“My gut feeling – and that’s all it is – is he’d prefer to not play football this year than to play for the Packers.” – King on Aaron Rodgers

 “No matter what I tried to do to say, It’s too risky!, all that stuff kind of went away the more I got to know the person.” – 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan to King on selecting QB Trey Lance

 “Trevor has the gravitas. I think he could become a true international superstar.” – Jaguars owner Shad Khan to King on Trevor Lawrence

STAMFORD, Conn. – May 3, 2021 – Peter King discusses the news that dominated the 2021 NFL Draft weekend, including rumors about the future of Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay and the 49ers selecting North Dakota St. quarterback Trey Lance with the third overall pick in this week’s edition of Football Morning in America, available now exclusively on NBCSports.com. King also speaks with Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan and No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, and Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst.

Peacock’s free, exclusive NBC Sports channel has weekday sports talk programming from 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. ET, which includes extensive NFL coverage from PFT Live featuring Mike Florio and Chris Simms live at 7 a.m. ET, followed by The Dan Patrick Show at 9 a.m. ET, The Rich Eisen Show at Noon ET, Peacock Original Brother From Another, with Michael Holley and Michael Smith, at 3 p.m. ET, and PFT PM at 5 p.m. ET. Chris Simms Unbuttoned streams at 6 p.m. ET Tuesday-Friday. ProFootballTalk.com continues to provide the latest offseason news, NBC Sports EDGE’s A Good Football Show discusses offseason storylines, and the Chris Simms Unbuttoned podcast recaps the 2021 NFL Draft.

The following are highlights from this week’s edition of Football Morning in America:

AARON RODGERS

King on reports of Rodgers wanting to leave Green Bay: “Rodgers’ discontent, as has been well-documented, is real…I have heard that Rodgers has not demanded the ouster of (general manager Brian) Gutekunst…Regardless, this is more, I believe, about the traditional structure of the Packers, a structure that hasn’t bent much to give influence to players, that hasn’t changed much in the last 30 years.”

Gutekunst to King on if the team’s relationship with Rodgers is irreparable: “No, I don’t think so at all. That’s my opinion and that’s the organization’s opinion. We want Aaron to be our quarterback. We’re pretty resolute with that…We want to leave every avenue open for that to happen.”

Gutekunst to King on reports of Rodgers’ feelings towards him: “You never want to see those things or read those things. He’s never said that to me and he never said that publicly…At the same time, I’m a lifelong scout, and we work all year for these three days. We couldn’t let this distract us from the task at hand.”

King on Rodgers: “It seems impossible to think Rodgers’ enmity for the Packers has come so far, so fast. But remember this about Rodgers: He’s principled. He’s different. If he feels like he’s been wronged, he could stay away regardless of any external pressure, and losing his scheduled $22-million compensation this year wouldn’t bother him nearly enough to change his mind.”

King: “I would expect Rodgers to not participate in any offseason work with the Packers, and to hope the Packers would change their minds about trading him. Denver would still be an option, I think, and maybe Las Vegas…My gut feeling – and that’s all it is – is he’d prefer to not play football this year than to play for the Packers.”

SAN FRANCISCO

King on the 49ers selecting QB Trey Lance: “The Niners gain nothing by saying who they’d pick – and Shanahan said he and (general manager John) Lynch didn’t know for sure Lance was the guy till April 19, the day of Lance’s second Pro Day practice in North Dakota.”

Shanahan to King on the pre-draft rumors of who they were targeting: “We weren’t going to work to correct that. But to see how much this matters to so many people was just unbelievable. It really taught me a lot about people. And I guess it’s awesome for our league, all the attention.”

Shanahan on why they picked Lance: “It’s so hard for me to give a quick answer…His natural ability to play the quarterback position, just in terms of how he plays in the pocket, how he can go through the progressions, how, when no one’s open, that he gives it a chance, that he recognizes it…I haven’t gotten to the upside of how much better he can get, the more he plays. That’s what made me like him so much right away.”

Shanahan on the process of picking Lance: “That’s what was so cool about the kid, that going through this process after we moved up to where I talked to him so many times, to have him go through the number of tests and stuff that we have them all go through…I can’t tell you how special of a person he is. It has nothing to do with football…That’s what was cool about him through the process at the end. No matter what I tried to do to say, It’s too risky!, all that stuff kind of went away the more I got to know the person.”

King on how Shanahan studied Lance: “After he finished his pass-through of tape study on Lance, he emailed Lynch between 20 and 40 plays of Lance so he could see what Shanahan was seeing, and he told the GM words to this effect: I’m obsessed with the type of stuff we can do with this guy. Shanahan said Lynch couldn’t sleep that night, he was so excited about Lance’s prospects for the offense.”

King: “Once they were sufficiently smitten with Lance, the Niners also knew it was doubtful he’d be available at 12. Lynch spent much of March fact-finding on trades…Could they have made a better deal than the gargantuan price of first-round picks in ’22 and ’23, plus a three next year, to move just nine spots? Could they have waited and done better? Possibly. But there was so much buzz about teams moving up for quarterbacks. They had to be comfortable enough to move knowing they’d now have a month to pick between Lance, (Mac) Jones and Justin Fields.”

JACKSONVILLE

King on the Jaguars selecting Trevor Lawrence No. 1 overall: “Jacksonville seems a good fit for Lawrence, with veteran pro coaches Darrell Bevell (offensive coordinator) and Brian Schottenheimer (passing game coordinator) the most hands-on coaches with him. They are vets who’ve worked with different style quarterbacks and because they’ve known for some time that Lawrence would be their pick, they’ve been able to feed him lots of information and plays.”

