2021 NFL Mock Draft: Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields remain atop the first round

Justin Fields Pro Football Draft

The 2020 college football season, assuming there is one, is slowly inching closer. With games tentatively scheduled to kick off at the end of August, the 2021 NFL Draft landscape will soon begin taking shape.

The 2021 mock draft season is already underway, however, and the early first-round narrative continues to be dominated by Trevor Lawrence (Clemson) and Justin Fields (Ohio State).

In the latest first-round mock draft by Bleacher Report, Lawrence is the first overall pick to the Jaguars while Fields goes second to the Lions.

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Fields to the Lions is an interesting pick that, if it comes to fruition, will have a long ripple effect. Even though it feels like Matthew Stafford has been around forever, he’s still only 32 years old and very much in his prime. If Detroit invests a pick like the second overall on Fields, it will mark the end of the Stafford era. Plenty of teams will line up for a player with Stafford’s skill set, which means a blockbuster trade would likely also be in the cards.

The third overall pick in this mock draft is owned by the New York Jets, who select LSU wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase. While Chase is absolutely a talent who warrants top-10 consideration, and the Jets are certainly a team that needs to surround their young franchise quarterback with more weapons, passing on an offensive tackle prospect like Oregon’s Penei Sewell seems foolish. With Mekhi Becton already in the fold after being the Jets’ first-round pick in 2020, adding Sewell would provide New York with an extremely talented pair of bookends to protect Sam Darnold.

One pick I really like from this mock is the Cincinnati Bengals at No. 5 overall. They select Miami edge rusher Gregory Rousseau, who I currently have rated as the fourth-best player in the expected 2021 class. His rare length and above-average bend combined to produce 15.5 sacks in 2019; I’m expecting a season with similar production in 2020. If he matches those sack numbers this fall, he’ll be a hot commodity in the top five next April.

For Bleacher Report’s complete first-round mock, click here.

Bryan Perez

Bryan is the founder of Pro Football Draft. His work has been featured on The Draft Network, NBC Sports and USA Today. Former CFL scout.

Follow him on Twitter: @BryanPerezNFL