Trades are traditionally a part of the first round of the NFL Draft, but this latest mock draft predicts an especially wild start to the 2021 NFL Draft.

Thursday morning, ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. put out his second edition of a mock draft (full mock draft behind an ESPN+ paywall). In that mock draft, Kiper is predicting three separate trades within the first 10 picks of the draft.

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As a part of those trades, Kiper is predicting the Atlanta Falcons to move up to No. 2 overall to draft BYU QB Zach Wilson. He doesn’t have another quarterback coming off of the board until No. 7.

Involved with that pick is Ohio State QB Justin Fields with Kiper projecting San Francisco trading up to grab the Buckeyes star. That would put Fields with head coach Kyle Shanahan and an intriguing offense for the 49ers.

The other trade Kiper mocked early in the draft is New England trading with the Denver Broncos for the No. 9 pick. He projected the Patriots to select North Dakota State QB Trey Lance with that pick.

Along with Fields being selected at No. 7 overall, Kiper included four additional B1G stars in his latest mock:

  • No. 12 Detroit Lions – Micah Parsons, LB, Penn State
  • No. 13 LA Chargers – Rashawn Slater, OL, Northwestern
  • No. 23 New York Jets – Kwity Paye, EDGE, Michigan
  • No. 28 New Orleans Saints – Jayson Oweh, EDGE, Penn State