Jaguars owner Shad Khan on Lawrence’s potential stardom overseas: “Trevor has the gravitas. I think he could become a true international superstar.”

Khan on Lawrence: “The player obviously is great, but the person behind the player is what really gives me hope. I can’t believe how normal he is. He’s been the number one quarterback on all levels since he was 14 years old, being catered to at every level. His humility almost surprises me.”

Lawrence to King: “I thought about how cool it’ll be to play in London, but…I try not to think about that too much. My job now especially is to come in and to win games and to get ready to be the best I can be and to make the team as good as we can be. I try not to think about all the other byproducts of it.”

Lawrence: “I need to come in, go to work, and earn the trust and respect of my teammates. There’s obviously so many things that I want to improve on and get better at. But really, I think, there’s not one specific way you need to play quarterback to be successful. It’s just doing what I know that I’m good at and bringing that here and improving on all the things I need to improve on. But as far as my style of play, I’m just going to be me and play the way I’ve always played.”

ATLANTA

King on the Falcons staying at No. 4 and choosing TE Kyle Pitts: “Coach Arthur Smith and GM Terry Fontenot (owner Arthur Blank too) had become convinced Matt Ryan could play at least three more years at a productive level. In the days before the draft, Fontenot listened to multiple offers for the fourth pick, but none came close to the mega-package he’d need to move out the slot to take the Florida tight end.”

Smith to King: “They hired the wrong guys if they thought we were going to lower expectations, take our time, and rebuild. That’s just not who we are. The expectation is to win now, build for the future, have plans…With Matt (Ryan), I see a really high-quality starting quarterback who’s thrown for 55,000 yards in this league and had unbelievable experience and is still throwing guys open.”

Pitts to King on being the highest-drafted TE: “It’s a new journey. I don’t pay attention to what’s said. I stay even-keel. It’s not college anymore. I gotta prove myself all over again. Time to grind.”

King on the idea that the Falcons could still trade WR Julio Jones: “Now that the draft is over and Jones is still a Falcon, I don’t believe the prospect of a trade is kaput. Because Atlanta wouldn’t have made a trade official till June 2 so Jones’ dead-cap money could be spread over two years, Fontenot could still trade Jones sometime this summer for a 2022 draft choice.”

King: “I drove away from the Falcons in the wee hours thinking they needed a GM and coach who understand the business of football can be cold sometimes, and it’s not a business to keep heroes a year too long, and who aren’t married to anyone here. That’s what they’ve found in Fontenot and Smith.”

DRAFT NOTES

King on the Bears trading up for QB Justin Fields: “I never have understood the criticism of Justin Fields…This was a costly trade by the Bears, giving up next year’s one and four to move up nine spots in the first round. But I loved the trade, and I love this pick…Expect (Andy) Dalton to start early, but not for long. Nagy won’t rush to insert Fields into the starting lineup.”

King on the Texans: “To me, no pick spoke louder than the Texans’ third-rounder. With the first pick in Nick Caserio’s career as a GM, he took Stanford QB Davis Mills…A team this draft-poor, with the needs of an expansion team and no picks in the first two rounds, taking a quarterback with its first pick? Very meaningful.”

King on the Raiders selecting T Alex Leatherwood: “Asked 11 coaches/GMs their biggest surprises in the draft Friday and Saturday. I didn’t limit it to one. But ‘Alex Leatherwood going 17^th’ was the winner, far and away. Leatherwood will have his chance to prove everyone wrong.”

King on the Vikings: “I know the Vikings had their usual allotment of 84 picks in this draft, and so maybe you don’t look at picking a quarterback at 66 and think it speaks volumes about the future of the incumbent. But what the selection of Kellen Mond says to me is the Vikings might not be paying premier-QB money much longer to Kirk Cousins.”

King on the Giants: “Bullish on the G-men and the suddenly futuristic GM, Dave Gettleman. Wideout Kadarius Toney at 20 was an okay pick, but pass-rusher Azeez Ojulari, even with health questions, was a value home run at 50. Picking up extra 2022 picks in the first (Chicago), third (Miami) and fourth (Chicago) was really smart, because 2022 is likely to be a better, and certainly deeper, draft.”

King on the Patriots selecting QB Mac Jones: “Think of Tom Brady, and think of what the Patriots value in a quarterback: intelligence, a quick info-processor on the field, accuracy, performs well under pressure. Mac Jones doesn’t have a long history at Alabama (17 starts), but he checks every one of those boxes.”

RB Najee Harris to King after being selected in the first round by the Steelers: “People say you can get running backs after the first round, but you could say that about any position. Tom Brady wasn’t a first-rounder. I think I can be a pound-the-rock back, a back who blocks, a back who catches, a back who can be a scatback. I really think I came to the right team.”

Read the full FMIA column here and catch the weekly Peter King Podcast here.

The following are additional highlights of NBC Sports’ NFL coverage:

• • PFT Live with NBC Sports’ Mike Florio and Chris Simms streams live on Peacock from 7 a.m. – 9 a.m. ET on weekdays, followed by The Dan Patrick Show at 9 a.m. ET, The Rich Eisen Show at Noon ET, Brother From Another at 3 p.m. ET, PFT PM at 5 p.m. ET. At 6 p.m. ET, Chris Simms Unbuttoned streams Tuesday-Friday.
  • ProFootballTalk.com continues to provide the latest news and updates.
  • The Chris Simms Unbuttoned podcast and NBC Sports EDGE’s A Good Football Show continue the NFL discussion.

