Thread by @mitchgoldich, The NFL draft starts today! @TheMMQB has published a ton of great [...]

The NFL draft starts today! @TheMMQB has published a ton of great stuff over the last few weeks. I'm going to share some now.

First, @Rosenberg_Mike wrote the definitive profile of Trevor Lawrence on the eve of his NFL career. The piece that basically predicted the news cycle it would launch: https://www.si.com/nfl/2021/04/14/trevor-lawrence-magazine-cover-story-daily-cover

Trevor Lawrence Is Out to Prove Absolutely Nothing

The quarterback enters the NFL with the billing of a generational signal-caller, his wife by his side and a keen sense of self.

https://www.si.com/nfl/2021/04/14/trevor-lawrence-magazine-cover-story-daily-cover

Then, @AlbertBreer had a lengthy interview with Shad Khan about Lawrence, Urban Meyer and a big moment in Jaguars history: https://www.si.com/nfl/2021/04/26/mmqb-shad-khan-trevor-lawrence-jaguars-nfl-draft-all-team-needs

MMQB: Shad Khan on a Big Week for the Jaguars

Who will the Jaguars pick No. 1? (Wink, wink.) Inside Urban Meyer's hiring process and a franchise-defining decision on Thursday.

https://www.si.com/nfl/2021/04/26/mmqb-shad-khan-trevor-lawrence-jaguars-nfl-draft-all-team-needs

. @GregBishopSI spent months getting to know Trey Lance, the most extraordinary prospect in the most peculiar draft: https://www.si.com/nfl/2021/04/26/trey-lance-on-his-unique-path-to-nfl-draft-daily-cover

Trey Lance Is Just Different

Meet the rocket-armed, audiobook-listening, spreadsheet-loving, small-school quarterback who is thrilling and confounding NFL scouts.

https://www.si.com/nfl/2021/04/26/trey-lance-on-his-unique-path-to-nfl-draft-daily-cover

(In @GregBishopSI's free time, he tracked down Alex Smith and his family in Hawaii.) https://www.si.com/nfl/2021/04/22/alex-smith-retirement-inside-comeback-tension-with-washington-coaches-daily-cover

Alex Smith Healed Enough to Walk Away

A miraculous comeback, the team he believes didn’t want him, the two that still do, and the decision to end a career unlike any other.

https://www.si.com/nfl/2021/04/22/alex-smith-retirement-inside-comeback-tension-with-washington-coaches-daily-cover

. @ConorOrr profiled three prospects he expects to go higher than most people think

Texas A&M QB Kellen Mond: https://www.si.com/nfl/2021/04/08/nfl-draft-prospect-stock-texas-am-quarterback-kellen-mond

Minnesota WR Rashod Bateman: https://www.si.com/nfl/2021/04/16/nfl-draft-stock-minnesota-wide-receiver-rashod-bateman-opt-out-decisions

Georgia CB Eric Stokes: https://www.si.com/nfl/2021/04/23/eric-stokes-potential-nfl-draft-steal-hiding-plain-sight

Eric Stokes Is a Potential Draft Steal Hiding in Plain Sight

The Georgia cornerback who ran a 4.25 40-yard dash and ably covered the likes of Jerry Jeudy, Justin Jefferson and Devonta Smith during college could be a star.

https://www.si.com/nfl/2021/04/08/nfl-draft-prospect-stock-texas-am-quarterback-kellen-mond

Imagine seeing something with a @JennyVrentas / @GregBishopSI double-byline and not reading. Couldn't be me. What it means to be Pick 199: https://www.si.com/nfl/2021/04/29/shadow-of-tom-brady-stories-of-other-199th-picks-daily-cover

In the Shadow of Tom Brady: What It Means to Be Pick 199

A journeyman lineman, a small-school record-setter, a converted wideout, and a career cut short due to a heart condition. Brady and the 199ers.

https://www.si.com/nfl/2021/04/29/shadow-of-tom-brady-stories-of-other-199th-picks-daily-cover

. @alex_prewitt wrote about the players who opted out of the 2020 college season and the obstacles they are facing in the draft cycle: https://www.si.com/nfl/2021/04/07/daily-cover-nfl-draft-opt-out-covid

The Year of the Opt-Out Prospect

For the players who sat out in 2020 to protect themselves (and others) from COVID-19, the choice not to play another game before the draft was a complicated and fraught one.

https://www.si.com/nfl/2021/04/07/daily-cover-nfl-draft-opt-out-covid

. @AndrewBrandt did the math and says bad timing has cost Trevor Lawrence $150 million. Well that sounds like it sucks. https://www.si.com/nfl/2021/04/21/business-or-football-trevor-lawrence-victim-of-circumstance-career-earnings

Business of Football: Bad Timing Costs Trevor Lawrence a Fortune

Trevor Lawrence is a victim of circumstance on several fronts. While he'll still do well for himself, he's already lost out on a lot of money.

https://www.si.com/nfl/2021/04/21/business-or-football-trevor-lawrence-victim-of-circumstance-career-earnings

We brought back @kalynkahler to continue her always-fun Prospect X series. I don't know who Prospect X is, but I'm confident it's not Kyle Pitts or Ja'Marr Chase. https://www.si.com/nfl/2021/04/28/prospect-x-mystery-of-nfl-draft-deepest-sleeper

Who Is Prospect X?

We set out in search of the NFL draft’s deepest sleeper. For the sake of interested teams, we’ll do our best to conceal his identity.

https://www.si.com/nfl/2021/04/28/prospect-x-mystery-of-nfl-draft-deepest-sleeper

We also did all the mock drafts, team needs and scouting reports, the exploring of rumors and the analysis of trades and pro days and such. Plus lots of non-draft stuff in the meantime.

Shout out to @GGramling_SI, and @adamduerson, and @jmkliegman, and the rest of the editors, and the copy desk and our photographers and the video team and others behind the scenes. The big feature stories, in particular, involve a ton of people.

There are many good football websites out there and we at @theMMQB try very hard every day to be one of them. We appreciate your time, attention and, yes, subscriptions.

You can follow @mitchgoldich.

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