The 2021 NFL draft is coming up in April, and while Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields are getting the press at the top of the board, the real areas of depth in this draft are in the offensive line, wide receiving corps and edge defenders. The interior defensive line group in this class is not as strong as it has been in years past.
So as you consider what your favorite NFL team (or your favorite sports betting team) might need, take a look at some of the top prospects in the latest NFL draft rankings.
NFL News: Updated 2021 Draft Rankings
#1 Trevor Lawrence (QB, Clemson)
Lawrence will next be suiting up in teal and black as a Jacksonville Jaguar, and he will have Urban Meyer as his head coach. It’s been a long time since a top-tier college football coach did well in the NFL — the only three coaches to win national championships and Super Bowls are Jimmy Johnson, Barry Switzer and Pete Carroll. Switzer basically won a title with Johnson’s players, and then Dallas owner Jerry Jones begged for the league to implement a salary cap, and his team hasn’t even been to an NFC Championship since, because Jones has spent 25 years trying to figure out how to build a roster under that cap without having to hire anyone with a football pedigree to run his team. Carroll, of course, broke through with Seattle. For Lawrence, though, expect a season of suffering similar to what Sam Darnold has gone through with the Jets and Joe Burrow went through in Cincinnati.
#2 Penei Sewell (OT, Oregon)
If Sewell slides to the fifth spot in the draft, the Cincinnati Bengals should snap him up. They need an offensive line so that Burrow does not have season-ending injuries running for his life every season, and Sewell has already posted on social media several times indicating his desire to play in the Queen City.
#3 Ja’Marr Chase (WR, LSU)
It’s down to Chase and DeVonta Smith as far as the top wide receiver in this class. Chase missed the 2020 season as he opted out because of COVID-19. He was the Biletnikoff Award winner in 2019, given to the best wide receiver in the nation. He had 84 catches for 1,780 yards and 20 touchdowns. He has only one season under his belt, but in the national championship, he caught nine balls for 221 yards and two scores.
#4 Kyle Pitts (TE, Florida)
Some are already comparing Pitts to Calvin Johnson, the longtime Detroit Lions star receiver. Pitts is 6’6” and 245 pounds, and he caught 43 passes for 770 yards and a dozen touchdowns in eight games for the Gators last year. If you’ve seen how the likes of George Kittle can make teams pay at the tight end position, then you have a sense of how Pitts could play. Pitts could line up in the slot, even outside, depending on need. He also can come inside and play the tight end; that versatility could make him a huge asset for Detroit, or anyone else.
#5 Justin Fields (QB, Ohio State)
Fields would likely be higher on a lot of boards if he had not thrown three interceptions against Indiana last season. In 2019, he only threw three interceptions the entire season. Some might think this is unfair, as even Patrick Mahomes had an off day last year, throwing three picks against Miami. In 22 games at Ohio State, Fields threw for 63 touchdowns against just nine picks. He completed 68.4 percent of his passes for 5,373 yards. He shredded Clemson in the national semifinal last year. It would not surprise me to see him go higher than #5.
Rounding out the top ten…
#6 Micah Parsons (LB, Penn State)
#7 Caleb Farley (CB, Virginia Tech)
#8 Rashawn Slater (OT, Northwestern)
#9 Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (LB, Notre Dame)
#10 Jaylen Waddle (WR, Alabama)
NFL Betting Odds
Love betting NFL football? | Xbet Sportsbook offers up to date NFL lines
