The Falcons, with the No. 4 overall pick, hold the key to the top of the NFL draft.
“We’ll see what Atlanta does at four, see if they stick with Matt Ryan,” NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said Tuesday. “Then we can start to see these guys drop.”
Former Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who’s from Cartersville, projects to be drafted No. 1 overall by Jacksonville.
The New York Jets have the second pick and could select a quarterback. Miami is third and then the Falcons. The draft is set be held April 29-May 1 in Cleveland.
BYU’s Zach Wilson, Ohio State’s Justin Fields, North Dakota State’s Trey Lance and Alabama’s Mac Jones all could get drafted in the top 10. Fields, who played at Harrison High, started his career at Georgia.
“I think we are all assuming that these four quarterbacks are going to go in the top 10 and maybe even (top) five with Mac Jones having some love around the league,” Jeremiah said. “It takes just one or two of these teams to find other options.”
The Jets could stick with Sam Darnold and Falcons could stay with Ryan, then all of a sudden the quarterback prospects are tumbling down draft boards. New Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot said he’s a believer of drafting the best player available.
Jeremiah, a former scout with the Baltimore Ravens, was with the team when they had Priest Holmes at running back, but then drafted Jamal Lewis with the fifth overall pick in 2000. Fontenot has cited the Ravens and their strategy, which was popular under former Baltimore general manager Ozzie Newsome.
Jeremiah ranks Wilson ahead of Fields, much like a lot of draftniks and like NFL teams that had Mitchell Trubisky rated over Gainesville’s Deshaun Watson in 2017. Chicago traded up to get Trubisky, while Watson went 12th overall to Houston.
In the coming draft, Wilson could go to the Jets at No. 2 and Fields to the Panthers at No. 8.
“I think both of those guys are going to be really good players at the next level,” Jeremiah said. “I don’t think there’s a debate in terms of who played better last year. If you just watch all of the tape, to me Zach Wilson played the best. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a slam dunk that he’s going to be the best player.”
Playing during the coronavirus pandemic, after the Big Ten was slow to make the decision to play, Fields had subpar games against Indiana and Northwestern.
“That’s the challenge in the evaluation,” Jeremiah said. “You’ve got Zach who threw the ball better. Somebody who made better decisions, but look at what Justin brings to the table, first of all, let’s start with his toughness.
“We saw that in the Clemson game. That’s nothing to be diminished there. He is extremely tough. Look at somebody that can make those throws, make every throw and is a dynamic runner. That’s a big plus for him over Zach Wilson.”
NFL teams are looking for accuracy, decision-making and poise at the quarterback position.
“The reason why I went with Zach Wilson, it’s really simple, I thought he was a better decision-maker, and I thought he threw the ball more accurately,” Jeremiah said. “But again, somebody is going to draft Justin Fields, and they are going to mix in some designed quarterback-run game and are going to let him get off on the move and make things happen. We are going to continue to see him grow and develop. I think he has a chance to be a really good pro as well.”
Jeremiah compared Lance with the late Steve McNair, who played at Alcorn State.
“I was around Steve toward the end of his career, and if you watched him when he was younger, you’ll see him run and you’ll see him, he’ll get hit by a linebacker at the 4-yard line and find his way into the end zone,” Jeremiah said. “You see the same thing with Trey Lance.”
They both played at the FCS level, formerly Division I-AA.
“Both guys were dominant at that level,” Jeremiah said. “If you look at them, they have powerful arms to be able to drive the football down the field. You look at guys that their teammates really, really rally around and love. I just think there a lot of similarities between the two.”
Teams are split on Jones, who guided the Crimson Tide to the FBS title over Fields and Ohio State last season. Jones is accurate, makes good decisions and had plenty of poise.
“But he just doesn’t have a lot of twitch,” Jeremiah said. “You don’t see a lot of twitch with him being dynamic to be able to create or escape. You don’t see a lot of twitch or power on the football. He’s got good enough arm strength. He doesn’t have a big powerful arm.”
Jones could succeed with the right pieces in place around him.
“When things are not going to be perfect in front of him, I think he’s going to have a hard time,” Jeremiah said. “To me, New Orleans, if he could somehow get to the bottom of the first round and end up in a place like New Orleans, he’d have a great chance to be successful in a scheme that fits, a good offensive line and pieces around him.”
On a lower-level team with poor blocking, Jones likely would struggle.
“I don’t know if he’s going to be able to create and get away from some of the pressure he’s going to be under,” Jeremiah said.
Falcons’ 2021 draft position: Here are the picks in D. Led’s Mock Draft 2.0: Top five picks
1. Jacksonville Jaguars: Trevor Lawrence (QB, Clemson)
2. New York Jets: Justin Fields, (QB, Ohio State)
3. Miami Dolphins: Ja’Marr Chase (WR, LSU)
4. Falcons: Kyle Pitts (TE, Florida)
5. Cincinnati Bengals: Penei Sewell, (OT, Oregon)
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