Zach Metkler’s 2021 NFL Draft Positional Rankings
After much anticipation, the 2021 NFL Draft is finally in sight. After months of thorough film study, I have finally put together my final positional rankings and big board.
Before continuing, I urge you to keep something in mind. These rankings are how I personally view the 2021 NFL Draft class. Each ranking that you will find on the internet is different. Every NFL team’s rankings and big board is different.
There is no perfect science for evaluating prospects. Players will be selected earlier and later than expected, especially with the continuing evolution of the pre-draft process because of the obstacles that teams have had to work through because of COVID-19. That doesn’t make a particular pick or a particular big board right or wrong. Just be patient and see what happens as the summer and season roll along following the draft. It is an exciting time for fans and teams, but more importantly for the players.
Enjoy the process. And remember: it is okay to be different when it comes to draft opinions.
With that all being said, welcome to my official 2021 NFL Draft Positional Rankings.
Quarterback
Rank |
Name |
School |
1 |
Trevor Lawrence |
Clemson |
2 |
Justin Fields |
Ohio State |
3 |
Zach Wilson |
BYU |
4 |
Trey Lance |
North Dakota State |
5 |
Mac Jones |
Alabama |
6 |
Kellen Mond |
Texas A&M |
7 |
Kyle Trask |
Florida |
8 |
Davis Mills |
Stanford |
9 |
Jamie Newman |
Wake Forest |
10 |
Sam Ehlinger |
Texas |
11 |
Shane Buechele |
SMU |
12 |
Feleipe Franks |
Arkansas |
13 |
K.J. Costello |
Mississippi State |
14 |
Ian Book |
Notre Dame |
15 |
Peyton Ramsey |
Northwestern |
16 |
Zach Smith |
Tulsa |
17 |
Zac Thomas |
Appalachian State |
18 |
Brady Davis |
Illinois State |
19 |
Collin Hill |
South Carolina |
20 |
Brady White |
Memphis |
21 |
Davis Cheek |
Elon |
22 |
Chris Ferguson |
Liberty |
23 |
Sawyer Smith |
Kentucky |
24 |
Armani Rogers |
Ohio |
25 |
Kato Nelson |
Akron |
Running Back
Rank |
Name |
School |
1 |
Travis Etienne |
Clemson |
2 |
Javonte Williams |
North Carolina |
3 |
Najee Harris |
Alabama |
4 |
Michael Carter |
North Carolina |
5 |
Kenneth Gainwell |
Memphis |
6 |
Trey Sermon |
Ohio State |
7 |
Khalil Herbert |
Virginia Tech |
8 |
Jermar Jefferson |
Oregon State |
9 |
Kylin Hill |
Mississippi State |
10 |
Rhamondre Stevenson |
Oklahoma |
11 |
Demetric Felton |
UCLA |
12 |
Chubba Hubbard |
Oklahoma State |
13 |
Chris Evans |
Michigan |
14 |
Javian Hawkins |
Louisville |
15 |
Rakeem Boyd |
Arkansas |
16 |
Jaret Patterson |
Buffalo |
17 |
Elijah Mitchell |
Louisiana |
18 |
Larry Rountree III |
Missouri |
19 |
Pooka Williams |
Kansas |
20 |
Spencer Brown |
UAB |
21 |
Greg McCrae |
UCF |
22 |
Trey Ragas |
Lafayette |
23 |
Otis Anderson |
UCF |
24 |
Elijah Collins |
Michigan State |
25 |
Gerrid Doaks |
Cincinnati |
26 |
C.J. Marable |
Coastal Carolina |
27 |
Caleb Huntley |
Ball State |
28 |
Garrett Groshek |
Wisconsin |
29 |
Deon Jackson |
Duke |
30 |
Asim Rose |
Kentucky |
Wide Receiver
Rank |
Name |
School |
1 |
Ja’Marr Chase |
LSU |
2 |
Jaylen Waddle |
Alabama |
3 |
DeVonta Smith |
Alabama |
4 |
Rashod Bateman |
Minnesota |
