The Senior Bowl is in the past and, soon, the series of professional days in this unique draft process will be upon us. These years NFL Draft the season will be peculiar, as there will be no formal NFL Combine in Indianapolis in February. With some potential customers possibly failing, teams can prioritize medical examinations over anything else. Things get weird in a weird year in my 4 rounds of 2021 NFL Mock Draft.
Note that all compensatory choices are designed, not official. When you are finished reading this simulated draft, be sure to check the Mock Draft PFN simulator with free trades, including features yes to yes, yes to user and user to yes.
2021 4 rounds NFL Mock Draft | First round
1. Jacksonville Jaguars: Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson
Write this one, guys. The Jaguars, including coach Urban Meyer, were at the Trevor Lawrence Professional day on Friday. Lawrence is head and shoulders above the rest of the quarterback class with a knack for the arm along with mobility.
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Lawrence is not walking in a completely arid landscape with weapons like DJ Chark and Laviska Shenault Jr. already around him. The Jaguars will have to work to surround him with the best talent possible for the rest of the draft, but Lawrence is a potential choice for a franchise move to Jacksonville.
2. New York Jets: Zach Wilson, QB, BYU
The Jets are a difficult team to read now. It makes sense that they look for the quarterback, given the fact that a new coaching regime is coming. However, they have a bunch of other needs, and Joe Douglas has talked about his confidence in Sam Darnold before.
However, in this 2021 4-round NFL Draft Mock, the Jets catch a BYU quarterback Zach Wilson. With stunning moves and a phenomenal 2020 season, Wilson is sitting firmly as the “QB2” on many draft boards throughout the league. With Wilson on board, the Jets can use their abundant draft capital to build it and form a competitive team.
3. Miami Dolphins (via HOU): DeVonta Smith, WR, Alabama
The Dolphins seem to have their young gunslinger in Tua Tagovailoa. So, get the band together again and give it one of the best neat separators to go out in a long time. DeVonta Smith knows the Dolphins, and they know him well thanks to the time they spent together in the Senior Bowl.
Miami lacked state-of-the-art weapons for Tagovailoa to launch the ball this year and, as such, it makes sense for the Dolphins here.
4. Atlanta Falcons: Justin Fields, QB, Ohio
One of my favorite settings. Justin Fields and the Falcons are a great mesh together. Fields fits Arthur Smith’s offense as well as you could ask a guy to do that.
He can push the ball vertically with ease. His physical arm talent combined with the polished products he brings to the table is the second best in the class behind Trevor Lawrence. Fields can also open the ground game with his legs. He may be seeing his stock drop for some people, but Fields and Atlanta are a perfect match.
5. Cincinnati Bengals: Penei Sewell, OT, Oregon
Bengals are big winners in this 2021 4-round NFL Mock Draft, as they make the ideal choice in Penei Sewell.
The Bengals know they need to protect Joe Burrow after what happened last year, and Sewell has the perfect combination of playing skills and advantages to satisfy the Bengals’ wishes here. It will enter the first day and will be an integral part of Bengal’s plans for the present and the future.
6. Philadelphia Eagles: Ja’Marr Chase, WR, LSU
I may not love the fit here between Ja’Marr Chase and the eagles, but it seems a little redundant to put Jaylen Waddle with Jalen Reagor. Personally, I still have a lot of hope for Reagor, even after he went through some fights during his debut season.
Chase is one of the best ball receivers I’ve ever seen. The Eagles need someone who can make those difficult footprints in traffic, and there is no one better than Chase to do that.
7. Detroit Lions: Jaylen Waddle, WR, Alabama
After acquiring Jared Goff from the Rams, the Lions office looks exuberant with its prospects in Motor City. If that’s the case, it’s hard not to see Lions dealing with the offense surrounding their quarterback. The moment Kenny Golladay was injured, the Lions wide receiver’s move fell off a cliff.
Jaylen Waddle you can go in there and be the number one guy. It will be a headache for defensive coordinators for years to come, as they have to cover it just to slow it down.
