2021 NFL Draft Big Board 3.0: Top 100 players after declaration deadline

The declaration deadline for the 2021 NFL Draft has come and gone.

With Jan. 18 serving as the final day underclassmen were able to declare for the upcoming draft, teams will now have a more accurate sense of which players will be available to select in April.

There were some surprising declarations for the 2021 draft, as well as a few notable players who decided to stay in school for another year. Chris Olave, Derion Kendrick, Desmond Ridder, Zamir White and Bubba Bolden are among those who would have cracked my current top 100 players had they declared for the draft, rather than stay in school for another year.

This year’s draft is a unique one, seeing as though collegiate players are being offered an extra year of eligibility. While the amount of prospects with draft buzz is fairly slim, there are some players who have chosen to take advantage of the additional year in school.

The 2021 draft also differs from other drafts in that it will not have in-person Combine workouts take place this year. The NFL announced on Monday that its annual Scouting Combine will not occur under the traditional procedure. Interviews and psychological testing will be conducted virtually, and all on-field workouts will take place at on-campus pro days associated with each prospect’s respective schools.

It’s going to be a wild and unprecedented draft period—and one that should be interesting to watch as Bears fans—but it’s one we are prepared for here at Windy City Gridiron.

With the underclassmen declarations wrapped up, I figured I’d share the top 100 players on my big board at the moment. There’s still plenty of work to be done surrounding this year’s draft class, but the later these big boards are released, the closer they will be to my final product, and after releasing two boards already this season, there are a handful of differences in how things are stacking up.

So, without further ado, here are my current top 100 players in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Disagree or agree with any of my rankings? Feel free to let me know in the comments, or reach out to me on Twitter @jacobinfante24.