5 |
Kadarius Toney |
Florida |
6 |
Rondale Moore |
Purdue |
7 |
Terrace Marshall Jr. |
LSU |
8 |
Elijah Moore |
Ole Miss |
9 |
Dyami Brown |
North Carolina |
10 |
D’Wayne Eskridge |
Western Michigan |
11 |
Amon-Ra St. Brown |
USC |
12 |
Nico Collins |
Michigan |
13 |
Tylan Wallace |
Oklahoma State |
14 |
Amari Rodgers |
Clemson |
15 |
Josh Palmer |
Tennessee |
16 |
Cade Johnson |
South Dakota State |
17 |
Anthony Schwartz |
Auburn |
18 |
Chatarius Atwell |
Louisville |
19 |
Sage Surratt |
Wake Forest |
20 |
Seth Williams |
Auburn |
21 |
Marlon Williams |
UCF |
22 |
Cornell Powell |
Clemson |
23 |
Ihmir Smith-Marsette |
Iowa |
24 |
Shi Smith |
South Carolina |
25 |
Simi Fehoko |
Stanford |
26 |
Jaelon Darden |
North Texas |
27 |
Tyler Vaughns |
USC |
28 |
Dazz Newsome |
North Carolina |
29 |
Marquez Stevenson |
Houston |
30 |
Javon McKinley |
Notre Dame |
31 |
Tamorrion Terry |
Florida State |
32 |
Warren Jackson |
Colorado State |
33 |
Josh Imatorbhebhe |
Illinois |
34 |
Austin Watkins |
UAB |
35 |
Dax Milne |
BYU |
36 |
Frank Darby |
Arizona State |
37 |
Rico Bussey Jr. |
Hawaii |
38 |
Domonte Coxie |
Memphis |
39 |
Trevon Grimes |
Florida |
40 |
Dez Fitzpatrick |
Louisville |
Tight End
Rank |
Name |
School |
1 |
Kyle Pitts |
Florida |
2 |
Pat Freiermuth |
Penn State |
3 |
Tommy Tremble |
Notre Dame |
4 |
Brevin Jordan |
Miami |
5 |
Hunter Long |
Boston College |
6 |
Kenny Yeboah |
Ole Miss |
7 |
Tre’ McKitty |
Georgia |
8 |
Noah Gray |
Duke |
9 |
Nick Eubanks |
Michigan |
10 |
Kylen Granson |
SMU |
11 |
Zach Davidson |
Central Missouri |
12 |
Tony Poljan |
Virginia |
13 |
Quintin Morris |
Bowling Green |
14 |
John Bates |
Boise State |
15 |
Cary Angeline |
NC State |
16 |
Matt Bushman |
BYU |
17 |
Pro Wells |
TCU |
18 |
Miller Forristall |
Alabama |
19 |
Jack Stoll |
Nebraska |
20 |
Luke Farrell |
Ohio State |
21 |
Dylan Soehner |
Iowa State |
22 |
Peyton Hendershot |
Indiana |
23 |
Josh Pederson |
ULM |
24 |
Shaun Beyer |
Iowa |
25 |
Hunter Kampmoyer |
Oregon |
26 |
Trae Barry |
Jacksonville State |
27 |
Artayvious Lynn |
TCU |
28 |
Zac Lefebvre |
Buffalo |
29 |
Erik Krommenhoek |
USC |
30 |
Andrew Homer |
Miami (OH) |
Offensive Tackle
Rank |
Name |
School |
1 |
Penei Sewell |
Oregon |
2 |
Rashawn Slater |
Northwestern |
3 |
Christian Darrisaw |
Virginia Tech |
4 |
Teven Jenkins |
Oklahoma State |
5 |
Alex Leatherwood |
Alabama |
6 |
Dillon Radunz |
North Dakota State |
7 |
Jalen Mayfield |
Michigan |
8 |
Liam Eichenberg |
Notre Dame |
9 |
Samuel Cosmi |
Texas |
10 |
Spencer Brown |
Northern Iowa |
11 |
Brady Christensen |
BYU |
12 |
Jackson Carman |
Clemson |
13 |
Walker Little |
Stanford |
14 |
James Hudson |
Cincinnati |
15 |
D’Ante Smith |
East Carolina |
16 |
Adrian Ealy |
Oklahoma |
17 |
Stone Forsythe |
Florida |
18 |
Jaylon Moore |
Western Michigan |
19 |
Dan Moore Jr. |
Texas A&M |
20 |
Alaric Jackson |
Iowa |
21 |
Brenden Jaimes |
Nebraska |
22 |
Josh Ball |
Marshall |
23 |
Tommy Doyle |
Miami (OH) |
24 |
Will Sherman |
Colorado |
25 |
Foster Sarell |
Stanford |
26 |
Cole Van Lanen |
Wisconsin |
27 |
Larnel Coleman |
Massachusetts |
28 |
Landon Young |
Kentucky |
29 |
