Trevor Lawrence to the Giants could spark a number of QB trades in the 2021 NFL Draft.
The 2021 NFL Draft has long been thought to be a battle for the right to select Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence, and nothing has changed that really in almost three years.
The way things have gone early on in the 2020 NFL season, it looks like the New York Giants are headed for the top overall pick, though they have some company in the 0-5 realm with the Atlanta Falcons — who just fired head coach Dan Quinn and GM Thomas Dimitroff — and the New York Jets, who also figure to eventually part ways with head coach Adam Gase.
The Falcons, in particular, would have to eat over $40 million in cap space should they decide to move on from Matt Ryan via release or trade and select Lawrence with the top pick. As Jacob Schyvinck wrote, their decision with a new GM and head coach will not be an easy one.
Over his most recent four-game stretch, Giants quarterback Daniel Jones has three interceptions and four fumbles and hasn’t accounted for a touchdown since the Giants’ first game of the 2020 season.
That is a big yikes.
The Giants, as a result, could be headed in a different direction. More often than not in the NFL, when a new GM and head coach take over a franchise, you see a new quarterback. There would be some interesting discussions between Dave Gettleman (the GM of the Giants) and his head coach Joe Judge about what to do if presented with the Jones vs. Lawrence debate, considering the fact that Jones was Gettleman’s pick in 2019.
Lawrence is a much better prospect than Jones was coming out, and has the potential to be an Andrew Luck-type difference-maker for an NFL franchise.
How would selecting Lawrence and moving on from Jones affect the rest of the 2021 NFL Draft? What other major QB trades could we see take place?
As Kyle Edmond wrote, there could be a number of them.
Let’s walk through the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft and take a look at which teams might make big moves for QBs next offseason.
TRADE: Giants trade QB Daniel Jones to Bears for 2021 3rd-round pick, conditional 2022 pick
It’s definitely too early to close the book on Daniel Jones, but as far as the New York Giants are concerned, you can’t pass up on the chance to acquire Trevor Lawrence.
The intent to pick Lawrence puts a damper on Jones’ potential trade value, but the Giants should still be able to get something pretty nice for him. How about sending him to Chicago, where the QB position is extremely unsettled at this point?
The price in the trade can be debated, as can the landing spot, but the point of this exercise is to look at a scenario where the Giants would pick Lawrence, and that would almost certainly involve Jones’ departure.
As good as Lawrence is, you simply cannot pass on him. He’s got every tool you could ask for and he’s way advanced for a player his age.
He’s a franchise changer.
TRADE: Jets trade QB Sam Darnold and 2021 3rd-round pick to Colts for 2021 1st-round pick
If the New York Jets decide to part ways with both Adam Gase and Sam Darnold after (or during) this season, the Indianapolis Colts are a fun potential destination for Darnold.
The Colts have Philip Rivers right now, but he was only signed to a one-year deal and there is obviously not a long-term future happening there.
The Colts’ defense is much better than most thought it probably would be, and if they can get Darnold in with Frank Reich and Nick Sirianni, some good things might start to happen for him.
As for the Jets, this is a total reset. The only real building block for them offensively is left tackle Mekhi Becton. Aside from him, everything else must go or be revamped.
Trey Lance would be somewhat risky because he’s coming up from the FCS level, but this kid is a gamer with all of the physical tools to make it in the NFL.
His 42 total touchdowns and no interceptions in 2019 is one of the most remarkable statistical feats you’ll see at any level of college football.
He can beat you on the ground or through the air, and the Jets could give him the proper time to develop by signing a veteran to be a placeholder until he’s ready.
TRADE: Falcons trade QB Matt Ryan to 49ers for 2021 1st-round pick, 2022 3rd-round pick
This trade would send shockwaves throughout the entire NFL.
I wrote a piece on quarterbacks the 49ers should pursue in a trade, and I think Matt Ryan is a really intriguing option if the Falcons are amenable to it.
Although it may not seem this way on the surface, the team really taking on the brunt of financial burden in a trade like this would be the Falcons, who would have to eat over $40 million in dead money to trade their franchise QB Matt Ryan, who has been around since 2008.
With that being the case, the 49ers would have to pay up, and that wouldn’t be any issue for them. Their pieces are really already in place.
