It’s early — very early — in the 2021 NFL Draft process, and any opinions given by evaluators in May should be taken with a grain of salt. But when NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah dropped a bomb about next year’s quarterback class on the Move to Sticks podcast, it’s worth noting.
Jeremiah said that Noth Dakota State’s Trey Lance was more impressive than Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence after evaluating three games of Lance’s 2019 season.
We both took a look at the top 3 college QBs. Based on first look, 3 game evaluation, my opinion might be a little shocking to some out there. pic.twitter.com/zzTIX1yeYQ
— Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) May 26, 2020
While Jeremiah is a respected voice in the NFL draft community, this opinion seems like a reach right now. Lance is the flavor of the offseason after enjoying a phenomenal redshirt freshman season last year (one in which he threw 28 touchdowns to zero interceptions), but to suggest his skill set is more impressive than Lawrence’s is more than just a bit surprising.
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Lawrence profiles as a prototype franchise quarterback prospect in every aspect of quarterback evaluation. From the basics like size, athletic ability and starter’s experience against the highest level of competition to the finer details like mechanics, accuracy, arm strength, pocket awareness and football IQ, Lawrence checks all the boxes.
This isn’t to say Lance doesn’t. It’s just we haven’t seen enough of him to suggest he’s ready to challenge Lawrence for QB1 next season.
This really is an annual tradition with NFL draft analysis. Players who’ve been the consensus best at their position for a long time become boring. They become stale. As a result, evaluators go fishing to find sleepers, and even if a player like Lance isn’t necessarily a sleeper, prospects in his range are often propped up in anticipation of a breakout season.
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Is there a chance Lance can become the most coveted quarterback prospect in next year’s draft? Well, there’s always a chance. If he has a season in 2020 like he had in 2019, he’ll be in the mix.
But this assumes Lawrence remains in neutral.
If, however, the Clemson star has a career-best season? Forget it. We’ll be moving on to the second overall pick before the draft even kicks off.
