It’s never too early for a 2021 NFL mock draft, especially when the Chicago Bears finally have a first-round pick after two straight years without any. The only question at this point is where will they be picking?
With Draft Wire’s new 2021 NFL mock draft, Luke Easterling has the Bears targeting another potential franchise quarterback in North Dakota State’s Trey Lance with pick No. 12.
In his first season as North Dakota State’s starter, Lance threw for 2,786 yards with 28 touchdowns and rushed for over 1,000 yards with 14 scores. Not to mention he didn’t throw a single interception en route to leading the Bison to a FCS National Championship.
While Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence figures to be the consensus No. 1 overall pick in 2021, there are some that believe that Lance could a better prospect than Lawrence and Ohio State’s Justin Fields. NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah believes Lance could be the best quarterback in next year’s draft.
“Off a snapshot of three games, I watched Trevor Lawrence, I watched Justin Fields and I watched Trey Lance, and trust me I came in with the idea that it would be Lawrence, a big gap then Fields and then a huge gap and Trey Lance,” Jeremiah said on the Ryen Russillo Podcast. “And then I watched it. Off these three games, you remove decals off helmets, I came away saying Trey Lance was the most impressive of the three guys.
“So if on your checklist of important things, you like guys that don’t turn the ball over, throw touchdowns, run for touchdowns and never lose games, you might like this guy,” Jeremiah continued. “He’s 6-3, 220-pounds, he’s strong and sturdy. He operates in that North Dakota State offense and there’s so many things they do that translate.”
With uncertainty at the quarterback position for the Bears heading into 2020, it’s possible that they’re in a position to take another swing at a potential franchise quarterback in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Obviously, the hope is that Mitchell Trubisky develops into the player general manager Ryan Pace thought he would be. But that’s not necessarily the reality, especially as Trubisky will first have to win the starting job over veteran Nick Foles to get the chance to prove that he’s the guy.
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