Grant Paulsen of 106.7 The Fan makes his final 2021 NFL Mock Draft selections, projecting picks 1 through 32 of Round 1, including who will go 19th overall to the Washington Football Team.
1) Jacksonville Jaguars, Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson
New Jacksonville head coach Urban Meyer is not even trying to pretend like they aren't taking Lawrence. You could have put this pick in sharpie months ago. Lawrence is going to be a fantastic pro.
2) New York Jets, Zach Wilson, QB, BYU
I absolutely love Wilson. He is everything that teams salivate about in a quarterbacking prospect. He's athletic, mobile, accurate and he exudes strong leadership traits. I think he'll be a play-maker at the next level.
3) San Francisco 49ers, Mac Jones, QB, Alabama
Kyle Shanahan wants Jones and Kyle Shanahan is going to take Jones. Shanahan runs the 49ers, not John Lynch. Shanahan is the quarterback whisperer and the play-caller and he's going to get his man.
4) Atlanta Falcons, Kyle Pitts, TE, Florida
Atlanta should try to trade back but if they're unable to, they should take the best non quarterback on the board. Pitts is going to be the game's next matchup-nightmare tight end. He's an elite weapon.
5) Cincinnati Bengals, Ja'Marr Chase, WR, LSU
Chase will be reunited with Burrow, the quarterback he last caught passes from at LSU before opting out of the 2020 season. Burrow needs help if he's going to lead Cincinnati out of the basement in the AFC North. An elite wide receiver is a good place to start.
6) New England Patriots, Justin Fields, QB, Ohio State
*Traded up from 15*
Bill Belichick's team was uncharacteristically active in free agency this spring. Perhaps they are not done making splashy offseason moves? Belichick is likely feeling some heat to prove that he can win without Brady and he can't do that without an upgrade at quarterback.
7) Chicago Bears, Trey Lance, QB, North Dakota State
*Traded up from 20*
Chicago needs to give it's fan base a jolt. Lance can learn from Andy Dalton if the Bears want to stash the raw passer for a season. Also, GM Ryan Pace may not be around after this year so why would he care about trading future picks to move up?
8) Carolina Panthers, Penei Sewell, OT, Oregon
If Carolina is going to find out whether or not Sam Darnold is a franchise quarterback, they're going to have to keep his jersey clean. Drafting Sewell, the best tackle in the nation, further enhances Operation: Resurrect Darnold.
9) Denver Broncos, Micah Parsons, LB, Penn State
Most people have Parsons going lower because of character concerns that have dinged his stock. He was ultra-productive in college (191 tackles in 26 games) and runs a 4.39 40-yard dash. He is going to be a terrific NFL linebacker.
10) Dallas Cowboys, Patrick Surtain II, CB, Alabama
Dallas is definitely going defense here and they are almost certainly going to take a corner. I could see Jaycee Horn being the pick but I think they take Surtain, the highest-regarded defensive back in this class.
11) New York Giants, Jaylen Waddle, WR, Alabama
I would have mocked Waddle to the Dolphins at 7 or the Lions at 8, but I have both of them moving back. If he slides out of the top-10, this would be good value for New York. They desperately need to give Daniel Jones better weapons.
12) Philadelphia Eagles, Jaycee Horn, CB, South Carolina
I really wanted to assign Devonta Smith to Philly here. They would probably love to appease their fan base by drafting the Heisman Trophy winning wide receiver after bypassing Justin Jefferson last year. But cornerback is a massive need for them, too.
13) LA Chargers, Christian Darrisaw, OT, Virginia Tech
The Chargers may want to trade up to land Sewell but the better value is to stand pat and take their second favorite tackle. I could see them going with Rashawn Slater here but I like Darrisaw more, so Slater will have to wait.
14) Minnesota Vikings, Rashawn Slater, OT, Northwestern
The Vikings defense needs more help from their offense, but they're a couple linemen away from being top-notch when they have the football. I've been thinking they'll have to settle for a guard for a while but this mock resulted in Slater falling to them.
15) Miami Dolphins, Devonta Smith, WR, Alabama
If Miami can move back nine spots and still get a wide receiver as explosive as Smith, the team's front office should do celebratory spin-kicks. They've already got Devante Parker and Will Fuller but Smith they may as well get Tua another toy to play with.
16) Arizona Cardinals, Zaven Collins, LB, Tulsa
There is lots of buzz on the Cardinals moving back but I found it hard to find a team desperate enough to jump in front of the Raiders. I could see Washington moving up to 16 if Micah Parsons is still around, though. Arizona should take a linebacker or cornerback.
