Cody Schopp’s 2021 NFL Mock Draft 2.0

The first week of the 2021 free agency period saw teams make moves to fill needs. The most notable of the 32 teams were the Patriots and Buccaneers. The Patriots signing what seemed like everyone on the market, while the Buccaneers kept most of their free agents-to-be in-house. 

These moves make the draft a little clearer as it moves closer to draft weekend. Some teams signed players that were areas of need while neglecting other areas. Those draft needs then became smaller, and the mid-rounds of the draft should provide teams to draft the best player available. 

if you’d like to see my first mock draft, click here. In this second edition, the Texans, Patriots, and Dolphins all make trades to move up in the draft. As the second wave of free agency hits and the draft gets closer, draft picks will become clearer. Hope you enjoy this second edition mock draft, and give your thoughts down below.

Jacksonville Jaguars (1) – Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson. No change here for the Jaguars, as they take Lawrence number 1. Jaguars signed a trio of WRs (Jamal Agnew, Phillip Dorsett, and Marvin Jones) to surround Lawrence with experience at the receiver position.

New York Jets (2) – Justin Fields, QB, Ohio State. No change for the Jets, as they pick Fields to take over as Darnold hits the trade block. 

Houston Texans (via Miami Dolphins thru Houston) (3) – Devonta Smith, WR, Alabama. The Deshaun Watson drama is over, as they send him to the Dolphins for Tua and a couple of future draft picks. They draft a familiar face for Tua to play within Smith, as the Heisman Trophy winner is the first receiver taken off the board

New England Patriots (via Atlanta Falcons) (4) – Zach Wilson, QB, BYU. New England was aggressive during free agency, and he is aggressive by trading up to get Wilson. Cam Newton signed a new deal with the Patriots, but Wilson would come in on day 1 and start for the Patriots. Atlanta gets the 15th pick along with a couple of future first-round picks in the deal.

Cincinnati Bengals (5) – Penei Sewell, OL, Oregon. No change for the Bengals, as they pick up the 20-year-old OL from Oregon. Should be the franchise LT for the Bengals, as newly signed tackle Riley Reiff shifts over to the right side.  

Philadelphia Eagles (6) – Ja’Marr Chase, WR, LSU. Philadelphia signed safeties Andrew Adams and Anthony Harris to deals, so no change to the Eagles on their selection. 

Detroit Lions (7) – Patrick Surtain II, CB, Alabama. Detroit signed receivers Breshad Perriman and Tyrell Williams to help the decimated receiving core. The Lions pick Surtain to help shore up the pass defense and pair him with last year’s first-round pick Jeff Okudah. 

Carolina Panthers (8) – Trey Lance, QB, NDSU. No change for Carolina, as they pick Lance. They roll with Bridgewater another year to let Lance get acquainted with NFL football speed. Carolina prioritized the offensive line with Cam Erving, Taylor Moton, and Pat Elflein being signed.

Denver Broncos (9) – Jalen Waddle, WR, Alabama. With the top 4 QBs off the board, the Broncos give Drew Lock a weapon in Waddle. The Broncos shored up their secondary by signing cornerbacks Ronald Darby and Kyle Fuller.  

Dallas Cowboys (10) – Caleb Farley, CB, Virginia Tech. Surtain gives the Cowboys a young duo in Trevon Diggs to help stop a team that gave up 34 passing touchdowns in 2020.

New York Giants (11) – Rashawn Slater, OL, Northwestern. Giants made moves in free agency to give QB Daniel Jones weapons and nab Slater to help keep him upright. They nab one of the best OL prospects in the draft. 

San Francisco 49ers (12) – Micah Parsons, LB, Penn State. No change here as the 49ers select Parsons. 49ers had a solid week of free agency, so they go with the best player available in Parsons.

Los Angeles Chargers (13) – Christian Darrisaw, OL, Virginia Tech. No change here for the Chargers, even after signing Corey Linsley, Oday Aboushi, and Matt Feiler on the OL. Darrisaw provides protection for Justin Herbert’s blindside for years to come.