For the Falcons, the firing of Dan Quinn and Thomas Dimitroff signifies that the rebuild is on.
At this point, we haven’t seen Justin Fields play in his second season with Ohio State, but he’s obviously expected to show top-five ability once again.
All of the tools are there, and they always have been for him. With a larger sample size, Fields’ draft stock could soar.
TRADE: Washington trades QB Dwayne Haskins to Steelers for 2021 3rd-round pick
Four selections in and we have four quarterback trades.
The Pittsburgh Steelers come in and snag Dwayne Haskins away from the Washington Football team, which unfortunately misses out on the big run on quarterbacks.
Would Ron Rivera even part with Haskins in that case?
There will be other QBs available, and making Haskins his 3rd QB is as strong of an indicator as anything that Rivera either doesn’t feel he’s the future or has seen enough to know it’s not going to be a fit in Washington.
The Washington offensive line is a mess right now, and Penei Sewell would be a godsend for them.
It doesn’t matter who the quarterback is right now — this Washington offense is not going anywhere without an upgraded offensive line and Sewell accomplishes that.
The Minnesota Vikings are one of the most disappointing 1-4 teams in the NFL right now, and as crazy as it sounds, this team is not far off from blowing things up at head coach and quarterback.
Kirk Cousins has been falling out of favor in Minnesota and Mike Zimmer’s expectations were clear when the team signed Cousins — get the winning started promptly.
The Vikings have done a bit of reloading on defense, and they need some playmakers at the linebacker position.
Micah Parsons to the rescue.
Parsons is such a tremendous athlete at the linebacker position who plays at top speed at all times, and can absolutely wreck games in a variety of ways.
The Vikings covered a huge need by trading for Yannick Ngakoue, but adding Parsons could get their defense back to an elite level sooner than later.
This feels way too early for a tight end, but the more I think about it, the less I hate it.
The Jaguars have ridden Minshew Mania probably about as far as they can take it, but how will they approach the 2021 offseason if they are not in a position for one of the 2021 NFL Draft’s top quarterbacks?
That could be fascinating.
Although it’s not fashionable to pick a tight end this early, Kyle Pitts is a rare type of prospect who is capable of being your number one receiver from the tight end spot.
He would add to an impressive young core of offensive weapons in Jacksonville and stay in the state of Florida, where he’s absolutely dominating in 2020.
The Miami Dolphins clearly got themselves a very good head coach in Brian Flores, and depending on how the rest of the Houston Texans’ season goes, they might have also gotten themselves a major steal in the Laremy Tunsil trade.
If the Dolphins end up getting a top 10 pick from the Texans for Tunsil after what they’ve already gotten, it would be a highway robbery.
Ja’Marr Chase, in particular, would be a phenomenal coup for Miami.
The Dolphins have some really solid receivers already with upside, but Chase is a clear WR1 and there’s no denying that Tua Tagovailoa is going to need more weapons.
Austin Jackson was a great first-round pick for Miami on the offensive line, as were Solomon Kindley and Robert Hunt. This selection can be open to Miami’s favorite receiver in another loaded class.
Chase was dominant for LSU in the 2019 campaign en route to the Biletnikoff Award.
With Casey Hayward, Desmond King, and Chris Harris Jr., you wouldn’t think the Chargers would be in the market for a cornerback this early in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Both Harris and Hayward are 31 years old, King is a slot player and was the subject of offseason trade rumors, and the Chargers can’t really afford for their defensive backfield to regress with all they have invested in their pass rush.
Patrick Surtain looks like he’s going to be a phenomenal NFL cornerback and an instant starter wherever he goes.
One of the best man cover cornerbacks in all of college football, Surtain can shut down his side of the field completely, and if the Chargers have to move on from either guy they would probably love to put a young budding star like this on the outside.
The Detroit Lions are a hard team to figure out right now because no one knows what’s going to happen with their head coach situation and whether or not the long-rumored Matt Stafford trade rumors would really come to pass.
Assuming the Lions don’t trade Stafford, they really need to get him more weapons in the passing game in addition to continually looking to upgrade their defense at all three levels.