17) Las Vegas Raiders, Alijah Vera-Tucker, OG, USC
The Raiders should be focusing on the offensive line with their first pick and Vera-Tucker is a pretty safe bet to be a standout pro. He'll contribute immediately as a plug-and-play starter on the interior.
18) Miami Dolphins, Kwity Paye, Edge, Michigan
Miami's defense is good but you can't have enough quality pass rushers. Considering that they had one defender with more than seven sacks last season, I'd like to think they could find a role for Paye pretty quickly.
19) Washington Football Team, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, LB, Notre Dame
Owusu-Koramoah is a versatile talent who can play several roles defensively. He'll play a lot of linebacker and some safety in some packages. I love how many plays he made at Notre Dame. He's fast and he's always around the ball. Other names in play could be Jamin Davis and Trevon Moehrig.
20) Detroit Lions, Rashod Bateman, WR, Minnesota
Bateman is a guy I seem to like more than most of the people I talk to. I think he's going to be a problem for NFL defenses. Detroit has to add wide receiver talent early and Bateman is my favorite of the remaining pass-catchers.
21) Indianapolis Colts, Teven Jenkins, OT, Oklahoma State
The Colts have one of football's best offensive lines in football, but the unit is carried by its outstanding interior play. They would like to upgrade at tackle and this first round could allow them to do that from outside of the top-20.
22) Tennessee Titans, Elijah Moore, WR, Mississippi
With Corey Davis and Jonnu Smith having departed, the Titans lost two of their better pass-catchers this offseason. You've got to replace that explosiveness so why not go to the Mississippi well that worked for them with AJ Brown?
23) New York Jets, Alex Leatherwood, OT, Alabama
This is one of those guys that confounds me because he seems like a player who should go higher than he is going to. I love his size, strength and the fact that he has been cutting his teeth at Alabama.
24) Pittsburgh Steelers, Najee Harris, RB, Alabama
There is no reason to zig just because everybody else is zagging. Sometimes when there is an immense amount of smoke it's because there might also be some flames. The rumors about Pittsburgh and Harris come to fruition.
25) Jacksonville Jaguars, Jaelan Phillips, Edge, Miami
Jacksonville has a ton of needs and could go in a plethora of directions but this is kind of a best-on-the-board pick. I feel like there's a really good chance Phillips is gone by 25, so if he's there the value would feel like a win for Urban Meyer.
26) Cleveland Browns, Jamin Davis, LB, Kentucky
I think this would be an awesome fit. Davis could come off the board at 19 to Washington, but if he gets past Rivera's bunch he could end up sliding deep into the first round. The Browns need the speed he could provide on the second-level.
27) Baltimore Ravens, Jayson Oweh, Edge, Penn State
This guy is fascinating. He didn't have any sacks last year but all the NFL people who follow the draft for a living or who work for teams seem to think he's going to be an impact guy in the NFL. He has incredible measurables.
28) New Orleans Saints, Greg Newsome, CB, Northwestern
If the Saints are going to slow down the Bucs, they need more help at cornerback. Teams use three and four wide receivers at a time now, and just having one shutdown corner is not enough.
29) Green Bay Packers, Eric Stokes, CB, Georgia
I have been thinking Green Bay would get a wide receiver in this spot for months, but the way this mock went doesn't allow for them to land one without reaching. Stokes is blazing fast and the cornerback position is more important than ever.
30) Buffalo Bills, Joe Tryon, Edge, Washington
Buffalo has a need on the edge and finds a fit with a sliding prospect who many people have going well before this. His eight-sack 2019 is the calling card because he wasn't that productive as a freshman and he opted out in 2020.
31) Baltimore Ravens, Dillon Radunz, OT, North Dakota State
Baltimore acquired this pick in a trade for an offensive tackle so why not use it to replace that tackle? Did that make sense? Radunz makes it two players from North Dakota State in this year's first round. Pretty cool for a non D1 program.
32) Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Asante Samuel Jr., CB, Florida State
The Bucs had great luck drafting Antoine Winfield Jr. last year. If it's not broke, don't fix it. Their dad's were really good players and Winfield had a banner season at safety for the 2020 Super Bowl champions. They should do the "namesake of a past stud" thing again.
You can hear Grant Paulsen on the 'Grant & Danny Show' Mondays through Fridays on 106.7 The Fan, from 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
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