National Football League

Buy, Sell, Hold: Colin Cowherd predicts the 2021 NFL Draft

Updated Apr. 23, 2021 6:08 p.m. ET

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The 2021 NFL Draft is right around the corner. 

With so many what-ifs being tossed around, Colin Cowherd is here to set us straight and give his predictions for what we should and shouldn’t expect to see when the draft kicks off Thursday. Here is the newest edition of "Buy, Sell, Hold."

Here we go. 

Proposition: Five QBs will be selected in the first eight overall picks.

Colin's take: Buy

"Seven of eight teams picking, you could argue, would take a quarterback. Atlanta I doubt. Miami I doubt, but many believe in a year, they will be looking for a quarterback as well. … Two-plus quarterbacks have been selected in the top 10 in six straight drafts, and I’d argue with NFL rule changes, the league has never been more quarterback-dependent."

Proposition: Alabama WR DeVonta Smith will fall out of the top 20.

Colin's take: Hold

"Three different times he could have [measured and] weighed in in this process. He declined all of them. His draft position, according to FOX Bet, is somewhere [around] 11.5, but you get into those teams like the Giants at 11 and the Chargers around there. They need offensive line help. … I do think he has a chance to have a precipitous drop. I don’t think there’s a lot of teams that need wide receivers in that 11-18 spot."

Proposition: There will be at least two more trades in the top 10.

Colin's take: Sell

"The Atlanta Falcons are taking calls at No. 4, but according to various reports, they are driving a very hard bargain. We also have a draft with Kyle Pitts, who is, many believe, the best player in the draft, and he’ll be available at four. There were no trades last year on top-10 picks … and I don’t think Denver is gonna trade up because I think they like Trey Lance and Justin Fields, and I think when Atlanta doesn’t get a quarterback, they can sit, be patient and get one of those two. … I think New England is the team that trades up into the top 10."

Proposition: QBs will be selected with the first four picks of the draft. 

Colin's take: Sell

"In the history of the draft, that’s never happened, and Matt Ryan is such a dead cap hit to your salary cap this year, $65 million, $40 million next year, that they are so tied to his contract that if they got a quarterback ... just think of the nonsense, the media, the fan pushback and blowback you’re gonna have to deal with. … I don’t think the Falcons pick a quarterback."

Proposition: Justin Fields will be drafted before Trey Lance. 

Colin's take: Hold

"Well, it’s interesting now. There’s a report now that [Lance] has epilepsy. I don’t think it’s everything, but if a team like Denver could go either way, is that a difference-maker? [Fields] has also been the most picked on of all the quarterbacks … and Trey Lance, I believe, is a better fit for New England just because his personality, his ceiling and the fact that of all the quarterbacks, he’s the one that needs to sit for a year behind Cam Newton."

Proposition: Lions will draft a QB with the seventh overall pick. 

Colin's take: Sell 

"Dan Campbell, he’s a tough guy. I think he wants physical players. They’re tied to [Jared] Goff’s contract. Like Matt Ryan, it’s a bad cap hit for two years. This team needs so much. Goff is probably one of their most talented players today. When Kenny Golladay got purchased by the Giants, they could go and get a Ja’Marr Chase. They need weapons for Goff. They also need a better O-line. … This franchise has needs at every unit. They have a quarterback."

Proposition: Penn State LB Micah Parsons will be the first defensive player drafted. 

Colin's take: Sell

"There’s not a lot of teams that need a linebacker, so if he fell to, like, 12 or 13, it’s not 'cause he can’t play. … Most of your teams in this draft need quarterbacks, they need offensive lineman, and then you have Kyle Pitts and Ja’Marr Chase, who are just too good not to pick, even if you were OK at tight end and wide receiver. The thing about Micah Parsons … he’s a machine. He’s a productivity machine, and I think he also runs well. I just think some coach is going to fall in love with him and think he can make him a star, and I think he has star potential. … Dallas at 10 needs defense, and Dallas doesn’t need linebackers. … I think he’s gonna be the second. …. I think Jaycee Horn or Patrick Surtain, the corner, is going to be the first player taken."

Proposition: The Patriots will draft a QB in the first round.  

Colin's take: Buy

"Belichick has never drafted a quarterback in the first round, but Cam Newton’s got a one-year deal. … This is also an organization that is bereft of offensive talent, so I say yes."

Proposition: Six or more QBs will be drafted in the first round. 

Colin's take: Sell 

"Kyle Trask at Florida throws a nice ball, but I worry that Dan Mullen elevated him beyond what he is. Kellen Mond at Texas A&M feels like a second- or third-round guy. … I understand the quarterback thing. I look at the bottom of the first round … I could see Tampa maybe doing it, but when you have Tom Brady, it just seems like, to me, at the end of the first round, there’s some really nice defensive players, and Jason Licht wants to draft somebody who’s gonna play and not just learn." 

Check out Colin's entire breakdown below: 

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