Lance's 2021 Prospects to Watch: QBs and Edge Rushers

You’re going to read about names like Spencer Rattler, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Derek Stingley Jr. quite a bit throughout the season, so I won’t mention the bigger named prospects in any of these articles. What I want to look at are the talented guys who aren’t getting as much attention, and the lesser known players who could surge to the forefront of draft discussions come February. Guys like Zach Wilson and Joe Burrow. I’ve kept my analysis for those guys short so I could list more players, it was a lot easier to go that route, then to limit myself on the number of players.

QUARTERBACKS

Guys getting all the love: Spencer Rattler (Oklahoma), Sam Howell (North Carolina), Malik Willis (Liberty), J.T. Daniels (Georgia), Desmond Ridder (Cincinnati)

Guys to Watch

Carson Strong (Nevada): He’s not gonna burn you on the ground, but through the air you better watch out! Last season he threw for 2,858 yards, 27 touchdowns and 4 ints in 9 games, a pace that would have put him over 4,000 yards with nearly 40 touchdowns. Those numbers will get you noticed, as will the attention from some of their inter-conference games (Boise State, San Jose State and San Diego State for instance).

Matt Corral (Ole Miss): Incredibly talented, dual-threat passer playing in a QB friendly system. If he can keep himself from having those awful turnover heavy games where he seems to get in his own head, his stock will push into the first round.

Kedon Slovis (USC): USC Quarterbacks have not done the greatest when they’ve gotten to the NFL in this century, Palmer is the exception and the verdict is still out on Darnold (though it’s not looking good). It’s also not helping that Slovis plays in the pass happy, air raid offense. Still, his decision making and ability to get the ball out of his hands shouldn’t be overlooked.

Grayson McCall (Coastal Carolina): Dual-threat QB who threw 26 touchdowns to just 3 interceptions, while also running for 569 yards and 7 scores. PFF gave him the third highest passing grade last year, ahead of guys like Rattler, Howell, Justin Fields and Trevor Lawrence. His small school schedule won’t help him, but Zach Wilson showed us this past draft that it can be overlooked.

Dillon Gabriel (UCF): Hopefully the new coaching staff won’t cost him. I mean all he’s done is unexpectedly take hold of the QB job as a three star freshman and then proceed to throw for 7,223 yards, 61 touchdowns and just 11 interceptions in 23 games. There have been questions about his deep ball ability, but I don’t think the concerns are as big as they’ve been made out to be.

Phil Jurkovec (Boston College): Left Notre Dame after sitting behind Ian Book for two seasons, following the Fighting Irish’s Defensive Coordinator to BC. Has prototypical size (6’5, 226) with a good arm, but I’d like to see him read the defenses better, not rely so heavily on one guy, and show that he can be the guy you lean on in the offense. Last season was a good start, this season has to be a big improvement if he’s going to enter the draft as a potential first-rounder.

Jayden Daniels (Arizona State): As a freshman he had 17 passing touchdowns to just 2 interceptions while demonstrating good mobility, a solid arm and the leadership you want under Center. Last year Arizona State played just four games and we got basically nothing out of it. I worry this year won’t go any better because of the NCAA investigation hanging over the team, but he’s a very talented, pro caliber prospect. I hope he and the team can drown out the external noise and pick up with where they left off in 2019.

EDGE RUSHERS

Guys getting all the love: Kayvon Thibodeaux (Oregon), Isaiah Thomas (Oklahoma), Zach Harrison (Ohio State), George Karlaftis (Purdue), Drake Jackson (USC), Aidan Hutchinson (Michigan)

Guys to Watch:

Myjai Sanders (Cincinnati): This position is very top heavy, but that doesn’t mean a guy like Sanders can’t manage to squeeze himself in with the bigger names. He’s got great size and excellent athleticism for the position, plus he made a big jump in production from 2019 to 2020. Another good year against more primetime competition, and he could launch himself into the first round discussion.

Nik Bonitto (Oklahoma): He’s not getting as much love as his counterpart (Isaiah Thomas) and a lot of that has to do with his size (listed at around 240 pounds). He needs to bulk up and he has to show he can better defend the run before we’ll see his stock move up.

Zion Tupuola-Fetui (Washington): The next front seven prospect to come out of Washington is a big deal. Besides posting 7 sacks in 3 games last season, he’s also listed at 6’4”, 280 pounds. That’s the kind of prospect that will be coveted by teams that love running multiple fronts, especially if he can carry over that production into this year.

Ali Fayad (Western Michigan): Always gotta have a small school player who could surge onto the scene right? There are a few options, but I like Fayad the best, especially with Western Michigan set to compete at the top of their conference again. He’s not a long prospect (listed at 6’2”) but if he can keep working on his hand technique and show at the Combine that he has very good explosiveness, he could help his stock out quite a bit. (Note: he’s coming off a 4 sack, 4 game season)