2021 NFL Mock Draft: Breaking Down Post-Week 2 Predictions

Heading into Monday night's matchup between the New Orleans Saints and the Las Vegas Raiders, a whopping 11 teams sit at 0-2. While the chances of these squads making the postseason aren't at zero—especially with an expanded 14-team playoff format—they're not high.

There are a few surprises among the 0-2 teams, like the defending NFC East champion Philadelphia Eagles and the defending AFC South champion Houston Texans. There are also some surprises among the league's better teams.

The Jacksonville Jaguars, for example, sit at 1-1 but fell just a few plays short of beating the Tennessee Titans in Week 2. After the team parted with defensive standouts like Yannick Ngakoue, Calais Campbell, A.J. Bouye and Ronnie Harrison, it was easy to assume it was more interested in tanking than winning—though quarterback Gardner Minshew II insisted that this wasn't the case.

"I feel very confident in everybody's desire to win. That's [losing] absolutely not anything we envision happening," Minshew said, per Garry Smits of the Florida Times-Union.

Minshew has played nothing like a quarterback interested in losing. Through two games, he's completed 75.4 percent of his passes for 512 yards, six touchdowns, two interceptions and a rating of 115.7. He's ruining the narrative that the Jaguars are going all-in for a quarterback like Clemson's Trevor Lawrence.

Other teams will go after guys such as Lawrence and Ohio State's Justin Fields, however. The question is which will be in position to do so by the spring? Here, we'll use Tankathon's draft order as an early guide and mock the first round of the 2021 draft.

2021 NFL Mock Draft

1. Carolina Panthers: Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson

2. Atlanta Falcons: Gregory Rousseau, Edge, Miami

3. Cincinnati Bengals: Penei Sewell, OT, Oregon

4. Detroit Lions: Justin Fields, QB, Ohio State

5. Minnesota Vikings: Jaylen Waddle, WR, Alabama

6. Miami Dolphins: Ja'Marr Chase, WR, LSU

7. Denver Broncos: Caleb Farley, CB, Virginia Tech

8. New York Giants: Micah Parsons, LB, Penn State

9. New York Jets: Trey Lance, QB, North Dakota State

10. Philadelphia Eagles: Samuel Cosmi, OT, Texas

11. Miami Dolphins (from Houston): Alex Leatherwood, OT, Alabama

12. Los Angeles Chargers: Dillon Radunz, OT, North Dakota State

13. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Patrick Surtain II, CB, Alabama

14. Washington Football Team: DeVonta Smith, WR, Alabama

15. Cleveland Browns: Shaun Wade, CB, Ohio State

16. Jacksonville Jaguars: Rondale Moore, WR, Purdue

17. Indianapolis Colts: Jordan Davis, DL, Georgia

18. San Francisco 49ers: Jaylen Mayfield, OT, Michigan

19. Dallas Cowboys: Dylan Moss, LB, Alabama

20. New England Patriots: Walker Little, OT, Stanford

21. New Orleans Saints: Rashod Bateman, WR, Minnesota

22. Las Vegas Raiders: Jaycee Horn, CB, South Carolina

23. Chicago Bears: Sage Surratt, WR, Wake Forest

24. Pittsburgh Steelers: Najee Harris, RB, Alabama

25. Green Bay Packers: Trey Smith, OG, Tennessee

26. Kansas City Chiefs: Christian Barmore, DL, Alabama

27. New York Jets (from Seattle): Kyle Pitts, TE, Florida

28. Baltimore Ravens: Jevon Holland, S, Oregon

29. Tennessee Titans: Chris Olave, WR, Ohio State

30. Arizona Cardinals: Paulson Adebo, CB, Stanford

31. Buffalo Bills: Andre Cisco, S, Syracuse

32. Jacksonville Jaguars (from Rams): Wyatt Davis, OG, Ohio State

1. Carolina Panthers: Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson

Lawrence remains the likely No. 1 pick after kicking off the 2020 season in remarkable fashion. Through two games, he has completed 81.1 percent of his passes for 519 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions.

He has flashed his immense arm talent on several occasions.

The Carolina Panthers signed Teddy Bridgewater to replace Cam Newton in the offseason, but if they do indeed land the No. 1 pick in the draft, it's hard to think they won't pull the trigger on Lawrence.

Bridgewater is on a three-year deal but will have just $5 million in dead money on his contract after 2021, according to Spotrac.

4. Detroit Lions: Justin Fields, QB, Ohio State

Rick Scuteri/Associated Press

At some point, the Detroit Lions are going to have to turn the page on longtime starting quarterback Matthew Stafford. The 32-year-old has been solid but not spectacular this season, throwing for 541 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions.

If the Lions end up in draft range of a quarterback like Ohio State's Justin Fields, they could decide that the time to move on from Stafford is at hand. Stafford will have just under $10 million in dead money remaining on his deal after the 2021 season. 

We have yet to see Fields in 2020, but that will change soon. The Big Ten recently announced its plan to return in October, and the Buckeyes are scheduled to kick off their season against Nebraska on October 24.

If Fields continues to perform like he did last season—he passed for 3,272 yards with 41 touchdowns and three interceptions—he's going to be one of the first players off the board.

9. New York Jets: Trey Lance, QB, North Dakota State

North Dakota State isn't going to play a season in 2020, though quarterback Trey Lance will still get a chance to showcase his skills for NFL scouts. This is because the school plans to play one game against Central Arkansas as an exhibition for its draft-eligible players.

"Upon further consideration, coupled with recent information provided by the NCAA, we felt it was in the best interest of our football program to practice and play one game this fall," athletic director Matt Larsen said in a statement, per ESPN's Adam Rittenberg.

Scouts have already taken notice of Lance, who passed for 2,786 yards last season with 28 touchdowns and no picks. He also rushed for 1,100 yards and 14 touchdowns.

While the New York Jets have 2018 third overall pick Sam Darnold at quarterback, time is running out for the USC product to prove he is the team's quarterback of the future.

Another poor season for the Jets will likely lead to the firing of head coach Adam Gase. If a new coach is brought in, they will probably going to want their own signal-caller, and Lance could be the guy.