NFL Draft 2021: Latest 1st-round mock
The NFL Draft is (finally) almost here. Trevor Lawrence is basically already a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars, and Zach Wilson might as well start planning a move to New Jersey to start his Jets career.
Those two picks might as well be locked in.
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The draft, really, “starts” at No. 3 and the question of which quarterback the 49ers decide to draft: Mac Jones, Trey Lance or Justin Fields. They could go in any direction.
And then the rest of the first round, of course, is a crapshoot.
Here’s our latest mock draft, full of trades up to get quarterbacks (and in one case, a cornerback) and surprises:
1. Jacksonville Jaguars: QB Trevor Lawrence, Clemson.
I thought about pushing Lawrence down the order to motivate him but apparently that doesn’t work on him.
2. New York Jets: Zach Wilson, BYU.
Joe Douglas still has a lot of work to do surrounding Wilson with an equitable supporting cast. The offensive line still looks like a problem in particular.
3. San Francisco 49ers: Justin Fields, Ohio State.
Maybe all the Mac Jones noise is just noise. Fields is the best option at quarterback here. This writer may or may not believe that he’s going to ultimately have a better career than Zach Wilson.
4. Atlanta Falcons: TE Kyle Pitts, Florida.
The Falcons are stuck with Matt Ryan for another two years anyway, so they might as well get the most talented player available at this point. They can also trade back.
5. Cincinnati Bengals: WR Ja’Marr Chase, LSU.
Chase reunites with his old college quarterback. Joe Burrow needs better offensive linemen, but the chance to get a player of this talent level is hard to pass up.
6. Miami Dolphins: T Penei Sewell, Oregon.
Miami could go weapon here, but they need an upgrade at tackle and it doesn’t get much better than Sewell.
7. Detroit Lions: WR Jaylen Waddle, Alabama.
Detroit’s wide receiver group is all of a sudden one of the worst in the NFL and there are some teams around the league that have Waddle ranked ahead of Chase in this class, even coming off an injury-plagued season.
♦TRADE
Patriots get: First-round pick (No. 8) Panthers get: First-round pick (No. 15), third-round pick (No. 96) and 2022 first-round pick
8. New England Patriots (via Panthers): QB Mac Jones, Alabama.
Bill Belichick and Nick Saban have surely had many conversations throughout this process about Jones. That familiarity gives him the edge over Trey Lance.
♦TRADE
Eagles get: First-round pick (No. 9) Broncos get: First-round pick (No. 12), third-round pick (No. 84) and fifth-round pick (No. 150)
9. Philadelphia Eagles (via Broncos): CB Patrick Surtain II, Alabama.
There’s been rumblings that Howie Roseman is looking to get back into the top 10, and that would conceivably be for one of two things: To jump ahead of the Giants for DeVonta Smith, or to get ahead of the Cowboys for
Surtain. This is a deep wide receiver class and the Eagles have plenty of picks they can use on that position later on. There are no cornerbacks quite at Surtain’s level in this class and that’s a major need right now.
10. Dallas Cowboys: CB Jaycee Horn, South Carolina.
The Cowboys need cornerback badly enough that, with Pitts off the board, it’d be hard to argue against picking the next-best cornerback on the board.
11. New York Giants: OL Rashawn Slater, Northwestern.
The Giants have their choice of Slater, DeVonta Smith and Micah Parsons here — as well as all the edge rushers — but the Northwestern product is the smart choice. He can be viewed as an upgrade at right tackle or guard, wherever the Giants would want to play him, and their offensive line isn’t good enough to skirt drafting a potential upgrade. They can wait to pick an edge rusher.
12. Denver Broncos (via Eagles): QB Trey Lance, North Dakota State.
The Broncos trade back and still get a quarterback here. Maybe this isn’t their plan upon trading back, but Drew Lock has been uninspiring thus far and if Lance or Jones are still on the board, they should draft one of them to become their quarterback of the future.
13. Los Angeles Chargers: OT Christian Darrisaw, Virginia Tech.
Left tackle is the biggest hole on the roster and the Chargers almost have no choice here.
14. Minnesota Vikings: EDGE Kwity Paye, Michigan.
Minnesota signed a bunch of players on defense in free agency and could use upgrades on the O-Line, but their edge rusher group outside of Danielle Hunter is a bit of a mess. Paye is still a bit developmental but the talent is there.
