Trey Lance still an elite 2021 NFL Draft prospect after showcase game

Trey Lance was not perfect in his showcase game, but he is still a top-tier 2021 NFL Draft prospect who will be an exciting playmaker at the next level.

Trey Lance stands out as one of the most interesting players who is expected to be in the 2021 NFL Draft class. With COVID pushing back the FCS season, we did not expect to see Lance on the field for the North Dakota State Bison this season. However, the school set up matchup against Central Arkansas that took place on Saturday, allowing us to see Trey Lance in a North Dakota State uniform one last time.

As per usual, Lance put up eye-popping numbers in this one. His 15 carries for 143 yards and two rushing touchdowns obviously stand out, but Lance was also able to put up 149 passing yards for two touchdowns through the air. His passing totals left plenty to be desired, and on top of that, he only completed 50% of his passes and did throw a pretty ugly interception.

Lance really burst onto the NFL radar with an incredible reshirt-freshman campaign in 2019. Last season, Lance completed 66.9% of his passes for 2,786 yards, 28 touchdowns and zero interceptions. He also piled up 1,110 yards and 14 touchdowns on 169 attempts on the ground. Lance has been an exciting playmaker at North Dakota State and his interception thrown on Saturday was the first of his college career.

While Trey Lance struggled at times against Central Arkansas on Saturday, he still showed off a legitimate NFL skill-set that is worth paying attention to going forward. He is a big and strong quarterback prospect who has the arm to hit any throw on the field and has the power to force defenders to bounce off of him, as you can see below.

Simply put, Lance is a tremendous athlete at the quarterback position whose natural playmaking ability makes him an ideal fit for the modern NFL. He certainly needs to grow into a more consistent passer, but the raw skill-set undoubtedly stands out.

Lance is far from a perfect prospect, but he undoubtedly has a high ceiling at the next level and nothing that he did on Saturday afternoon should hurt his NFL stock. This guy could easily end up being a top five pick in the 2021 NFL Draft next April.