Which first-round quarterbacks in the 2021 NFL Draft were set up best for success and which ones have the toughest road ahead of them as they enter the NFL?
We wondered for months where these first-round potential QBs would end up and now we know. Training camp is beginning to open up and we need to look at which first-round QBs from the 2021 NFL Draft are set up best for the upcoming season.
For this ranking, I took into account their head coach and offensive coordinator, the offense around them, and the defense that could help them.
1. Mac Jones in New England
Who can blame Mac Jones for telling Roger Goodell, “This is what I wanted. Don’t tell anybody.” Out of all the first round picks in this year’s NFL Draft, Jones ends up in the best situation. For starters, his head coach is potentially the greatest head coach in NFL history in Bill Belichick.
Not only does he have Belichick but a highly thought of OC in Josh McDaniels. Before the 2020 season, since McDaniels returned to New England in 2012, the Patriots worst ranking in points scored in a season was 7th in the league.
Mac Jones also walks into a very different-looking offense this season. The Patriots made it a priority this offseason to improve the offense. The Pats added weapons such as Jonnu Smith, Hunter Henry, Nelson Agholor, and Kendrick Bourne to join Jakobi Meyers. The Pats also brought back Trent Brown to their already top 10 offensive line in the league.
The best part for Mac Jones is there is no pressure to succeed immediately. Jones will play backup/student to former league MVP Cam Newton. The Patriots will not rush Mac Jones into action until he is ready.
Their defense is a big part of Jones walking into the best situation of the rookie 1st round picks. Bellicheck is known for his defense and we should expect a very good Patriots defense. Adding a few big names in free agency such as Matt Judon, Davon Godchaux, and Kyle Van Noy are great. However, the Pats bring back Dont’a Hightower who opted out last season, and Stephon Gilmore who missed multiple games last year with multiple injuries.
This is a team that has been a top 10 defense in the NFL since 2012 and that should not change this year.
2. Trey Lance in San Franciso
San Francisco traded up to number 3rd overall back in March and made the decision that Trey Lance was their guy. Lance walks into a great situation with the 49ers in 2021. Head coach Kyle Shannahan comes from a legendary father Mike Shannahan.
Kyle will welcome a new offensive coordinator in Mike McDaniel. However, McDaniel and Shannahan are very familiar as McDaniel has worked under Shannahan for 13 years, so they bring a similar working mindset into developing Trey Lance.
Very similar to Mac Jones, Trey Lance is in a low-pressure situation as Jimmy Garoppolo will be Lance’s teacher and the starting QB for now. If Lance sees the field this year, he will have a solid offense surrounding him. The 49ers offensive line was ranked as the 9th best offensive line coming into the 2021 NFL season.
The 49ers also field debatably the best tight end in the league in Geroge Kittle. Kittle will become a safety net for Lance if he sees the field in 2020. Outside of Kittle, the 49ers have two young and exciting WRs in Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk.
The San Fran defense took a big hit losing Robert Saleh, who became the head coach of the New York Jets. Even with this loss though, the 49ers have a ton of talent on the defensive side of the ball. Nick Bosa will return from his torn ACL to an extremely talented defensive front. Starting linebacker
Fred Warner just secured the bag and is deserving so after posting 125 tackles, a sack, and 2 interceptions last season. Even with big injuries last season, the 49ers ranked 5th in yards allowed as a defense in 2020.
3. Justin Fields in Chicago
Justin Fields walks into a difficult but good situation in Chicago. The difficult part of the situation is his head coach is potentially on the hot seat. Matt Nagy was brought in to develop Mitchell Trubisky in the 2018 NFL Draft which clearly has not worked out.
Nagy and OC Bill Lazor’s jobs will now ride on the success of Justin Fields. Will Fields be forced onto the field early because Nagy’s job rides on his career? Time shall tell. Either way, this is not the best coaching situation to walk into.
While there may be red flags around Field’s HC, the offense has clear positives and negatives. Fields will be given the opportunity to learn behind Andy Dalton and former Superbowl MVP Nick Foles if the coaching staff allows him.
If Fields is forced into action, he has a strong running game with David Montgomery behind him. Montgomery accumulated 1,070 rushing yards and 8 TDs last season. Fields will have an array of pass catching options in an underrated WR trio of Allen Robinson, Anthony Miller, and Darnell Mooney.
