We’re less than a week away from the only sporting event in the foreseeable future, the NFL Draft. Instead of taking place at the Bellagio it will be coming to us live from Commissioner Roger Goodell’s basement. It’s going to be maybe the most unique draft ever.
This mock is predicting what I think will happen, not what I would do as the General Manager of each team. There are no projected trades in this mock.
1: Cincinnati Bengals: Joe Burrow, Quarterback, LSU
Burrow would join Cam Newton as the only quarterbacks to ever win the Heisman, National Championship, and be the number one overall pick in the same year. This is a layup pick for the Bengals, there really isn’t enough trade value any team can offer them to move off the first pick. It is the Bengals, though, so who knows.
2: Washington Redskins: Chase Young, Edge, Ohio State
Young is the best player in the draft regardless of position. He’s been compared a lot to the Bosa brothers as edge defenders coming out of Columbus. As a prospect I think Young is ahead of Joey, but behind Nick. Young has everything you want as an edge defender, and would add to an underrated defensive line in Washington.
3: Detroit Lions: Jeffrey Okudah, Cornerback, Ohio State
The Lions are the most likely trade partner for a team looking to move up for Tua. Okudah falling to the third pick makes too much sense for the Lions though. Okudah is the best corner in the draft. The gap between Okudah and the next corner isn’t Grand Canyon sized, but it’s still big enough to need a bridge. Okudah will be a number one cornerback in the NFL, no need for the Lions to overthink the pick.
4: New York Giants: Mekhi Becton, Offensive Tackle, Louisville
Assuming there aren’t any trades at this point, the Giants are faced with the first real decision of the draft. They could go with Isaiah Simmons, the athlete defender from Clemson and the best defensive player on the board. Giants general manager Dave Gettleman has never been a best player available type of guy, preferring to go to the beat of his own drum. Becton has some technical work to do, but is a freak athlete who Gettleman will most likely fall in love with.
5: Miami Dolphins: Tua Tagovailoa, Quarterback, Alabama
Tua is the biggest wildcard in the draft because no one knows how healthy his hip is, including the Dolphins. There’s rumors that they prefer Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert, or even that it's Burrow or bust in Miami. Ultimately though Tua’s too talented not to take a chance on. If health wasn’t a question mark he’d be graded as highly as Burrow, I’d maybe even have Tua slightly higher.
6: Los Angeles Chargers: Jedrick Wills, Offensive Tackle, Alabama
The Chargers are too smart not to Pigeon-hole themselves into a quarterback they aren’t in love with. They might very well be in love with Herbert, but there’s too many question marks to take him this high (especially with Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields in the draft next year). Wills is an athletic, versatile tackle who can fill in and protect Tyrod Taylor, who head coach Anthony Lynn has been outspokenly positive about.
7: Carolina Panthers: Isaiah Simmons, Athlete, Clemson
New Panthers head coach Matt Rhule wants his teams to play fast. Turnarounds at both Temple and Baylor each took a few years, but both revolved around Rhule getting his type of players on campus and rebooting the roster. Simmons played all over the field for Clemson last year, like literally played every defensive position at some point other than straight up nose tackle. He tested even better than expected at the NFL Combine and can replace Luke Kuechly as the Panther’s “guy” on defense.
8: Arizona Cardinals: Tristian Wirfs, Offensive Tackle, Iowa
The funnest scenario would be the Cardinals drafting Cede Lamb to go along with Deandre Hopkins. Other than DJ Humphries Arizona doesn’t really have a viable option at offensive tackle to protect Kyler Murray, though. Wirfs is the most athletic out of the top-tier of draft eligible tackles, and would be the best fit in Kliff Kingsbury’s screen heavy spread offense.
9: Jacksonville Jaguars: Jerry Jeudy, Wide Receiver, Alabama
I’m honestly not sure who’s making the decisions in Jacksonville, I literally Googled it for like twenty minutes and couldn’t figure it out. Whoever it is has two first round picks at their disposal. It sounds like Jacksonville is going to give Gardner Minshew another year to try and prove he can be the guy. That means the Jaguars can bolster other areas of their roster for this year and either build around Minshew, or be in a great position to draft Trevor Lawrence or Justin Fields in next year's draft. Assuming Minshew is the guy, Jeudy would be the perfect receiver to go with Minshew. Jeudy is like an extrapolated version of former Alabama and current Atlanta Falcons receiver Riley Ridley. He’s an unbelievable route runner, and when he was pressed (limited in college) he showed that he’s quick enough to beat press and get back to his route stem.
