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The Fan’s Los Medina Ranks the HEADLINED BY Top 50 Players in the 2021 NFL Draft THE QB CLASS OF Player Profiles 2021 Top 50 Draft Board 1st Round Mock 2021 NFL DRAFT PREVIEW WELCOME TO THE 2021 NFL DRAFT By Los Medina The Draft Is Where You Build Your Team Every March the NFL headlines explode with moves during NFL free agency. But free agency is the place where you fix your mistakes and fix holes in your roster. The NFL Draft is where the foundational pieces of championship teams come from. In 2020, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed Tom Brady and grabbed those headlines. But many of the key aspects of the Buccaneers roster were secured with draft picks and draft day trades. While the brilliance of Tom Brady got the headlines in 2020, the team’s first round pick turned into one of the best players in the league. Right tackle Tristan Wirfs was perhaps the best right tackle in all of the NFL and gave the team a dependable right side for their passing and rushing attack. Building The Draft Board 2021 The 2021 draft will look like a previous draft at the top but will also feature just where the NFL is at this point. The 1999 NFL Draft was the first and only draft to feature three quarterbacks going in the top three picks. The 2021 draft should mimick that as well, with the possibility of four quarterbacks going in the top four picks. That has never happened in NFL draft history. The 2020 season was also the highest scoring season in NFL history. The rest of the top ten in this draft is going to display just how many teams have gone for all-out offense. Nine teams in the NFL averaged at least 28 points per game last season...all of them made it to the playoffs. This league is now all about scoring as many points as possible. What we are going to see is a top ten where only one or two defensive players will be selected in the top ten. It’s entirely possible that the first defensive player off the board may not come until ninth or tenth overall. What to Watch in This Draft: The situation that these quarterbacks at the top find themselves in will be a big key to their future NFL success. Trevor Lawrence looks to step into a rebuild situation in Jacksonville with a first time NFL head coach but a brilliant offensive mind in Urban Meyer. Zach Wilson will find the same challenges in New York that other young Jets quarterbacks have encounterd. Whoever goes to Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco will have the benefit of a good team and his brilliant offensive mind. The Falcons present an opportunity for a young quarterback to sit and learn rather than being thrown to the wolves. There is a lack of elite pass rushers in this draft. Every edge player has issues with size, injuries or a lack of production at the college level. Seeing one in the top ten would be an absolute surprise. Happy NFL Draft season to all of you NFL lovers out there! -los 2021 NFL Draft TOP 50 DRAFT BOARD By Los Medina 1. Trevor Lawrence – QB – Clemson 26. Zaven Collins – LB – Tulsa 2. Kyle Pitts – TE – Florida 27. Rashod Bateman – WR – Minnesota 3. Zach Wilson – QB – BYU 28. Landon Dickerson – C/G – Alabama 4. Ja’Marr Chase – WR – LSU 29. Joe Tryon – Edge – Washington 5. Penei Sewell – LT/G – Oregon 30. Levi Onwuzurike – DT – Washington 6. Justin Fields – QB – Ohio State 31. Travis Etienne – RB – Clemson 7. Rashawn Slater – LT/G – Northwestern 32. Kadarius Toney – WR – Florida 8. Patrick Surtain II – CB – Alabama 33. Gregory Rousseau – Edge – Miami 9. Devonta Smith – WR – Alabama 34. Trevon Moehrig – FS – TCU 10. Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah – LB/S – N’Dame 35. Elijah Moore – WR – Ole Miss 11. Micah Parsons – LB – Penn State 36. Eric Stokes – CB – Georgia 12. Trey Lance – QB – North Dakota State 37. Samuel Cosmi – LT – Texas 13. Jaylon Waddle – WR – Alabama 38. Alex Leatherwood – G – Alabama 14. Azeez Ojulari – Edge – Georgia 39. Jamin Davis – LB – Kentucky 15. Jaycee Horn – CB – South Carolina 40. Carlos Basham Jr. – Edge – Wake Forest 16. Christian Darrisaw – LT – Virginia Tech 41. Joseph Ossai – Edge – Texas 17. Caleb Farley – CB – Virginia Tech 42. Terrace Marshall Jr. – WR – LSU 18. Kwity Paye – Edge – Michigan 43. Liam Eichenberg – LT/RT – Notre Dame 19. Alijah Vera-Tucker – G – Southern Cal 44. Asante Samuel Jr. – CB – Florida State 20. Jaelan Phillips – Edge – Miami 45. Mac Jones – QB – Alabama 21. Greg Newsom II – CB – Northwestern 46. Nick Bolton – LB – Missouri 22. Christian Barmore – DT – Alabama 47. Rondale Moore – WR – Minnesota 