2021 Mock Draft

[Blue]

1. Jacksonville Jaguars - Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson

Duh.

2. New York Jets - Zach Wilson, QB, BYU

Widely reported.

3. San Francisco 49ers - Mac Jones, QB, Alabama

A lot of smoke around this one, perhaps it's all nonsense but I just don't see why San Francisco would waste their time on smokescreens if they know who the top two picks are (and they definitely do).

4. Atlanta Falcons - Jaelan Phillips, Edge, Miami

A heck of a shocker pick, I know, but Phillips would be a top-5 selection without the concussion history. Atlanta needs defensive help badly and who knows how this front office views Phillips' injury concerns.

5. Cincinnati Bengals - Penei Sewell, OT, Oregon

I expect the Bengals to do the right thing in the end and take the franchise left tackle over the offensive weapons. The Chiefs showed in the Super Bowl that all the weapons in the world don't matter if your quarterback gets hurt and you can't protect him.

6. Miami Dolphins - Kyle Pitts, TE, Florida

Gesicki hasn't done enough through three years to make Miami commit to him over an elite athlete like Pitts.

7. Detroit Lions - Ja'Marr Chase, WR, LSU

Chase doesn't have top-5 measurables, despite clearly being the top receiver in the class, and I think that could push him down a little lower than expected. Detroit isn't complaining.

8. Carolina Panthers - Trey Lance, QB, North Dakota State

Carolina obviously wants to obtain a top-notch QB and the QB2 in this class drops to them here. Hopefully they're patient enough to sit Lance behind Bridgewater for a year and develop him a la Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes.

9. Denver Broncos - Rashawn Slater, OT, Northwestern

RT has been a revolving door for the Broncs, and Slater can help either there or at guard in a pinch. Slater is just too good to allow him to fall into the teens, especially with Denver committing a lot of resources into receiver and cornerback (which are the positions with the top prospects available at this point) in the past year.

10. Dallas Cowboys - Patrick Surtain Jr., CB, Alabama

After letting their top two corners walk in consecutive offseasons, Dallas is in need there yet again. Surtain has a similar profile to former Cowboys CB Byron Jones as a quality athlete in need of a little more refinement at corner.

11. New York Giants - Devonta Smith, WR, Alabama

Tough to imagine Gettleman spending a high-round pick on a receiver, but Smith has the accolades and football character to maybe make him think twice even with Golladay signing a long-term deal.

12. Philadelphia Eagles - Jaycee Horn, CB, South Carolina

The Eagles can't keep getting by with one-year cast-offs and late-round talent at cornerback. They need somebody opposite Slay who can take over as the No. 1 while Slay ages into a supporting role.

13. Los Angeles Chargers - Christian Darrisaw, OT, Virginia Tech

Likewise, LA can't go much longer without a competent starting left tackle. They may trade up for Slater if they can just to solidify the spot.

14. Minnesota Vikings - Micah Parsons, LB, Penn State

An elite athlete who can fill a similar role to Anthony Barr in Mike Zimmer's defense, this is admittedly a bit of a luxury pick for a team with offensive line and safety questions, but the value just isn't there at those positions and it's tough to see Zimmer signing off on a defensive lineman this early given his history there.

15. New England Patriots - Justin Fields, QB, Ohio State

Fields has a similar enough playing style to Cam Newton that you can see Belichick viewing him as a natural fit for the offense he wants to run. If Fields is falling, I would expect New England to explore a trade up for him.

16. Arizona Cardinals - Najee Harris, RB, Alabama

Cards can't go into the season with Chase Edmonds atop the depth chart and running back isn't a terribly deep group this year. Harris is the clear No. 1 back and would be a fun counterpart to Kyle Murray.

17. Las Vegas Raiders - Alijah Vera-Tucker, G, USC

After dismantling their offensive line, taking a prospect from a nearby high-profile school in the first round feels like a typical Mayock-Gruden move.

18. Miami Dolphins - Kwity Paye, Edge, Michigan

Miami's pass rush is a big problem, with inside backer Jerome Baker finishing second on the team in sacks last year with 7 and journeyman Emmanuel Ogbah nearly doubling his previous season career high. Paye is an athletic freak that I think the Phins will like.

