Minute Mock- 1 round w/ explanations and 1 trade

[minutemancl]

1 Chicago- Caleb Williams, QB USC

I think this one is set in stone at this point.

2 Washington- Drake Maye, QB UNC

I think this one is set in stone at this point as well.

3 New England- JJ McCarthy, QB Michigan

I think the position and team are set in stone here, but I keep going back and forth between the Pats taking Daniels or McCarthy. I think Daniels not weighin in at the combine is a legitimate concern, especially given his propensity for running. We saw Anthony Richardson go on IR after just a few weeks last year, and he is built like a truck. As little important tape as there is on McCarthy, I think he projects, as a rookie, as a better passer than Daniels immediately. I think that ultimately leads to New England taking him at 3.

4 Arizona- Marvin Harrison Jr, WR Ohio State

Easy selection for the Cardinals, and one they want to stay at 4 to make, especially since they already have another first round pick in their back pocket.

*TRADE* The LA Chargers trade pick 5 to the New York Giants for picks 6 and 47

5 New York Giants- Jayden Daniels, QB LSU

Other teams will be gunning to make this trade with the Chargers, but the Giants offer the most attractive package by allowing the Chargers to select the same player they'd select at 5 guaranteed. I think there is a chance the Giants, and other teams, would make their same trade proposals for JJ McCarthy here as well. In this case, it is Daniels as the 4^th QB and the Giants would love to see the dual threat Daniels in Dabs’s offense.

6 LA Chargers- Joe Alt, OT Notre Dame

There is a slight underrating of how good these top of the draft tackles are this year. You could make an argument for Fashanu here and I’d be open to it, but I’m choosing Alt for the Chargers here to man the right side. It’s definitely a projection, having a left tackle switch sides, but if you are going to ask someone to do it, someone from Notre Dame is a good bet.

7 Tennessee- Malik Nabers, WR LSU

The Titans luck out and are able to grab a fantastic WR for a woeful WR corps at 7. Fashanu is also an option here.

8 Atlanta- Laiatu Latu, EDGE UCLA

I think Latu ultimately wins out and is the first EDGE rusher drafted. It’s kind of a pick your flavor at the position at the top of the draft, as Latu, Turner, Verse, and Chop all offer kind of different things.

9 Chicago- Rome Odunze, WR Washington

Chicago lucks out by getting the perfect complement to DJ Moore for their new QB. No brainer selection here if the draft turns out this way.

10 New York Jets- Olu Fashanu, OT Penn State

It’s no secret that the Jets need OL help. The Jets are able to land who some view as the best tackle in the draft.

11 Minnesota- Jared Verse, EDGE FSU

Another choose your flavor type pass rusher. After missing out on the top 4 QBs, you’ll see teams like the Vikings, Falcons, Raiders, and Broncos look elsewhere. Danielle Hunter is poised to leave in free agency, so the Vikings try to grab his replacement.

12 Denver- Brock Bowers, TE Georgia

The Broncos are tearing everything down to the studs this offseason, for good reason. This is a big question mark for me if they miss out on one of the top QBs, but I think it wouldn’t be wrong to just go BPA here and take Bowers. The most recent rumors are that Sutton and Jeudy could be gone in short order, and Bowers projects to be a better selection here than a true WR with MHJr, Nabers, and Odunze off the board.

13 Las Vegas- Quinyon Mitchell, CB Toledo

Similar to last year where a smaller school ‘dawg’ prospect won out being the first CB selected, I think Mitchell does the same this year. He’s everything Antonio Pierce would be looking for in a corner. I considered Dallas Turner and Chop Robinson here as well.

14 New Orleans- Chop Robinson, EDGE Penn State

This draft is super strong at WR, EDGE, and OT, especially at the top of the draft. Like most teams, the Saints will be looking to take advantage of that and grab Robinson here at 14.

15 Indianapolis- Dallas Turner, EDGE Alabama

Super similar explanation to the New Orleans pick.

