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It is now officially crunch time to get in those final copies of mock drafts before the 2021 NFL Draft kicks off in Cleveland on Thursday night. With the final hours of mock draft season coming down the home stretch, there is one more from NFL.com that projects a pair of Nittany Lions to go in the first round on Thursday night.
Rhett Lewis of NFL.com published his mock draft on Monday. Not surprisingly, Lewis is among the many mock draft experts sending Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence to the Jacksonville Jaguars with the first overall pick to play for former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer. Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons is the first Nittany Lion off the board according to Lewis. Lewis projects Parsons will be drafted with the No. 15 pick owned by the New England Patriots.
Lewis has Parsons projected slightly later than a number of other mock drafts, although the No.1 5 pick seems to fall on the lower end of the pick spectrum for Parsons. Lewis even admits it is entirely possible Parsons will be gone by the time the Patriots get to make their first-round pick.
“It’s possible Parsons is long gone at this point, as I could see him coming off the board as early as No. 7 to the Lions,” Lewis explained. “If that’s the case, would Bill Belichick consider drafting a WR in the first round for the second time in three years, with the Heisman Trophy winner Devonta Smith available here? That said, the Patriots have had better success with defenders in this range, and Parsons is the pick for me.”
As for defensive end Jayson Oweh, Lewis sees the rising prospect rounding out the first night of the draft by being selected by the reigning Super Bowl champions, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Although the Bucs appear set at the defensive end position, Lewis believes there is enough to like about drafting Oweh with the final pick of the first round and allowing him to learn from his potential new teammates.
“Tampa inked Shaq Barrett to an extension and brought [Jason Pierre-Paul] back, too, but the supremely athletic Oweh gets a chance to learn from two of the best at the position while contributing in a rotational role off the edge,” Lewis notes. “Seeing how vital pass rush was in Tampa’s playoff run, supporting that aspect of last season’s success seems like a solid move.”
Of course, Oweh would be welcomed to his potential new home by a pair of former Nittany Lions. Wide receiver Chris Godwin and offensive lineman Donovan Smith can help Oweh get acclimated to his new surroundings if he ends up heading to Tampa.
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