Miami Dolphins (via Minnesota Vikings) (14) – Kyle Pitts, TE, Florida. Miami moves up to select Pitts, who gives newly acquired Deshaun Watson a new weapon. They also jump Atlanta, who might look at Pitts to complement Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley in the receiving room. Minnesota gets a 2nd round pick in the deal along with a couple of future picks.

Atlanta Falcons (via New England Patriots) (15) – Mac Jones, QB, Alabama. Jones comes to Atlanta to be the successor to Matt Ryan. Jones takes over halfway through the season as Ryan’s play starts to deteriorate. 

Arizona Cardinals (16) – Jaycee Horn, CB, South Carolina. Cardinals pick up Horn to help with their secondary after Patrick Peterson left. 

Las Vegas Raiders (17) – Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, LB, Notre Dame. Las Vegas addressed the defensive line with Yannick Ngakoue, Jonathan Hankins, Quinton Jefferson, and Solomon Thomas all getting deals. They continue to add to the defense with Owusu-Koramoah. 

Minnesota Vikings (via Miami Dolphins) (18) – Alijah Vera-Tucker, OL, USC. Minnesota went all-in on fixing the defense with the signings of Dalvin Tomlinson, Nick Vigil, and Patrick Peterson. With two holes on the offensive line, they take Vera-Tucker to either plugin at LT or one of the guard spots.

Washington Football Teams (19) – Rondale Moore, WR, Purdue. Washington sticks with Moore in this spot. Gives newly acquired Ryan Fitzpatrick a weapon in the slot.

Chicago Bears (20) – Teven Jenkins, OL, Oklahoma State University. No change for Chicago as they select Jenkins to play RT. 

Indianapolis Colts (21) – Samuel Cosmi, OL, Texas. In the previous mock, I had Kwity Paye at this spot, but newly acquired Carson Wentz needs to be upright if he wants to rejuvenate his career. Cosmi provides an opportunity for that to be a reality.

Tennessee Titans (22) – Kwity Paye, DL, Michigan. Paye helps on the defensive side for the Titans, who also signed Denico Autry to help shore up the defensive line. 

New York Jets (via Seattle) (23) – Gregory Rousseau, DL, Miami (FL). The Jets signed Carl Lawson and Sheldon Rankins to help on the defensive line, and Rousseau plugs in opposite Lawson to bring more pressure. 

Pittsburgh Steelers (24) – Christian Barmore, DL, Alabama. Barmore helps the Steelers on the defensive interior after Pittsburgh went wild on the offensive side during free agency. 

Jacksonville Jaguars (via Los Angeles Rams) (25) – Zaven Collins, LB, Tulsa. Jacksonville addressed many areas in free agency; the one area they didn’t is the linebacker position. Might sit to start the season but could challenge Joe Schobert in the middle.  

Cleveland Browns (26) – Azeez Ojulari, DL, Georgia. Browns get a steal in Ojulari, who somehow drops to 26. Could make an immediate impact on a Browns team and pair nicely opposite Myles Garrett. 

Baltimore Ravens (27) – Rashod Bateman, WR, Minnesota. Ravens get Lamar Jackson a number 1 receiver, as they couldn’t bring in any receivers during the first week of free agency. 

New Orleans Saints (28) – Trevon Moehrig, S, TCU. Marcus Williams received the franchise tag, but that does not stop New Orleans from taking the top safety in the class in Moehrig. 

Green Bay Packers (29) – Kadarius Toney, WR, Florida. Green Bay finally drafts the ageless Aaron Rodgers a weapon after resigning Aaron Jones. Devante Adams provides Toney to go wild in single coverage.  

Buffalo Bills (30) – Najee Harris, RB, Alabama. Harris gives the Bills a legit threat in the run game. Starts day 1 for a team that has few holes throughout.  

Kansas City Chiefs (31) – Jalen Mayfield, OL, Michigan. After letting go of both tackles Eric Fischer and Mitchell Schwartz, Mayfield finds himself protecting Patrick Mahomes on the right side. Kansas City made it clear they were going to focus on OL with the signing of Joe Thuney. 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (32) – Travis Etienne, RB, Clemson. The Buccaneers resigned the majority of their pending free agents, so they pick Etienne to help with a team that ranked 28th in the league in rushing in 2020.