Heisman favorite Trevor Lawrence and his Clemson Tigers will open up their 2020 college football season against Wake Forest later on Saturday.
It will apparently be Lawrence’s final season opener at Clemson. In talking to the media ahead of Saturday’s game, the talented quarterback seemingly broke some news.
Trevor Lawrence seems to declare for the 2021 NFL Draft
“I’m graduating in December,” Lawrence said, via ESPN’s Field Yates. “Planning on this being my last year.”
In no way should this be a surprise. Lawrence was pretty much slated to go pro after his junior season following a brilliant freshman performance back in 2018.
Trevor Lawrence college stats are eye-opening
The 6-foot-6, 220-pound quarterback has compiled nearly 7,000 passing yards with 66 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in two seasons with Clemson.
Once he beat out Kelly Bryant for the starting job as a true freshman, it became clear that Lawrence would find himself on the national radar.
Trevor Lawrence and the 2021 NFL Draft
At this point, it’s pretty much a foregone conclusion that Lawrence will be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft next spring. It really doesn’t matter who has the top selection. If said team boasts a long-term option at quarterback, it will trade down.
Based on our current power rankings, the likes of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Washington Football Team, New York Jets, Chicago Bears and Cincinnati Bengals will be battling it out for the top pick.
Of those five teams, only the Bears might be in the market for a quarterback. Jacksonville boasts young stud Gardner Minshew, New York is dead set on Sam Darnold being its franchise quarterback and the Bengals just selected Joe Burrow No. 1 overall in the 2020 NFL Draft.
It’s possible Washington could also get in on the action depending on the performnace of Dwayne Haskins this season.
As for Lawrence, he did decide to play this season despite having the ability to opt out due to the COVID-19 pandemic and prepare for the coming draft.
With his Tigers as one of the national title favorites, that will be Lawrence’s focus for the next few months. After that, it’s all about the NFL Draft Scouting Combine and the entire pre-draft process.
But for now, he’s pretty much a lock to go No. 1 overall.