Drew Himmelman |
Illinois State |
30 |
Jake Curhan |
California |
Interior Offensive Line
Rank |
Name |
School |
1 |
Alijah Vera-Tucker |
USC |
2 |
Creed Humphrey |
Oklahoma |
3 |
Wyatt Davis |
Ohio State |
4 |
Landon Dickerson |
Alabama |
5 |
Quinn Meinerz |
UW-Whitewater |
6 |
Trey Smith |
Tennessee |
7 |
Josh Myers |
Ohio State |
8 |
Aaron Banks |
Notre Dame |
9 |
Kendrick Green |
Illinois |
10 |
Deonte Brown |
Alabama |
11 |
Ben Cleveland |
Georgia |
12 |
Michal Menet |
Penn State |
13 |
Trey Hill |
Georgia |
14 |
Royce Newman |
Ole Miss |
15 |
Drew Dalman |
Stanford |
16 |
Tommy Kraemer |
Notre Dame |
17 |
Jack Anderson |
Texas Tech |
18 |
Dave Moore |
Grambling State |
19 |
Drake Jackson |
Kentucky |
20 |
Sadarius Hutcherson |
South Carolina |
21 |
Robert Hainsey |
Notre Dame |
22 |
Jimmy Morrissey |
Pittsburgh |
23 |
Ryan Mccollum |
Texas A&M |
24 |
Larry Borom |
Missouri |
25 |
Bryce Hargrove |
Pittsburgh |
26 |
Will Fries |
Penn State |
27 |
Dareuan Parker |
Mississippi State |
28 |
Robert Jones |
Middle Tennessee |
29 |
Kevin Jarvis |
Michigan State |
30 |
Harry Crider |
Indiana |
Interior Defensive Line
Rank |
Name |
School |
1 |
Christian Barmore |
Alabama |
2 |
Levi Onwuzurike |
Washington |
3 |
Milton Williams |
Louisiana Tech |
4 |
Daviyon Nixon |
Iowa |
5 |
Tyler Shelvin |
LSU |
6 |
Alim McNeill |
NC State |
7 |
Tommy Togiai |
Ohio State |
8 |
Jay Tufele |
USC |
9 |
Jaylen Twyman |
Pittsburgh |
10 |
Marvin Wilson |
Florida State |
11 |
Bobby Brown III |
Texas A&M |
12 |
Marlon Tuipulotu |
USC |
13 |
Tedarrell Slaton |
Florida |
14 |
Osa Odighizuwa |
UCLA |
15 |
Khyiris Tonga |
BYU |
16 |
Quinton Bohanna |
Kentucky |
17 |
Naquan Jones |
Michigan State |
18 |
Jonathan Marshall |
Arkansas |
19 |
Darius Stills |
West Virginia |
20 |
Ta’Quon Graham |
Texas |
21 |
Jordon Scott |
Oregon |
22 |
Phil Hoskins |
Kentucky |
23 |
Austin Faoliu |
Oregon |
24 |
Mustafa Johnson |
Colorado |
25 |
Lorenzo Neal Jr. |
Purdue |
26 |
Michael Dwumfour |
Rutgers |
27 |
Kenny Randall |
Charleston (WV) |
28 |
Roy Lopez |
Arizona |
29 |
Jack Heflin |
Iowa |
30 |
Daniel Archibong |
Temple |
EDGE
Rank |
Name |
School |
1 |
Kwity Paye |
Michigan |
2 |
Jaelan Phillips |
Miami |
3 |
Jayson Oweh |
Penn State |
4 |
Azeez Ojulari |
Georgia |
5 |
Joe Tryon |
Washington |
6 |
Gregory Rousseau |
Miami |
7 |
Carlos Basham Jr. |
Wake Forest |
8 |
Chris Rumph II |
Duke |
9 |
Joseph Ossai |
Texas |
10 |
Payton Turner |
Houston |
11 |
Dayo Odeyingbo |
Vanderbilt |
12 |
Janarius Robinson |
Florida State |
13 |
Jordan Smith |
UAB |
14 |
Patrick Johnson |
Tulane |
15 |
Daelin Hayes |
Notre Dame |
16 |
Ronnie Perkins |
Oklahoma |
17 |
Quincy Roche |
Miami |
18 |
Patrick Jones II |
Pittsburgh |
19 |
Hamilcar Rashed Jr. |
Oregon State |
20 |
Rashad Weaver |
Pittsburgh |
21 |
Wyatt Hubert |
Kansas State |
22 |
Cameron Sample |
Tulane |
23 |
Victor Dimukeje |
Duke |
24 |
Will Bradley-King |
Baylor |
25 |
Shaka Toney |
Penn State |
26 |
Elerson Smith |
Northern Iowa |
27 |
Adetokunbo Ogundeji |
Notre Dame |
28 |
Chauncey Golston |
Iowa |
29 |
Tarron Jackson |
Coastal Carolina |
30 |
Jonathon Cooper |
Ohio State |
Linebacker
Rank |
Name |
