The Year 2021 in the NFL its Quarterbacks and their importance. includes 2021 NFL Mock Draft
It’s officially the week of the 2021 NFL Draft, with the extra excitement towards pro football, and its newest class of rookies entering the league. I’m going to briefly discuss what has been going on in the World of football since the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won Super Bowl 55. This will also include an NFL Mock Draft of the First 10 picks in the 1st round of the Draft and an exclusive Chicago Bears 7 round mock draft. Well let’s begin with the World Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
This past season without a doubt Tampa Bay was the most complete team in football and that is the main reason they won a championship with Tom Brady. I want to remind people that before Tom had joined the Buccaneers; the Bucs were a 7–9 team with Jameis Winston throwing 30 interceptions as their starter. They had a top 10 scoring defense in 2019 despite having to defend shorter fields more often thanks to Winston’ Turnovers. They also had plenty of playmakers with two 1,000-yard receivers in Mike
Evans and Chris Goodwin, along with a pair of good tight ends in O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate, and a decent run game with Ronald Jones and company. You would think just adding Tom Brady and subtracting Jameis Winston would make them instant contenders, and it probably would have but the Buccaneers didn’t settle for just Tom Brady and that supporting cast from 2019. They actually added significant players to every aspect of their team while adding Brady. The receiving core add Antonio Brown and Rob Gronkowski into Tampa’s mix. Then in the run game insert former 1st round pick Leonard Fournette into the huddle. What about the Offensive line, Tampa drafted Tristan Wirfs in the first round who played outstanding protecting Brady for the entire season and the crazy thing is he wasn’t even their best rookie this past season. That distinction would go to Defensive Back Antoine Winfield Jr. who added to the already potent defense. Tampa Bay showed the rest of the NFL this past season that no matter who you have at QB, you shouldn’t stop trying to put talent around them. That leads me to my next topic……
The over emphasis of the Quarterback position. Yes, Tom Brady left the patriots and went to the Bucs and won another championship. If you don’t follow football you would think it was Brady’s patriot way that won them that Super Bowl. Let’s be clear it definitely was but you also have to look at the full view; Tom had zero weapons in New England that final year and was devoyed of much offensive talent around him. He joins the Buccaneers with supreme talent especially offensively and the rest is history. My question to us all is what Quarterback doesn’t need talent around him to succeed. You have your very elite group of Quarterbacks who no matter what they have around them, they will make their team competitive I value these guys in their own tier. I’ll name the players who have that power Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes, and Russel Wilson. Then you have a group of young superstars with still more to prove mainly postseason success to make this upper echelon list like Lamar Jackson, Deshaun Watson, Josh Allen, and Kyler Murray. Now that’s only 8 Quarterback’s that I named what about the other 24 starting spots in the NFL. Well, you have a group of aging veterans, who were former top 5 guys at their position like former MVPs Cam Newton and Matt Ryan who led their teams to number 1 seeds and Super Bowl appearances but neither could seal the deal. You can also add Big Ben Roethlisberger to the aging former elite quarterbacks list. The count is now at 11 starting quarterbacks. Guys like Jared Goff and Jimmy Garoppolo who might’ve not been the nucleus to lead their team to the Super Bowl like a Matt Ryan or Cam Newton but certainly didn’t mess it until the Super Bowl. We have guys like Ryan Tannehille, Dak Prescott, Baker Mayfield, Mathew Stafford, Kirk Cousins and Carson Wentz, whom all of them with the right pieces around them can lead your team to the playoffs and look like a Fringe top 10 QB. That’s Now 19 starting caliber quarterbacks. We have young guys who have shown very promising potential to be elite QB’s but their teams need to further surround them with more talent in Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert. You have another tier of young guys who have flashed but have a lot more to prove then the previous two names I mentioned in Jalen Hurts, Drew Locke, Tua Tagovailoa, Sam Darnold, and Daniel Jones. Next season pretty much can make or break their careers, the count for starting caliber QB’s is now at 26, only 6 spots remain. Fringe starters who won’t hurt you but not going to elevate your offense to the level of the elite but some of these guys WITH THE RIGHT PIECES AROUND THEM have been Pro Bowl alternates in Teddy Bridgewater, Mitch Trubisky, Andy Dalton, Alex Smith and even Mr. 30 for 30 himself Jameis Winston. Alex Smith and Andy Dalton in particular are probably back ups seeing as though both best days are behind because of age but the others in that group still have upside left. There is only one starting spot remaining after naming the starting caliber QB’s. Now I haven’t even mentioned former Super Bowl MVPs Nick Foles and Joe Flacco who with the best team around them won it all; the difference in these two dudes I just named and guys like Jimmy Garoppolo and Jared Goff is that they got it done in the big game but none of the four are or were elite caliber quarterbacks but each Team was able to find success with those guys as their starters because they put the best possible pieces around them. That should be the main goal of every team, especially in today’s NFL landscape. I just named over 30 quarterbacks who with a great team around them can have success, some had more individual success than others but mainly all of them have had some form of team success or are young have the potential to if their teams put better talent around them. Yes, finding an elite QB is important but building the best most complete team should be the ultimate goal. Tampa Bay Won the Super Bowl this past season because they were the most complete team top to bottom, they had the most talented roster in the league. Not the very best in any one phase of the game Chiefs were the best offensively and the Rams were the best team defensively