GoVols247’s Wes Rucker (from Fort Rucker Studio) and Patrick Brown (from his house at an undisclosed location) convened via the magic of Al Gore’s Internets to discuss the 2020 NFL Draft that was and the 2021 NFL Draft would be as they related to the Vols.

It wasn’t supposed to be a big draft for the Vols in 2020, especially after star offensive lineman Trey Smith chose to return to school for his senior season, and it definitely wasn’t a big draft. Two Vols came off the board, though, with edge rusher Darrell Taylor going to the Seattle Seahawks in the second round and wide receiver Jauan Jennings going to the San Francisco 49ers in the seventh round.

Several more Vols were quickly snatched up as free agents after the draft, though, with wide receiver Marquez Callaway going to the New Orleans Saints, safety Nigel Warrior going to the Baltimore Ravens and tight end Dominick Wood-Anderson joining Taylor in Seattle. Another former Tennessee star — inside linebacker Daniel Bituli — wasn’t selected and hasn’t signed a free-agent deal yet, but 247Sports broke the story on Bituli’s situation and explained why he’s expected to sign somewhere in the near future.

A hefty discussion on the Vols who were drafted and those who signed free-agent deals (and Bituli) is featured throughout the first segment of this episode. There was plenty to discuss there, though, so it was a lengthy segment.

The 2021 NFL Draft becomes the focal point of the show in the second segment, and that should be at least a slightly bigger deal for the Vols.

A dozen-or-so Tennessee players who could be selected in next year’s draft, so there was plenty to discuss in that segment, as well, but this episode was neatly split into two distinct segments for those who don’t have the time to squeeze everything into one listening window.

The next GoVols247 Podcast episode will be released Thursday, unless major breaking news occurs before that point.