10: Cleveland Browns: Andrew Thomas, Offensive Tackle, Georgia
Word on the street is that the Browns are trying to trade out of the tenth spot to trade down and grab tackle Ezra Cleveland while grabbing more draft picks. If they stay put though Thomas would be the move. Thomas played both tackle spots at Georgia, and would slide in immediately at left tackle in Cleveland to go along with new free agent signing Jack Conklin at right tackle.
11: New York Jets: Ceedee Lamb, Wide Receiver, Oklahoma
The Jets would love to take an offensive tackle here to protect quarterback Sam Darnold. They also desperately need help at receiver (take a minute and try to name two current Jets receivers). Lamb is a tackle breaking machine who attacks the ball in the air and can run a complete route tree. Lamb was a tackle breaking machine at Oklahoma and no one would be happier with Lamb to the Jets than Sam Darnold.
12: Las Vegas Raiders: A.J. Terrell, Cornerback, Clemson
Find yourself someone who loves you the Raiders love to draft players from Clemson. Last year the Raiders took edge defender Clelin Ferrell from Clemson with the fourth overall pick, which absolutely no one saw coming. After Jeff Okudah the remaining corners are going to come off the board based on scheme fit and how each team views the different players. Betting on general manager Mike Mayock to pull the trigger on a Clemson Tiger is about as safe a bet as there is in the draft.
13: San Francisco 49ers: Henry Ruggs III, Wide Receiver, Alabama
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan already has a ton of offensive weapons at his disposal. Adding Ruggs, the most explosive receiver in the draft, would break the league. Other than cornerback, the 49ers don’t have a huge hole on their roster at any other position. You can never have too many offensive weapons though, and San Francisco will hope that a corner falls to them with the thirty first pick and take the last top-tier receiver in the draft. The 49ers offense improved dramatically when they traded for Emmanuel Sanders last season, who has since signed with New Orleans. Ruggs would help fill the whole that Sanders left and add an explosiveness to the 49ers offense that simply doesn’t exist right now.
14: Tampa Bay Bucaneers: Josh Jones, Offensive Tackle, Houston
This all depends on how the Bucaneers view Jones as a prospect. Some teams believe he’s a first round talent, others wouldn’t take him until the third round. The Bucaneers have one of the better receiving corps in the league to help out new quarterback Tom Brady. The offensive line, right tackle in particular, is a huge question mark though. Even though it’s hard for rookies to come in and be productive in their first year, Jones would still likely be a better option to anything else that Tampa is rolling out there.
15: Denver Broncos: Kristian Fulton, Cornerback, LSU
After Okudah the cornerback class is all over the place in terms of how they’re rated by teams. One team could have Fulton as the second highest rated corner, others could have him as the seventh best corner. Fulton didn’t even test that well at the combine, but his change of direction and recovery speed on the field is unreal. The Raiders need help at any position in the secondary, and Fulton makes the most sense both value and scheme wise for the Broncos.
16: Atlanta Falcons: CJ Henderson, Cornerback, Florida
Henderson is the second rated corner in the draft for most analysts, and the Falcons are rumored to be trying to trade up in the draft to ensure they draft Henderson. With no trades though it’s realistic he falls to them at sixteen. Henderson had a better 2018 than 2019, and ideally you’d like to see players improving instead of going backwards. Florida sent a ton of pressure this year and Henderson was put in complex, often challenging coverage situations. He showed he can handle complex concepts mentally, and also that he’s talented enough in coverage to allow teams to leave him on an island. Athletic writer Bruce Feldman had Henderson on his list of most athletic “freaks” in college football last season.
17: Dallas Cowboys: K’Lavon Chassion, Edge, LSU
The Cowboys should go secondary here, either Trevon Diggs from Alabama or Jaylon Johnson from Utah would be great fits. New head coach Mike McCarthy has talked recently about adding different types of edge rushers, and edge in the first round is seeming more and more inevitable. Chassion has some technique polishing to do, but my goodness is he athletic. He’s every NFL coach's dream in terms of natural talent and potential, and has the highest upside of any edge defender in the draft.
