Lock it in now, Trevor Lawrence will be the top pick in 2021 NFL Draft

Let’s not pretend anything else is even possible, Trevor Lawrence will be the first overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft next April.

If there was flaw in Trevor Lawrence‘s game as a 2021 NFL Draft prospect entering the season, it was his decision-making ability. Lawrence had a tendency to play over-aggressive at times and force the ball into less than ideal situations. His incredible raw talent allowed him to get away with this poor decision-making most of the time, but at the next level, everybody is good. In order to reach his upside as a 2021 NFL Draft prospect, Lawrence has to clean this up.

While we do not want to put too much stock into one game, Lawrence looked like a different quarterback in Clemson’s season-opening game. He still showed off his incredible combination of athleticism and arm talent, but he seemed much more in control of the offense and understood how to take what the defense was giving him.

Lawrence had a nearly flawless game in Saturday night’s 37-13 win over Wake Forest. He completed an impressive 22-of-28 passes for 351 yards and three total touchdowns (one passing, two rushing). He was smart, cerebral and automatic to all levels of the field. He continued to show incredible natural playmaking ability, while also playing within the Clemson offense extremely well.

Even though it is ridiculously early in the process, I feel comfortable in saying that Lawrence will be the first overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. He was already the most talented player at the most important position. Now, he seems to have fixed the only real flaw in his game. If a team that does not need a quarterback ends up holding the first pick, they will trade the selection for a haul to a quarterback-needy team to take Lawrence.

In a normal year, I would not feel as comfortable in saying this. However, things are much different this season as a large portion of the 2021 NFL Draft class will not play their final season on the field.

Right now, there are three major challengers to Lawrence for the top pick: Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields, Oregon offensive tackle Penei Sewell and North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance. All three of these top-tier 2021 NFL Draft prospects are extremely unlikely to play another season before the draft. While they will still go high, I have a hard time believing that any of them can overtake Lawrence while he dominates the college football world this season.

There are always surprises, but there will not be a surprise at the top this season. Trevor Lawrence is the quarterback prospect that we have all been waiting for and he will be the first player off of the board in the 2021 NFL Draft next April.