23. Najee Harris – RB – Alabama 48. Tyson Campbell – CB – Georgia 24. Jayson Oweh – Edge – Penn State 49. Pat Freiermuth – TE – Penn State 25. Teven Jenkins – RT – Oklahoma State 50. Richie Grant – S – Central Florida 2021 NFL Draft QUARTERBACKS NFL DRAFT 2021 NFL Draft Top 50 BY LOS MEDINA Trevor Lawrence - Clemson 6'5 220 - (1st overall ranking) Pros: A mature leader. A nearly 6'6 athlete, Lawrence is the best overall prospect to enter the draft since Andrew Luck in 2012. Tall and very athletic, moves much better than your typical big quarterback. Long strider who has some wiggle to his game. Is a weapon when he is on the move. Can see and scan the entire field with ease. A big time throwing arm, can reach anywhere on the field with ease. Can throw on a clothesline or put the necessary touch on passes to drop it in the bucket. Plenty of velocity on the ball. Can make every throw there is. Has the ability to succeed in any offensive system. Will be able to adapt his skills to the talent placed around him. Cons: Limited experience in taking traditional NFL drops. Rarely took five or seven step drops in Clemson's offense. Did not work a traditional play-action passing game. His mistakes come from attempting to fit the ball into a tight spot because of the confidence in his arm. Will be late with progressions working back across the formation at times. Has to speed up his reads at the next level. Will require left shoulder labrum surgery and rehab before being ready for training camp. Zach Wilson - BYU 6'2 214 - (3rd overall ranking) Pros: Features a quick release with great accuracy. Anticipates the open space on the field and can fit the ball with velocity into tight windows. His anticipation makes up for just above average arm strength. Can diagnose where the pressure is coming from pre-snap and attack that area with the quick passing game. Possesses good movement skills, can climb the pocket to buy time and keep his feet and shoulders in position to throw the ball downfield. Can leave the pocket and scramble when the opportunity is presented. Can throw from multiple platforms and body positions and still deliver accurate passes. Pro-style offensive system. Cons: Smaller frame athlete compared to the other elite quarterback prospects. Dealt with shoulder and thumb injuries in 2019. Thumb required surgery. Surgery required to repair a torn labrum in 2019 in his throwing shoulder, which dated back to a high school injury. Has a torn labrum in his left shoulder that will eventually require surgery. Does not have the elite arm strength as other players at the top of the draft. Justin Fields - Ohio State 6'2 227 - (6th overall ranking) Pros: Big, strong-armed passer who has the athleticism to create time and space in the pocket. Can drive the ball to any spot on the field. Can reach the opposite sideline from the far hash with ease. The back-shoulder throws from Fields are much improved in 2020. Can throw from multiple platforms, often dropping down to a sidearm pass when necessary. Delivers the ball with pace and accuracy on the move to the sidelines. Has very quiet feet in the pocket, does not look to move around until the pass rush dictates it. Able to escape the pocket for yardage and is a factor in the run game. Improved his reads from 2019 as he displayed the ability to work his eyes to his second and third options during the 2020 season. Cons: Can be a bit robotic at times. Needs to improve his anticipation from the pocket as Fields holds the ball at times until he sees the receiver open. Does not often "throw players open". Holds onto the football too long at times waiting for the play to open up. Does not often display touch on his passes, looks to use his strong arm to drive the ball on a line to his receiver. Defensive players will flash into his field of view and rather than throwing over them he eats the ball. Still developing as a quarterback after playing in a Wing-T based offense in high school. QUARTERBACKS NFL DRAFT 2021 NFL Draft Top 50 BY LOS MEDINA Trey Lance - North Dakota State 6'3 224 - (12th overall ranking) Pros: Recorded 28 touchdown passes in 2019 without an interception. Scored 14 touchdowns on the ground as a runner. Impressive zip on his passes, displays a strong arm when he steps into the throw. Can reach anywhere on the field with his arm. Keeps his eyes downfield and can feel the pressure around him. Does a good job of delivering the ball into spots where the receiver can make a play with it after the catch. Deep ball accurate.

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