NFL Draft 2021 Big Board Top 150: Kyle Pitts, Ja’Marr Chase crack top three in class deep

The 2021 NFL Draft is almost here, and thank you, Jesus, because it’s been a while since folks were so fired up about who their favorite team might select. The reality is that none of us know how things will pan out — fans, media, draft analysts, scouts, coaches, GMs — because it’s so incredibly difficult to project how someone three or four years removed from high school will evolve as a player (against some of the most talented athletes on the planet, mind you) over the next decade.

And that’s not to say we should all just throw our hands up in defeat but instead, maybe we shouldn’t take it all quite so seriously. Enjoy the process instead, and enjoy what made these players so good in college and how those traits translate to the next level.

With that in mind, and with the understanding that some of you will be quite angry as you read what follows, let’s get to my top 150 players in the 2021 draft class!

1. Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson (QB1)
2. Kyle Pitts, TE, Florida (TE1)
3. Ja’Marr Chase, WR, LSU (WR1)
4. Penei Sewell, OT, Oregon (OT1)
5. DeVonta Smith, WR, Alabama (WR2)
6. Micah Parsons, LB, Penn State (LB1)
7. Zach Wilson, QB, BYU (QB2)
8. Jaylen Waddle, WR, Alabama (WR3)
9. Rashawn Slater, OL, Northwestern (OT2)
10. Patrick Surtain II, CB, Alabama (CB1)

It starts with Trevor Lawrence — no surprise — and then it’s Kyle Pitts, which also shouldn’t be a surprise. We’ve said in recent weeks that Pitts feels like the sort of layup pick a general manager could make knowing that his job would be safe when he woke up the next morning — it’s virtually the same thing we were saying about Chase Young a year ago; he’s such a gifted player that it’s hard to imagine he isn’t a game-changer from the moment he steps onto an NFL field. Ja’Marr Chase is just behind Pitts, and two other receivers — DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle — both find themselves in the top 10. In recent drafts, wide receivers taken outside the top 10 have had a lot of success, but this group feels different. Perhaps most noteworthy: all of these players above are on the offensive side of the ball.

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11. Mac Jones, QB, Alabama (QB3)
12. Justin Fields, QB, Ohio State (QB4)
13. Jaycee Horn, CB, South Carolina (CB2)
14. Azeez Ojulari, EDGE, Georgia (EDGE1)
15. Alijah Vera-Tucker, OL, USC (OT3)
16. Kwity Paye, EDGE, Michigan (EDGE2)
17. Christian Darrisaw, OT, Virginia Tech (OT4)
18. Jaelan Phillips, EDGE, Miami (EDGE3)
19. Trey Lance, QB, North Dakota State (QB5)
20. Zaven Collins, LB, Tulsa (LB2)
21. Greg Newsome II, CB, Northwestern (CB3)
22. Levi Onwuzurike, DL, Washington (DL1)
23. Jayson Oweh, EDGE, Penn State (EDGE4)
24. Trevon Moehrig, S, TCU (S1)
25. Tyson Campbell, CB, Georgia (CB4)

We’ve been on the Mac Jones bandwagon for months and he remains our QB3, but just slightly ahead of Justin Fields, who we really, really like, too. In fact, we’ll repeat here what we say regularly on CBS Sports HQ: Fields has just 22 starts since arriving at Ohio State in 2019. And while he flashed a lot of “No. 1 overall”-type potential last fall — remember, in his first three games he had 11 incompletions and 11 touchdown passes — there were moments where he struggled. The Week 4 game against Indiana immediately comes to mind, as does the Northwestern matchup.

But again, he was basically at the same point in his college experience as Trevor Lawrence was when he was working his way through a rough patch. (Over a five-game stretch to start his sophomore season, Lawrence completed just 61.8% of his passes with eight touchdowns and five interceptions.) Basically: If Fields returned to Columbus for the ’22 season, a year from now we’d be talking about him like we talk about Lawrence. Which raises this question: Does Fields become a better NFL player down the road with another year at Ohio State, or on an NFL roster of what could prove to be a middling-to-bad team where he’ll likely have to play under trying circumstances?

Jaycee Horn is one of our favorite players in this class and if Jaelan Phillips checks out medically he could go even higher than this. Trey Lance checks in at No. 19 only because he has just 17 career starts, all at the FCS level. If you built a quarterback in the lab it would be Lance, he just lacks experience. That’s it. We like Tyson Campbell, who is long but moves like a much smaller cornerback, and he has a chance to be a good player.