Jaylen Waddle would be really difficult to pass on here with the 9th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Waddle has such special play speed and can beat you from the slot, outside, or as a return specialist. He’s such a weapon and with guys like Kenny Golladay, D’Andre Swift, and TJ Hockenson already on board, the Lions’ offense could take on an entirely different look in 2021.
The Denver Broncos nearly used the 10th overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft on Michigan’s Devin Bush, but they traded the pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers instead.
Two years later, and they might still be searching for an answer at inside linebacker.
To be fair, Alexander Johnson and Josey Jewell have played admirably this season, and Johnson frankly looks like a star.
With that said, Nick Bolton has the look of a top linebacker prospect with his ability to make plays against the run, but where he will really make his money is as a pass defender and three-down playmaker.
Bolton is tremendous in coverage and covers a lot of ground. He’s an ideal fit for the modern linebacker and he has really been excellent early in 2020 for Missouri.
The Philadelphia Eagles have been bitten pretty badly by the injury bug in 2020.
That, and Carson Wentz has seemingly taken an inexplicable turn for the worse.
Defensively, the Eagles need plenty. They have long needed help at the cornerback position and they certainly hoped that Darius Slay would be able to come in and provide shutdown ability.
While slay has done solid, the Eagles need more playmakers in the secondary who can help create turnovers, and Caleb Farley is a magnet for the football.
Not only that, but at 6-foot-2 and over 200 pounds, Farley is a physical freak of nature with outstanding athleticism in every regard.
In two seasons at Virginia Tech, he picked off six passes.
He’s going to be a stud in the NFL and he would be a great pickup for the Eagles’ secondary this high in the 2021 NFL Draft.
The Cincinnati Bengals are in a really tough spot.
Who is going to emerge from this 2021 NFL Draft class at the offensive tackle position? Joe Burrow needs help ASAP.
The Bengals will have to spend some free agent money on the offensive line, but they are not likely to find a left tackle there.
Could Christian Darrisaw go from relative unknown to first-round player?
That remains to be seen, but he’s on the way.
Right now, Darrisaw is known more for his mauling ability in the running game than his pass protection skills, but he’s graded out well, and the physical aspect of the game is not a question for him.
The Bengals could go for the interior offensive line here and hope Darrisaw lasts to round two, but in such a light offensive tackle class at the top, they might have to reach a little bit.
After selecting Ja’Marr Chase earlier in the first-round of this 2021 NFL Draft scenario, the Dolphins get themselves a home-run hitter at the running back position in Travis Etienne.
It doesn’t look like things are going to work out with the Dolphins and Jordan Howard, a decent flyer in free agency. Myles Gaskin appears to be getting the most run at the position so far, and that’s not going to be ideal for the long-term.
Travis Etienne has looked like a professional player for quite some time for the Clemson Tigers.
A humble superstar, Etienne is a guy who just does everything well, and he’s capable of taking any run to the house with his tremendous long speed.
Adding Etienne with Tua Tagovialoa and Ja’Marr Chase would be phenomenal for the Dolphins.
With the pick they acquired from the San Francisco 49ers in the mock trade for Matt Ryan, the Falcons flip around to the defensive side of the ball and make Gregory Rousseau their cornerstone piece off the edge.
The Falcons have used plenty of draft capital on the offensive line, so protecting Justin Fields shouldn’t be too much of an issue. They obviously have big-time targets in the passing game. The defense needs upgrading, and Gregory Rousseau is a big steal here.
Rousseau has long been mocked as the top pass rusher in this class and that could very well be the case.
Even as productive as he was a season ago for Miami, we aren’t getting to see him make improvements this year and there are some technical refinements definitely needed in his game before he becomes a star in the NFL.
Rousseau will ride the coattails of his tremendous 2019 campaign for the Hurricanes, but how quickly can he take the next step in his game? He’s got the ability to line up inside or outside and use his length, quickness, and relentless motor.
The New Orleans Saints are such an odd team to evaluate right now.
Will Jameis Winston be the heir to Drew Brees? Will it be Taysom Hill?
Brees doesn’t look like he’s got much left in him, though he’s still got enough left in him to keep the Saints competitive in 2020, it appears.
The clock is ticking on Brees’ time in New Orleans, so this team has to figure out the quarterback position. They also need to add some more weapons in the passing game.
