Longtime Fan and longtime lurker on this board finally gave in and joined not sure what took so long.
my way too early 2021 draft ranking
1. Trevor Lawrence - the best QB prospect since Peyton Manning. I hate to see us lose but if we are going to we might as well go full tank and get a true franchise QB. Size, arm, athleticism, accuracy and hair he has it all
2. Penei Sewell - in a loaded 2020 Tackle class he would’ve easily been the best tackle. 2021s tackle class appears even better and he’s the best of the bunch. As good of a tackle as I’ve seen in the run game and great in the Pass game as well
3. Ja’Marr Chase - complete physical receiver. As a Clemson fan he is still giving me nightmares from the national championship game. AJ Terrell had a very good career for us and rarely looked bad. Chase abused him the whole night. 2020 was the deepest WR class I’ve seen but 2021 has just as much if not more high end WR talent
4. Walker Little - looks like the perfect LT. Has all the talent just has to stay healthy
5. Justin Fields - I doubted him going into last season and he proved me wrong. He is much more accurate of a passer than I thought and a good athlete. He has thrived under Ryan Day.
6. Micah Parsons - complete linebacker. Great coverage skills, really good in the run game and can rush the passer.
7. Gregory Rousseau - will be a draft eligible sophomore. Elite pass rusher that has to add weight.
8. Patrick Surtain II - great size for a corner and has the coverage skills to match
9. Alex Leatherwood - another franchise LT with great size
10. Shaun Wade - I might be higher on him than others now, but a versatile DB from Ohio State that can cover but is physical as well.
I really like this draft class. WR and Tackle are loaded again. QB, TE, CB all look to be really strong as well.
As a Clemson fan I’ll give you a breakdown of our players that could be first or high round selections
Justyn Ross - big physical receiver that was dominate especially late in his freshman year. He was banged up at times and struggled compared to expectations last season. With Tee Higgins gone he needs to take over and prove he’s the man we thought he was after the 2018 playoffs
Travis Etienne - Great running back. Is very quick at hitting the hole and has a great burst of acceleration. Good breakaway speed. Has gotten so much stronger as a runner over the years. Pass blocking still needs to improve. As a freshman and sophomore he caught the ball like he didn’t have thumbs. Last year he improved a lot in that area
Jackson Carmen - Huge LT that is the first guy off the bus. Has cut a lot of weight and impressed in his first year as a starter. Clemson did a good job of keeping Chase Young in check, but the two times Young was match up one on one without help on Carmen it didn’t go well for Carmen. Has some great highlights of him abusing undersized defenders but has to improve consistency. If the tackle class wasn’t so loaded he would probably be a first round lock.
Xavier Thomas - 5 star top 5 talent coming into college. The explosion off the ball is 1st round worthy. The production so far has been 4th or 5th round worthy. Had some highlights as a freshman backing up 3 nfl 1st rounders and a 4th rounder on that starting Dline. Last year when he was supposed to take over it didn’t go well. He was inconsistent and we used a lot of 3 man fronts to mask our lack of depth along the Dline. This is a big year for him.
Derion Kendrick - would have to have a great year to be a first rounder but this is a favorite player of mine. He was a big time WR prospect coming into college after playing mainly QB in high school but moved to CB when we had some injury and depth issues. He won the starting corner job last year after only moving to the position in spring ball. Teams left AJ Terrell alone all season and targeted him and he was up to the challenge all year. He didn’t get beat and is a playmaker with the ball in his hands. Also the most competitive player on the team. He’s still raw as he has only been playing the position for a year now, but the upside for him to be a star is there.
