By: Anthony Martinez, Sports Editor
The NFL Draft is one of the most important days for American football. So much resides on this day. It’s the day for bad teams to change their future with a transcendent player and for good teams to find ways to fill any missing pieces they may have. April 29 is the start of the NFL Draft and until then, evaluations are made from college tape and their ongoing pro-days.
Every season, there are a couple of players who separate themselves from the rest of the bunch and become in the mix for the number one pick in the draft. Some seasons create more obvious number one choices, however, it has been a while since a bigger, more obvious number one has been in the draft than this season’s Trevor Lawrence.
Lawrence, quarterback for the Clemson Tigers, is everything a team could want in their franchise quarterback. He is truly a generational talent, up there with Andrew Luck and Peyton Manning. Lawrence does everything at least “good.” There aren’t any obvious signs of weakness. Of course, he could improve his decision-making, and avoid staring down the first receiver, but he still does those things well, especially for a college quarterback. Mix that with his height at 6’6” and amazing arm strength and accuracy, Lawrence is a lock to go number one in this year’s draft.
Outside of Lawrence, this year’s quarterback class is extremely loaded. Five quarterbacks will most likely go in the first round, maybe six, and four of them will most likely go in the top ten. While there might be better value picks and other players who are better at their respective position, if a team truly needs a quarterback, then that triumphs any other need.
Other top quarterbacks include BYU’s Zach Wilson, whose stock skyrocketed last season with phenomenal play. He is an electrifying player, he’s very creative; the ball jumps out of his hands and his ball placement was great. The only concerns with him are potential injuries; he has already had shoulder surgery before, has a thin frame, and the level of teams BYU played last season isn’t as high as some of the other QB’s.
Another quarterback, whose collegiate competition doesn’t stack up to some of the other QBs in North Dakota State’s, is Trey Lance. Although, no one except Lawrence has as high of a potential. Lance’s arm strength is fantastic and his ability as a runner is the best of his class— he can run through tackles. Again, his concerns are the weaker opponents he’s played as well as his limited starting experience. He will need time.
One quarterback who has both of those things is Ohio State’s Justin Fields. With solid arm strength, great speed, and good accuracy, Fields fits the modern mold of today’s NFL quarterbacks. One concern is that Ohio State has not been able to create successful NFL quarterbacks, so Fields will have to do what he can to break that.
When looking outside of the quarterbacks, the talent in this year’s class is outstanding. In a heavier offensive draft, at least in the early goings, there are plenty of players who will be ready to start and make an impact immediately. Outside of Lawrence, the best player in this class may very well be Penei Sewell, who played tackle for Oregon. Sewell opted out of this previous season so his tape is limited to his redshirt freshman campaign but what a campaign it was. He looked extremely dominant. Despite missing last season, he could go as early as second in the draft and no one would question that decision.
The wide receiver class has a great pool of talent as well. The top three are considered to be as good to go in the top ten; even top-five and one of the receivers most likely will. Those would be LSU’s Jamar Chase, Alabama’s Devonta Smith, and Alabama’s Jaylen Waddle. Chase is the most physically dominant receiver as he highpoints the ball extremely well and is reminiscent of Deandre Hopkins.
For the Alabama receivers, Smith just won the Hiseman award. It’s an award that very rarely goes to a receiver. Because of that, and mixed with his great skill set and ability to just find ways to get open, there is a lot of hype for Smith. Waddle is the fastest receiver this season, an absolute burner, and still has other great qualities about him outside of just great speed.
One player that might fall a little bit because of position need who is a top ten, maybe top-five talent is Kyle Pitts, the tight end out of Florida. An incredible athlete, he creates so many mismatches at tight end, and is a more polished Evan Engram when he came out of college. Pitts can go out wide and even line up against a corner and people would still expect results. The most versatile player in this year’s class.
A lot more process has to happen before these teams make their eventual picks on April 29, but these players will certainly be towards the top. It’s just a question of where they will land.