 

A new “Football Morning in America” posts every Monday morning exclusively on NBCSports.com through the NFL season. It was announced in May 2019 that King signed an exclusive agreement with NBC Sports Group that included writing a weekly Monday morning NFL column for NBCSports.com; making regular appearances on PFT Live with Mike Florio; and continuing to contribute to Football Night in America, the most-watched studio show in sports.

—NBC SPORTS—

“I love Zach Wilson, the talent that he brings. It’s (Aaron) Rodgers, it’s (Patrick) Mahomes-ish. It’s the most talented thrower in the draft.” – Simms on projecting QB Zach Wilson at No. 2 to New York Jets

 “Hearing it’s a two-horse race with Trey Lance…I’ll be fascinated – we all will – if Jones is the pick. And I can see it happening.” – King on projecting Alabama QB Mac Jones at No. 3 to 49ers in his mock

NBC Sports’ 2021 NFL Draft Coverage Continues This Week on Across NBC Sports Platforms

STAMFORD, Conn. – April 27, 2021 – With the NFL Draft two days away, beginning this Thursday, April 29, NBC Sports’ Chris Simms and Peter King have unveiled their first-round mock drafts, and offer their takes on team needs and top prospects across NBC Sports platforms.

Click here to listen to Simms’ full breakdown on the Simms Unbuttoned podcast and click here for King’s “Football Morning in America” mock draft column and the Peter King Podcast.

NBC Sports’ 2021 NFL Draft coverage continues this week and is hosted on NBCSports.com, NBC Sports’ YouTube channel, and social media platforms. NBC Sports EDGE continues to gear up for the 2021 NFL Draft with extensive prospect notes, sleepers, rankings and Draft previews.

Peacock’s free, exclusive NBC Sports channel has weekday sports talk programming from 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. ET, which includes extensive NFL coverage from PFT Live featuring Mike Florio and  Simms live at 7 a.m. ET, followed by The Dan Patrick Show at 9 a.m. ET, The Rich Eisen Show at Noon ET, Peacock Original Brother From Another, with Michael Holley and Michael Smith, at 3 p.m. ET, and PFT PM at 5 p.m.

Following are Simms’ and King’s first round mock drafts:

SIMMS’ 2021 FIRST-ROUND MOCK DRAFT

1) Jacksonville: Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence	17) Las Vegas: Notre Dame LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah
2) NY Jets: BYU QB Zach Wilson	18) Miami: Michigan edge Kwity Paye
3) San Francisco: Alabama QB Mac Jones	19) *Carolina: Virginia Tech CB Caleb Farley
4) Atlanta: Florida TE Kyle Pitts	20) Chicago: Northwestern T Rashawn Slater
5) Cincinnati: LSU WR Ja’Marr Chase	21) Indianapolis: Miami edge Jaelan Phillips
6) Miami: Alabama WR DeVonta Smith	22) Tennessee: Oklahoma State T Teven Jenkins
7) Detroit: Oregon T Penei Sewell	23) NY Jets: Washington edge Joe Tryon
8) *WFT: North Dakota State QB Trey Lance	24) Pittsburgh: Alabama C-G Landon Dickerson
9) Denver: Penn State LB Micah Parsons	25) Jacksonville: Washington DT Levi Onwuzurike
10) Dallas: Alabama CB Patrick Surtain II	26) Cleveland: Tulsa LB Zaven Collins
11) **New England: Alabama WR Jaylen Waddle	27) Baltimore: Georgia edge Azeez Ojulari
12) Philadelphia: South Carolina CB Jaycee Horn	28) New Orleans: Georgia CB Tyson Campbell
13) LA Chargers: Virginia Tech T Christian Darrisaw	29) Green Bay: Florida WR Kadarius Toney
14) Minnesota: USC G-T Alijah Vera-Tucker	30) Buffalo: Miami edge Gregory Rosseau
15) **NY Giants: Penn State edge Jayson Oweh	31) Baltimore: Alabama T Alex Leatherwood
16) Arizona: Alabama DT Christian Barmore	32) Tampa Bay: Ohio State QB Justin Fields
* Trade between Carolina and Washington
** Trade between New England and NY Giants

 

KING’S 2021 FIRST-ROUND MOCK DRAFT

1) Jacksonville: Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence	17) Las Vegas: Virginia Tech CB Caleb Farley
2) NY Jets: BYU QB Zach Wilson	18) Miami: Miami edge Jaelan Phillips
3) San Francisco: Alabama QB Mac Jones	19) WFT: Virginia Tech T Christian Darrisaw
4) Atlanta: Florida TE Kyle Pitts	20) Chicago: Minnesota WR Rashod Bateman
5) Cincinnati: LSU WR Ja’Marr Chase	21) *Cleveland: Notre Dame LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah
6) Miami: Alabama WR Jaylen Waddle	22) **Baltimore: Michigan edge Kwity Paye
7) Detroit: Oregon T Penei Sewell	23) NY Jets: Miami edge Gregory Rousseau
8) Carolina: Ohio State QB Justin Fields	24) Pittsburgh: Alabama RB Najee Harris
9) Denver: North Dakota State QB Trey Lance	25) Jacksonville: Penn State edge Jayson Oweh
10) Dallas: Alabama CB Patrick Surtain II	26) *Indianapolis: Texas T Samuel Cosmi
11) NY Giants: Penn State LB Micah Parsons	27) **Tennessee: Mississippi WR Elijah Moore
12) Philadelphia: South Carolina CB Jaycee Horn	28) New Orleans: Georgia CB Tyson Campbell
13) LA Chargers: Northwestern T Rashawn Slater	29) Green Bay: Kentucky LB Jamin Davis
14) Minnesota: USC G-T Alijah Vera-Tucker	30) Buffalo: Clemson RB Travis Etienne
15) New England: Alabama WR DeVonta Smith	31) Baltimore: Alabama C-G Landon Dickerson
16) Arizona: Northwestern CB Greg Newsome II	32) Tampa Bay: Alabama DT Christian Barmore
* Trade between Cleveland and Indianapolis
** Trade between Baltimore and Tennessee

