Last year, we saw three quarterbacks—Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert—drafted in the first six picks. What will 2021 bring? Apparently more of the same. In fact, during his appearance Tuesday on NFL Live, ESPN’s Adam Schefter predicted as many as four quarterbacks will be selected within the first 6-7 picks of April’s draft. Schefter didn’t mention any players by name, but one can safely assume the four quarterbacks he’s referring to are presumptive No. 1 pick Trevor Lawrence, Ohio State’s Justin Fields, Zach Wilson of BYU and North Dakota State standout Trey Lance. Some mocks even have Heisman finalist Mac Jones of Alabama landing inside the top 10.
While most would agree this year’s crop of quarterbacks isn’t as strong as last year’s batch, you could make the case for almost any team in the top 10, save for Cincinnati and Dallas, drafting a QB. Others, including the 49ers (No. 12) and Patriots (15) could be tempted to trade into the top 10 if either falls in love with a particular prospect. It’s already been a busy offseason at the quarterback position with Jared Goff, Matthew Stafford, Carson Wentz, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Andy Dalton Tyrod Taylor and Jacoby Brissett all joining new teams. Rumored trade candidates Russell Wilson, Deshaun Watson and Sam Darnold could be the next dominos to fall on that front.
In foreshadowing an early run on QBs, Schefter’s message to quarterback-needy teams is loud and clear—if you want one of Lawrence, Fields, Wilson or Lance, you better be picking in the top six or seven. In his latest mock draft, our own Tim Kelly had quarterbacks being drafted 1-3 (Lawrence, Wilson and Fields), but didn’t have a fourth signal-caller coming off the board until Mac Jones at 16.
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