2021 NFL Draft stock watch: Is Kyle Trask a better prospect than Trey Lance?

Florida quarterback Kyle Trask continues to see his NFL Draft stock soar after a torrid start to the season, but the same can’t be said for Texas signal-caller Sam Ehlinger.

Florida’s draft-eligible players received a huge boost to their 2021 NFL Draft stock with Kyle Trask and Kyle Pitts continuing their hot start in the Gators’ win vs. South Carolina.

Trask is the first SEC quarterback since 1994 to throw 10 touchdown passes through two games. Pitts dominated Ole Miss and followed that with another solid performance against South Carolina. The All-American candidate has six of Trask’s 10 touchdowns through the same two games.

If this was Reggie Roberson’s last game at SMU it was quite a game. Roberson –who came back to SMU after missing four games with a foot injury —  left the Mustangs’ game against Memphis with a knee injury. Before the injury, he torched the Tigers’ secondary. Texas’ quarterback Sam Ehlinger struggled in the Longhorns’ loss to TCU completing less than 50 percent of his passes.

Draft Stock Up

Kyle Pitts (1st Round) TE

The Pitts/Trask connection continues to benefit both quarterback and tight end. Pitts continues to put distance between him and the second-best tight end in this draft.  Penn State tight end Pat Freiermuth has not played yet and both Charlie Kolar and Brevin Jordan have not played at the level Pitts has. Pitts eight-catch 170-yard and four touchdown torching of Ole Miss is not only because the Rebels are a poor defensive team. Pitts is as close to an unguardable tight end as there has been in college football. Pitts is long and athletic and is a bad matchup for most defenders. Pitts is too quick out of his break for linebackers and too big for a safety to defend downfield.

 Kyle Trask (2nd-3rd Round) QB

Trask has been spectacular this season. Trask is the first Florida quarterback since Terry Dean to throw 10 touchdown passes in two games. The Texas native has been sharp since taking the starting job last season. This year Trask has picked up where he left off. What has been most impressive about Trask in both of his games this season is the pocket presence. Trask has command of head coach Dan Mullen’s sometimes complex offense. There is a lot put on the quarterback’s shoulder in a Mullen offense and scouts love a quarterback who has absorbed the playbook.

Reggie Roberson (4th Round) WR

This could change depending on the nature of Roberson’s knee injury. Quarterback Shane Buechele found Roberson downfield for a 43-yard reception when Roberson went down. Roberson was on his way to a career day before the knee injury with 243 receiving yards — seven yards shy of his career-best. Roberson is a smooth route-runner with the ability to get open. Speed is often overrated. What scouts covet more than a ridiculous 40-yard dash time is the ability to get separation and getting open. Roberson has good speed but understands how to get open. Despite the season, Roberson was putting together, the nature of the knee injury could affect his stock.

Draft Stock Down:

Sam Ehlinger  (6th-7th Round) QB

The NCAA is granting players this season another year of eligibility due to the pandemic. If Ehlinger has another game like this one, he might return for another season. Setting the 236 yards and four touchdowns aside, Ehlinger completed 47.4 percent of his passes in their loss to TCU. That game exposed something about Ehlinger that is concerning. Ehlinger is a late-round pick this season. If he decided to leave last season, Ehlinger would have been a late-round draft pick. This is because Ehlinger has not gotten any better. This begs the question, “Is this the best Sam Ehlinger?” If so, that is not great news for Texas or Ehlinger’s draft stock.

Trey Lance (1st Round) QB

North Dakota State redshirt sophomore quarterback Trey Lance is pretty much locked into the No. 3 quarterback space in the 2021 NFL Draft. One has to wonder, however, if what Kyler Murray and Lamar Jackson are doing in the league is putting an unfair standard on Lance. It is unlikely his stock fell in his game against Central Arkansas, but it was not a stellar performance as far as his passing game is concerned. While Lance flashed the athleticism running the football. Lance also showed NFL-caliber arm strength on some of his throws. Lance, however, was not efficient completing just 50 percent of his passes. There is lots of upside with Lance, but he needs some polish.

Anthony Williams, Jr. ( 7th Round) RB

Anthony Williams should be the centerpiece of Kansas offensive coordinator Brent Dearmon’s offense. However, Williams has struggled to get his feet in this unique season. It is no secret that Kansas is not a good program and wasn’t going to be very good this season either. Despite playing for one of the worst programs in the Power 5, Williams is coming off of two 1,000-yard rushing seasons at Kansas. For Williams to have just 43 touches this season is a travesty. Williams’ lack of touches hurts his stock tremendously and the Kansas offensive staff needs to rectify that.

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