1. Trevor Lawrence, Clemson
Size: 6-6, 213
The Good: The No. 1 recruit coming out of high school – or No. 1A if Justin Fields was your guy – Lawrence more than lived up to the hype with a national championship as a freshman, a run to the national title game after the 2019 season, and a third trip to the College Football Playoff last year.
With the size, arm, unreal maturity and poise, and an unwavering ability to handle the big moments, he’s it. He’s the one. He’s been ready for this for years as the type of quarterback prospect teams tank over – oh Jets, you’re so pretty.
He’s not cocky and doesn’t have any aspect of entitlement to his game – he’ll walk into the Jacksonville locker room and will belong right away.
A better runner than he gets credit for, he’ll get moving when he has to, but his job will be to make everyone around him better. That won’t be a problem.
The Not-So-Good: He’ll press a bit right away and will have to learn how to deal with adversity.
He’ll have to get used to having a bad game here and there – he never really had a true clunker at Clemson other than the 2019 National Championship against LSU, but everything against that team is forgiven – and he can’t play hero ball right right out of the box.
In 2019 as a sophomore, it was as if he was trying to win the national championship with every throw and the mistakes flowed early on. He adjusted, took more of the easy throws that were there, and all was fine. However, don’t be shocked if he gives away plenty of picks early on.
No one more prepared for the big stage than @Trevorlawrencee 🚀 pic.twitter.com/xYAoQ4EVUE
— Clemson Football (@ClemsonFB) February 13, 2021
NFL Draft College Perspective Thought: The guy would’ve been the No. 1 overall pick over Kyler Murray if he was able to come out in 2019, he would’ve been the No. 1 overall pick over Joe Burrow if he was able to come out last year, and he would’ve been the No. 1 overall pick in almost any other draft.
John Elway, Andrew Luck, Trevor Lawrence – oh, by the way, DJ Uiagalelei might soon be there, too. If you’re looking for the one of No. 1s, the prospect of prospects, and the guy who is about as strong as a pro talent can be, Lawrence gets into the most exclusive of VIP lounges.
This is going to be fun.
Projected Round: No. 1 Overall
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