The 2011 NFL Draft was stacked, and it was also different from any other in the modern era due to the lockout over the CBA.

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/nfl by /u/stoic_bison on 2026-04-18 15:30:31+00:00.

---

Almost 15 years ago now, we saw the incredibly stacked 2011 NFL Draft. The first round featured so many players that went on to become staples of the league, including:

* Cam Newton

* Von Miller

* AJ Green

* Patrick Peterson

* Julio Jones

* Aldon Smith (until the off the field issues)

* Tyron Smith

* JJ Watt

* Ryan Kerrigan

* Anthony Castonzo

* Cam Jordan

* Cam Heyward

Later picks included:

* Jason Kelce (Round 6)

* Richard Sherman (5)

* Justin Houston (3)

* Andy Dalton (2)

While the draft had loads of talent, the interesting part was how the lockout that offseason over the expired CBA impacted everything. The two big ramifications here were timing and trades.

For the first and only time during this era, the NFL Draft occurred before Free Agency began in 2011. This was because the league year hadn’t officially started yet, and the draft happened due to an exception. Free Agency ended up in July that year. That obviously affected roster construction as teams made their selections before knowing who they would secure in Free Agency.

The other aspect was with no CBA in place, players could not legally be traded. This meant that trades could only involve draft picks. That restriction even extended to players that were taken during the draft. So for example, the Eli Manning trade could not have happened. Even still, the Falcons and Browns did manage to pull off a massive deal to trade for the pick that became Bucs legend Julio Jones.

Another ramification that lingers to this day was the booing of Roger Goodell. Due to the failure to come to an agreement up to that point, Goodell was met with a wave of boos for the first time. The boos were louder than anything we hear today, occurred throughout, and also included chants of “We Want Football!”

If that wasn’t enough drama, this was also the draft where the Ravens failed to select their first round pick before the clock ran out, as they were working on a deal until the last minute. The Chiefs, who were next on the board at 27, ended up immediately taking Jonathon Baldwin 26th overall before Baltimore could make their selection. I’d say it worked out for them though as they ended up with Jimmy Smith at 27.