Obviously Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara are outstanding playmakers, but someone like DeVonta Smith would give the Saints a consistent speed threat who can also run routes with the best of them.
He would be the ideal player to come in and provide a spark behind Emmanuel Sanders and then fill his role whenever Sanders’ time in New Orleans is up.
He’s shown at Alabama that he’s capable of taking over games. Smith runs really good routes, he’s got big-time speed, and despite his slender frame, he makes tough catches consistently.
The New England Patriots have done extremely well without Tom Brady, all things considered.
Their defense has been such a great sum of its parts with Bill Belichick still scheming and game-planning as well as any coach in the league.
Surprise, surprise.
The Patriots have evolved with Cam Newton as their quarterback, but this team is always going to be a tough out defensively.
Shaun Wade not only represents an awesome value here for the Pats, but would fit their scheme beautifully as a versatile defensive back who can excel in man coverage, as a blitzer, and coming up in run support.
If Wade can show out as an outside corner in 2020, he could very easily work his way into the top 10 discussion and stay there.
The Arizona Cardinals are making strides with Kyler Murray, Kliff Kingsbury, and now DeAndre Hopkins as the brain trust of the offense.
How can this unit get even better to keep up with the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams?
The Cardinals need a playmaker at the tight end position. I’m sure they would love to see Kyle Pitts sitting here, but Pat Freiermuth would not be a bad consolation prize.
Freiermuth is a mountain of a target in the passing game, but his movement skills, short-area quickness, and leaping ability are off the charts for a guy who is 6-foot-5, 260 pounds.
Even if he’s not the first tight end off the board, Freiermuth is going to provide TE1 type value to a team like the Cardinals at this juncture of the first round because of how good Kyle Pitts has been and how high his value is right now.
Freiermuth still has a season to play to raise his value as well, but right now, this seems like the perfect range for him and a really solid fit.
After selecting Trey Lance with their top pick, the New York Jets have to get some more weapons for their quarterback.
The 2021 NFL Draft might have an even better crop of playmakers at receiver — at least at the top — compared to the 2020 class.
Rashod Bateman has been amazing for the Minnesota program and has drawn some comparisons to Keenan Allen for his route running and Michael Thomas for his ability to eat up targets and still make huge plays.
Bateman initially opted out for the 2020 season but is coming back to show off his playmaking skills yet again.
With Denzel Mims and even Jamison Crowder, the Jets at least have some pieces out there who can contribute but their group of receivers is one injury away from disastrously bad. Adding Bateman to the mix would give them a true WR1.
The Dallas Cowboys have bigger things to worry about right now than the 2021 NFL Draft, and yet the 2021 NFL Draft could be a focus for them sooner rather than later.
Dak Prescott’s injury was awful, and proves why players hate the franchise tag.
The Cowboys still hope to get a long-term deal done with Prescott, who was off to a truly historic start to the 2020 season statistically.
Unfortunately, as good as Prescott was, the Cowboys’ defense has not been good at all and they need reinforcements.
Specifically, the Cowboys could use some help in the secondary, and Tyson Campbell has been showing well early on this year for the Georgia Bulldogs.
Campbell has tremendous size and length at 6-foot-2, he closes on the ball very quickly, and he has speed for days.
It’s possible that by the time the 2020 season is over, Campbell will have substantially out-played this draft status and he could wind up as CB1 or CB2 in this class.
Not in any way, shape, or form did I think that the Carolina Panthers would be 3-2 through the first five games of 2020, but here we are.
Matt Rhule is a good football coach.
Heck, I’ll say it — Matt Rhule is a great football coach. The guy turns programs around.
The Panthers were 0-2 to start the 2020 season, and then lost Christian McCaffrey to a lengthy ankle injury. Since then, McCaffrey has remained the team leader with four total touchdowns this season but the Panthers have ripped off three straight victories.
Matt Rhule is a great football coach.
The Panthers appear en route to exceeding anybody’s expectations this season. They might still be in position to select the top interior offensive lineman in the 2021 NFL Draft.
We know the Panthers are going to run the ball a ton, so a player like Wyatt Davis makes a lot of sense for them as he’s a physical, nasty presence on the interior offensive line.