School |
1 |
Micah Parson |
Penn State |
2 |
Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah |
Notre Dame |
3 |
Zaven Collins |
Tulsa |
4 |
Jamin Davis |
Kentucky |
5 |
Nick Bolton |
Missouri |
6 |
Jabril Cox |
LSU |
7 |
Baron Browning |
Ohio State |
8 |
Pete Werner |
Ohio State |
9 |
Chazz Surratt |
North Carolina |
10 |
Dylan Moses |
Alabama |
11 |
Cameron McGrone |
Michigan |
12 |
Monty Rice |
Georgia |
13 |
Derrick Barnes |
Purdue |
14 |
Buddy Johnson |
Texas A&M |
15 |
Isaiah McDuffie |
Boston College |
16 |
Ernest Jones |
South Carolina |
17 |
Tony Fields II |
West Virginia |
18 |
K.J. Britt |
Auburn |
19 |
Charles Snowden |
Virginia |
20 |
Nick Niemann |
Iowa |
21 |
Garret Wallow |
TCU |
22 |
Paddy Fisher |
Northwestern |
23 |
Anthony Hines III |
Texas A&M |
24 |
Amen Ogbongbemiga |
Oklahoma State |
25 |
Riley Cole |
South Alabama |
26 |
Grant Stuard |
Houston |
27 |
Erroll Thompson |
Mississippi State |
28 |
Blake Gallagher |
Northwestern |
29 |
Elijah Sullivan |
Kansas State |
30 |
Justin Hilliard |
Ohio State |
Cornerback
Rank |
Name |
School |
1 |
Patrick Surtain II |
Alabama |
2 |
Jaycee Horn |
South Carolina |
3 |
Greg Newsome II |
Northwestern |
4 |
Caleb Farley |
Virginia Tech |
5 |
Asante Samuel Jr. |
Florida State |
6 |
Tyson Campbell |
Georgia |
7 |
Eric Stokes |
Georgia |
8 |
Kelvin Joseph |
Kentucky |
9 |
Ifeatu Melifonwu |
Syracuse |
10 |
Aaron Robinson |
UCF |
11 |
Elijah Molden |
Washington |
12 |
Robert Rochell |
Central Arkansas |
13 |
Paulson Adebo |
Stanford |
14 |
Ambry Thomas |
Michigan |
15 |
Shaun Wade |
Ohio State |
16 |
Benjamin St-Juste |
Minnesota |
17 |
Kary Vincent Jr. |
LSU |
18 |
Camryn Bynum |
California |
19 |
Shakur Brown |
Michigan State |
20 |
Trill Williams |
Syracuse |
21 |
Israel Mukuamu |
South Carolina |
22 |
Rodarius Williams |
Oklahoma |
23 |
Olaijah Griffin |
USC |
24 |
Deommodore Lenoir |
Oregon |
25 |
Keith Taylor |
Washington |
26 |
Avery Williams |
Boise State |
27 |
Jason Pinnock |
Pittsburgh |
28 |
D.J. Daniel |
Georgia |
29 |
Marco Wilson |
Florida |
30 |
Zech McPhearson |
Texas Tech |
Safety
Rank |
Name |
School |
1 |
Trevon Moehrig |
TCU |
2 |
Jevon Holland |
Oregon |
3 |
Richie Grant |
UCF |
4 |
Jamar Johnson |
Indiana |
5 |
Hamsah Nasirildeen |
Florida State |
6 |
Andre Cisco |
Syracuse |
7 |
Divine Deablo |
Virginia Tech |
8 |
Talanoa Hufanga |
USC |
9 |
Tyree Gillespie |
Missouri |
10 |
Ar’Darius Washington |
TCU |
11 |
Caden Sterns |
Texas |
12 |
James Wiggins |
Cincinnati |
13 |
Christian Uphoff |
Illinois State |
14 |
Paris Ford |
Pittsburgh |
15 |
Mark Webb |
Georgia |
16 |
Darrick Forrest |
Cincinnati |
17 |
Reed Blankenship |
Middle Tennessee |
18 |
Joshuah Bledsoe |
Missouri |
19 |
Richard LeCounte III |
Georgia |
20 |
Damar Hamlin |
Pittsburgh |
21 |
Shawn Davis |
Florida |
22 |
Jamien Sherwood |
Auburn |
23 |
Jacoby Stevens |
LSU |
24 |
Donovan Stiner |
Florida |
25 |
Brady Breeze |
Oregon |
26 |
Tyler Coyle |
Purdue |
27 |
Brendon White |
Rutgers |
28 |
Tariq Thompson |
San Diego State |
29 |
Qwynnterrio Cole |
Alcorn State |
30 |
Eric Burrell |
Wisconsin |
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