19. Washington Football Team - Jaylen Waddle, WR, Alabama

A combination of other needs and teams who just spent high draft picks on receivers last year push Waddle  way down the board, but Washington is happy to scoop him up for QB To Be Named Later to throw to deep.

20. Chicago Bears - Travis Etienne, RB, Clemson

A bit of a reach in terms of positional value but David Montgomery has yet to prove himself as a dynamic starter, while Andy Dalton is not going to push this offense over the top. The Bears need some speed in their offense and Etienne can provide home-run talent.

21. Indianapolis Colts - Azeez Ojulari, Edge, Georgia

Replacing one Georgia pass-rusher with another, Ojulari is a stronger run defender than some of the other edge players in this class and fills a gaping hole on the Indy defensive line.

22. Tennessee Titans - Sam Cosmi, OT, Texas

After the hilarious debacle of Isaiah Wilson last year, Tennessee still needs to fill a hole at right tackle and goes with a more reliable option in Cosmi.

23. New York Jets - Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, LB, Notre Dame

HC Robert Saleh had great success with undersized off-ball backers in Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw with San Francisco, and here he gets the leader of his defense who is a bit of a safety/backer hybrid.

24. Pittsburgh Steelers - Greg Newsome, CB, Northwestern

Secondary talent past Minkah Fitzpatrick is in a poor state right now for the Steelers, so a Midwest guy with good athleticism seems to fit the ticket.

25. Jacksonville Jaguars - Zaven Collins, LB, Tulsa

Myles Jack hasn't played great for the Jags and they have nothing around him at off-ball backer. Collins is a physical specimen with great all-around game who can help with pass rush, coverage, and run support while growing into a middle linebacker role.

26. Cleveland Browns - Christian Barmore, DT, Alabama

Cleveland filled out their starting defensive line with a pair of one-year deals, while Sheldon Richardson is on the downswing of his career. A long-term running mate for Myles Garrett and year 1 replacement for Larry Ogunjobi is here for the taking.

27. Baltimore Ravens - Rashod Bateman, WR, Minnesota

Baltimore keeps adding to their receiving corps until they hit on something. Lamar Jackson already has a couple speedsters in Marqise Brown and now Sammy Watkins, so let's get him a possession guy to help move the chains consistently.

28. New Orleans Saints - Eric Stokes, CB, Georgia

A top-notch athlete, New Orleans was forced to gut its CB room to fit under the cap and picks up a potential stud here to keep their Super Bowl window alive.

29. Green Bay Packers - Kadarius Toney, WR, Florida

Toney has the required size for a Packers receiver and the speed to be the reliable deep-threat running mate for Davante Adams that Allen Lazard and Marquez Valdes-Scantling haven't quite panned out to be. LaFleur is likely salivating at the various gadget plays he can run with Toney out of the backfield, too.

30. Buffalo Bills - Jayson Oweh, Edge, Penn State

Almost the Wyoming Josh Allen of edge prospects, Oweh is a physical specimen who needs time to be coached up to his full potential. Buffalo has shown repeatedly that they're the type of team that thinks they can coach up talent, and so far, they've been pretty good at it.

31. Kansas City Chiefs - Dillon Radunz, OT, North Dakota State

Radunz reminds me a lot of former 1st overall pick and Kansas City Chief left tackle Eric Fisher, and I wouldn't be surprised if they see Radunz as virtually the same player. I could see him starting out at right tackle or getting developed Year 1 as the left tackle of the future.

32. Tampa Bay Bucs - Gregory Rousseau, Edge, Miami

Tampa is in a convenient position of taking a top athletic talent who can contribute as a rookie in sub packages and then step into a starting role a year or two down the line after he's had time to develop. Jason Pierre-Paul won't be around forever and the Bucs know they got to the Super Bowl last year primarily on the back of their defensive front.

Edited April 1, 2021 by Blue

[scar988]

Hate to break it to you, but Mac's last name is Jones, not Wilson.

 

Also, I love Jaelan Phillips, but the Falcons won't be reaching for him because of concussion history. Justin Fields is super high on the team's board and they are probably going him or Pitts if the draft falls this way.