 

Following are highlights of Simms’ and King’s mock draft analysis:

Quarterbacks

Simms on Trevor Lawrence to the Jaguars at No. 1: “He’s worthy of the No. 1 pick. He’s got big-time star potential…There’s just too many good throws, ability to make every throw, the size, the athleticism…He seems unflappable. I love this pick for Jacksonville.”

Simms on Zach Wilson to the Jets at No. 2: “I love Zach Wilson, the talent that he brings. It’s (Aaron) Rodgers, it’s (Patrick) Mahomes-ish. It’s the most talented thrower in the draft, it’s the most explosive arm in the draft…He can make throws that nobody else in this draft can make….To me, just the perfect fit for what the Jets want to do on the offensive side of the ball.”

King on Mac Jones to the 49ers at No. 3: “Hearing it’s a two-horse race with Trey Lance…(Kyle) Shanahan and (John) Lynch won’t care what order the draftniks have the quarterbacks, or any position. Shanahan believes Jones is the accurate coach-on-the-field type he craves…I’ll be fascinated – we all will – if Jones is the pick. And I can see it happening.”

Simms on moving Trey Lance ahead of Justin Fields in his final QB rankings: “As I went through the process more and more, Fields just scares me. I’m rooting for the person, I hope he proves me wrong, but there are just issues about him throwing the football that I don’t know if they can be fixed and they make me worry.”

Simms on Fields to the Buccaneers at No. 32: “The Bucs have everything. There’s no need on their football team…I could see this happening, and if he’s there they’re going to take him because they’re going to go, ‘Great, this is perfect for you. Learn from Tom Brady. Get some of the polish.’ Brady will be able to teach him some of the mechanical stuff and then Brady wants to retire, great we have our guy.”

King on Fields to the Panthers at No. 8: “I’m not sure at all they’d use the pick here on Fields, because they’re truly optimistic about Sam Darnold. But owner David Tepper has made no secret that finding a franchise quarterback has to be job one, two, three and four for the team. Fields falling to them makes sense – even if it would crush the new incumbent QB.”

King on Lance to the Broncos at No. 9: “So many people are in love with Lance the prospect and it’s easy to see why…The one thing to keep in mind with Denver: (George) Paton’s not going to go nuts for a quarterback…However, Paton also understands he may not be in a power position to get the next quarterback like the one he would have if this scenario plays out.”

Simms on having WFT trade up to No. 8 to select Lance: “I just feel like Washington’s a team that has a lot of things on their roster that are really good…I don’t know for sure if it’s Washington, but I’m going to say that they’re one of the teams here to make a play.”

Offense

King on Kyle Pitts to the Falcons at No. 4: “Golden spot of the draft. I like how thorough new GM Terry Fontenot has been about the pick and about his entire roster through this process…What I think Atlanta would love, even at the expense of losing out on all of those possibilities, is a trade-down. It’s certainly possible, but I’m leaning against the reality of it…I think it’s more likely Fontenot sits and picks a great player.”

King on Ja’Marr Chase to the Bengals at No. 5: “For a long time, I’ve thought – even railed about it in this space – that the Bengals should just sit here and pick the best tackle in the draft, Penei Sewell. And if they do, good for them. But this exercise is trying to project what I think they will do, not should do…So they used a high two on (Tee) Higgins last year. It’s not going to prevent them from putting another great receiver prospect in stripes again.”

Simms on DeVonta Smith to the Dolphins at No. 6: “It’s like 1a and 1b with (Ja’Marr) Chase and DeVonta Smith. These are stars, studs, and DeVonta Smith really is the best route runner in the draft…and can flat our fly. When you take all that stuff into account, it’s hard to pass him up. He’s a game-breaker.”

King on Smith to the Patriots at No. 15: “So many options for New England on draft weekend, and you know most of them. You know the option I just don’t see? Bill Belichick trading a gold mine to move up eight or 11 spots to get the quarterback of the future…I can’t see Belichick loving Lance or Fields enough to do that.”

King on Najee Harris to the Steelers at No. 24: “(Harris) doesn’t shy from contact, runs between the tackles fluidly, and is the kind of bellcow back the Steelers have been seeking since Le’Veon Bell left. I’m not a big fan of running backs in the first round, and if the Steelers go tackle here, that’s fine. But spending big on a big need would be smart, which is why I like Harris here.”

Simms on Kadarius Toney to the Packers at No. 29: “‘What is, I would like some talent?’ That’s what (Aaron Rodgers) is saying…Too explosive to pass up. He’s a freak of nature, Kadarius Toney. They need somebody that can make big plays for them other than Rodgers making perfect passes and doing that.”

Defense

Simms on Micah Parsons to the Broncos at No. 9: “The Broncos are a team that’s not far off…I’m going with what I said last week that they’re going to stay with Drew Lock, they’re going to look to get a Teddy Bridgewater or a Jimmy Garoppolo off a trade…(Linebacker) to me is the biggest need on their football team. When I look at their team, there is not one spot where they have a bigger need.”

