2021 NFL Draft: BTD’s Favorites - Quarterbacks

The_Coach: Kyle Trask (Florida)

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Despite Florida’s disastrous ending to the 2020 season, Kyle Trask is one heck of a quarterback prospect that checks just about every box for NFL scouts. The 6’ 5”, 240 pounder tossed for 43 touchdowns compared to just 8 interceptions, all while completing 68.9% of his passes for 4,283 yards on the year. What I like about Trask is that he’s done it all. He’s played the backup role. He’s become a starter. He’s endured ups, downs and middles in the SEC and he’s as tested as any gunslinger you’re going to find in the class.

Ross Parker: Davis Mills (Stanford)

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Let’s get into the Pac-12 with this one. Davis Mills comes from a pro-style system from Stanford that asks it’s QBs to do many things that NFL offenses do. Transitioning to the NFL and picking up a playbook should be fairly seamless for Mills. In addition to pro-readiness, Mills has an excellent throwing motion that is combined with a howitzer of an arm. Mills is able to make every throw on the field and shows great anticipation in addition to a great arm. On the negative side, Mills is an average athlete and has struggled with injuries throughout his playing career at Stanford. In addition, he has issues at times seeing when receivers get open and can trust his arm too much in situations. Part of this comes from playing behind a banged-up Stanford O-line, so having a good offensive line is very important for Mills’ development. It’ll take a bit of a projection but if Mills ends up on a team like in Tampa Bay or New Orleans, he could be in a great position to have a redshirt year in the league before taking over for an NFL team.

John: Jamie Newman (Georgia/Wake Forest)

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Newman is an intriguing late round prospect. Newman has only had one season as a full time starter, in 2019 with the Demon Deacons, but he put up impressive numbers; 2,868 yards passing, 26 passing touchdowns against 11 interceptions, and another 574 yards and 5 touchdowns on the ground. Draft buzz started to build for Newman after that, and it was believed that a great 2020 could launch Newman into the early rounds.

That opportunity didn’t come. After a graduate transfer to Georgia, Newman elected to sit out 2020 due to Covid-19 concerns. That leaves draft scouts with just one season and a handful of games to judge Newman by, and while there’s a lot to like there, there’s also a mountain of questions. Newman looks great when he’s got time, but he hasn’t yet developed a head for pressure. He has all the physical tools a quarterback needs, but he is not ready to go yet. That’s perfect for a late round gamble.

Marcus: Zach Wilson (BYU)

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Zach Wilson is a virtual lock to go #2 overall to the New York Jets. The Jets can certainly tank a young quarterbacks once promising career (see Sam Darnold). But I really like Wilson and his gunslinging ways. He’s smaller than Trevor Lawerence or Justin Fields and faced much easier competition; but he’s a football junkie that makes a bunch of throws that only a handful of people in the world can make. If anyone could turn around the Jets historically awful offense it might just be the baby-faced Zach Wilson.