Trey Lance heads to the Vikings in a new 2021 NFL Mock Draft while the Cowboys get a star CB.
We are reaching the midway point of the 2020 NFL season as many teams will be playing their eighth game of the year this weekend. While there are many teams in contention — especially due to the extra Wild Card entrant in each conference — there are already some clubs who seem to be moving on to next year and the 2021 NFL Draft is a big part of that.
The Atlanta Falcons and Houston Texans come to mind as they have fired their coaches and the Dallas Cowboys have begun to move on from starters after a 2-5 record kicked their season off. And in the world of college football and the NFL Draft, things were turned on their heads with Trevor Lawrence contracting COVID-19.
As for us, we are always looking ahead, which is what we’re doing here with our latest 2021 NFL mock draft which we use to try and fix every team’s roster. And as always, we use our latest power rankings to determine the order, which has the New York Jets, once again, selecting at No. 1.
The New York Jets have Sam Darnold but they could (or should) be making wholesale changes. Adam Gase has worn out his welcome and with a new staff, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them make a change under center. Especially considering how talented Trevor Lawrence is.
Of course, the only thing that can mess this pick up is if Lawrence does decide to make it known he won’t play for the Jets. If that does happen, there will be an Eli Manning-style trade, but he will still be the No. 1 pick for someone.
With the second pick in this 2021 NFL mock draft, the Jacksonville Jaguars take Justin Fields out of Ohio State. Fields has proven he’s a legit superstar and he would likely be the first overall pick if it weren’t for the presence of Lawrence. For Jacksonville, this gives them their first huge superstar that they can build their franchise around.
Daniel Jones has shown flashes for the New York Giants but it’s hard to really get a gauge on how good he can be since the weapons around him haven’t been great — and he’s also had to go without Saquon Barkley for the majority of this season. With that being the case, the Giants pick up a true No. 1 wideout for him to grow alongside.
Chase sat out the 2020 season due to COVID concerns which might be the only thing to knock him out of the No. 1 wide receiver spot. Even with him not playing though, he did enough in 2019 for an NFL team to believe in him as their primary receiver.
One of the teams that’s already punted on 2020 is the Atlanta Falcons. They’ll be an interesting team in the offseason because they have a lot of talent on offense but their defense needs help. The best way to improve things on that side of the ball will be to add a premier edge rusher, which is exactly what they do here with Miami’s Gregory Rousseau.
As a redshirt freshman in 2019, he racked up 15.5 sacks which put him on the map. Once he blows up the combine, he should be the first pass rusher off the board.