but I can argue that the Bucs were top 5 in the league in both and their supreme talent stepped up when it mattered most. Tom Brady was the cherry on top of the sundae that was this Tampa Bay Buccaneers team supremely clutch, very composed, and the ultimate leader to lead them to Victory especially in the biggest stages. Again, the theme here though is that Brady wasn’t the very best this past season at his position, that would be league MVP Aaron Rodgers. Who in the playoffs actually outplayed Brady, mind you in a game that was a one score game and came down to the wire, Brady went 20–36 with 3 passing touchdowns and 3 Interceptions while only being sacked once. Rodgers meanwhile threw 33–48 with 3 passing touchdowns and only one interception, while being under a lot more pressure being sacked 5 times. The Quarterback wasn’t the difference in the game, the overall teams were, and ultimately when you’re not dealing with elite guys like Brady or Rodgers or Mahomes or Wilson, the overall team around whoever your QB is going to determine the team’s success. Deshaun Watson by all accounts had a top 5 statistical season last year for his position but his team finished 5–11, obviously elite QB isn’t the end all be all especially if you have incompetent pieces around them as Deshaun had in Houston. There will be 5 quarterbacks taken in this upcoming 2021 NFL Draft to add to the 31-starting caliber QB’s I named not to mention a guy that was drafted in the first-round last year’s draft but didn’t play in Jordan Love. With that being said it’s also a lot of Quarterbacks looking to change teams’ guys like Watson, Rodgers, and Wilson have been upset about what their franchises have not been doing to help them and have expressed interest in leaving because they realized what I realized. The guys with the most talent around them will have the most success, and yes, they are individually great but they can’t block, catch passes, play defense and coach the team. News Flash that goes for every quarterback in the league so while Quarterback frenzy will erupt with 5 quarterbacks taken in the draft tonight, Franchises should focus on trying to make their team complete as possible and then hunt after their elite QB as their cherry on top like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers successfully accomplished this past season in free agency, or how the Chiefs took a swing on Patrick Mahomes in the draft after clearly having a talented roster making the postseason 3 straight seasons with Alex Smith. Most likely tonight only one of the QB’s drafted maybe two will be elite Quarterbacks in the NFL. The others will probably be somewhere in the middle, like the rest of the leagues starting caliber QB’s, if the right pieces are put around them, they can have team success.
2021 NFL Mock Draft
This mock draft is just of the first 10 picks since that’s when I believe all but one of the QB’s will go and will not include any trades. Sorry in advance to Quarterback needy teams New England, Washington, and Chicago.
1. Jacksonville Jaguars Trevor Lawrence
2. New York Jets Zach Wilson
3. San Francisco 49ers Trey Lance
4. Atlanta Falcons Kyle Pitts
5. Cincinnati Bengals Penei Sewell
6. Miami Dolphins Jamar Chase
7. Detroit Lions Justin Fields
8. Carolina Panthers Rashawn Slater
9. Denver Broncos Micah Parsons
10. Dallas Cowboys Jaycee Horn
So, the first two picks of the draft have been a forgone conclusion for months so I don’t need to explain those selections. The 3rd overall pick by the Niners is where this draft begins. Initially when the 49ers traded up to number 3 overall and they were telling us that Jimmy G would be the starter next season that they were going to draft Trey Lance. In my opinion He is the biggest boom or bust prospect from the Quarterback position after Zach Wilson, with the tutelage from Kyle Shannahan and being a backup for a season adjusting to the NFL speed and learning the game like Patrick Mahomes did with the Chiefs, that he could hit the ground running come the 2022 season. Then over the past month it was reported by multiple sources that without a doubt Mac Jones would be the pick at 3. To me and a lot of folks out there it didn’t make sense especially considering that Mac Jones isn’t a guy who needs to sit out a year. He doesn’t have as steep a learning curve as the rest of the QB’s in this draft because he went to Alabama and was coached by Nick Saban, the curve for Mac Jones will be how effective he will be not having the very best talent around him like he did at Alabama. I have no questions Mac Jones knows how to read a defense and run a pro style offense but how much of a premium does he bring to you over Jimmy G especially at number 3 overall. So I’ve never been sold on that pick and with recent reports saying its between Jones and Lance, I will take the latter with the higher upside who will need to sit out a season. The 4th pick to the Falcons I contemplated putting Justin Fields here but the Falcons are going to hold off on a signal caller this year and snag the best tight end prospect since Vernon Davis, in Florida’s Kyle Pitts. The 5th pick I just hope the Bengals don’t make this hard on themselves, Joe Burrow just came off a season ending injury, protect him by Drafting Sewell although it would be nice to reunite Chase with Burrow, keep it simple. The 6th pick was the easiest pick considering need and players available Dolphins want receiver help say hello to wide receiver Jamar Chase. The 7th pick is the surprise of my mock I don’t buy that going forward the Lions want Jared Goff as their franchise quarterback, it is going to take a special talent to pull the Lions out of the bottom of the NFC North its clear Goff isn’t that guy so they take a swing at Justin Fields. The 8th overall pick the Carolina Panthers need protection upfront they go with the best lineman available in Rashawn Slater. The 9th overall pick I went with linebacker Micah Parsons because I know Vic Fangio loves his linebacker and that’s the one position they are missing on that side of the ball that’s preventing them from being elite. The 10th and last pick was a toss up between Cornerback Horn and Alabama Cornerback Patrick Surtain I think both will be good pros but Horn fits what Dan Quinn the now defensive coordinator of the cowboys had when he had the legion of boom in Seattle with the Seahawks. Well now that my mock is over let us enjoy whatever comes with tonight’s draft. Wish my Bears good luck.
