The 2020 NFL scouting combine begins Sunday, which means we're about a year away from Trevor Time.
What about this year's combine, you might ask? There's more than enough coverage of what will happen next week. Every prospect will be dissected, every rumor will be disseminated and every gesture of a somewhat bored coach or general manager in a Lucas Oil Stadium suite will be scrutinized.
Around here, we like to look ahead, to the 2021 combine. Barring a setback or a surprise, Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence will be the main attraction in Indianapolis. Who else will be in the spotlight next year? Last year's combine look-ahead correctly pegged many of the most-talked about players heading to Indy, although Joe Burrow's name did not appear.
Let's get started.
The biggest spotlight will be on: Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence
NFL personnel evaluators have been smitten with the Clemson quarterback since late in his freshman season. He soon drew comparisons to former Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, whom some considered the best college QB prospect since Tennessee's Peyton Manning. Lawrence's poor performance against LSU in the national championship game shows he still can improve, but another season at Clemson, widely pegged as the preseason No. 1 team, will help. Few would be surprised if Lawrence comes to Indianapolis with two national championships and a Heisman Trophy in his profile. Even if the 2020 season doesn't bring top national honors (team and individual), Lawrence's pro outlook should make him the projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft.
Other QBs on the radar: Ohio State's Justin Fields, Mississippi State's K.J. Costello, Texas' Sam Ehlinger, Texas A&M's Kellen Mond, Georgia's Jamie Newman
The 2021 quarterback draft class doesn't appear as strong as its predecessor, although Lawrence and Fields both look like franchise players. Costello actually appeared on last year's combine look-ahead, as he had emerged from a productive 2018 season at Stanford. After injuries limited him last fall, he makes the fascinating move to Starkville to play in the Air Raid for Mike Leach. Both Ehlinger and Mond are multiyear starters looking to punctuate their college careers for Texas-based programs entering pivotal seasons. Newman transferred from Wake Forest, where he had the starting job, primarily to improve his NFL draft stock. He hopes to do so at Georgia under new offensive coordinator Todd Monken.
Every NFL offensive line coach will be watching: Oregon OT Penei Sewell
If Lawrence or Fields isn't the presumed No. 1 overall pick in 2021, Sewell might be. Like Lawrence, he started generating legitimate NFL chatter as a true freshman. The difference: Sewell plays offensive tackle, a position that almost always requires three to four years of physical development before a jump to the NFL. Sewell won the Outland Trophy as a sophomore in 2019 and could become the first back-to-back winner of the award since Nebraska's Dave Rimington in 1981 and 1982. This fall, he'll be protecting a new quarterback and anchoring a new-look line for the Ducks, who will defend their Pac-12 championship and seek their first playoff appearance since 2014. Other intriguing 2021 offensive-line prospects include Alabama tackle Alex Leatherwood, Ohio State guard Wyatt Davis and Texas tackle Samuel Cosmi.
Running back riches: Oklahoma State's Chuba Hubbard, Clemson's Travis Etienne, Alabama's Najee Harris, Mississippi State's Kylin Hill
The draft appetite for running backs fluctuates unlike any position. Five backs went in the top 10 between 2015 and 2018, but last year only Alabama's Josh Jacobs went in the first round at No. 24, much to the Raiders' delight. Georgia's D'Andre Swift and Ohio State's J.K. Dobbins are this year's top running back prospects, but most peg them toward the end of the first round. Etienne was expected to be in Indianapolis next week, but the two-time ACC player of the year instead returns to Clemson, where he'll try to improve his blocking (seen as a weakness) and other areas. Hubbard also makes a surprise return to college after leading the FBS with 2,094 rushing yards as a redshirt sophomore. The speedy Canadian had 15 runs of 30 yards or longer in 2019. Harris has seen his workload increase in each of the past two seasons and will be a featured player in Alabama's offense as a senior. Hill, who initially declared for the 2020 draft before opting to return, has 2,084 rushing yards the past two seasons.
Wide receiver watch: LSU's Ja'Marr Chase, Clemson's Justyn Ross, Alabama's DeVonta Smith, Purdue's Rondale Moore, Oklahoma State's Tylan Wallace, Alabama's Jaylen Waddle, Minnesota's Rashod Bateman, USC's Tyler Vaughns and Amon-Ra St. Brown
At first, I thought the 2021 wide receiver draft class couldn't match the depth of its predecessor, but there are a lot of talented draft-eligible players. Chase won the Biletnikoff Award as a sophomore, setting SEC single-season records for receiving yards (1,780) and receiving touchdowns (20), and becoming the first LSU receiver with three 200-yard performances. He has little to prove to NFL scouts but can enhance his profile by helping LSU's new quarterback. Many pegged Ross, who broke out during the College Football Playoff a year earlier, to win the Biletnikoff in 2019. After a solid but not spectacular sophomore season, Ross should improve his profile as Lawrence's No. 1 option. Smith led Alabama in both receiving yards (1,256) and receiving touchdowns (14) in 2019, and enters his senior season with a brighter spotlight on him. His teammate Waddle, a dynamic punt returner who averaged nearly 17 yards per reception, also will generate combine interest.
