Headlined by LSU Tiger Joe Burrow, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, and followed closely by Alabama standout Tua Tagovailoa and Oregon Duck Justin Herbert, three quarterbacks were selected in the first six picks of the 2020 National Football League Draft.
The Athletic’s Dave Brugler peeked ahead at the likely chart-topping names in the 2021 class, releasing his rankings of the five best draft-eligible signal-callers on July 9 (subscription required).
For each prospect, Brugler identified their best trait, as well as an area they must improve.
Not surprisingly, Clemson Tigers junior Trevor Lawrence occupied the No. 1 spot on his list. Viewed as a future top pick since he claimed the starting job from Kelly Bryant in 2018, Lawrence’s athletic arm talent was noted as his best trait, while Brugler said he would like to see the Cartersville (Georgia) product improve his placement consistency.
Underclassmen made up the No. 2 & 3 spots, as well, in the form of North Dakota State Bison redshirt sophomore Trey Lance and Ohio State Buckeyes junior Justin Fields, respectively.
The highest-ranked senior to appear on the list, Florida’s Kyle Trask slotted in at No. 4. Noting his mental approach as his strongest asset, here is what Brugler had to say about the positives in Trask’s game.
“The first takeaway from Trask’s tape is his mental grasp of the position. He understands timing, trajectory and touch while reading the entire field and working his progressions. Trask’s ability to win with his mind is impressive, but it is even more encouraging when considering his relative inexperience (last season was his first as a full-time starter since his freshman year of high school).”
As for the area the Manvel, Texas export needs to improve, Brugler pointed to his tendency to attempt low-percentage passes.
“Trask has impressive tape considering his inexperience, but his lack of on-field reps also shows at times, especially when it comes to low-percentage throws.
“While he isn’t careless with the football, he can be overconfident at times, forcing throws into heavy coverage. Trask has good-but-not-great velocity on his throws, which also lowers his margin for error. Entering his final college season, scouts want to see Trask eliminate those low-percentage throws.”
Rounding out the top-five was Texas Longhorns senior Sam Ehlinger, a player who has served as a starter since his freshman year in Austin.
Throwing for 2,941 yards, 25 touchdowns and just seven interceptions while guiding the Gators to an 8-2 record in his starts a year ago, Trask is aiming to become the program’s first quarterback to be selected in the NFL Draft since Tim Tebow was chosen by the Denver Broncos at No. 25 in 2010.
Tentatively, Trask and Florida are slated to begin their 2020 campaign at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on September 5 against the Eastern Washington Eagles. As we have seen with the Big Ten (B1G) announcing a conference-only schedule on July 9, there is a possibility — perhaps a strong possibility — this will change.
Southeastern Conference (SEC) athletic directors are scheduled to meet with the league’s commissioner, Greg Sankey, in Birmingham, Alabama on July 13 to discuss their options for the upcoming season, with a decision and a formal announcement expected later in the month.
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