2021 NFL Draft: The Year of the Offensive Line
By Jace Garcia
In my final mock draft of 2020, I have eight offensive linemen going in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft. The depth of offensive line talent in this draft class is both exterior and interior offensive linemen. With a need to upgrade on the offensive line for multiple teams around the NFL, the 2021 NFL Draft will be the year of the offensive line.
With the depth of talent on the offensive line in this 2021 NFL Draft class there is one that stands above the rest. There is one that you could argue a team could take over the great Trevor Lawrence as the best overall player in the draft class, and that is Oregon’s Penei Sewell. Sewell is a generational talent and the best offensive line draft prospect since Quenton Nelson. The Oregon tackle is not just a key piece to build a stout offensive line around, but a dominant force at tackle who will make an immediate impact and is a sure bet to end his career in a gold hall of fame jacket.
Besides Sewell, I think the two next best linemen in this draft class are interior offensive line prospects. Starting off with Northwestern’s Rashawn Slater, who during his career as a Wildcat played tackle however due to his size, 6’3” 315 pounds, would most likely make the move to the interior to guard or center in the NFL. The best experienced guard in this class is Ohio State’s Wyatt Davis. The only problems with Davis I have are that he struggled to protect his quarterback, Justin Fields, against teams with solid pass rushing teams, Indiana and Northwestern, in the 2020 season. The Buckeye guard does however dominate in the run game and has potential to get better in the pass game but will take time to develop. If a team is looking for an upgrade on the interior of the offensive line, both of these Big Ten lineman will be a solid choice.
While there is only one Penei Sewell in this draft class there are still solid offensive tackles for teams that need to fill that hole but can’t grab the Oregon stud. Texas’ Samuel Cosmi is the second tackle I have coming off the board in April. While he is not a key piece you can build a solid offensive line around like Sewell, he is a solid piece that can help better an offensive line unit. Another tackle who is on a similar level as Cosmi is Christian Darrisaw out of Virginia Tech. This is a guy who played himself into the first round of the 2020 college football season and earned a first round spot for a team looking for an upgrade tackle. While both of tackles are not on the level of Penei Sewell they still will be serviceable and solid offensive tackles in the NFL.
The depth of talent on the offensive line coming out for the 2021 NFL draft should make teams looking to upgrade their line very happy. The big target is Penei Sewell who is a generational talent on the offensive line. Rashawn Slater and Wyatt Davis will help teams looking to make an upgrade in the interior offensive line. Samuel Cosmi and Christian Darrisaw will benefit teams looking for help at offensive tackle. With all the talent at offensive line in the 2021 NFL draft will make this draft the year of the offensive line.
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