RSS FeedDraft Status of Super Bowl Starters for 2021 Season
By Chris Malumphy
Super Bowl teams are built in many ways. A first step in any analysis checks to see if a Super Bowl team's starters were drafted or obtained in some other fashion. For the 2021 Season Super Bowl:
The Bengals have three first round picks starting on offense and drafted each of them in the last three years: quarterback Joe Burrow (2020), wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase (2021) and tackle Jonah Williams (2019). The Rams will start two first round picks but didn't draft either of them: quarterback Matthew Stafford and wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.
The Rams have four first round draft picks starting on defense but only drafted one of them themselves (defensive tackle Aaron Donald) while three were drafted by other teams: cornerback Jalen Ramsey (Jaguars) and linebackers Leonard Floyd (Bears) and Von Miller (Broncos). The Bengals will start one first round pick on defense: cornerback Eli Apple who was drafted by the Giants.
The Bengals will start two undrafted players on offense and one on defense while the Rams will not start any undrafted player on offense but will start three on defense.
Both teams drafted their place kickers: Matt Gay (Rams) and Evan McPherson (Bengals). The Bengals also drafted their punter Kevin Huber while the Rams Johnny Hekker was undrafted.
| 2021 Season Super Bowl Starters | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bengals Offense | ||||||||
| Position | Name | Draft Year | Team | Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| QB | Joe Burrow | 2020 | Bengals | 1 | 1 | 1 | QB | Louisiana State |
| RB | Joe Mixon | 2017 | Bengals | 2 | 16 | 48 | RB | Oklahoma |
| WR | Ja'Marr Chase | 2021 | Bengals | 1 | 5 | 5 | WR | Louisiana State |
| WR | Tee Higgins | 2020 | Bengals | 2 | 1 | 33 | WR | Clemson |
| TE | C.J. Uzomah | 2015 | Bengals | 5 | 21 | 157 | TE | Auburn |
| TE | Drew Sample | 2019 | Bengals | 2 | 20 | 52 | TE | Washington |
| T | Jonah Williams | 2019 | Bengals | 1 | 11 | 11 | T | Alabama |
| T | Isaiah Prince | 2019 | Dolphins | 6 | 29 | 202 | T | Ohio State |
| G | Hakeem Adeniji | 2020 | Bengals | 6 | 1 | 180 | T | Kansas |
| G | Quinton Spain | 2015 | West Virginia | |||||
| C | Trey Hopkins | 2014 | Texas | |||||
| Bengals Defense | ||||||||
| Position | Name | Draft Year | Team | Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| DE | Trey Hendrickson | 2017 | Saints | 3 | 39 | 103 | LB | Florida Atlantic |
| DE | Sam Hubbard | 2018 | Bengals | 3 | 13 | 77 | DE | Ohio State |
| DT | B.J. Hill | 2018 | Giants | 3 | 5 | 69 | DT | North Carolina State |
| DT | D.J. Reader | 2016 | Texans | 5 | 29 | 166 | DT | Clemson |
| LB | Logan Wilson | 2020 | Bengals | 3 | 1 | 65 | LB | Wyoming |
| LB | Germaine Pratt | 2019 | Bengals | 3 | 8 | 72 | LB | North Carolina State |
| CB | Mike Hilton | 2016 | Mississippi | |||||
| CB | Chidobe Awuzie | 2017 | Cowboys | 2 | 28 | 60 | DB | Colorado |
| CB | Eli Apple | 2016 | Giants | 1 | 10 | 10 | DB | Ohio State |
| S | Vonn Bell | 2016 | Saints | 2 | 30 | 61 | DB | Ohio State |
| S | Jessie Bates | 2018 | Bengals | 2 | 22 | 54 | DB | Wake Forest |
| Bengals Special Teams | ||||||||
| Position | Name | Draft Year | Team | Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| K | Evan McPherson | 2021 | Bengals | 5 | 5 | 149 | K | Florida |
| P | Kevin Huber | 2009 | Bengals | 5 | 6 | 142 | P | Cincinnati |
| LS | Clark Harris | 2007 | Packers | 7 | 33 | 243 | TE | Rutgers |
| H | Kevin Huber | 2009 | Bengals | 5 | 6 | 142 | P | Cincinnati |
| KR | Chris Evans | 2021 | Bengals | 6 | 18 | 202 | RB | Michigan |
| PR | Trent Taylor | 2017 | 49ers | 5 | 34 | 177 | WR | Louisiana Tech |
| ST | Stanley Morgan | 2019 | Nebraska | |||||
| Rams Offense | ||||||||
| Position | Name | Draft Year | Team | Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| QB | Matthew Stafford | 2009 | Lions | 1 | 1 | 1 | QB | Georgia |
| RB | Cam Akers | 2020 | Rams | 2 | 20 | 52 | RB | Florida State |
| WR | Cooper Kupp | 2017 | Rams | 3 | 5 | 69 | WR | Eastern Washington |
| WR | Odell Beckham | 2014 | Giants | 1 | 12 | 12 | WR | Louisiana State |
| WR | Van Jefferson | 2020 | Rams | 2 | 25 | 57 | WR | Florida |
| TE | Tyler Higbee | 2016 | Rams | 4 | 12 | 110 | TE | Western Kentucky |
| T | Andrew Whitworth | 2006 | Bengals | 2 | 23 | 55 | T | Louisiana State |
| T | Rob Havenstein | 2015 | Rams | 2 | 25 | 57 | T | Wisconsin |
| G | Austin Corbett | 2018 | Browns | 2 | 1 | 33 | C | Nevada |
| G | David Edwards | 2019 | Rams | 5 | 31 | 169 | T | Wisconsin |
| C | Brian Allen | 2018 | Rams | 4 | 11 | 111 | C | Michigan State |
| Rams Defense | ||||||||
| Position | Name | Draft Year | Team | Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| DT | Greg Gaines | 2019 | Rams | 4 | 32 | 134 | DT | Washington |
| DT | A'Shawn Robinson | 2016 | Lions | 2 | 15 | 46 | DT | Alabama |
| DT | Aaron Donald | 2014 | Rams | 1 | 13 | 13 | DT | Pittsburgh |
| DT | Marquise Copeland | 2019 | Cincinnati | |||||
| OLB | Leonard Floyd | 2016 | Bears | 1 | 9 | 9 | LB | Georgia |
| OLB | Von Miller | 2011 | Broncos | 1 | 2 | 2 | LB | Texas A&M |
| LB | Troy Reeder | 2019 | Delaware | |||||
| CB | Jalen Ramsey | 2016 | Jaguars | 1 | 5 | 5 | DB | Florida State |
| CB | Darious Williams | 2018 | Alabama-Birminham | |||||
| S | Nick Scott | 2019 | Rams | 7 | 29 | 243 | DB | Penn State |
| S | Eric Weddle | 2007 | Chargers | 2 | 5 | 37 | DB | Utah |
| Rams Special Teams | ||||||||
| Position | Name | Draft Year | Team | Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| K | Matt Gay | 2019 | Buccaneers | 5 | 7 | 145 | K | Utah |
| P | Johnny Hekker | 2012 | Oregon State | |||||
| LS | Matthew Orzech | 2019 | Azusa Pacific | |||||
| H | Johnny Hekker | 2012 | Oregon State | |||||
| KR | Brandon Powell | 2018 | Florida | |||||
| PR | Tutu Atwell | 2021 | Rams | 2 | 25 | 57 | WR | Louisville |
| ST | Ben Skowronek | 2021 | Rams | 7 | 22 | 249 | WR | Notre Dame |
