Who are the best 105 pro prospects in the 2021 NFL Draft? From the college perspective, who are the best players on the board through the first three rounds?
2021 NFL Draft Top 105 Prospects: Best Players on the Board, Three Rounds
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CFN 2021 NFL Draft Prospect Rankings
from the college perspective …
QB | RB | WR | TE | OT | OG & C
DE & Edge | DT | LB | CB | Safeties
Greatest Draft Picks For Each College
ACC | Big Ten | Big 12 | Pac-12 | SEC
32 Greatest Draft Picks of All-Time
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Which 105 pro prospects matter the most in the 2021 NFL Draft?
From the college football perspective, who are the ones who’ll be the must-have talents, and how good are they no matter what the position?
And why 105? That’s how many picks are in the first three rounds. Anything after that is blind luck – you have to try not to get a starter in the first round, the second round is 50/50, and the third is dicey before it all falls off a cliff.
Always take the best player available, and here they are – at least from the college perspective after several years of watching and analyzing these guys.
One note, this isn’t a mock draft. The teams listed who have the picks at each spot don’t have anything to do with the players ranked in each spot. They show the draft order and who might still be in range.
105 DE/EDGE Ronnie Perkins, Oklahoma
Bottom Line: The raw wheels and tools might be just okay, and he’ll get blasted by the big NFL blockers, but don’t ask how the sausage is made. He makes a whole lot of big momentum plays happen and has a rare knack of being a tone-setter to take defenses to another level.
Who Has This Pick: New Orleans
104 WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, USC
Bottom Line: For all the nice overall numbers and the smooth-as-silk style, he should be a complementary target and not a No. 1. The skills are there, but he doesn’t have any one thing that stands out as elite at an NFL level.
Who Has This Pick: Los Angeles Rams
103 CB Kary Vincent, LSU
Bottom Line: The 4.33 track star speed is there, the production as a star for a national championship team is there, and the ability to get into the backfield is there. He’ll get erased by blockers and will have problems with physical targets, but no one’s running by him.
Who Has This Pick: Los Angeles Rams
102 WR Amari Rodgers, Clemson
Bottom Line: He’s built like a running back, but he catches a whole lot of passes – and drops a lot, too. He’s quick enough to produce in a variety of ways as a runner, receiver, and return man.
Who Has This Pick: San Francisco
101 DE/EDGE Patrick Johnson, Tulane
Bottom Line: Really more of a linebacker at 6-2 and 240 pounds, he doesn’t look like a normal NFL pass rusher but he was highly productive for three years. Expect energy and sensational technical ability on every play.
Who Has This Pick: Detroit
100 WR Dyami Brown, North Carolina
Bottom Line: He’ll drop one pass, and then he’ll make the spectacular grab. He’s hardly the perfect receiver prospect – he’s too small and not necessarily a blazer – but he plays fast and makes a whole lot of big, dynamic plays.
Who Has This Pick: Tennessee
99 DT Marlon Tuipulotu, USC
Bottom Line: A tad smallish at 6-2 and 307, his lack of mass didn’t matter as he made a whole lot of stops against the run. Make him a part of your rotation and he’ll do a whole lot of things right with a whole lot of effort.
Who Has This Pick: Dallas
98 DE/EDGE Chris Rumph, Duke
Bottom Line: Way small at 244 pounds, he might not be a true NFL defensive end, but you’re not getting him to stop the run. You want him as a situational pass rusher, and the guy who made 17.5 sacks and 33 tackles for loss can get the job done.
Who Has This Pick: New Orleans
97 C Creed Humphrey, Oklahoma
Bottom Line: He doesn’t quite look the part bulk-wise and he’s not an elite athlete for the position, but he’s been a brilliant blocker and leader for a line that sure-as-shoot knew how to get the job done for a fast-paced high-powered offense.
Who Has This Pick: Los Angeles Chargers
96 LB Baron Browning, Ohio State
Bottom Line: This is what an NFL linebacker looks like with size, bulk, and the toughness to hold up against the run. However, he needs to play up to the look if someone wants him on the outside. Put him inside and good things will happen.
Who Has This Pick: New England
95 DT Daviyon Nixon, Iowa
Bottom Line: A high-end interior pass rusher at a bargain-basement value, he turned into a playmaker last season who lived behind the line. Even at his 313-pound size he’s not amazing against the run, but he’ll make up for it beybeing disruptive.
Who Has This Pick: Tampa Bay
94 OG Deonte Brown, Alabama
Bottom Line: He’s the rare top Alabama pro prospect who doesn’t come out of central casting, but he’s a big, thick bulldozer of a blocker who’ll do everything right and be the one to anchor your ground game.
Who Has This Pick: Kansas City
93 RB Michael Carter, North Carolina
Bottom Line: What do you need done? He’ll catch, return kicks, and he can tear off big runs in chunks as part of a rotation. He might not be a blazer, but keep feeding him and he’ll break off something big.
Who Has This Pick: Buffalo
92 OG/OT Trey Smith, Tennessee
Bottom Line: This might be crazy-stupid low for this guy. No one has had to deal with more adversity, and on the field, he’s a big, tough, former superstar recruit who has the blasting ability to be a Pro Bowl value pick as long as all his health concerns are just fine.
Who Has This Pick: Green Bay
91 S Ar’Darius Washington, Washington
Bottom Line: Just 5-8 and not big enough to be any sort of intimidating force, he makes up for it with attitude. Good luck finding a tougher football player with more energy in the draft – he’ll make every tackle possible.
Who Has This Pick: Cleveland
90 QB Jamie Newman, Georgia
Bottom Line: There’s a good-value, low-risk factor to him in a draft that’s going to be scrutinized forever for the quarterbacks taken up top. He has NFL tools with the shot to be one of the big stars out of the group if he gets a little while to work on his game behind a Hall of Fame talent – looking at you, Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay.
Who Has This Pick: Minnesota
89 C Landon Dickerson, Alabama
Bottom Line: As long as he can stay healthy, and as long as he doesn’t have to get on the move, he’s a special center prospect who’ll slide a bit. If he can stay in one piece, he’s a ten-year quarterback for your line.
Who Has This Pick: Cleveland
88 WR Tamorrion Terry, Florida State
Bottom Line: He’s a 6-3, 207-pound 4.4 receiver with home run hitting skills. He might not be your No. 1 target, but he’s a matchup nightmare as your No. 3 who’ll average mega-yards per catch.
Who Has This Pick: Los Angeles Rams
87 QB Kyle Trask, Florida
Bottom Line: Before the bowl game disaster, he was on a better pace last year than Joe Burrow was in 2019. He might have a whole lot of things to work on, but the guy threw for over 4,000 yards and 43 touchdowns in 11 SEC games.
Who Has This Pick: Pittsburgh
86 OG Jackson Carman, Clemson
Bottom Line: There are several versatile linemen in this draft, but the 6-5, 317-pound Carman can work fine for just about everyone. He’s not going to be a thumper inside, but he brings a little something to everyone’s offensive style.
Who Has This Pick: New York Jets