2021 NFL Draft: Five quarterbacks go in first round of new mock draft
By Kyle Edmond
Updated first-round 2021 NFL Draft mock draft with trades
With the NFL regular season coming to a close, we take a new look at the 2021 NFL Draft that now reflects the set order for the teams that just missed the playoffs. Between the season ending to set more than half the order paired with bowl games, the scope of mock drafts for the 2021 NFL Draft are as clear as they’ve been this year.
Like past years, quarterbacks have dominated the talk and that continues here with five quarterbacks going in the first round of this 2021 NFL Draft. It seems that every year there are a handful of teams that need a first-round quarterback and then it happens again the following year, leading to a continuous cycle of three to five rookie quarterbacks starting every year.
With that being said, we’ll jump into this edition of mocking the 2021 NFL Draft with what will be back-to-back quarterbacks, but they might not be who you’d expect.
Pick 1 – Jacksonville Jaguars
QB. Trevor Lawrence. 1. player. 52. Pick Analysis. Clemson. Scouting Report
Alright, so this one is exactly what you would expect. The Trevor Lawrence sweepstakes came to a close after the New York Jets topped the Cleveland Browns in Week 16 and any 2021 NFL Draft mock that has this pick differently is wrong. Sure, Lawrence was bested in his bowl game and outplayed by the opposition, but that doesn’t mean he is no longer the top pick.
Lawrence has been the sure-fire number one pick in this 2021 NFL Draft for a long time and it was just a matter of when he would declare. Now, he moves to the Jacksonville Jaguars who already have a handful of weapons in D.J. Chark, Laviska Shenault, James Robinson and more as well as a later first-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Pick 2 – New York Jets
Scouting Report. QB. BYU. Zach Wilson. Pick Analysis. 2. player. 30
Yes, Justin Fields had an incredible game against Clemson, but I still don’t see him as an NFL-ready quarterback, or really an NFL quarterback at all, but we’ll get to that later. Instead, the New York Jets use the second pick on a different quarterback, Zach Wilson.
Wilson has been running an NFL-type offense at BYU and has been doing it at a high level, throwing 33 touchdowns with just three interceptions during the 2020 season. What’s just as impressive for Wilson is his efficiency, totaling 3,699 passing yards while maintaining a completion percentage of 73%.
The jump from BYU to Broadway will be a big one, but Wilson’s personality already seems like it’s built for something bigger. While fans might be a little disappointed at first, this is the right pick for the Jets.