ESPN's Todd McShay has identified the Chicago Bears and Washington Football team as the likeliest teams to take a quarterback in the second round of the 2021 NFL draft.
McShay's latest mock draft has Washington selecting Texas A&M's Kellen Mond with the No. 51 overall pick and the Bears taking Florida's Kyle Trask one pick later.
Washington and Chicago both have long-term concerns at quarterback, with each signing a stopgap solution this offseason. Ryan Fitzpatrick (Washington) and Andy Dalton (Chicago) are not considered viable options for the future in either destination, but both teams seemingly view themselves as playoff teams in 2020 and focused on a steady veteran hand.
While the Bears and Washington select too late in the first round of the draft to take one of the top five quarterbacks (barring trades), they could use Day 2 as an attempt to strike gold on an underrated option.
Mond, a four-year contributor at Texas A&M, finished his career with 9,661 passing yards and 71 touchdowns against 27 interceptions. A solid athlete, Mond also added 1,608 yards and 22 touchdowns on the ground.
Trask broke out for a huge 2020 season, throwing for 4,283 yards and 43 touchdowns against eight interceptions. The Florida product is a traditional pocket passer who lacks the type of mobility most teams prefer, but he's an accurate passer who has NFL-quality (albeit not elite) arm strength.
While five of the six quarterbacks selected for the 2021 Pro Bowl are former first-round picks, it's far from unheard of to land a starter on Day 2 or even Day 3. Russell Wilson, Dak Prescott, Derek Carr, Tom Brady and Kirk Cousins are starter-quality players (or better) who were not taken in the first round.