Rival Views: Which offensive five-star could be a top NFL Draft pick?

Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell and National Recruiting Analyst Adam Gorney don’t always see eye to eye. In this edition of Rival Views, the two debate which five-star on offense in this recruiting class could go No. 1 in the NFL Draft years from now.

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This one is easy. It’s our No. 1 player: Trevor Lawrence. Lawrence has all the physical tools – size, arm strength, mobility, pocket sense, downfield vision and so on – to be an absolute star at the next level and in the NFL. When people ask me what recent quarterback he reminds me of they freak out when I answer Peyton Manning. Now, of course it’s ridiculous to compare a high school kid to Peyton Manning, but many of the mannerisms are similar when you watch on film.

Justin Fields and JT Daniels are also excellent quarterbacks and could be No. 1 overall down the line - and I have to mention Joey Gatewood, who is just starting to reach his potential. Nick Petit-Frere is another name that comes to mind as well, as offensive tackles can go No. 1 at times and his ceiling is so high. But Lawrence is the no-brainer answer here for me.

JT Daniels threw for more than 12,000 yards with 152 touchdowns and 14 interceptions in only three seasons at Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei - and this was in arguably the best high school conference in the country. He was not dominating teams void of Division I players. Nearly every single team Mater Dei played had multiple, high-level players and Daniels could still not be slowed down.

He's also walking into the perfect situation. Sam Darnold is leaving USC for the NFL, so Daniels will compete with Jack Sears and Matt Fink for the starting job next season. That is some decent competition, but Daniels is definitely the most talented of the bunch, so he could start for USC from Day One after reclassifying to the 2018 class.

If he grows a couple inches during college, height won't be any concern for NFL scouts and executives who will dissect him in the coming years. Daniels has incredible talent and leadership ability. If UCLA's Josh Rosen is being discussed as a top two pick or so, and Darnold can go in the top five, then Daniels should absolutely be in this conversation. He's not as advanced as those two yet, but in three or four years Daniels will absolutely be at that level. I'd be shocked if he didn't have a productive career with the Trojans, especially with a loaded wide receiver group.