[FalconFan13]

Philips won't go that high i don't even see him breaking the top 10 maybe top 15.  I don't dislike the dude but if we get him it will be via a massive trade down which im perfectly ok with happening and want to happen.  If we trade down to say 15 or so and take Phillips i won't be mad at all with it although if their are better players i still take them 1st but Phillips at 15 wouldn't piss me off either with all those extra picks that we need.

[Blue]

2 hours ago, scar988 said:

Hate to break it to you, but Mac's last name is Jones, not Wilson.

 

Also, I love Jaelan Phillips, but the Falcons won't be reaching for him because of concussion history. Justin Fields is super high on the team's board and they are probably going him or Pitts if the draft falls this way.

lol, brain on autopilot.

I don't buy the QB talk for Atlanta. They're committing to sitting their 4th overall pick for two years if they take a quarterback because Ryan will count $40 million against the cap whether he's on the team or not in 2022. And Ryan is not even remotely close to the problem with that team.

2 hours ago, FalconFan13 said:

Philips won't go that high i don't even see him breaking the top 10 maybe top 15.  I don't dislike the dude but if we get him it will be via a massive trade down which im perfectly ok with happening and want to happen.  If we trade down to say 15 or so and take Phillips i won't be mad at all with it although if their are better players i still take them 1st but Phillips at 15 wouldn't piss me off either with all those extra picks that we need.

I think Phillips either goes top-15 or 2nd round (or later). Too much talent to drop that far if teams are comfortable with his health.

Edited April 1, 2021 by Blue

[scar988]

Just now, Blue said:

lol, brain on autopilot.

I don't buy the QB talk for Atlanta. They're committing to sitting their 4th overall pick for two years if they take a quarterback because Ryan will count $40 million against the cap whether he's on the team or not in 2022. And Ryan is not even remotely close to the problem with that team.

 

I don't agree with it either. They've been showing a ton of interest in Pitts (despite what @FalconFan13would want you to believe. They love Pitts and either he's the pick or Fields or Lance is the pick.

[Blue]

1 minute ago, scar988 said:

I don't agree with it either. They've been showing a ton of interest in Pitts (despite what @FalconFan13would want you to believe. They love Pitts and either he's the pick or Fields or Lance is the pick.

Pitts wouldn't surprise me, the new front office/staff has no connection to Hayden Hurst and he's a soon-to-be 28-year-old on the last year of his rookie deal anyways. Atlanta's in a real difficult spot because they have a ton of defensive needs but not a lot of defensive players worth using the 4th pick on.

[scar988]

3 minutes ago, Blue said:

Pitts wouldn't surprise me, the new front office/staff has no connection to Hayden Hurst and he's a soon-to-be 28-year-old on the last year of his rookie deal anyways. Atlanta's in a real difficult spot because they have a ton of defensive needs but not a lot of defensive players worth using the 4th pick on.

They also need a guard, but they're not drafting based off need. At least not the first round pick. I think the second round pick could easily be an OG like Leatherwood too. So they would need to address a lot of stuff with scheme fits inthe mid-late rounds like the Ravens used to. Pees has a unique defense more about roles than true positions. So I think they will be fine there. They have some good DL with Jarrett and Davidson and Davison. They have good off-ball LBs. They have one EDGE with Fowler. They really need an EDGE, and secondary pieces more than anything on defense.

[ttitansfan4life]

Disgusting Titans pick. I could see them drafting an OT at some point but not that high. They signed Kendall Lamm and resigned swing OT Sambrailo so they don’t exactly have a giant hole. Would they like to upgrade? I’m sure they would but they have huge holes to the rest of the roster. They have to fix the pass-rush and keep building up front. Barmore would be the guy I’d target at 22.

[THE DUKE]

[BowserBroncos]

4 hours ago, Blue said:

9. Denver Broncos - Rashawn Slater, OT, Northwestern

RT has been a revolving door for the Broncs, and Slater can help either there or at guard in a pinch. Slater is just too good to allow him to fall into the teens, especially with Denver committing a lot of resources into receiver and cornerback (which are the positions with the top prospects available at this point) in the past year

If we can't trade down, this would be a good pick. That said, I'll be very disappointed if Fields is there and we neither cash in on a trade down or select him at 9

[BowserBroncos]

4 hours ago, scar988 said:

Hate to break it to you, but Mac's last name is Jones, not Wilson.

