2021 QB Draft Ranking: Week 3

With the Big Ten conference officially returning to football, this week sees a huge spike in the number of QBs who are listed. As per my rules posted in Week 1, the Big Ten QBs who were ranked are returning to the rankings in the exact same spot they left in the preseason. Because of this, we see a some players drop and climb much higher or lower than what would normally occur.

#1) Kenny Pickett – Pitt

• Previous Rank: #4
• Trend: +3

Pickett sees a spike in his ranking as his performance against Syracuse alongside Lawrence only playing for a small portion of time allow for him to jump to the number one spot on the rankings. While he did not have a statistically significant game against Syracuse this week, he did show his accuracy and vision of the field. In addition to these, Pickett did put on a little performance of what he can do when out of the pocket. While he did manage to reach the top spot for this week, the question is now what can Pickett do with Fields coming back and the SEC starting up next week.

#2) Justin Fields – Ohio State (BYE)

#3) Kellen Mond – Texas A&M (Bye)

#4) Sam Ehlinger – Texas (Bye)

#5) Trevor Lawrence – Clemson

• Previous Rank: #1
• Trend: -4

It may seem outrageous to see Trevor Lawrence drop off as the #1 QB in the rankings, but this is due to three specific circumstances. The first is Lawrence did not play for the entire game. In fact, He only had 20 snaps under his belt in terms of usage when Clemson pulled him out. The second is Clemson’s opponent being Citadel. Citadel offered no real level of resistance to the Clemson offensive beast, and we already know Lawrence can pick apart these levels of defense with little problem. The third is the Big Ten returning to play. Justin Fields returns to the rankings, and because of my rule for bye week, Fields, Mond, and Ehlinger do not move from their spot, so the next available spot for Lawrence is #5. Lawrence will be sitting at #5 for the next two weeks, as Clemson has a bye week for Week 4.

#6) Kyle Trask – Florida (Bye)

#7) Shane Buechele – SMU

• Previous Rank: #9
• Trend: +2

While North Texas is not exactly the most dominant defense to face, Buechele showed just how underrated he is as be effortlessly posts a 300-yard, 4-TD game. Buechele showed great accuracy across the field, as well as good vision to see the field and locate the open man. One big emphasis that comes out of this game is Buechele’s ability to locate the blitz, and play around it. North Texas struggled to shake Buechele and the SMU offense in any meaningful way.

#8) Tanner Morgan – Minnesota (Bye)

#9) Charlie Brewer – Baylor (Bye)

#10) Ian Book – Notre Dame

• Previous Rank: #5
• Trend: -5

Ian Book did what he needed to do to make sure Notre Dame’s offense ran seamlessly against South Florida, but he himself had nothing remarkable happen in the game. He had less than 20 throws and did not even pass 150 yards in the air. His 63% completion percentage is underwhelming for a QB who did not sling the ball very often.

#11) K.J. Costello – Mississippi State (Bye)

#12) Brock Purdy – Iowa State (Bye)

#13) James Blackman – Florida State (Bye)

#14) D’eriq King – Miami U

• Previous Rank: #14
• Trend: –

#15) Skylar Thompson – Kansas State (Bye)

Everyone Else:

#16) Micale Cunningham – Louisville
#17) Jack Abraham – Southern Miss
#18) Chance Lovertich – South Alabama
#19) Tyler Vitt – Texas State
#20) Jack Coan – Wisconsin
#21) Holton Ahlers – East Carolina
#22) Levi Lewis – Louisiana
#23) Anthony Russo – Temple
#24) Jarrett Guarantano – Tennessee
#25) Adrian Martinez – Nebraska
#26) Sean Clifford – Penn State
#27) Colin Hill – South Carolina
#28) Sam Hartman – Wake Forest
#29) Peyton Ramsey – Northwestern
#30) Hendon Hooker – Virginia Tech
#31) Tyler Johnston III – UAB
#32) Chris Reynolds – Charlotte
#33) Zach Wilson – BYU
#34) Shai Werts – Georgia Southern
#35) Zac Thomas – Appalachian State
#36) Logan Bonner – Arkansas State
#37) Brandon Peters – Illinois
#38) Jarrett Doege – West Virginia
#39) Frank Harris – UTSA
#40) Tyrrell Pigrome – Western Kentucky
#41) Desmond Ridder – Cincinnati
#42) Josh Jackson – Maryland
#43) Gavin Hardison – UTEP
#44) Chase Brice – Duke
#45) Jordan McCloud – South Florida
#46) Bailey Hockman – NC State
#47) Zach Smith – Tulsa
#48) Asher O’Hara – Middle Tennessee
#49) Keon Howard – Tulane
#50) Tommy DeVito – Syracuse