26. Caleb Farley, CB, Virginia Tech (CB5)
27. Christian Barmore, DL, Alabama (DL2)
28. Jamin Davis, LB, Kentucky (LB3)
29. Najee Harris, RB, Alabama (RB1)
30. Kadarius Toney, WR, Florida (WR4)
31. Carlos Basham, EDGE, Wake Forest (EDGE5)
32. Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, LB, Notre Dame (LB4)
33. Travis Etienne, RB, Clemson (RB2)
34. Rondale Moore, WR, Purdue (WR5)
35. Ronnie Perkins, EDGE, Oklahoma (EDGE6)
36. Kelvin Joseph, CB, Kentucky (CB6)
37. Teven Jenkins, OT, Oklahoma State (OT5)
38. Asante Samuel, CB, Florida State (CB7)
39. Samuel Cosmi, OT, Texas (OT6)
40. Gregory Rousseau, EDGE, Miami (EDGE7)
41. Ifeatu Melifonwu, CB, Syracuse (CB8)
42. Nick Bolton, LB, Missouri (LB5)
43. Javonte Williams, RB, UNC (RB3)
44. Joe Tryon, EDGE, Washington (EDGE8)
45. Pat Freiermuth, TE, Penn State (TE2)
46. Rashod Bateman, WR, Minnesota (WR6)
47. Paulson Adebo, CB, Stanford (CB9)
48. Joseph Ossai, EDGE, Texas (EDGE9)
49. Elijah Molden, CB, Washington (CB10)
50. Aaron Banks, OG, Notre Dame (OG1)

Caleb Farley was our CB1 until he had a back procedure recently. And while his camp insists he’ll be ready for the start of the NFL season, he could see his stock drop. For us, he’s a top-10 talent who could now be available at the bottom of Round 1. Jamin Davis is a one-year starter who jumped off the tape each week for Kentucky (and then followed that up with an insane pro day). This is also the range where our top three running backs find themselves — Najee Harris, Travis Etienne and Javonte Williams could all be gone by pick 40. Rondale Moore would’ve cracked our top 10 if he were a few inches taller; at 5-foot-7, he’s on the short side for an NFL wide receiver but it’s impossible not to love his dynamism; the dude is special.

Pat Freiermuth feels like a more “traditional” tight end, though he spent much of his time at Penn State in the slot and will likely be the second tight end selected. Rashod Bateman has first-round talent and Paulson Adebo, who opted out in ’20, flashes big-time cornerback skills. Aaron Banks could end up being the best offensive lineman on Notre Dame’s roster, and the expectation is that at least three players will get drafted.

51. Dillon Radunz, OT, NDSU (OT7)
52. Jevon Holland, S, Oregon (S2)
53. Elijah Moore, WR, Ole Miss (WR7)
54. Jalen Mayfield, OT, Michigan (OT8)
55. Alex Leatherwood, OT, Alabama (OT9)
56. Richie Grant, S, UCF (S3)
57. Terrace Marshall, WR, LSU (WR8)
58. Baron Browning, LB, Ohio State (LB6)
59. Michael Carter, RB, UNC (RB4)
60. Kenneth Gainwell, RB, Memphis (RB5)
61. Tylan Wallace, WR, Oklahoma State (WR9)
62. Amari Rodgers, WR, Clemson (WR10)
63. Daviyon Nixon, DL, Iowa (DL3)
64. Kendrick Green, OG, Illinois (OG2)
65. Payton Turner, EDGE, Houston (EDGE10)
66. Liam Eichenberg, OT, Notre Dame (OT10)
67. Wyatt Davis, OG, Ohio State (OG3)
68. Kellen Mond, QB, Texas A&M (QB6)
69. Aaron Robinson, CB, UCF (CB11)
70. Jamar Johnson, S, Indiana (S4)
71. Davis Mills, QB, Stanford (QB7)
72. Marlon Tuipulotu, DL, USC (DL4)
73. Jabril Cox, LB, LSU (LB7)
74. Landon Dickerson, OC, Alabama (OC1)
75. D’Wayne Eskridge, WR, Western Michigan (WR11)

There are going to be a lot of really good players who hear their name called in this range. At various points in recent months, Dillon Radunz, Elijah Moore, Jalen Mayfield and Terrace Marshall have gotten some mock-draft love from other draft analysts and it’s easy to see why. Richie Grant should be one of the first safeties off the board, and Amari Rodgers is a YAC monster out of the slot who basically turns into a running back with the ball in his hands (he actually took some snaps at RB during his pro day). 

There are also some solid interior offensive linemen here — we love Kendrick Green, and Wyatt Davis…