NFL 2021 Mock Draft 1.0

#9 NFL 2021 Draft: New England Patriots (via DEN) – Justin Fields, QB, Ohio State

Justin Fields

Many people may not like this move because the Patriots could have their next franchise signal-caller for the next decade. But I think Denver may want to see what they have in Drew Lock for one more year, and if my number three quarterback is still available then, New England would make their move.

The Patriots gave up picks 46 and 122 to move up six spots and get Justin Fields, who is often considered a slightly smaller version of Cam Newton. With all the false narratives out there, I could see the Ohio State QB drop. But Bill Belichick won’t buy into that, and it should be a smooth transition from Cam.

Fields could use his athleticism in that type of offense. He was most comfortable recently with a lot of 12 personnel and speedsters on the outside at Ohio State.

#10 NFL 2021 Draft: Dallas Cowboys – Patrick Surtain, CB, Alabama

As crazy as it may sound, this seems to be a very realistic proposition. The Cowboys will have all the defensive prospects to choose from when they are on the clock at tenth overall.

If Kyle Pitts or one of the top two offensive linemen falls to them, they could go that route. But they desperately need to upgrade their defense, which ranked in the bottom-five in points allowed and 31st against the run last season.

They could address the front-seven later, especially with the amount of shade-nose tackles available in the middle rounds. So with this pick, they'' get the most technically sound corner in the draft, especially after they lost Chidobe Awuzie and have nobody else on the outside across from Trevon Diggs, as they re-build the Bama duo.

#11 NFL 2021 NFL Draft: New York Giants – DeVonta Smith, WR, Alabama

No excuses for Daniel Jones, right? The Giants have already signed Kelly Golladay this offseason, to go along with Sterling Shephard, Darius Slayton and Evan Engram.

With the investments they already made in their offensive line in last year’s draft and Saquon Barkley coming back, this has to be the year Danny Dimes puts it all together.

DeVonta Smith, who the Giants’ brass has reportedly been enamored with, gives them an excellent route-runner and a reliable deep threat to complete that unit. I could see Dave Gettleman go front-seven here as well. But that side of the ball wasn’t really the problem last season, and I don’t think there’s somebody here that blows them away.

#12 NFL 2021 Draft: Philadelphia Eagles – Jaycee Horn, CB, South Carolina

This is a sort of doomsday scenario for the Eagles because they have already almost written off last year’s first-round pick Jalen Reagor. They are in need of one of the consensus top-three receivers, which they won’t get now because they traded back from six.

In this scenario, I see them addressing their biggest need on the defensive side of the ball, assuming they don’t start valuing their linebacker position all of a sudden.

Jaycee Horn is the most physical, battle-tested corner in the draft and would allow them to put Darius Slay into more favorable positions going up against number two receivers, while Avonte Maddox could move back into the slot.