Carolina can keep riding Teddy Bridgewater at QB as long as they’re winning.
The defensive identity the Buccaneers are establishing under coordinator Todd Bowles is impressive.
Obviously, Shaquil Barrett should be a centerpiece for this unit for the foreseeable future, but the Bucs and Barrett will have to figure that out contractually.
Jason Pierre-Paul is not getting any younger, either, so the Bucs could be getting in line for EDGE players in this draft class.
Kwity Paye is an exciting edge bender who has been productive all-around but is still really waiting for that breakthrough statistically as a pass rusher.
The NFL sees the athleticism and the upside, to be certain, and Paye would be a tremendous fit off the edge in Todd Bowles’ defense.
He should establish himself this year as the Big Ten makes its return as one of the best edge players in the 2021 NFL Draft class.
This pick is almost as much about value for the Raiders as it is the fact that Dylan Moses could be an ideal fit for their defense as well as a player from a program the Raiders clearly prefer.
Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock have assembled a team — one of the only teams in the past two years — capable of beating the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Raiders are on the upswing. Their offense looks very balanced and capable of putting up huge numbers, while the defense is not far behind.
Dylan Moses is a tremendous playmaker at the linebacker position who has struggled some to find his footing during the 2020 season at Alabama.
Will he be a first-rounder when all is said and done? He’s going to have to turn it up before the 2020 season is out, but the first-round size, athleticism, and skills are all there. He can get it done as a pass rusher or in coverage when called upon as well.
Why would the Chiefs do this? Do they really need more offensive weapons?
No, they don’t but they would do it because they hate everyone and they can do it.
The Chiefs’ defense has big-time players up front. They have the Honey Badger Tyrann Mathieu in the secondary. Although their defense has not been amazing over the past few seasons, this is a team that’s going to win with consistently dominant offense.
If Kansas City is not able to retain Sammy Watkins or Demarcus Robinson, they’d lose some pretty key contributors to their offense and passing game in particular.
Rondale Moore is so much more than just a gadget player, too. He’s a playmaker in every sense of the word and if the Chiefs were able to add him along with Tyreek Hill, Mecole Hardman, Travis Kelce, and Clyde Edwards-Helaire?
That would be extremely tough to go up against on a weekly basis.
Moore has dynamic open-field skills, and we know the Chiefs could use some more of that (sarcasm, in case you didn’t detect it). This would seem like a luxury pick, but the top three wide receivers are so crucial to Andy Reid’s offense that it would be a borderline necessity.
If Chazz Surratt is selected in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, it would be one of the coolest stories of the entire process.
Just a couple of years ago, this guy was a quarterback for the Tar Heels.
Mack Brown and his staff have made him a linebacker, and he has transformed into a superstar on that side of the ball.
If you’re a first-round pick at the linebacker position in the NFL, it’s required that you are a three-down threat.
Surratt has proven himself not only as a pass defender but as a pass rusher as well as a tackling machine, and he is consistently getting better.
He would be a really nice weapon for the Browns’ defense, which already has some studs on the front seven and in the defensive backfield.
Don’t forget that earlier in this mock draft scenario, the Chicago Bears struck a trade for former first-round pick Daniel Jones at the quarterback position.
Jones has shown some upside so far in his NFL career, and the Bears don’t have a ton of options with as many games as they have won.
They could let Jones and Nick Foles compete for the job they thought would be Mitchell Trubisky’s.
With this selection, they get themselves a heck of a defensive lineman in Christian Barmore, who is a game-wrecker on the defensive interior.
Obviously, the Bears don’t have Eddie Goldman this year who opted out of the 2020 season, but Barmore out there with Akiem Hicks, Goldman, and Khalil Mack in 2021 would give offensive coordinators nightmares.
He is still very young but Barmore has flashes of brilliance that remind of some great Alabama interior defensive linemen through the years.
As talented as the Baltimore Ravens’ roster is, their pass rush off the edge could be addressed.
Of course, this is a defense that has allowed the least points in the league so far through five weeks, so we’re nit-picking here.
Why not take a shot on a tremendous athlete like Jayson Oweh?
Many analysts and pundits feel like Oweh has huge potential as an edge rusher in the NFL, but the issue is production right now. He needs to show more consistency in that regard and thankfully he will get a chance to show it with Big Ten football returning soon.