King on Patrick Surtain II to the Cowboys at No. 10: “I am not signing on to the Jerry Jones’-moving-up-for-Kyle-Pitts storyline…I doubt Jones this year will trade next year’s one, or a passel of picks, to move up to number four to be able to take the talented Florida tight end.”

Simms on Jaycee Horn to the Eagles at No. 12: “I’m going to go with the chalk pick because where there’s smoke, there’s fire…They like big corners, that’s what they want to do. They want a guy that can jam at the line of scrimmage and then get back.”

Simms on Zaven Collins to the Browns at No. 26: “I look at the Browns and I had a tough time with them here…This might be out of the mold of what they really want, but middle linebacker is so important to this scheme…They’ve got to have that athletic guy…(Collins) the athlete is too special. That’s where I keep coming back to it.”

–NBC SPORTS–

“There’s a lot of mystery, and will be till Thursday. The draft will open QB-QB-QB, and then there’s good mysterious fodder to follow.” – King on this year’s first-round

“Hearing it’s a two-horse race with Trey Lance…I’ll be fascinated – we all will – if Jones is the pick. And I can see it happening.” – King on projecting Alabama QB Mac Jones at No. 3 to 49ers in his mock

 “Surprises? Keep an eye on Atlanta. I can’t predict any bombshells. But a few things would not surprise me. Most notably, the Falcons putting the framework of a trade together for star wideout Julio Jones.” – King

STAMFORD, Conn. – April 26, 2021 – With the 2021 NFL Draft beginning this Thursday, Peter King unveils his first-round mock draft in this week’s edition of Football Morning in America, available now exclusively on NBCSports.com. King also discusses potential moves that would not surprise him – including possible trades of Julio Jones and Teddy Bridgewater – as well as the trade of Ravens tackle Orlando Brown to the Chiefs.

Peacock’s free, exclusive NBC Sports channel has weekday sports talk programming from 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. ET, which includes extensive NFL coverage from PFT Live featuring Mike Florio and Chris Simms live at 7 a.m. ET, followed by The Dan Patrick Show at 9 a.m. ET, The Rich Eisen Show at Noon ET, Peacock Original Brother From Another, with Michael Holley and Michael Smith, at 3 p.m. ET, and PFT PM at 5 p.m. ET. Chris Simms Unbuttoned streams at 6 p.m. ET Tuesday-Friday. ProFootballTalk.com continues to provide the latest offseason news, NBC Sports EDGE’s A Good Football Show discusses offseason storylines, and the Chris Simms Unbuttoned podcast continues preview the 2021 NFL Draft.

King will break down his entire first round mock draft on the Peter King Podcast alongside NBC Sports’ Paul Burmeister later today.

The following are highlights from this week’s edition of Football Morning in America:

2021 NFL DRAFT NOTES

King: “There’s a lot of mystery, and will be till Thursday. The draft will open QB-QB-QB, and then there’s good mysterious fodder to follow.”

King on potential trades: “Trades near the top of the draft could be limited this year. ‘The 49ers ruined the market by trading two ones to move nine spots,’ one GM said…I won’t be surprised if there are no trades in the top 10.”

King on trades: “A record number of teams want to go down. ‘I’d say (picks) 35 to 75 is the hotbed of this draft,’ one GM trying to move down from the twenties told me Sunday…I just couldn’t find evidence that QB-needy teams like New England, Washington and Chicago would move up from mid-round and kill their ’22 (and maybe ’23) drafts to move up for a passer.”

King on the Falcons: “Surprises? Keep an eye on Atlanta. I can’t predict any bombshells. But a few things would not surprise me. Most notably, the Falcons putting the framework of a trade together for star wideout Julio Jones.”

King: “Now, the Falcons don’t really want to trade Julio Jones. He’s a franchise legend. But he’s 32, entering his 11th season, coming off a banged-up year with seven games missed due to injury, and the Falcons are in cap jail…I am not reporting the Falcons will trade Jones, or will probably trade Jones. I am saying it would not surprise me if it happened.”

King on Jimmy Garoppolo: “It won’t surprise me if the Niners make Jimmy Garoppolo more available than he’s been. In other words, instead of trying to get a first-round pick for him, maybe considering taking a two for him. I wonder if the Patriots would deal the 46th pick in the draft, or their second-rounder in 2022, for their old friend.”

King on the Broncos: “It won’t surprise me, if the Broncos do not draft a quarterback, to see Denver make a mid-round deal for Teddy Bridgewater with Carolina.”