8. Carolina Panthers: Trey Lance, QB, North Dakota State
The Panthers were in trouble with Matthew Stafford. Since they couldn’t acquire it, however, they might as well rely on recruiting to acquire their next quarterback.
Trey Lance comes with risk, but it is on the positive side that the Panthers are betting here. If he gets it right and reaches its full potential, the league will be in trouble. In addition, Lance can elevate a team around him to the Super Bowl. It will be all about development, but being around Matt Rhule and Joe Brady is a good pillow to land on Lance.
9. Denver Broncos: Caleb Farley, CB, Virginia Tech
The Broncos just released AJ Bouye this week, and there is a huge hole in the cornerback. To type Caleb Farley, which is a super-athletic, sticky cornerback with a man-made cover, good enough instincts and quickness in the short area to work in the coverage area.
The fit in a Vic Fangio defense makes a lot of sense for both sides, which is why the Broncos caught Farley in this 2021 NFL 4-round Draft Mock.
10. Dallas Cowboys: Patrick Surtain, CB, Alabama
At this point, Cowboys only need bodies in high school. With the top cornerback off the board at Farley, they will take Patrick Surtain with joy.
The duration and discipline with which Surtain plays is something that the Cowboys are losing in their high school. Surtain can be the top cornerback in front of Trevon Diggs and can stand out on the top man cover.
11. New York Giants: Kyle Pitts, TE, Florida
The giants have some directions to follow here, but they urgently need a pass catcher. Evan Engram is apparently not working and Golden Tate is probably walking out the door.
Kyle Pitts it’s the best of both worlds for the Giants. Not only can he be the main pass weapon in this attack, but Pitts can work in line. He proved to be an underrated blocker in 2020, and Pitts could be a Darren Waller-style target for Daniel Jones.
12. San Francisco 49ers: Rashawn Slater, OT, Northwestern
With all quarterbacks off the board, the 49ers are left with one of the best strikers on the line in this draft. Tackle is not that massive need for 49ers, but the value here is undeniable.
San Francisco is a strange place where Slater can really work from the inside out. It would be no surprise to put Slater on guard or in the center, given the needs along that offensive line. Slater’s athleticism and balance fit perfectly with Kyle Shanahan’s heavy zone scheme.
13. Los Angeles Chargers: Christian Darrisaw, OT, Virginia Tech
This is the third offensive tackle off the board in this 2021 4-round NFL Mock Draft. Chargers need a lot to protect Justin Herbert. Their situation is now changing and, frankly, it is a little confused.
Christian Darrisaw it changes the perspective of that quickly, however. With his athleticism and vicious strokes, Darrisaw will be a blunt racing blocker and the franchise’s opponent to protect Herbert.
14. Minnesota Vikings: Kwity Paye, EDGE, Michigan
The defense of the Vikings is a hot mess. However, they did their best when they could trust their pass brokers to get to the quarterback. Outside of Danielle Hunter, however, there are only a handful of guys on the edge rusher in Minnesota.
Kwity Paye he comes in and gives the Vikings a kind of high-end guy with explosiveness and a growing repertoire of movements, despite not having the ideal duration.
15. New England Patriots: Alijah Vera-Tucker, OL, USC
Joe Thuney may be coming out the door, and with Michael Onwenu possibly sliding in because of this, the Patriots need a tackle or a plug-and-play guard. Alijah Vera-Tucker proved that it can be both at USC.
With perhaps the best use of the class hand and natural athleticism, Vera-Tucker could be a starter for a decade in New England. This reinforces the offensive line of a unit that is suffering some blows.
16. Arizona Cardinals: Jaycee Horn, CB, South Carolina
Patrick Peterson and the Cardinals appear to be following separate paths, and that leaves a huge opening for Arizona in front of Byron Murphy. Jaycee Horn it brings the kind of arrogance and is the corner of pure cover that Cardinals need at the border.
It has the explosiveness and fluidity to play in zone coverage or press coverage. Therefore, he is the definition of a junkyard dog in support of running.