New 2021 mock draft dominated by quarterbacks in first 10 picks

Trey Lance mock draft

The NFL is a quarterback-driven league, and in the latest 2021 NFL mock draft by Yahoo! Sports’ Eric Edholm, it’ll get an injection of high-end talent in the top 10 of April’s draft.

Edholm has four quarterbacks coming off the board in the first seven picks, headlined by Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence and Ohio State’s Justin Fields at the first- and second-overall picks. BYU’s Zach Wilson is next at No. 6 overall, and North Dakota State’s Trey Lance hangs on to his preseason first-round grade coming off the board at No. 7 to the Atlanta Falcons.

Keeping Ryan aboard for the next head coach and giving Lance the equivalent of a redshirt season makes sense. Does Ryan want any part of that? He could force Atlanta’s hand. Otherwise, the Falcons could find a cheap veteran as the bridge to the future. Lance’s ceiling as a prospect is extremely high, even if determining his floor now feels specious.

Four quarterbacks in the top seven is an aggressive approach here, especially when it comes to a player like Lance, who has to overcome the small-school label while silencing concerns about his underdeveloped skill set after not having a full season in 202o.

Where this mock draft isn’t aggressive is the draft position of Wilson, who as stated above comes off the board sixth to the Carolina Panthers. In fact, this may be too low for Wilson, whose blue-chip talent has been on display all season. A quarterback-needy team searching for their next franchise passer will trade into the top five for Wilson, assuming he doesn’t leapfrog Fields by the time the draft rolls around.

For Edholm’s complete mock draft, 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