18: Miami Dolphins: Xavier McKinney, Safety, Alabama
The Dolphins have one of the best cornerback tandems in the league with Xavien Howard and newly signed Byron Jones. Adding McKinney at safety would solidify the backend of the defense and allow head coach Brian Flores to be even more creative with how he brings pressure from the front seven. McKinney played all over the field for Alabama. The bummer is that Miami got this pick after trading Minkah Fitzpatrick to Pittsburgh, using that draft pick to draft a less talented safety would be hustling backwards a bit.
19: Las Vegas Raiders: Tee Higgins, Wide Receiver, Clemson
The Raiders love those Clemson players. Las Vegas needs to find a way to get quarterback Derek Carr to push the ball down the field more. The best move would be drafting Ceedee Lamb if possible. Grabbing Higgins at nineteen would give Carr a competent downfield option and someone who can make contested catches downfield. Higgins isn’t the most complete receiver in the world, but he’d absolutely fill a position that the Raiders don’t have on the roster.
20: Jacksonville Jaguars: Justin Herbert, Quarterback, Oregon
If I could take over as the general manager for any team in the league right now it would be the Jaguars. Their roster is an absolute trainwreck, where just a few years ago it was arguably the best in the league. What the Jaguars should do is use their two first round picks to fill holes on their roster and give Gardner Minshew one more look this season. If he plays well then great, they got a steal at quarterback. If Minshew isn’t the guy then the Jaguars will be in a fantastic position to draft either Trevor Lawrence or Justin Fields next season. If Herbert falls this far though it might be hard to pass on him this far into the first round.
21: Philadelphia Eagles: Kenneth Murray, Linebacker, Oklahoma
I’d love the Eagles to draft a receiver here, but their linebacker corps is just too bad to ignore most likely. Other than linebacker, the Eagles already have a great roster top to bottom. Especially in a weak division, an upgrade at linebacker might give the Eagles their best shot to win the division next season. Murray was my favorite defensive player to watch last season, he does not mess around when snuffing the ball out. Sometimes he’s too aggressive for his own good and will over run the ball carrier. He also has some question marks in coverage simply because he didn’t really do that at Oklahoma. He reportedly killed his combine interviews though, which combined with his production at Oklahoma make me think he’ll be the first linebacker off the board.
22: Minnesota Vikings: Jaylon Johnson, Cornerback, Utah
The Vikings almost have to go with cornerback and receiver in some order with their two first round draft picks. Johnson can absolutely lock up wide receivers in press coverage, which is what I think his best playing style is. He’s versatile enough to play zone coverage though as well, and the Vikings mix it up. Johnson is one of the most aggressive cornerbacks in the draft, so playing behind the talented safeties in Minnesota would allow him to take chances and jump routes. The only time he got beat at Utah was when he’d try and jump a route, but that also led to several highlight pick sixes.
23: New England Patriots: Javon Kinlaw, Defensive Tackle, South Carolina
Who knows what New England is going to do? I think receiver in this spot would be a good move, but the Patriots drafted N’Keal Harry out of Arizona State with their first round pick last year so I doubt they’d do that two years in a row. Kinlaw has the highest pass rush potential of any defensive tackle in the draft. Teams might reach for him in the early part of the first round, but Kinlaw at twenty three would be good value pick up for the Patriots.
24: New Orleans Saints: Derrick Brown, Defensive Tackle, Auburn
The run of defensive tackles is underway. I’d like New Orleans to take a linebacker like Patrick Queen from LSU here, but if Brown is available then I doubt the Saints would pass on him. The Saints are also rumored to be trying to trade up and get a home run player to help Drew Brees out in his last hurrah. Derrick Brown would be a locked in top-five pick ten years ago. Because he doesn’t have quality pass rush ability, though, he could get passed by Kinlaw in the race to be the first defensive tackle taken.
