2021 NFL Draft: Two round mock draft with the calls on the picks along with other potential options and team needs.
Let’s do this already – here’s what’s going to happen over the first two rounds of the 2021 NFL Draft.
Maybe.
There will be trades – but, as always, you can and should ignore any mock draft that projects trades that almost certainly will never, ever happen – so the goal here is to get it as close to the pin as possible when it comes to when and where a player should be selected.
Also, this doesn’t have anything to do with how good we think all these players are – that’s what our Top 105 Pro Prospects are for. This is about guessing where everyone will go.
Here we go.
CFN 2021 NFL Draft Prospect Rankings
from the college perspective …
QB | RB | WR | TE | OT | OG & C
DE & Edge | DT | LB | CB | Safeties
Greatest Draft Picks For Each College
ACC | Big Ten | Big 12 | Pac-12 | SEC
32 Greatest Draft Picks of All-Time
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1. Jacksonville
2021 NFL Mock Draft Pick: QB Trevor Lawrence, Clemson
This was done months ago. You can’t be a franchise like Jacksonville and not take this guy with this pick.
Team Needs 1. QB, 2. OT, 3. DE
Backup Mock Draft Call: None, but maybe trade down for an all-time haul of picks.
2. New York Jets
2021 NFL Mock Draft Pick: QB Zach Wilson, BYU
Here’s the thing about Wilson. If Trevor Lawrence doesn’t work for Jacksonville, whatever – it’s a pick that has to be made. Wilson is a call for the Jets, and if Justin Fields, or Trey Lance, or Mac Jones – or Sam Darnold, by the way – turns out to be special, this could be an all-time whiff.
Team Needs 1. QB, 2. CB, 3. DE
Backup Mock Draft Call: QB Mac Jones, Alabama
3. San Francisco (from Miami from Houston)
2021 NFL Mock Draft Pick: QB Mac Jones, Alabama
Jones appears to have emerged the No. 3, but he’s hardly a shot for the stars in terms of tools. Sort of like Zach Wilson for the Jets, this is one massive call if one of the other quarterbacks on the board turns into a superstar.
Team Needs 1. CB, 2. QB, 3. DT
Backup Mock Draft Call: QB Trey Lance, North Dakota State
4. Atlanta
2021 NFL Mock Draft Pick: TE Kyle Pitts, Florida
It’s going to be very, very, very tempting to go with one of the quarterbacks on the board, but Matt Ryan is hardly a problem. The Falcons have a shot at a generational talent at tight end – let someone else make a guess on a quarterback.
Team Needs 1. DE, 2. DB, 3. QB
Backup Mock Draft Call: QB Trey Lance, North Dakota State
5. Cincinnati
2021 NFL Mock Draft Pick: OT Penei Sewell, Oregon
It might be a whole lot of fun to give Joe Burrow a receiver like Ja’Marr Chase or DeVonta Smith. It might also be a whole lot of fun to give him a Hall-of-Fame caliber left tackle to keep him from getting annihilated. (Shhhhhh, Cincinnati could win the draft with Sewell.)
Team Needs 1. OL, 2. DE, 3. WR
Backup Mock Draft Call: WR Ja’Marr Chase, LSU
6. Miami (from Philadelphia)
2021 NFL Mock Draft Pick: WR Ja’Marr Chase, LSU
It’s amazing how NFL-think works. Tua Tagovailoa was a rookie coming off a major injury and had little to no offensive superstar help around him, and yet the O was somehow his fault when he played like a rookie coming off a major injury. Give him a true NFL No. 1 target in Chase and let’s have some fun.
Team Needs 1. WR, 2. OL, 3. DE
Backup Mock Draft Call: WR DeVonta Smith, Alabama
7. Detroit
2021 NFL Mock Draft Pick: WR Jaylen Waddle, Alabama
Now is when the draft gets funky. The first six picks should be close in some way, but Detroit might – and probably should – trade out of this pick to a quarterback-desperate team. Or, it gives Jared Goff a chance to succeed by handing him an elite weapon to work with. If it’s not Waddle or DeVonta Smith, it’ll be Ja’Marr Chase.
Team Needs 1. WR, 2. DB, 3. OL
Backup Mock Draft Call: WR DeVonta Smith, Alabama
8. Carolina
2021 NFL Mock Draft Pick: OT Rashawn Slater, Northwestern
It’s a nice spot for the Panthers to be in. They have to go after more offensive production, and they have a relatively good value deal in Sam Darnold to make a deal if a top quarterback slides down here. It’ll be a pick for the infrastructure if they stick in the spot.
Team Needs 1. DB, 2. OT, 3. TE
Backup Mock Draft Call: OT/OG Alijah Vera-Tucker, USC
9. Denver
2021 NFL Mock Draft Pick: QB Trey Lance, North Dakota State
It’s going to be a franchise-defining moment for the Broncos. Do they stick with the Drew Lock experience, or do they go with whatever quarterback prospect slides here, and do they go with Trey Lance over Justin Fields – or Mac Jones – depending on who’s there? Or, do they stick with Lock and give him some O line help? Or, do they go with an upgrade at corner?
Team Needs 1. QB, 2. OT, 3. DB
Backup Mock Draft Call: QB Justin Fields, Ohio State
10. Dallas
2021 NFL Mock Draft Pick: CB Patrick Surtain, Alabama
Defense, defense, and more defense. The Cowboys have to take defensive guys and keep taking them, and then take more. Surtain makes way too much sense, but it’s a corner-rich draft and a few other options wouldn’t be crazy here.
Team Needs 1. DB, 2. DT, 3. LB
Backup Mock Draft Call: CB Caleb Farley, Virginia Tech
11. New York Giants
2021 NFL Mock Draft Pick: LB Micah Parsons, Penn State
Parsons isn’t the true edge rusher the Giants need, and there’s a chance they could go with an offensive tackle to help keep Daniel Jones upright, but value-wise, both end and OT can be had later at the 42. Parsons is a potential game-wrecker of a talent who might just be one of the five best players in the draft.
Team Needs DE, WR, OT
Backup Mock Draft Call: DE Kwity Paye, Michigan
12. Philadelphia (from Miami from San Francisco)
2021 NFL Mock Draft Pick: WR DeVonta Smith, Alabama
Don’t just assume the Eagles will go receiver here. Of course it’s the biggest need, and of course it would be the fun pick to give Jalen Hurts a guy to throw to, but there’s receiver value at 37. There’s defensive back value there, too.
Team Needs 1. WR, 2. LB, 3. CB
Backup Mock Draft Call: WR Jaylen Waddle, Alabama