15. Carolina Panthers (via Patriots): WR DeVonta Smith, Alabama.
Carolina is ecstatic to see Smith fall this far. Sam Darnold will have Smith, D.J. Moore and Robby Anderson — as well as a better offensive line than with the Jets — at his disposal, not to mention Christian McCaffrey. There would be no more excuses for his failure.
16. Arizona Cardinals: DT Christian Barmore, Alabama.
Arizona has a need at defensive tackle and Barmore might be the only player at the position worth drafting in the first round this year. The interior defensive line class is brutal.
17. Las Vegas Raiders: CB Greg Newsome, Northwestern.
The Raiders have a mess on the offensive line but cornerback is just as bad and Newsome can step right in and start on Gus Bradley’s defense.
18. Miami Dolphins: WR Rashod Bateman, Minnesota.
Miami could also go with Clemson running back Travis Etienne here, but they can snag a starter-quality running back in Round 2. Bateman has remarkable athleticism and skills with a high ceiling.
19. Washington Football Team: LB Micah Parsons, Penn State.
Washington always seems to have talented players drop into their lap and Parsons is no exception. There are some off-field questions that could drop him a little bit but in terms of pure talent he’s a top 5-10 player.
20. Chicago Bears: OL Alijah Vera-Tucker, USC.
The Bears need a quarterback (stay tuned for later on in this round) but their offensive line could use some work too. Vera-Tucker can step right in as a starter at tackle or either guard spot.
21. Indianapolis Colts: EDGE Jaelan Phillips, Miami.
The Colts have a need at edge rusher and in terms of talent, Phillips would be a defensible pick even higher than this. He has some durability questions but not big enough of a concern that they should pass him up here.
22. Tennessee Titans: WR Kadarius Toney, Florida.
A.J. Brown needs help and few players in this class are as explosive as Toney.
23. New York Jets: CB Caleb Farley, Virginia Tech.
Joe Douglas, for some reason, didn’t address the cornerback position even a little bit in free agency. They almost have no choice but to pick one earlier in this draft, and Farley is a top-10 talent that could drop due to injury concerns.
24. Pittsburgh Steelers:
RB
Najee Harris, Alabama.
The Steelers let James Conner walk and they need a talented running back to get their running game looking like it used to. Harris or
Etienne would be defensible here — the Steelers also need a center — but Harris just feels like a Steeler.
25. Jacksonville Jaguars: LB Zaven Collins, Tulsa.
He’s an intriguing player that can double both as an edge rusher and off-ball linebacker that’s impressive in coverage. The Jaguars are in the business of simply adding talented players, and Collins fits the bill.
26. Cleveland Browns: LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Notre Dame.
The Browns need a linebacker and Owusu-Koramoah could wind up getting picked even higher than this. His athleticism is tantalizing.
27. Baltimore Ravens: EDGE Azeez Ojulari, Georgia.
Baltimore needs a lot of help at edge rusher after losing both Yannick Ngakoue and Matthew Judon and Ojulari should be able to step in and start right away.
28. New Orleans Saints: CB Asante Samuel Jr., Michigan.
The Saints cut Janoris Jenkins and didn’t add anyone to replace him with, so Samuel — who has great bloodlines — is a smart pick.
29. Green Bay Packers: WR Elijah Moore, Mississippi.
Aaron Rodgers might permanently bail on the Packers for Jeopardy if they don’t get him a wide receiver.
30. Buffalo Bills: EDGE Jayson Oweh, Penn State.
The Bills can afford to make a luxury pick, and Oweh might be the most tantalizing prospect in this draft. He’s a historically impressive athlete but
needs a lot of development. Luckily, the Bills can afford to be patient with a player of his talent level.
31. Kansas City Chiefs: OT Teven Jenkins, Oklahoma State.
The Chiefs cut both of their starting tackles so offensive line seems like an obvious target position here. ♦TRADE
Bears get: Buccaneers first-round pick (No. 32) and fourth-round pick (No. 95)
Buccaneers get: Bears secondround pick (No. 52), third-round pick (No. 83), sixth-round pick (No. 204) and 2022 second-round pick
32. Chicago Bears (via Buccaneers): QB Kellen Mond, Texas A&M.
The Bears trade back up into the late first to get their quarterback of the future. If Chicago believes in someone like Mond or Stanford’s Davis Mills, in makes sense to trade up to make sure they have five years of control over their future starter. Mond isn’t a perfect prospect but he’s more proven than the other QBs available here and has dual-threat capabilities.
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Zack Rosenblatt may be reached at zrosenblatt@njadvancemedia. com.