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The 2020 NFL Draft is barely finished, but it is never too early to start looking ahead to next year. We have a full (or abbreviated) season of football still in front of us, but why not project out the first picks of the 2021 NFL Draft?
It’s become an annual tradition for media to post mock drafts for the following year’s draft no more than 24 hours after the close of that previous year’s draft. DraftKings Sportsbook is getting in the mix, offering odds on the first overall pick in 2021, and then the first QBs, RB, WR, and OL drafted.
There are a few 2021 NFL mock drafts and available, and it could offer an interesting comparison with how the odds are shaking out. The mock drafts we’re looking at are:
Bleacher Report
24/7 Sports
Sporting News
We don’t know the draft order, but all three have the Jacksonville Jaguars with the No. 1 overall pick. The Jaguars currently have the worst Super Bowl 55 odds at DK Sportsbook, so it makes sense to have them sitting at No. 1.
It’s also fitting given the consensus No. 1 pick: Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Ohio State QB Justin Fields was the next QB off the board on all three mock drafts, with Georgia’s Jamie Newman next in two of the three.
Lawrence is currently a heavy favorite to go No. 1 overall next April. He is at -305, with Fields the next closest at +300, and Oregon offensive tackle Penei Sewell next at +400. There is a drop after that to Miami quarterback D’Eriq King at +1600. He does not show up on any of the mock drafts, but there is usually at least one quarterback that comes entirely off the radar to become a first round pick the following year.
Sewell is the closest to a consensus behind Lawrence. He’s fourth in B/R’s mock draft, and then second for 24/7 and Sporting News. Ja’Marr Chase gets some love, going third, seventh, and fourth, respectively. He’s sitting at +5000 to go No. 1 overall, tied for ninth with several other players.
Plenty will change over the next year, but this provides a helpful baseline as we head into the rest of the NFL offseason and wait to see what 2020 brings for football amidst the pandemic.
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