2021 NFL Draft: Post-Wildcard round first-round NFL mock draft

As 2021 NFL Draft stocks rise and fall with the college football playoffs, how does the draft landscape change after the 2021 NFL wildcard round?

With the college football final inbound and the newly dubbed ‘super-wildcard weekend’ behind us, we look to the newly laid landscape of the 2021 NFL Draft. Both Ohio State and Alabama draft prospects have flown up draft boards in their recent performances against Clemson and Notre Dame respectively.

This first-round mock of the 2021 NFL Draft will not contain trades, but the likelihood of draft-day movement should be kept in mind (specifically a top-five swap between Miami and Cincinnati).

After securing the number one overall selection of the 2021 NFL Draft following a series of self-harming victories from the New York Jets at the end of the regular season, the Jacksonville Jaguars have managed to win the Trevor Lawrence sweepstakes and will look to pair him alongside a complimenting head coach following the firing of Doug Marrone. With a blank-slate and plentiful cap-space, the Jacksonville Jaguars have a rare opportunity to fully reconfigure their roster to best fit their newfound franchise signal-caller.

Although pass protection may be an issue for the new savior, there is a respectable armory of weapons including breakout rookie James Robinson and big-body wideout D.J. Chark. The most agreed-upon quarterback prospect since Andrew Luck, the only limits on Lawrence’s potential will come from his new coaching staff and front office in their efforts to rebuild the Jacksonville depth chart.

After one of the gutsiest performances in recent memory, Justin Fields took full advantage of the Sugar Bowl spotlight in a rout of the Clemson Tiger and projected number one overall selection, Trevor Lawrence. Fields completed 22-of-28 passes for six touchdowns, a single interception, and rushed a calculated eight times for 42 yards. Fields managed to silence questions surrounding his deep-ball accuracy with three completions of 30+ air yards including a backbreaking 60-yard touchdown to Chris Olave.

The proof-of-character inside of this game was the hit heard around the country, a spearing hit by linebacker James Skalski directly to Fields’ midsection. Sidelined for a single play, Fields returned to action and continued his dominance amid wincing pain following every throw as well as the memorable image of him fighting through the pain to use an exercise bike.

Following interviews continued to manifest a narrative of leadership and fiery competitiveness around Fields, making him a leading candidate as QB2 of the 2021 NFL Draft and the messiah of the New York Jets.

As the lopsidedness of Bill O’Brien’s trades continues to develop, Miami will collect their riches and become a competent divisional foe for the super-bowl contender Buffalo Bills. Although Miami is likely to trade out of the number three spot and collect even more 2021 NFL Draft assets, a very likely scenario could find them creating a dominant offensive line in front of apparent franchise quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

Penei Sewell is not just the top tackle prospect of the 2021 NFL Draft, but the best overall offensive lineman who will be able to plug-and-play day one on the edge or on the interior with his athleticism. Between his freakish footspeed and raw physicality, Sewell could transform the Miami offense into a bruising unit led by Myles Gaskins.

After such an impressive performance by Justin Fields in the college football playoffs, Zach Wilson falls to QB3 of the 2021 NFL Draft class, but will not fall far before becoming a franchise centerpiece. Among numerous rumors and speculations around the status of Matt Ryan, Atlanta will look for youth under center and hit the restart button on the development of their franchise.

By bringing in a rookie quarterback to lead the charge, Atlanta will also avoid the hefty salary-cap impact of Matt Ryan’s contract in hopes of investing in defensive talent. Wilson may not have the strength of schedule to elevate himself to QB2 but has shown the tendencies and physical ability to spread the ball around a heavily-weaponized offense.