16 Seattle- Taliese Fuaga, OL Oregon State

The entirety of Seattle’s interior OL is up for free agency. Seattle is able to fill one of those spots with Fuaga, who by some accounts is a bit of a steal here at 16.

17 Jacksonville- Terrion Arnold, CB Alabama

The Jaguars need help at corner, especially with the release of Darious Williams, and they get a corner who some have as CB1 and a projected top-10 selection.

18 Cincinnati- JC Latham, OT Alabama

Back to back Bama picks here. Latham can take over at RT for Jonah Williams, who is often hurt and is poised to hit free agency. Again, OT depth in this draft is super deep, so Cincinnati is taking advantage by getting a better quality of player than they’d normally be able to get at this point in the draft.

19 LA Rams- Nate Wiggins, CB Clemson

I think the Rams would be looking for EDGE help here, but the top 4 guys are gone. Luckily, there is still quality corner talent available. Wiggins is very slight in build, but can run and is great at mirroring receivers. The Rams have needed corner help for a year now; it’s a miracle they held up as well as they did last year considering who was starting for them.

20 Pittsburgh- Cooper Dejean, CB Iowa

Interior OL was an option here, but I think the Steelers opt for the versatile and athletic corner in Dejean.

21 Miami- Tory Fautanu, OL Washington

Like Seattle, Miami’s entire interior OL is up for free agency. Fautanu is a great value here in the 20s.

22 Philadelphia- Kool-Aid McKinstry, CB Alabama

This pick makes a lot of sense, given the Eagles FO fondness for SEC players in the first round (namely Georgia and Alabama) and the situation Philly has with their corners (Bradberry and Slay are both aging and relatively rapidly declining).

23 Houston- Byron Murphy, DT Texas

I tried to think of another direction Houston could go here, but Murphy makes way too much sense here.

24 Dallas- Amarius Mims, OT Georgia

I originally had Brian Thomas Jr here, considering Jerry Jones’s “all out” comments this offseason. Mims fits more in line with what the Cowboys do in the draft though, especially in the first round. He’s a mammoth who moved insanely well, and he’d be tasked with another mammoth who moved extremely well in Tyron Smith, who is getting older and will most likely not be on the team next year. Tyler Smith is established as a great guard at this point; he shouldn’t be moved.

25 Green Bay- Jackson Powers-Johnson, iOL Oregon

Green Bay could go a number of directions here, but nothing truly stands out as great value here. Powers-Johnson has a ton of positional versatility and can fill in at any spot on the interior.

26 Tampa Bay- Darius Robinson, EDGE Mizzou

I don’t know if Robinson necessarily fits the profile of pass rushers that Tampa Bay is looking for, but he’s the most talented one remaining and Tampa Bay, like a lot of other teams, tries to reach into the deepest positions in the draft here to get the best bang for their buck.

27 Arizona- Jer’Zhan Newton, iDL Illinois

Arizona needs an influx of talent across their defense, and Newton is the most talented defender remaining on the board at this point. I’d consider Rakestraw here as well, but I think Newton is the better player.

28 Buffalo- Brian Thomas Jr, WR LSU

This pick just makes too much sense. It’s kind of insane to me that Thomas would fall this far, but I couldn’t find an earlier spot to slot him into. Buffalo would make out like bandits in this case.

29 D2roit- Ennis Rakestraw Jr, CB Mizzou

Detroit’s pass defense was a legit liability last year. It was one they were ultimately able to overcome, but they try to sure it up here with Rakestraw, who I believe is the best remaining corner.

30 Baltimore- Tyler Guyton, OT Oklahoma

Baltimore is the team, year over year, most likely to just take the BPA, no matter what position that player plays. According to the consensus board, in this case, it is Tyler Guyton. This was a hard pick to make; please feel free to come at me, Ravens fans, and let me know who would be a better, more Ravens-like selection in this spot.

31 San Francisco- Graham Barton, iOL Duke

Despite a very successful season and a QB who is viewed as a game manager, San Francisco really did a worse than average OL when you consider the whole unit, especially in pass protection. Graham Barton is a starting caliber guard and can improve any one of those interior spots for the Niners.

