NFL Draft 2021: Latest mock draft trends for Justin Fields, other QBs

With NFL free agency taking place, it seemed like a good idea to check out what’s happening with the latest mock drafts leading up to the 2021 NFL draft. 

Quarterbacks dominating the first round of the NFL draft is becoming more and more common and in the 2021 NFL draft, that will be no different.

In fact, in the latest round of mock drafts for the NFL draft, there are some experts who are predicting a run of three or four quarterbacks to open the annual selection meeting.

Of course, everyone has Trevor Lawrence going No. 1 overall to the Jacksonville Jaguars. That’s a no-brainer and it seems as though there is literally nothing that could prevent that from happening. Hell, Lawrence is probably the biggest reason Urban Meyer ended his retirement.

Meyer is smart enough to know you can’t win in the NFL without a quarterback. And if he and all the other evaluators are right and Lawrence is the next Peyton Manning or whoever, then Meyer is going to have a much easier time building the Jaguars into an NFL contender.

247 sports put together a nice look at all the mock drafts from top experts and Todd McShay of ESPN is one that had four quarterbacks: Lawrence, Zach Wilson, Justin Fields and Trey Lance going in the first four picks.

Of the 29 mock drafts listed, 18 of them having three quarterbacks going in the first four picks and multiple have the first four picks being quarterbacks. Most of them have Wilson going second to the New York Jets after Lawrence goes to the Jaguars.

After that is where things get interesting. Atlanta is a team that could be looking for a long-term replacement for Matt Ryan, which is why Fields and Trey Lance are mocked there by a number of experts.

Others have teams like San Francisco moving up for Fields, while other mock drafts have Carolina doing the same for Fields or Lance. Chicago is another team in the mix, even though it did just sign Andy Dalton.

Lance is a guy with tons of talent, but after playing just one season of FCS football and struggling in limited action in 2020, he seems like more of a risk than Fields, who played at a high level over two years in the Big Ten.

With Mac Jones moving up the board too, it wouldn’t be surprising if five quarterbacks made their way into the top 10 and outside of Lawrence to the Jaguars, at this point, there’s a lot that’s still up in the air.