Lawrence still projected No. 1, Etienne has to prove himself

With the deadline for underclassmen to declare for the 2021 NFL Draft complete, its officially mock draft season.

Over the next three months, we will see tons of mock drafts as every player and pick is analyzed, reanalyzed, scrutinized and so on.

CBS Sports.com released its first official mock draft on Tuesday and to no surprise, former Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence is listed No. 1.

“Urban Meyer is now the Jags’ new head coach and it’s only a matter of time before Trevor Lawrence joins him in Jacksonville. And before you ask, no, there’s no way — none — that Meyer thinks about Ohio State QB Justin Fields here,” writes CBS’s Ryan Wilson.

Sporting News also has Lawrence going first in its mock draft, as does NBC Sports.

Projected by many to be the first overall pick in the year’s NFL Draft, Lawrence led Clemson to a sixth straight ACC Championship in 2020, while throwing for 3,153 yards and 24 touchdowns with just five interceptions. He completed 69.2 percent of his 334 passes. He averaged a Clemson record 315.3 yards per game through the air.

He also rushed for 203 yards and scored eight touchdowns. Lawrence led the ACC in passing yards per game and completion percentage this past season.

CBS also lists former Clemson running back Travis Etienne No. 29 in its mock draft, potentially going to Tampa Bay. Of course, that pick could change based on what happens this weekend in the NFC Championship Game. Etienne is the second running back off the board, behind Alabama’s Najee Harris who Wilson has going No. 23 in his mock draft.

Despite Etienne being the second running back off the board in Wilson’s mock draft, CBS list the ACC’s all-time leading rusher and scorer as the No. 1 player at the running back position.

Wilson writes that Etienne, “has elite contact balance and is a pass-catching threat coming out of the backfield.”

With his three-yard touchdown run in the first quarter against Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl, Etienne (468) broke Florida State kicker Dustin Hopkins’ ACC record for career points (466 from 2009-12). His 468 points tied Travis Prentice (468 from 1996-99) for the seventh-most career points in FBS history.

The touchdown was the 70th rushing touchdown of his career, joining Keenan Reynolds (88), Montee Ball (77), Travis Prentice (73), Ricky Williams (72) and Kenneth Dixon (72) as the only FBS players ever to rush for 70 career touchdowns in NCAA history.

Etienne concluded his senior season having scored a touchdown of any kind in 46 of his 55 career games, adding to his FBS record for most career games scoring a touchdown.

With two receptions on Clemson’s first drive, Etienne (48) broke the Clemson single season running back receptions record held by Travis Zachery (45 in 2001). Earlier this year he broke C.J. Spiller’s single season mark for yards with 588.

Etienne finished his career with 4,952 rushing yards, the most in the history of the ACC.

Lawrence and Etienne are the only former Tigers projected as first-round selections in the 2021 NFL Draft.