 

Also, I love Jaelan Phillips, but the Falcons won't be reaching for him because of concussion history. Justin Fields is super high on the team's board and they are probably going him or Pitts if the draft falls this way.

I think Phillips will go late 1st (along with Ojulari, Paye, Rousseau, Oweh and Ossai)....taking Pitts at 4 and trading back to the 1st for one of those edges would be awesome for Atlanta if they don't tagert QB or trade down (right now I don't believe in someone paying gold for Atlanta to get the 4th best QB of the draft....unless someone screw up in the top 3 picks)

[scar988]

13 minutes ago, BowserBroncos said:

I think Phillips will go late 1st (along with Ojulari, Paye, Rousseau, Oweh and Ossai)....taking Pitts at 4 and trading back to the 1st for one of those edges would be awesome for Atlanta if they don't tagert QB or trade down (right now I don't believe in someone paying gold for Atlanta to get the 4th best QB of the draft....unless someone screw up in the top 3 picks)

I think they will if the team wants that QB enoguh. The top 3 QBs are different for every team. Some like Wilson (which is dumb) and some love Fields, and some love Lance. And some absolutely love Jones. If FIelds and Lance are there at 4, the Falcons could potentially trade down to 7 8 or 9 and get a nice ransom for the pick. Especially if it's the Panthers.

[Blue]

50 minutes ago, ttitansfan4life said:

Disgusting Titans pick. I could see them drafting an OT at some point but not that high. They signed Kendall Lamm and resigned swing OT Sambrailo so they don’t exactly have a giant hole. Would they like to upgrade? I’m sure they would but they have huge holes to the rest of the roster. They have to fix the pass-rush and keep building up front. Barmore would be the guy I’d target at 22.

Kendall Lamm and Ty Sambrailo at right tackle is exactly why I see them taking a right tackle that high.

They have Harold Landry and just signed Bud Dupree to a big deal, so I don't see them going outside linebacker. DL makes a lot of sense, but they clearly viewed RT as a need last year and not much has changed since.

18 minutes ago, BowserBroncos said:

If we can't trade down, this would be a good pick. That said, I'll be very disappointed if Fields is there and we neither cash in on a trade down or select him at 9

Yeah, I kinda get the sense they're willing to consider a QB at 9, just don't know what they think of Fields.

14 minutes ago, BowserBroncos said:

I think Phillips will go late 1st (along with Ojulari, Paye, Rousseau, Oweh and Ossai)....taking Pitts at 4 and trading back to the 1st for one of those edges would be awesome for Atlanta if they don't tagert QB or trade down (right now I don't believe in someone paying gold for Atlanta to get the 4th best QB of the draft....unless someone screw up in the top 3 picks)

The thing with Phillips is that if the early teams aren't comfortable with his injury history, I doubt the late-1st teams are either. Especially with other pass rushing talent on the board like Rousseau.

[FalconFan13]

9 hours ago, scar988 said:

I don't agree with it either. They've been showing a ton of interest in Pitts (despite what @FalconFan13would want you to believe. They love Pitts and either he's the pick or Fields or Lance is the pick.

Umm what do you mean besides what i want you to believe?  I have said we very well might take Pitts in alot of threads at this point.  I said i personally wouldn't want it but i've always said it's a good possiblity we might based on him being BPA.  Hell even more than that i've even for the last 2 weeks said i would be ok with it because of his generational upside.  So backoff scrub im on board

[scar988]

4 minutes ago, FalconFan13 said:

Umm what do you mean besides what i want you to believe?  I have said we very well might take Pitts in alot of threads at this point.  I said i personally wouldn't want it but i've always said it's a good possiblity we might based on him being BPA.  Hell even more than that i've even for the last 2 weeks said i would be ok with it because of his generational upside.  So backoff scrub im on board

LOL good to know.