25: Minnesota Vikings: Jalen Reagor, Wide Receiver, TCU
In one simple trade the Vikings went from having one of the best receiving corps in the league, to Adam Thielen and a bunch of guys. Reagor isn’t as complete as some of the other receivers being drafted ahead of him, but golley is he explosive. The Vikings already have quality number one receiver in Adam Thielen, Reagor can step in and take the top off the defense to provide support for Thielen and quarterback Kirk Cousins
26: Miami Dolphins: Ross Blacklock, Defensive Tackle, TCU
Miami is a lot harder team to draft for than I thought. Last year they drafted defensive tackle Christian Wilkins from Clemson in the middle of the first round. This is a bit too early for any of the interior offensive lineman available, so who knows with their third pick in the first round they might try some more depth to the middle of the defense. I have Blacklock as the fourth defensive tackle in the draft, but from what I hear most NFL teams have him as the third guy.
27: Seattle Seahawks: Jonathan Taylor, Running back, Wisconsin
What’s weird about the Seahawks is they actually haven’t been that good at drafting in the first round. They’ve crushed the middle rounds, and that's how they’ve been able to build and sustain a roster so successfully for so long, but they miss a ton in the first round. I’d love them to go cornerback, like a Trevon Diggs from Alabama type guy but they’re basically never drafted a corner in the first round. They’ve shown no affinity whatsoever for putting any resources into their offensive line, so that’s most likely off the table. They’re likely to go edge defender or running back, and Taylor is the type of running back who the Seahawks could fall in love with.
28: Baltimore Ravens: Patrick Queen, Linebacker, LSU
The Ravens are set because for the most part they can just draft the best player available and don’t have to worry about filling a need. Running back D’Andre Swift from Georgia would be a possible move here. The one maybe question mark on the Ravens roster, and where I think they’ll draft, is linebacker though. Patrick Queen from LSU is the epitome of an undersized player who doesn’t look like it. He’d see the field day one for the Ravens, and he might be the only player available at this point who would actually contribute right away.
29: Tennessee Titans: Ezra Cleveland, Offensive Tackle, Boise State
I could just copy and paste what I wrote about Baltimore here for Tennessee. This would be a bit of a reach for Cleveland, who I think is the most athletic tackle in the class but probably won’t be an upgrade from day one. He’s a player Tennessee can develop and in two or three years could be a great investment. Unlike corners and receivers, you can actually have too many tackles. The Titans aren’t particularly close to that point though so Ezra would be a high risk high reward investment.
30: Green Bay Packers: Denzel Mims, Wide Receiver, Baylor
Because of the type of offense Baylor runs skill players have had a rough time transitioning to the NFL. The questions regarding Mims at the end of the year were regarding his ability to run a complete route tree, at Baylor basically 50% of his routes were either slants, hitches or go routes. Mims came into the Senior Bowl, though, and showed the ability to run NFL level routes as well as beat press coverage. The Packers receiving corps was less than Spectacular after Davante Adams last season. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers (who is currently older than Brett Favre was when Rodgers was drafted btw) needs more reliable weapons to try to make another Super Bowl run in the next few years.
31: San Francisco 49ers: Trevon Diggs, Cornerback, Alabama
The Seahawks loss is the 49ers gain. The number two cornerback was the biggest liability for the 49ers on defense last year. Richard Sherman showed he can still play at a high level, but you can’t realistically count on more than a couple years of production from him. Trevon Diggs, the younger brother of now Bills receiver Stefon Diggs, is the perfect cornerback for the cover one/cover three scheme that half the league has now copied from Seattle, and what San Francisco runs with defensive coordinator Robert Saleh.
32: Kansas City Chiefs: Cameron Dantzler, Cornerback, Mississippi State
The most impressive part of the Chief’s Super Bowl victory is that they were able to win with such little talent at the cornerback spot. They’ve basically been playing patchwork with the position. Dantzler would be a reach here, and honestly any cornerback that’s still available at this point would. What else can Kansas City do though? They’d love to trade back to acquire a few more picks. If they’re stuck picking at thirty two though it’s not a great spot. Edge defender would be the best value here with maybe Curtis Weaver or Julian Okwara. I think Kansas City is so desperate to address cornerback that they’ll either draft the best player available at that position or try to trade back.
-By Jake Cowden