The Top Players to Keep an Eye On in the 2021 NFL Season

The NFL Draft has been and gone, the summer is nearly out of the way and preseason for many NFL franchises has now begun. Next stop is the official NFL 2021 season getting underway, as teams compete for a place in the playoffs in order to challenge for the Vince Lombardi trophy in the Super Bowl.

Many teams will have changed this year, with players transferring between teams and new blood drafted in from college sides. This will have a huge impact on NFL picks for upcoming games, but who will be the players that could have the biggest influences? Which players are going to be the names on everyone’s lips?

Let’s take a quick look at some of the players we’ll be keeping our eyes on this season.

Tom Brady – Quarterback – Tampa Bay Buccaneers

He is arguably the best quarterback of all time, if not the greatest player to ever grace the sport of American Football. Yes, Tom Brady is one player you need to watch and I don’t think anyone would be surprised to see him make our list.

Brady has a record seven Super Bowl victories to his name, more than any franchise combined. He has the ability to pick out passes that other mere mortals would never even see. And on top of that he’s still schooling other players despite being in his mid 40s.

At some point time will catch up with him, and his game time will slowly reduce. But he’s got a more experienced side with him this year, and shows no signs of stopping soon. So he will be hotly tipped to help the Buccaneers to another Super Bowl, and possibly add an eighth ring to his collection.

Trevor Lawrence – Quarterback – Jacksonville Jaguars

We swear we’re not only looking at quarterbacks in this list, but as the number one pick in the NFL Draft, we’d be silly not to keep an eye on Lawrence this season. Whilst the Jaguars got their man, the rest of the team does need a little tweaking, so we’re not expecting great things from them this season, but we are interested to see how Lawrence will develop.

He has an impressive record to his name so far, having managed to lead his old college team the Clemson Tigers to a national championship as a freshman back in 2018, and his stats speak for themselves. He’s so far racked up 10,098 passing yards and scored 90 touchdowns, impressive for any player, let alone one at his age.

Time will tell if he could be the next Tom Brady, but he certainly has the potential to go far in the game.

Aaron Donald – Defensive Tackle – Los Angeles Rams

Considered by many to be THE best defensive player in the NFL, Aaron Donald is one exciting player to watch. He’s a quarterback’s worst nightmare, with 93 hits on players in that position, alongside 59 tackles for loss and 46.5 sacks across his games too. And on top of that he sets his teammates for gains and touchdowns all the time.

It’s not often that defensive players get the credit they deserve because they don’t take all the glory for setting up and scoring touchdowns constantly. But Donald single-handedly has the Rams as one of the best defensive teams in the sport, purely based off his performances. And so, in recognition of his service to the game and the hours of entertainment he’s provided, he makes it on our list.

Patrick Mahomes – Quarterback – Kansas City Chiefs

We know another quarterback, but they do dictate the play more than any other players on the field. Every play pretty much starts through them. And there is no quarterback right now that is more highly-rated, or highly paid, than Patrick Mahomes.

He may have been bested by the legend that is Tom Brady in the Super Bowl earlier this year, but he had his very own Super Bowl win the year before, and will be looking to add another ring to his collection this season.

He’s a player who makes a no-look throw seem like the simplest thing to do in the world, sending the ball one way to his teammate, whilst diverting the run of the opposition by looking in the opposite direction. The Chiefs are the favorites to go all the way again this year, but they were last year too, and although they made it to the biggest game in the sport, they didn’t come away with the win. But Mahomes will be wanting to change that this time around and gain a little revenge.