With a big junior season at Penn State, Oweh can separate himself from a lot of other guys in this EDGE class because of his physical abilities and rare athleticism.
The Jacksonville Jaguars have moved on from most of the big-name defensive linemen they have picked up in the last four years or so, and they appear poised to move on from former first-round pick Taven Bryan as well.
There will be a major need for defensive linemen in Jacksonville soon and Jordan Davis could be a name to keep an eye on.
An absolutely massive 6-foot-6, 330-pound defender, Davis is known more for his ability to stuff the run than rush the passer, but he’s a mauler on the inside who can win with strength, leverage, length, and anchor.
The Jaguars could look to a variety of other positions here. This team certainly does not lack for areas to address in the 2021 NFL Draft, but they will need players in the trenches and Davis is someone who can make everyone around him better.
The Tennessee Titans, despite the craziness of their 2020 season, are undefeated at 3-0.
They have followed up their AFC Championship appearance by proving they’re no fluke, even with some major roster changes from 2019 to 2020.
One area the Titans may look to address early in the 2021 NFL Draft is the edge rusher position.
They took it down to the wire, but they wound up signing Jadeveon Clowney to a one-year deal, signifying their need for playmakers on the defensive front who can put pressure on.
Although Carlos Basham is not Jadeveon Clowney, he offers some inside-outside versatility just like Clowney does, and he can put a rush on with pure effort and strength.
He’s already got three sacks and three forced fumbles in the first three games of the 2020 season for Wake Forest.
Bring the Packers a wide receiver, please.
The Packers, for some odd reason, passed on receivers in one of the most loaded classes anyone has ever seen.
They can rectify that in 2021, even if they have to wait for this late of a first-round pick.
Chris Olave is going to remind folks somewhat of Jerry Jeudy in terms of his foot quickness and route-running ability, though he may not be quite as jaw-dropping.
Olave is just good at about really everything as a wide receiver despite not having the best size. He runs great routes, has strong hands, and plays with tremendous effort.
Aaron Rodgers would love throwing to him, however long he’s still going to be in Green Bay…
The Pittsburgh Steelers traded for Dwayne Haskins earlier in this 2021 NFL Draft scenario, which would certainly dominate the headlines.
Ben Roethlisberger raises all boats for Pittsburgh, but they did get a good look at Mason Rudolph and other QBs in 2019 and I’m not sure they loved what they saw overall.
Haskins has certainly looked raw in his young NFL career, but what did everyone expect with just one year of experience at Ohio State?
Trey Smith would come in and be an instant starter on the interior offensive line for almost any NFL team, and despite some health issues in his past (and a tough outing against Georgia), he’s still one of the most universally beloved prospects by NFL people.
The Buffalo Bills have really assembled a tremendous roster all-around.
Josh Allen has developed into the quarterback many thought he was capable of becoming when he was at Wyoming.
It was hard not to fall in love with Allen’s traits when he was in college but he always had issues with accuracy and touch.
The Bills stuck with him through some tough outings, and Allen has rewarded them by truly becoming one of the best QBs in the NFL, at least for 2020.
The Bills’ defense has been awesome with Sean McDermott guiding it, but the cornerback position may need a little infusion of talent.
Asante Samuel Jr. has been proving himself to be a true ballhawk at the position for the Florida State defense, and he would fit in just fine with this talented Bills unit.
With their third and final pick of this 2021 NFL Draft scenario, the New York Jets upgrade the offensive line.
They learned the hard way with Sam Darnold that a quarterback’s growth is largely dependant on the play of the offensive line, and even with Mekhi Becton, it’s just not good enough yet.
Alex Leatherwood is almost the ideal type of player to add to the mix because he can play a variety of positions well — including tackle — and he would give the Jets a piece they could sort of plug and play at any spot they needed help.
With Trey Lance and Rashod Bateman coming in early on in this mock draft scenario, the Jets complete a trifecta of offensive selections with the defense certainly the focus of the second day if they want to do that.
Is it necessary for them to load up like this on offensive players? At this point, it looks like there’s really no question about it. The Jets must build a foundation offensively and if their top pick is a quarterback, they’d be wise to immediately build around him.