Comparing draft prospects to current or former NFL players can be an interesting and exasperating exercise. There are those who believe that such player comps are fruitless, that all players are different, and the people who make the comps are looking to pad their articles and podcasts. At Touchdown Wire, we tend to view it differently, for a couple of reasons.
First, player comps can be a service to readers if they’re NFL fans, they don’t watch a ton of college football, and they’re looking to get pictures in their heads of draft prospects they may not be familiar with. Giving those readers the name of a player they are more familiar with can be helpful. Second, when you get into player comps at a forensic level, using approximate height, weight, play style, and potential production, it can also finalize the picture of the prospect in the head of the person analyzing the players. Taking the time to figure out which current or former NFL quarterbacks are most like Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields, Trey Lance, Zach Wilson, and Mac Jones, tells a story in the story, whether you’re reading or writing.
So, with that preamble out of the way, here are Doug Farrar’s and Mark Schofield’s NFL player comparisons for their top 50 prospects in the 2021 draft class. You can read their entire Big Board here, and we’ve indicated which person made each comparison. Kudos also to our own Coley Cleary for the outstanding graphics!