Florida Gators QB Kyle Trask's Way-Too-Early NFL Draft Odds Released

Update: BetOnline.ag has adjusted Trask's odds to 30/1 to be the first quarterback selected in the 2021 NFL Draft, shortly after the original time of this post. That still leaves Trask in the double digits with odds tied for 10th-best.

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In lieu of sports during the coronavirus pandemic and following the 2020 NFL Draft, football analysts and fans are getting a head start on the 2021 selection ceremony by assessing to top eligible talent around college football.

Mock drafts have already been published, analysts have gushed praise for their early favorite prospects - such as Florida's Kyle Pitts -, and betting odds are already being released.

Another Gators player gaining NFL attention is quarterback Kyle Trask, fresh off of a breakout campaign leading Florida to a 2019 Orange Bowl victory. In ten starts and 12 total appearances, Trask completed 66.9% of his passes for 2,941 yards, 25 touchdowns, and seven interceptions, after taking over for Feleipe Franks when Franks suffered a season-ending dislocated ankle against Kentucky.

Studying @GatorsFB QB Kyle Trask. Incredible how slow the game happens for a guy that hadn’t started since 9th grade prior to last fall. Has the poise of a guy that’s played ton of football. @ktrask9 is on our @seniorbowl board in exact same spot that Joe Burrow was last summer. pic.twitter.com/9tCDTtOnYN
— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) May 13, 2020

While Trask has gotten himself on the NFL radar, specifically in the eyes of Senior Bowl director Jim Nagy, Vegas isn't as high on his résumé as a future NFL Draft pick.

According to BetOnline.ag, Trask has been given Trask the 13th-best odds (40/1) to be the No. 1 quarterback selected in the 2021 NFL Draft. 13 quarterbacks have been selected in a single draft five times since 2010, with the 13th quarterback being taken no earlier than the sixth round.

Trask falls behind some obvious candidates to be the No. 1 quarterback selected, and about an equal amount of questionable ones. In descending order, Trask comes after Clemson's Trevor Lawrence (4/13), Ohio State's Justin Fields (7/2), Miami's and Trask's high school teammate D'Eriq King (10/1), Georgia's Jamie Newman (12/1), North Dakota State's Trey Lance (12/1), Mississippi State's KJ Costello (22/1), Iowa State's Brock Purdy (25/1), Texas A&M's Kellen Mond (25/1), Cincinnati's Desmond Ridder (30/1), Texas' Sam Ehlinger (30/1), Minnesota's Tanner Morgan (33/1), and Temple's Anthony Russo (40/1).

Lawrence has been mocked as the potential No. 1 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft ever since he took over as Clemson's starter as a freshman and led the Tigers to a national championship victory in 2018. Following his transfer from Georgia, Fields went on to throw 41 touchdowns compared to just three interceptions.

King and Newman have both flashed plenty of potential and NFL traits at their former schools before transferring as graduate students. Lance stems from the same FCS school that produced Philadelphia Eagles' quarterback Carson Wentz, and he looks to find similar success.

The rest of the group, however, remains up for debate as to where Trask should truly stand. For example, Costello enters a quarterback-friendly system under new head coach Mike Leach at Mississippi State, but is fresh off of an injury-riddled season at Stanford and lost out on spring camp to install the offense on the practice field.

Mond regressed a bit, both statistically and on the field, in 2019 and needs to have a bounce-back year in order to regain draft momentum. Ridder and Russo's stats, specifically their completion percentages, are pedestrian for American Athletic Conference quarterbacks.

Trask has a lot to prove himself as an NFL Draft prospect entering his first full season as a starter, but the performance he put up against some of the nation's toughest competition in the SEC should probably increase his odds a bit in comparison to those ahead of him. With plenty of offensive fire-power returning in 2020, including Pitts and wide receivers Trevon Grimes, Jacob Copeland, and Kadarius Toney, the expectation is that Trask should take the next step in his game.

Franks, who has since transferred to Arkansas, received the 17th-highest odds to be the first quarterback selected at 66/1.