ARLINGTON, TX - APRIL 26: A video board displays the text "ON THE CLOCK" for the New England Patriots during the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft at AT&T Stadium on April 26, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)It’s inevitable (at least) five quarterbacks are taken within the first round of the upcoming 2021 NFL Draft. We’re now starting to get a clear picture of not only who those quarterback prospects are, but how teams rank them.
The five quarterbacks projected as first-round picks include: Justin Fields, Mac Jones, Trevor Lawrence, Trey Lance and Zach Wilson. NFL teams have made it clear how they view all five.
NFL Network analyst Charley Casserly surveyed 23 NFL teams this week, asking them how they’d rank the top-five quarterback prospects of this year’s draft. The results weren’t too surprising. Teams have Lawrence and Wilson No. 1 and 2, respectively. Fields checks in as No. 3, followed by Lance and Jones.
There were some interesting results from the third-place vote. Fields garnered 13 third-place votes, while Lance got six and Jones got four.
“I surveyed 23 teams on their ranking of the Top 5 QB’s in the @NFLDraft,” Casserly tweeted on Thursday. “All 23 teams had Trevor Lawrence #1 & Zach Wilson #2 The remaining ranking was #3 Justin Fields, #4 Trey Lance #5 Mac Jones. Interestingly for 3rd place Fields had 13 votes, Lance 6, Jones 4.”
I surveyed 23 teams on their ranking of the Top 5 QB’s in the @NFLDraft All 23 teams had Trevor Lawrence #1 & Zach Wilson #2 The remaining ranking was #3 Justin Fields, #4 Trey Lance #5 Mac Jones. Interestingly for 3rd place Fields had 13 votes, Lance 6, Jones 4 @nflnetwork
— Charley Casserly (@CharleyCasserly) April 8, 2021
This tells us it’s pretty clear the NFL views Justin Fields as the third-best quarterback prospect in this year’s draft. But it isn’t consensus.
The real question is which teams are the ones that believe Fields is the third-best prospect? If the San Francisco 49ers, who hold the No. 3 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, aren’t one of them, that could tell us everything we need to know about their upcoming draft plans. We’ll have to wait until the actual draft to find out.
The 2021 NFL Draft commences on Thursday, Apr. 29 at 8 p.m. ET. ESPN will be carrying the coverage.
