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Yes, its early in the 2021 NFL draft procedure. What follows is a really premature projection of the first 32 picks for next Aprils draft.
This 2021 group is talented with high-impact capacity. I have 3 highly ranked quarterbacks coming off the board, and the top guy is probably the very best QB possibility Ive seen in a while. And if you still arent tired of proficient pass receivers after the 2020 draft, youre in luck– this class has plenty too. A couple of SEC pass-catchers, in specific, stand out as appealing future NFLers.
The Day 1 names will naturally modification over the next eight-plus months, however this exercise is usually a great beginning point for the class. My way-too-early mock of the 2020 class included 10 potential customers who ultimately wound up entering the very first round. There are a lot of unknowns at this moment. Even as we wait for more news on the college football season (the Big Ten and Pac-12 already canceled their fall seasons and plan to look at spring choices), lets anticipate the opening 32 choices of the 2021 NFL draft. We start with the Football Power Indexs lowest-rated group for the upcoming season.
Note: Draft order forecast is via ESPNs Football Power Index (FPI). Underclassmen are noted with an asterisk.
Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson *.
OK, lets begin with a no-brainer. Lawrence is a once-in-a-decade type of quarterback prospect who presently has our highest Scouts Inc. grade on a QB given that Andrew Luck in 2012 (99 ). Jacksonville dealt Nick Foles in the offseason, leaving it with just Gardner Minshew II and Mike Glennon, and Lawrence would step right in for the Jaguars as an instant game-breaking starter. With a big arm, fantastic mobility for his 6-foot-6 frame, excellent poise under pressure and off-the-charts intangibles, it wouldnt be long prior to he was among the games best.
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Washington went out and got Kendall Fuller in free firm, but with Fabian Moreau and Ronald Darby set to be totally free agents next spring, this CB group requires a punch. And Surtain– the son of previous Pro Bowl corner Patrick Surtain– is a real shutdown corner. I enjoy his impulses, ball abilities and capability to cover up and make a take on, but what stands out is how well he diagnoses paths and funnels receivers to where he desires them to go. He may simply wind up the very best defensive gamer in the entire 2021 class, and in addition to 2020 No. 2 overall choice Chase Young, he d help revamp a Washington defense that was No. 27 in lawns permitted per game in 2019 (though it d be hard for Washington to leave a guy like LSU receiver JaMarr Chase on the board with its issues at receiver).
Patrick Surtain II, CB, Alabama *.
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Yes, its early in the 2021 NFL draft process. Focus has actually been somewhere else as sports begin to return to play in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, and the college football scene for 2020 is still cloudy at best. What follows is an extremely early projection of the first 32 picks for next Aprils draft.
And if you still arent tired of knowledgeable large receivers after the 2020 draft, youre in luck– this class has plenty too. Even as we await more news on the college football season (the Big Ten and Pac-12 already canceled their fall seasons and strategy to look at spring alternatives), lets anticipate the opening 32 picks of the 2021 NFL draft.