We are back with our annual Natick Nest NFL Mock draft. The 2021 NFL draft has concluded; however, this was written prior to the draft and has not been released because the Natick Nest did not have an April Issue. This article was written on April 25th, 2021.

With the First Pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, the Jacksonville Jaguars will select Trevor Lawrence, QB Clemson. It is almost a certainty that the Jacksonville Jaguars will take Trevor Lawrence. They will look to surround Lawrence with talent in the future.

The Jets will Select Zach Wilson, QB BYU witht the second pick. Like pick #1, this is almost a certainty. The Jets are in need of a QB after they traded away Sam Darnold and look to improve on their Division worst 2-14 record.

The San Francisco 49ers will select Mac Jones, QB Alabama with the third overall pick. The 49ers have made it clear that Jimmy G is no longer the guy in San Francisco. Jones is an absolute beast who led the Crimson Tide to a National Championship. Jones is the clear cut choice here.

With the fourth overall pick the Atlanta Falcons will select Kyle Pitts, TE Florida. Pitts really Bolsters an already elite offense. He would be lining up with Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley while making a nice new target for Matt Ryan. The Cincinnati Bengals hold the fifth pick where they will select Penei Sewell, OT Oregon. Protecting Joe Burrow should be the biggest priority for Cincy and this does just that. With the sixth pick the Miami Dolphins will select Devonta Smith, WR Alabama. The Heisman Trophy winner can reunite with former quarterback Tua Tagovoiloa while helping the Dolphins offense. With the seventh pick in the draft the Detroit Lions will select Micah Parsons, LB Penn State. Parsons will help the Detroit defense who finished dead last in total defense. With the eight picks in the draft the Carolina Panthers will select Ja’Marr Chase, WR LSU. Chase could easily go earlier so this is a snag for Carolina to get a great weapon for Sam Darnold. 

With the ninth overall pick the Denver Broncos will select Justin Fields, QB Ohio State. Fields proved that he is a true gamer while leading Ohio State to the National Championship game. With Field’s abilities it would be hard to pass on him here. With the tenth pick the Dallas Cowboys will select Patrick Surtain II, CB Alabama. The Cowboys pick an insane athlete to help the defense that finished 28th in total defense last year. With the eleventh overall pick The New York Giants will select Jaylen Waddle, WR Alabama. The Giants surround Daniel Jones with solid talent and he could become the QB they hope he was. The Philadelphia Eagles hold the twelfth overall pick. They will select Jaycee Horn, CB South Carolina. Horn allowed eight catches on twenty four targets in the SEC last year. The Eagles should not pass on this special talent. With the thirteenth overall pick the Los Angeles Chargers will select Christian Darrisaw, OT Virginia Tech. The Chargers will certainly want to protect their young franchise QB Justin Herbert. Darrisaw does just this as he earned the highest PFF grade of any power 5 tackle. With the fourteenth pick the Minnesota Vikings will select Rashawn Slater, OT Northwestern. Before Opting out of the 2020 season, Slater only allowed five pressures with a 90.0 grade on 355 snaps. With the fifteenth overall pick the New England Patriots will select Trey Lance, QB NDSU. Lance could very well be the QB of the future for the Patriots as he takes care of the ball very well and is a real playmaker. With the sixteenth overall pick the Arizona Cardinals will select Greg Newsome II , CB Northwestern. As Patrick Peterson’s replacement, Newsome comes in with an excellent skill set allowing just 12 catches on 34 targets for 93 yards in the Big ten’s shortened season. 

The Raiders will select Alijah Vera-Tucker, OT USC. Vera-Tucker was excellent against the pass rush and will serve as a boost to the Raiders O-Line. With the eighteenth overall pick the Dolphins will select Kwity Paye, DE Michigan. Paye is an absolute beast with 36 bench press reps and sub 6.5 three cone drill. The Dolphins will not want to pass on this physical specimen. With the nineteenth overall pick the Washington Football team will select Elijah Moore, WR Ole Miss. Ole Miss is beginning to be talked about for WRU as guys like AJ Brown and D.K. Metcalf have emerged from there as stars. Moore can catch the ball in tough situations and had 1,193 yards last season. With the twentieth overall pick the Chicago Bears will select Trevon Moehrig, CB TCU. Moehrig led all FBS safeties in pass breakups in the last two seasons. With the twenty first pick in the NFL draft the Indianapolis Colts will select Christian Barmore, DL Alabama. In the College football playoff he recorded 12 pressures against the offensive line of two contenders. With the twenty second pick in the draft the Tennessee Titans will select Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, LB Notre Dame. Owusu Koramoah is a very versatile player and is a 221 pound linebacker. The New York Jets will select Teven Jenkins, OT Oklahoma State with the twenty third pick. Jenkins will help protect QB Zach Wilson opposite Mekhi Becton. With the twenty fourth pick the Pittsburgh Steelers will select Najee Harris. The Steelers have really struggled with the run game since Le’Veon Bell departed. Harris was a force to be reckoned at Alabama and with Big Ben coming back the Steelers will desperately need a run game. 

With the twenty fifth overall pick the Jacksonville Jaguars will select Walker Little, OT Stanford. Protecting Trevor Lawrence should be their first priority. The Jaguars already have solid weapons like D.J. Chark, Marvin Jones and Laviska Shenault Jr so it makes sense they go O-Line here. With the twenty sixth pick the Cleveland Browns will select Nick Bolton, LB Missouri. Bolton has impressive instincts and had 11 pass breakups over the past two seasons despite being a bit undersized at 6”0 232. With the twenty seventh pick in the NFL draft the Baltimore Ravens will select Rashod Bateman, WR Minnesota. After striking out on Juju Smith-Schuster the Ravens add a much needed WR to the roster. Bateman was one of the highest graded receivers in the country. With the twenty eight pick the New Orleans Saints select Asante Samuel Jr, CB Florida State. Samuel Jr. is a three year starter and only allowed 193 yards last year. The Green Bay Packers hold the twenty ninth pick and they will select Jamin Davis, LB Kentucky. With a 4.4 40 yard dash time he is an athletic all around linebacker that is sure to help. With the thirtieth pick the Buffalo Bills will select Jaelan Phillips, EDGE Miami. Phillips had 42 pressures and an 86.6 overall grade last season. The Bills will get a solid player to help them stay on top of the Division. With the thirty first pick the Baltimore Ravens will select Carlos Basham Jr., EDGE Wake Forest. With the departure of Matt Judon it leaves an opportunity for Carlos Basham Jr. to fill the need. He is an explosive 285 pounder with tremendous potential. With the thirty second and final pick in the first round the defending champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers will select Azeez Ojulari, EDGE Georgia. With a 91.7 grade Ojulari turned heads all season. Although he is sub 250 he can get around as he is very explosive.

That does it for the second annual Natick Nest NFL Mock Draft. Tune in to the NFL Mock draft on April 29th to see how accurate this is and where the newest NFL stars will kick off their careers