32 Chiefs- Keon Coleman, WR FSU

This pick is obviously going to be WR, the only question is which WR. The Chiefs could go Ladd McConkey for a reliable, savvy receiver who can be consistent right from his rookie season (I saw him compared to Antonio Brown recently in terms of the type of receiver he is, and I don’t think that is off base). They could go Xavier Worthy or Troy Franklin for the insane speed they provide. I have them going with Keon Coleman, who despite a poor 40, is a freak athlete overall and looks like a prototypical #1 receiver. He’s my #5 receiver in this draft personally

[Daniel]

I'm hard on the OT>WR debate for the Titans, but Nabers is a much better prospect (for now) than Fashanu, so the pick makes complete sense.

[Tugboat]

Don't love a CB pick for the Jaguars, but it is what it is at this point.  They've got an obvious hole there and it's reasonable enough to mock them one.  They very well may go that route to plug the hole in the draft.  Arnold seems like a decent bet, so i'll accept it.  I'd just be disappointed they didn't do more to get the offense some help.  Try to scrounge around for DBs elsewhere later in the draft or ideally FA.

[Football_Bachelor08]

The Rams aren't going to pick Wiggins if DeJean is still on the table.

[11sanchez11]

I hope Newton falls to AZ. Would be ideal, thinks he's the best dlineman in the draft 

[minutemancl]

7 hours ago, Football_Bachelor08 said:

The Rams aren't going to pick Wiggins if DeJean is still on the table.

Interesting. Is there anything linking Cooper to the Rams right now?

[Football_Bachelor08]

16 minutes ago, minutemancl said:

Interesting. Is there anything linking Cooper to the Rams right now?

If DeJean was still available, why would they use their pick on a 170-pound toothpick? Especially with how bad the secondary was last year. We saw Washington pick a twig at DB last year and he's been a disaster.

[minutemancl]

1 minute ago, Football_Bachelor08 said:

If DeJean was still available, why would they use their pick on a 170-pound toothpick? Especially with how bad the secondary was last year. We saw Washington pick a twig at DB last year and he's been a disaster.

I chose Wiggins because he is a higher rated CB prospect on the consensus board. Is there anything linking Cooper specifically to the Rams, or is this just a personal preference?

[Football_Bachelor08]

1 minute ago, minutemancl said:

I chose Wiggins because he is a higher rated CB prospect on the consensus board. Is there anything linking Cooper specifically to the Rams, or is this just a personal preference?

Well, I'd like to know what the consensus board members are smoking.

No, I don't see any links per se to the Rams.

[minutemancl]

Just now, Football_Bachelor08 said:

Well, I'd like to know what the consensus board members are smoking.

No, I don't see any links per se to the Rams.

I mean, it's a consensus board. It takes big boards from all sources and amalgamates them. I was looking at NFL Mock Draft Database's, which sources from 113 big boards, 781 1st round mock drafts, and 674 team based mock drafts (as of this writing). So you're essentially arguing with anyone and everyone who makes a big board.

It's fine to disagree personally. I'm just explaining why I chose Wiggins over Dejean for the Rams.

[The Gnat]

A very solid Vikings pick. I think that Edge is very likely if they keep Cousins. Or if they can't move up to get a McCarthy/Daniel in your situation. If they can't grab a QB, though, I also think that a trade down is likely. So a team that might want to move up for an OT, like the Bengals for Fuaga for example, would make a lot of sense for the Vikings to listen to those calls.

[TVScout]

Cowboys should absolutely take Guyton over Mims.

[ttitansfan4life]

Pretty solid Titans pick

[LinderFournette]

I prefer Dejean to to Arnold but that's it.

[praegler]

I think Jackson Powers-Johnson, iOL Oregon to Miami instead of Tory Fautanu, OL Washington would make more sense.  At this point Williams is still rehabing and his contract has expried.  JPJ gives them that center they need and if Williams is brought back, JPJ's versitility can have him slide to guard.  Just make more sense to me.

 

 

Edited March 8 by praegler