Joe Tryon, Washington DE

Trades

The Philadelphia Eagles acquired the 10th pick from the Dallas Cowboys for the No. 12 pick and a 2021 third-round selection.

The Chicago Bears acquired the 11th pick from the New York Giants for the 20th overall pick, a fifth-rounder, and a first- and fourth-round selection in 2021.

The New York Jets acquired the 14th overall selection and a fourth-round pick from the Minnesota Vikings for the 23rd overall and two third-rounders.

Trey Lance has emerged as the favorite for the San Francisco 49ers with the third overall pick.

BetOnline has Lance as a -150 favorite ahead of Mac Jones at +150 and Justin Fields at +500.

Kyle Pitts is a long shot at +5000.

The New Orleans Saints are trying to move into the top-10 of the draft, sources tell ESPN.

While the primary reason isn't to select a quarterback, the Saints would change their minds if one quarterback remains available at their new draft slot. 

While the Jacksonville Jaguars have been widely expected to select Trevor Lawrence at No. 1, they narrowed their options down to Lawrence, Zach Wilson and Justin Fields.

The Jaguars then interviewed all three quarterbacks via Zoom two separate times apiece. 

The Jaguars talked them through various plays and also got to know all three on a personal level.

When the San Francisco 49ers traded up to No. 3, there were three quarterbacks they were comfortable drafting and they can now "get there" with Nos. 4 and 5.

Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson are expected to be selected first and second, which will leave the 49ers to decide between Mac Jones, Trey Lance and Justin Fields.

"We knew that there was three at the time," Kyle Shanahan said. "That's why we thought [No.] 3 was a good spot to go to. After going through this whole process, I felt good about five guys at [No.] 3. Yeah, we had a guy probably at first back then, but we knew that wasn't set in stone. And we knew the only way we could figure out a little bit more, especially when you can't work out guys, you can't meet with these people, there's a lot of things you can't do this year. The only way we could go off that is if we got closer to where we could do a little more in-depth thing that we didn't have to hide. We did. In that time, I think every candidate has gotten stronger. And yeah, we probably started with one in mind, but that one has gotten better since and so have all the other candidates."

The decision will ultimately fall to Shanahan and John Lynch.

"It's been an incredibly thorough process, but ultimately someone has got to be charged with making a decision and in this case, it's the both of us," Lynch said. "Everyone has in their contract 'you do this,' and the draft is mine, but I told Kyle from the beginning that he and I are doing this together. And when it comes to quarterbacks ... we have a head coach who is also our offensive playcaller, I will always defer to him. What's cool about that is I think Kyle respects my opinion enough, he always wants it and ultimately, we arrive at decisions, we will and come Thursday we have a pick that hopefully makes everyone proud. But that will be judged in years to come and we have done our best to make sure it's a great decision for this franchise."

While Trevor Lawrence is the clear consensus top quarterback in the 2021 NFL draft, it has become clear that "almost all" teams have Zach Wilson at No. 2.

Wilson is almost certain to be drafted at No. 2 by the New York Jets.

After Wilson, there are wide ranging opinions on Justin Fields, Mac Jones and Trey Lance. 

The Denver Broncos want to add "competition" at quarterback for Drew Lock.

In his pre-draft remarks Thursday, George Paton again said he likes Lock's potential as a quarterback but wouldn't commit to him being the team's Week 1 starter.

The Broncos own the No. 9 pick in the draft.

Paton said the team would consider trading up in the first round for "the right guy" on draft day, depending on who was available after the opening picks are made.

Justin Jefferson thought the Philadelphia Eagles were going to draft him 21st overall last spring, but they passed on him in favor of fellow wide receiver Jalen Reagor.

Jefferson then went 22nd overall to the Minnesota Vikings.

"Leading up to the draft, you know, they had all of those mock drafts and people sharing their opinions on who is going to go where," Jefferson told GQ. "A lot of people had me going to Philly. And, I thought I was going to Philly. Honestly. The funny part is, Philly was on the board and then Minnesota called me. At first, I thought it was Philly. But, I answered the phone and it was Minnesota. It's crazy how all of that happened and everything. But, I'm definitely, definitely, definitely excited that I'm on the Vikings rather than Philly."

Justin Fields has confirmed to NFL teams that he is managing epilepsy, a neurological disorder that can cause seizures. 

The condition has not affected Fields on the field and his symptoms have been shorter and less frequent over the past few years.

Doctors believe Fields will outgrow it as his other family members have.

Fields is believed to be under consideration as high as the San Francisco 49ers at No. 3. 

The Carolina Panthers have had discussions with other teams about trading down from No. 8.

The Panthers acquired a quarterback in Sam Darnold and could unload the pick for a team seeking one of the quarterbacks.

Conversations with other teams are ongoing.