Jay Tufele, Amon-Ra St. Brown among the 50 best for the 2021 NFL Draft

The 2020 NFL Draft is over. We all know that. And we all also know that that doesn’t stop nearly every outfit from outlining their mock drafts or big boards for next year’s draft.

Well, CBS Sports did just a thing and draft analyst Chris Trapasso listed Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jay Tufele on his top 100 prospects for the 2021 NFL Draft.

St. Brown came in at No. 44 while Tufele fell right in at No. 42. Tufele cracked the list as the No. 2 pure interior defender while St. Brown was the No. 8 receiver on the list.

Each of them were the highest-rated Pac-12 player at their respective positions, though.

We all remember from my top 10 returning players article that I am higher on Tyler Vaughns, so I am a bit surprised to not see Vaughns anywhere on the top 100 players, but alas, to each his own.

St. Brown was targeted over 100 times a season ago and was solid with 77 catches for 1,042 yards including 400+ yards coming after the catch. He’s a real problem after the catch and makes defenders miss at will. He did have a slight issue with drops at times this season, but for the most part, would be a safe pick for any NFL franchise.

Tufele surprised some by returning to school this fall, as most considered him a Day 1-2 lock already. He recorded a multitude of pressures from the interior and was an asset in run defense as well. Perhaps his best attribute, however, is the fact that he is perhaps one of the best pure tacklers among defensive linemen in this class.

Put Tufele in space and let his sure tackling and athleticism take over.

Both players represent the top player at their position in the Pac-12, and things are shaping up quite nicely for the 2020 season with these two already receiving such high praise.