With the Jets trading Sam Darnold to the Panthers on Monday, and the 49ers trading a king’s ransom in draft capital to move up to the third overall pick, it’s pretty easy to see that the first three picks in the 2021 NFL draft will go QB-QB-QB. Of course, we don’t know who those quarterbacks will be; even Urban Meyer could shock us by taking someone other than Trevor Lawrence with the first overall pick.
(Spoiler: This will not happen).
That leaves the Jets with the second overall pick and fully open for business at the game’s most important position. And it’s highly unlikely that the 49ers would trade their first-round picks in the 2022 and 2023 drafts for any other position.
So, the Falcons, who have the fourth overall pick as it stands now, are next to be discussed. Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, several teams have talked to the Falcons about trading up to that fourth pick. Of course, that happens all the time pre-draft, but it’s an interesting exercise to think about which teams are most likely to jump up in the draft — most likely to pick another quarterback, which would create a new precedent in pro football history, as quarterbacks have never gone with the first four overall picks.
Let’s say the first three picks are Lawrence to the Jaguars at 1, BYU’s Zach Wilson to the Jets at 2, and either North Dakota State’s Trey Lance or Ohio State’s Justin Fields to San Francisco at 3. That leaves a couple of legitimate first-round prospects in whichever quarterback is left between Lance and Fields, and Alabama’s Mac Jones — who I do not believe for one second is the guy Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch moved up to take.
Assuming the Falcons believe they have a couple more years with Matt Ryan, which teams are looking to make draft history, and perhaps get their next franchise quarterback? Here are a few likely suitors.