Mock Draft 2.0 (Roid Rage)

Round 1 Team Pick Position
1 Cleveland Browns Sam Darnold (USC) QB
2 New York Giants Bradley Chubb (NC State) DE
3 New York Jets Baker Mayfield (Oklahoma) QB
4 Cleveland Browns Denzel Ward (OSU) CB
5 Denver Broncos Mike McGlinchey (Notre Dame) OL
6 Indianapolis Colts Quenton Nelson (Notre Dame) OL
7 Tampa Bay Bucs Saquon Barkley (PSU) RB
8 Chicago Bears Josh Rosen (UCLA) QB
9 San Francisco 49ers Courtland Sutton (SMU) WR
10 Oakland Raiders Roquan Smith (Georgia) LB
11 Miami Dolphins Vita Vea (Washington) DT
12 Buffalo Bills Maurice Hurst (Michigan) DL
13 Washington Redskins Josh Allen (Wyoming) QB
14 Green Bay Packers Minkah Fitzpatrick (Alabama) CB
15 Arizona Cardinals Tremaine Edmunds (VA Tech) LB
16 Baltimore Ravens Harold Landry (BC) LB
17 Los Angeles Chargers Derwin James (FSU) S
18 Seattle Seahawks Josh Jackson (Iowa) CB
19 Dallas Cowboys Calvin Ridley (Alabama) WR
20 Detroit Lions Marcus Davenport (Texas-SA) DE
21 Cincinnati Bengals Isaiah Wynn (Georgia) OL
22 Buffalo Bills Mike Hughes (Central Florida) CB
23 New England Patriots Leighton Vander Esch (Boise St) LB
24 Carolina Panthers DJ Moore (Maryland) WR
25 Tennessee Titans Josh Sweat (FSU) DE
26 Atlanta Falcons Kolton Miller (UCLA) OL
27 New Orleans Saints Lamar Jackson (Louisville) QB
28 Pittsburgh Steelers Rashaan Evans (Alabama) LB
29 Jacksonville Jaguars Mason Rudolph (Oklahoma St) QB
30 Minnesota Vikings Taven Bryan (Florida) DL
31 New England Patriots Connor Williams (Texas) OL
32 Philadelphia Eagles Mike Gesicki (PSU) TE
Instant Analysis:  Darnold still holds down the top spot, although it is getting harder and harder to ignore the Josh Allen-to-the-Browns chatter.  I already laid out the argument why the Giants should draft their next franchise quarterback here, but for this mock I’m going to give them the only other player they should consider at 2: DE Bradley Chubb.  Gettleman is old school; he’ll love the positional value of getting a pass rusher with a premium draft pick.  I think the Jets are smitten with Baker Mayfield, but really after the Christian Heckenburg disaster they’ll settle for any one of the top 4 QBs.  Cleveland adds the best corner in the draft (an area of desperate need for this team).  McGlinchey is the first real surprise (but not the last) of this mock.  Denver tried to upgrade their O-line with a nixed trade with the Dolphins for Ja’Wuan James.  Gil Brandt thinks the Notre Dame prospect is going in the Top 10, so why not to Denver?  Indy will be tempted to trade down, but when a blue-chip prospect like Nelson falls in their lap they should sprint to the podium.  Same goes for the Bucs with Barkley.  I’m not exactly projecting trades in this mock per se, but the way the board has fallen so far, the Bears are in the catbird seat to trade down (and still have a chance at landing the prospect they are eyeing).  This would be seen as a big win for Ryan Pace, whom still has a black eye after the drubbing he took for jumping one spot last year for Trubisky.

I’ll probably be dead-wrong about Sutton (my highest rated WR this year), but I totally expect John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan to invest heavily on the offensive side of the ball this draft.  Jimmy G about to get some new weapons!  Due to the QB-heavy nature of this draft, some teams that are patience and sit tight are going to have studs fall into their laps.  Smith (Georgia) and Vea (Washington) fit that description well.  Inevitably, a couple of these QBs will tumble come draft day; in this mock that is Josh Alllen and Lamar Jackson.  Washington could trade out, or take one of the quarterbacks.  Afterall, everywhere Alex Smith ends up the team immediately drafts his replacement.

Defense dominates the bottom half of this mock.  The smart play at the bottom third of the first round is to grab a QB and lock up that 5th year option.  That’s exactly what I have the Saints and Jags doing by taking Jackson and Rudolph at 27 and 29, respectfully.

 

 

 

 

 

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.