KING’S 2021 FIRST-ROUND MOCK DRAFT

1) Jacksonville: Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence	17) Las Vegas: Virginia Tech CB Caleb Farley
2) NY Jets: BYU QB Zach Wilson	18) Miami: Miami edge Jaelan Phillips
3) San Francisco: Alabama QB Mac Jones	19) WFT: Virginia Tech T Christian Darrisaw
4) Atlanta: Florida TE Kyle Pitts	20) Chicago: Minnesota WR Rashod Bateman
5) Cincinnati: LSU WR Ja’Marr Chase	21) *Cleveland: Notre Dame LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah
6) Miami: Alabama WR Jaylen Waddle	22) **Baltimore: Michigan edge Kwity Paye
7) Detroit: Oregon T Penei Sewell	23) NY Jets: Miami edge Gregory Rousseau
8) Carolina: Ohio State QB Justin Fields	24) Pittsburgh: Alabama RB Najee Harris
9) Denver: North Dakota State QB Trey Lance	25) Jacksonville: Penn State edge Jayson Oweh
10) Dallas: Alabama CB Patrick Surtain II	26) *Indianapolis: Texas T Samuel Cosmi
11) NY Giants: Penn State LB Micah Parsons	27) **Tennessee: Mississippi WR Elijah Moore
12) Philadelphia: South Carolina CB Jaycee Horn	28) New Orleans: Georgia CB Tyson Campbell
13) LA Chargers: Northwestern T Rashawn Slater	29) Green Bay: Kentucky LB Jamin Davis
14) Minnesota: USC G-T Alijah Vera-Tucker	30) Buffalo: Clemson RB Travis Etienne
15) New England: Alabama WR DeVonta Smith	31) Baltimore: Alabama C-G Landon Dickerson
16) Arizona: Northwestern CB Greg Newsome II	32) Tampa Bay: Alabama DT Christian Barmore
* Trade between Cleveland and Indianapolis
** Trade between Baltimore and Tennessee

 

King on Mac Jones to the 49ers at No. 3: “Hearing it’s a two-horse race with Trey Lance…(Kyle) Shanahan and (John) Lynch won’t care what order the draftniks have the quarterbacks, or any position. Shanahan believes Jones is the accurate coach-on-the-field type he craves…I’ll be fascinated – we all will – if Jones is the pick. And I can see it happening.”

King on Kyle Pitts to the Falcons at No. 4: “Golden spot of the draft. I like how thorough new GM Terry Fontenot has been about the pick and about his entire roster through this process…What I think Atlanta would love, even at the expense of losing out on all of those possibilities, is a trade-down. It’s certainly possible, but I’m leaning against the reality of it…I think it’s more likely Fontenot sits and picks a great player.”

King on Ja’Marr Chase to the Bengals at No. 5: “For a long time, I’ve thought – even railed about it in this space – that the Bengals should just sit here and pick the best tackle in the draft, Penei Sewell. And if they do, good for them. But this exercise is trying to project what I think they will do, not should do…So they used a high two on (Tee) Higgins last year. It’s not going to prevent them from putting another great receiver prospect in stripes again.”

King on Justin Fields to the Panthers at No. 8: “I’m not sure at all they’d use the pick here on Fields, because they’re truly optimistic about Sam Darnold. But owner David Tepper has made no secret that finding a franchise quarterback has to be job one, two, three and four for the team. Fields falling to them makes sense – even if it would crush the new incumbent QB.”

King on Trey Lance to the Broncos at No. 9: “So many people are in love with Lance the prospect and it’s easy to see why…The one thing to keep in mind with Denver: (George) Paton’s not going to go nuts for a quarterback…However, Paton also understands he may not be in a power position to get the next quarterback like the one he would have if this scenario plays out.”

King on Patrick Surtain II to the Cowboys at No. 10: “I am not signing on to the Jerry Jones’-moving-up-for-Kyle-Pitts storyline…I doubt Jones this year will trade next year’s one, or a passel of picks, to move up to number four to be able to take the talented Florida tight end.”

King on DeVonta Smith to the Patriots at No. 15: “So many options for New England on draft weekend, and you know most of them. You know the option I just don’t see? Bill Belichick trading a gold mine to move up eight or 11 spots to get the quarterback of the future…I can’t see Belichick loving Lance or Fields enough to do that.”

King on Najee Harris to the Steelers at No. 24: “(Harris) doesn’t shy from contact, runs between the tackles fluidly, and is the kind of bellcow back the Steelers have been seeking since Le’Veon Bell left. I’m not a big fan of running backs in the first round, and if the Steelers go tackle here, that’s fine. But spending big on a big need would be smart, which is why I like Harris here.”

NEWS & NOTES

King on the Ravens trading T Orlando Brown to the Chiefs: “Once Baltimore knew KC was sincerely interested, it was a matter of determining the value for the player. Not easy…Baltimore GM Eric DeCosta and Kansas City GM Brett Veach sought a middle ground. The Ravens thought a pick low in the second round was poor value. Kansas City thought a first-round pick was too rich. So they borderline split the difference.”

King on the Ravens receiving the 31^st pick in this year’s draft from Kansas City: “For the Ravens, they figure that the 31st pick they’ve acquired in this draft is not the value of the 31st pick on their board. When they acquired that pick, they think of it more like the 20th or 22nd pick. Why? Because they figure that when their board is stacked with finality this week, there will be a player ranked in the 20 to 22 range left on their board. That comes from experience. Every team doesn’t see the board the way the Ravens see it.”

King on the expanded duties of the Replay Assistant: “I think the rule passed last week further empowering the Replay Assistant will probably make the game better, but I have some concerns…The advice from upstairs won’t be absolute…The most egregious call in recent times, the pass-interference that wasn’t called in the Saints-Rams title game three years ago, wouldn’t be able to be fixed – as the rule reads now – by an upstairs Replay Assistant. So there are still gaps in the protocol.”

King on the new uniform number system: “I don’t think that many players will change jersey numbers now; most of the oddball numbers will probably come from this rookie class and future ones. Current vets will have to pay retail price to cover the stock of their current jerseys, and for fairly famous players, the cost could be more than $1 million.”

Read the full FMIA column here and catch the weekly Peter King Podcast here.