Cole Kmet will look to take a big step in year two with Chicago as well. The only concern for the Bears offensively will be the offensive line. While they added Tevin Jenkins through the draft, they cut ties with Charles Leno Jr. The right side of their line has questions with Germain Ifedi listed as their RG and competition at RT between former Bronco Elijah Wilkerson and rookie Larry Borom.
The Bears’ defense will be Fields’ best friend. The Bear’s defense has ranked top 10 in 3 out of the last 4. The Bear’s defense is littered with talent and big names such as Khalil Mack, Akiem Hicks, Roquan Smith, and Eddie Jackson.
The defense is nowhere near top-heavy either. This defense has a lot of depth and can cause a lot of turnovers, they will help Fields receive the ball more and in better situations.
4. Zach Wilson to New York
This is one of the toughest situations to come into as a rookie QB, but GM Joe Douglas is trying to change the stereotype around the New York Jets. HC Robert Saleh was a highly thought of DC in San Francisco however this is his first shot at HC.
Not only does Saleh have no HC experience, but his OC Mike LaFleur is also a first-time OC. While both coaches are highly thought of, this is their first experience and they have hitched their wagon to the development of Zach Wilson.
One of the big reasons for Zach Wilson finding himself fourth on this list is the QB room situation. Wilson clearly will be the week one starter as the only other QBs in the room are 2020 NFL Draft fourth-round pick James Morgan and 2018 NFL Draft fifth-round pick Mike White.
While the running back room is also inexperienced, they show promise with La’Michal Perine and rookie Michael Carter. The WR room has some promise in veterans such as Jamison Crowder and Corey Davis to go along with young WRs in 2nd-year man Denzel Mims and rookie Elijah Moore.
The Jet’s biggest strength might be their offensive line. The Jets feel set for the next 10 years with LT Mekhi Becton and LG rookie Alijah Vera-Tucker. Morgan Moses was a great one-year signing at RT. The only questions on the Jet’s offensive line will be with center Connor McGovern and RG Greg Van Roten.
The Jets defense has clear strengths and clear weaknesses. The strength is their defensive line. Quinnen Williams will look to build off his sophomore year in the league with new additions Carl Lawson and Sheldon Rankins along to help produce a pass rush.
Their safety duo of Ashtyn Davis and Marcus Maye also has a chance of creating turnovers. The weakness of this defense is at cornerback and linebacker. While C.J. Mosley has been a great linebacker, we haven’t seen him play since 2019.
The rest of the linebacking core is up in the air. At cornerback, the Jets are begging for someone to play decent as their starters are projected as Bless Austin and Bryce Hall. This defense will have moments of helping Zach Wilson and others where Wilson will be playing behind.
5. Trevor Lawrence in Jacksonville
Poor Trevor Lawrence has a rough entrance into the NFL with a 1-15 team but the Jags’ front office made it no easier by hiring Urban Meyer. Personally, I have never been a fan of Urban Meyer to the NFL as it is easy to be successful at a school like Ohio State with an overflow of 5-star recruits.
OC Darrell Bevell has not had much success as an offensive coordinator since 2015 in Seattle. This does not feel like a great start to Lawrence’s NFL career.
The offensive personnel around Lawrence is the best thing going for him. A running back duo of Travis Etienne and 1,000-yard rusher James Robinson gives Lawerence an option to hand the ball off to or dump it off to in passing situations.
While there is no clear TE1 on this team as of right now, Lawerence will have plenty of WRs to pass to. DJ Chark, Marvin Jones, Laviska Shenault, Jamal Agnew, and Collin Johnson are good options to pass the ball to.
Lawerence’s offensive line might not be pretty. With bright spots in All-Pro LG Andrew Norwell and center Brandon Linder, there are questions surrounding both tackles in Jawaan Taylor and Cam Robinson.
The Jaguars’ defense has a couple of big names such as Pro Bowler Josh Allen, linebackers Myles Jack and Joe Schobert, and Shaquill Griffen. However, this defense has clear holes. Their interior defensive line is a wide-open competition, their safeties are nonexistent, and they need C.J. Henderson to develop as CB2 for this team.
Even with the big names, Lawrence should expect to play a ton of games from behind in 2021.