Bateman averaged 20.3 yards per reception as a sophomore and won Big Ten receiver of the year honors. He has 111 receptions in his first two seasons. Injuries derailed Moore last fall, but the 2018 consensus All-America selection remains one of the most explosive players in college football. Wallace, a Biletnikoff Award finalist in 2018, also comes off of an injury but could restore his spot among the nation's elite wideouts. Graham Harrell's USC offense is a wide receiver's dream, and both Vaughns and St. Brown have chances to improve their pro stock, as Michael Pittman did in 2019.
The top defender on draft boards will be: Penn State LB Micah Parsons
Others will factor into this conversation, but Parsons' finish to 2019 suggests a huge junior season is on the way. Parsons already has shown his productivity, totaling 192 tackles in his first two seasons at Penn State. His tackles for loss mark spiked from five to 14, and he doubled his forced fumbles total (from two to four) while adding five pass deflections and a fumble recovery. Another increase in his pass-rushing numbers will make him the favorite for national awards such as the Bednarik, Lombardi, Nagurski and Butkus. The 6-foot-3, 245-pound Parsons projects at several NFL positions, depending on scheme, and brings a unique mix of power and speed.
Then again, the next Chase Young could be: Miami's Gregory Rousseau
What Young just did sets an incredibly high bar for a redshirt sophomore, but look at what Rousseau accomplished during his first full season at Miami: 15.5 sacks and 19.5 tackles for loss, team-high seven quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. His sacks total ties for second in team history, and his tackles for loss total marks the highest at Miami since 2006. A repeat performance or one with even better numbers will make a jump to the NFL a virtual certainty. Rousseau even has a similar frame to Young at 6-foot-7 and 253 pounds. He will receive much more attention from opponents this fall, and could be a featured player at next year's combine.
Other defenders to watch include: Alabama CB Patrick Surtain II, Florida State DT Marvin Wilson, Alabama LB Dylan Moses, Ohio State S Shaun Wade, Stanford CB Paulson Adebo, Texas S Caden Sterns, USC DT Jay Tufele, Georgia S Richard LeCounte, Miami DE Quincy Roche
Surtain, who showed his playmaking ability in 2019 with two interceptions and three forced fumbles, certainly could be the first defender drafted in 2021. He has excellent bloodlines -- his father, Patrick, was a three-time Pro Bowl cornerback for the Miami Dolphins -- and will have three years under Nick Saban at Alabama. Other intriguing defensive back prospects include Wade, whose promising 2019 season ended in controversial fashion against Clemson in the CFP semifinal, the hard-hitting LeCounte, a playmaking veteran in Sterns, and Adebo, who returned to Stanford despite leading the Pac-12 in interceptions last season and leading the nation in passes defended in 2018.
The defensive end group for 2021 seems a little light, but both Wilson and Tufele are excellent interior linemen with high ceilings. ESPN's Mel Kiper pegged Wilson as a first-round pick before he opted to return to Florida State. Moses' performance following an ACL injury will shape his draft outlook, but he could be under the microscope at the 2021 combine. Roche, the American Athletic Conference defensive player of the year at Temple, joins Miami as a graduate transfer and forms a dynamic pass-rushing tandem with Rousseau.
Group of 5 combine watch: Memphis WR Damonte Coxie, SMU QB Shane Buechele, SMU WR Reggie Roberson Jr., Memphis QB Brady White, Buffalo RB Jaret Patterson, Louisiana RB Elijah Mitchell
Two passing connections from the AAC should be part of the 2021 combine. Coxie has led Memphis in receiving in each of the past two seasons, eclipsing 70 receptions and 16 yards per catch in both years. White has 7,310 passing yards and 59 touchdowns the past two seasons, while completing more than 63% of his passes. Buechele blossomed at SMU last season (3,929 pass yards, 34 touchdowns), and will look more for Roberson, who steps into the No. 1 receiver role. Patterson ranked fifth nationally in rushing as a sophomore (1,799 yards) and could look to move to the NFL with another productive season. Mitchell rushed for 1,147 yards last season and returns to a very talented Ragin' Cajuns offense in 2020. He could boost his stock before the 2021 combine. There's not a Group of 5 defender whose NFL draft profile pops like Boise State's Evan Weaver did a year ago.