The following are additional highlights of NBC Sports’ NFL coverage:

• • PFT Live with NBC Sports’ Mike Florio and Chris Simms streams live on Peacock from 7 a.m. – 9 a.m. ET on weekdays, followed by The Dan Patrick Show at 9 a.m. ET, The Rich Eisen Show at Noon ET, Brother From Another at 3 p.m. ET, PFT PM at 5 p.m. ET. At 6 p.m. ET, Chris Simms Unbuttoned streams Tuesday-Friday.
  • ProFootballTalk.com continues to provide the latest news and updates.
  • The Chris Simms Unbuttoned podcast and NBC Sports EDGE’s A Good Football Show continue the NFL discussion.

 

A new “Football Morning in America” posts every Monday morning exclusively on NBCSports.com through the NFL season. It was announced in May 2019 that King signed an exclusive agreement with NBC Sports Group that included writing a weekly Monday morning NFL column for NBCSports.com; making regular appearances on PFT Live with Mike Florio; and continuing to contribute to Football Night in America, the most-watched studio show in sports.

—NBC SPORTS—

 “This one ranks first, in terms of how unusual it is. The opt-outs kind of remind me when we used to draft guys, then lose them for a year or two in the military.” – Gil Brandt to King on this year’s draft

“If I could pick one player in this draft who’s got the best chance to go to the Hall of Fame, it’s Penei Sewell. He’s my left tackle from day one.” – An NFL coach to King

“I wouldn’t eliminate that chance, because (Bill) Belichick is proving this year that there’s no book on roster-building for him.” – King on the Patriots potentially moving up to draft a QB

STAMFORD, Conn. – April 19, 2021 – Peter King shares insights and rumors from around the league with 10 days remaining until the 2021 NFL Draft in this week’s edition of Football Morning in America, available now exclusively on NBCSports.com. King also speaks with Hall of Fame football executive Gil Brandt, discusses NFL voluntary workouts and league rules proposals, and speaks with Ohio congressman and former Colts wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez about college athlete name, image and likeness legislation.

Across NBC Sports, Peacock’s weekday block of NFL programming from 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. ET, which provides extensive NFL coverage, includes PFT Live featuring Mike Florio and Chris Simms live at 7 a.m. ET, followed by The Dan Patrick Show at 9 a.m. ET, The Rich Eisen Show at Noon ET, Brother From Another, with Michael Holley and Michael Smith, at 3 p.m. ET, and PFT PM at 5 p.m. ET. Chris Simms Unbuttoned streams at 6 p.m. ET Tuesday-Friday. ProFootballTalk.com continues to provide the latest offseason news, NBC Sports EDGE’s A Good Football Show discusses offseason storylines. and the Chris Simms Unbuttoned podcast continues to rank 2021 NFL Draft prospects by position group.

The following are highlights from this week’s edition of Football Morning in America:

NFL DRAFT INFO

King: “Never has there been a draft when the top three offensive linemen, all likely to be picked in the top 20, come in after a year off from football. Never has there been a draft when one of the top corners, Caleb Farley, will be drafted having not played a football game in the previous 512 days. And never has there been a draft when a quarterback likely to be drafted in the top 10, Trey Lance, has played one football game in 15 months.”

Gil Brandt to King on this year’s draft: “This one ranks first, in terms of how unusual it is. The opt-outs kind of remind me when we used to draft guys, then lose them for a year or two in the military. Very seldom did they come back the players they were. The same principle is involved here…This year, a pick you’d get in the fourth round might be the quality of a sixth-round pick next year.”

One coach to King on Brandt’s concerns: “I agree wholeheartedly. And I agree about how worried he is about the opt-outs. This year’s unprecedented. I’m worried about all the things we don’t know. We don’t really know the prospects, personally or medically, the way we should.”

King on the 49ers’ pick at No. 3: “The leader in the clubhouse is still Alabama’s Mac Jones, but that’s all Jones is. Credit to (John) Lynch and (Kyle) Shanahan for keeping a tight lid on their preference. I keep coming back to Jones’ accuracy and his touch downfield, with the best accuracy of the top five quarterbacks on passes thrown 20 yards or more downfield.”

King on the Falcons at No. 4: “Pivot point of the draft…Owner Arthur Blank is fascinated by the quarterbacks atop the draft, thinking the franchise might not be in such an advantageous position to take one for years. But Blank will not force a decision…(Arthur) Smith and (GM Terry) Fontenot are also value shoppers too. The value here is to take the best non-quarterback in the draft, tight end Kyle Pitts.”

King on the Bengals at No. 5: “How the Bengals don’t take Oregon tackle Penei Sewell is beyond me, especially because this draft is filthy-rich in receivers…I’d vote for the Joe Burrow Preservation Plan, and start this draft tackle at 5, guard at 38. Burrow’s good enough, if he has time, to win with Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd and a lesser third option (Rondale Moore?).”

One coach to King on Sewell: “If I could pick one player in this draft who’s got the best chance to go to the Hall of Fame, it’s Penei Sewell. He’s my left tackle from day one.”

King on the Dolphins at No. 6: “(GM Chris) Grier’s an aggressive man, but I doubt he’d use part of his stash of picks (overall picks 6, 18, 36, 50 this year) to move up to four to get the weapon of Miami’s dreams…My gut is they stay at six and get the BAW – best available weapon.”

King on the Cowboys at No. 10: “Another trade-up spot for a QB-seeking team if one’s still available. Said one NFC coach: ‘I can’t see how the Cowboys pass up [Northwestern tackle] Rashawn Slater if he’s there. That offensive line is declining fast.’”

