2021 NFL Draft prospects to watch: Big Ten Conference
By Kyle Edmond
2021 NFL Draft prospects to watch in the Big Ten Conference.
As we begin to look to the 2020 NFL season, the time has come to prepare for the 2021 NFL Draft prospects as well. To start the process of breaking down the future stars of the 2021 NFL Draft, I’ll be taking a look at each conference and selecting one player from each team.
The 2020 NFL Draft saw the SEC lead the way with 63 selections, 15 more than the second-place Big Ten with 48. The Pac-12 had 32, the ACC 27 and the Big 12 rounded out the Power 5 with 21. The American Conference led the Group 5 with 17 followed by Conference-USA and the Mountain West with 10 apiece.
Closing out the Group 5 was the Sun Belt with seven and the MAC with two. The draft was rounded out with nine selection coming from Independent teams, six from FCS, and three from Division II/III to account for the rest of the 255 selections.
Our first conference under the microscope is the Big Ten. The most well known 2021 NFL Draft prospects from the conference include Justin Fields and Shaun Wade from Ohio State with Micah Parsons from Penn State. However, beyond the names that have made their way into the early mock drafts, who else could hear their name called in the 2021 NFL Draft?
The common big hitters of the conference are sure to have impact players once again, but what about the lesser-known rosters of schools like Illinois, Rutgers, or Indiana? How about the up-and-coming teams that are sure to stir the pot this year like Minnesota and Purdue?
Of course, the players like Fields, Wade, and Parsons will have an impact, but it’s the rest of the players drafted from the conference that will fill roles, compete for roster spots and possibly be the steal of the 2021 NFL Draft.