King on the Patriots potentially moving up to draft a QB: “I wouldn’t eliminate that chance, because (Bill) Belichick is proving this year that there’s no book on roster-building for him, particularly in the post-Brady era. Now, I doubt the Pats will trade next year’s first-round pick, the likely cost to move up into QB-acquisition position, but nothing’s certain with the Patriots now.”

FIVE PLAYERS GIL BRANDT LOVES

Jaelan Phillips, pass-rusher, Miami: “He’s the guy everybody will be talking about two years from now. A bit of medical risk due to concussions, but to me he has the biggest upside in the draft. You hit on him, you’ve hit a home run with the bases loaded.”

Elijah Moore, wide receiver, Mississippi: “Really fast. A 4.35 guy who could be a lot like A.J. Brown out of Ole Miss a couple of years ago. Not the same body type, but I think Moore will be better in the NFL than he was in college.”

Kyle Pitts, tight end, Florida: “Best I’ve seen since Kellen Winslow out of Missouri. Such a fluid guy. The size and speed will be a huge matchup problem in the NFL.”

Penei Sewell, tackle, Oregon: “Reminds me of Jonathan Ogden.”

Michael Carter, running back, North Carolina: “Love this guy. He shared the job at UNC, but 6.6 yards per carry in his career. I think he’ll lead all rookie running backs in yards in the league next year.”

ANTHONY GONZALEZ

King: “Anthony Gonzalez played receiver for Ohio State from 2004-06, and he got to understand the inequity of athletes who help make millions for big schools and having no ability to monetize that. Now a second-term Republican Congressman from Ohio’s 16th district, Gonzalez is going to try to do something about it.”

Gonzalez to King: “There are so many great, positive things about college athletics, not just football, but all the sports. Having said that, there’s an obvious inequity in my view between what the college athlete is allowed to do with their own name, image and likeness, and what everybody else in society is able to do.”

King on NIL laws: “There’s a time crunch here: California has enacted a name, image and likeness law, and other states are working to do the same; theoretically, universities in states with NIL laws could have a major recruiting edge over states without them. Gonzalez seeks to set one uniform national standard.”

Gonzalez on his legislation: “(It) will expand the name, image and likeness right to all college athletes and have one universal standard across the country and then build some guard rails, because there are some things you want to make sure don’t happen. Like, people buying recruits for example.”

Gonzalez: “Some folks who are great college players who could make a good bit of money on name, image and likeness may not go to the pros. Their game may not translate to the NFL or to the NBA. This is an opportunity for them to make a little bit of money…I do believe it’ll apply to all college athletes. So, if people think almost exclusively about football and basketball, I do think if you look at the social media followings of some of our female athletes, I think you’re going see them able to take advantage of it for sure.”

NEWS & NOTES

King on voluntary workouts: “The workouts have morphed from ‘voluntary’ to ‘you must not like football much if you skip them’ over the years, so I am all for players who say they’re not showing up. The players, though, must understand possible consequences. If some in your position group show up and you don’t, and if they’re ahead of you come training camp, that’s the cost of not going.”

King on players missing voluntary workouts: “This will be bad for first-year coaches, and for some second-year coaches (Mike McCarthy for one) making staff changes, and for teams with a personnel makeover (New England for one). But teams will figure it out…I feel pretty sure coaches are smart enough to make all systems work if players report to camp 47 days before the first game of the season.”

King on COVID regulations for next season: “The league, I hear, is leaning toward relaxing COVID safety restrictions in-house if Tier 1 and 2 employees on a given team (those who come into contact with players most days) reach 85 percent vaccination rate and players on that given team also reach 85 percent vax rate.”

King on the rule proposal for expanded Replay Assistant duties, which will be voted on on Wednesday: “I thought the expansion of duties to the upstairs Replay Assistant was sure to pass before last Wednesday’s briefing, but now I’m not so sure…One coach told me he didn’t think it would pass, while one league official said it’ll be close.”

King on the NFL’s recently-announced sports betting partnerships: “I think of all the events of this offseason, we may look back at this announcement – the NFL linking up with Caesars, DraftKings and FanDuel, for what could be worth up to $1 billion over five years – as the biggest event of them all.”

King on Jadeveon Clowney: “The Browns’ signing of Jadeveon Clowney was interesting for a couple reasons. One, as he pointed out, he’ll have the benefit of playing opposite an edge-rushing force, Myles Garrett…Problem is, he has been a dominant force at times, just not consistently. Clowney has three sacks in 21 games since leaving Houston.”

Read the full FMIA column here and catch the weekly Peter King Podcast here.

The following are additional highlights of NBC Sports’ NFL coverage:

• • PFT Live with NBC Sports’ Mike Florio and Chris Simms streams live on Peacock from 7 a.m. – 9 a.m. ET on weekdays, followed by The Dan Patrick Show at 9 a.m. ET, The Rich Eisen Show at Noon ET, Brother From Another at 3 p.m. ET, PFT PM at 5 p.m. ET. At 6 p.m. ET, Chris Simms Unbuttoned streams Tuesday-Friday.
  • ProFootballTalk.com continues to provide the latest news and updates.
  • The Chris Simms Unbuttoned podcast and NBC Sports EDGE’s A Good Football Show continue the NFL discussion.

 

A new “Football Morning in America” posts every Monday morning exclusively on NBCSports.com through the NFL season. It was announced in May 2019 that King signed an exclusive agreement with NBC Sports Group that included writing a weekly Monday morning NFL column for NBCSports.com; making regular appearances on PFT Live with Mike Florio; and continuing to contribute to Football Night in America, the most-watched studio show in sports.

—NBC SPORTS—