The Hype Mock Draft
**Updated after the Orlando Brown Jr. trade.
**Another update after the Teddy Bridgewater trade, also there is a big rumor right now that the Patriots are working on a restructured deal for Jimmy Garoppolo, if they get it to work then a trade will be agreed upon, making QB not the biggest need on their board.
This is like all of those normal Mock drafts that you see out there where the author is trying to predict who is going to go where as accurately as they possibly can. I will also have a different Mock draft that I post where I get to play the General Manager for each team and select who I think they should take based on my Draft Boards. For this one I’m going strictly off of the hype surrounding players and rumors that are swirling, and I’m avoiding trades. Some selections, like who is going #1, won’t surprise anyone, others may result in head scratching and/or swearing. Just remember, if they take the player I had listed in this mock, I had zero sway over them.
1) Jacksonville Jaguars
Pick: QB Trevor Lawrence (Clemson)
Reason: Unless the Jags are pulling the ultimate (and most pointless) smokescreen of all time, this pick will be Lawrence.
2) New York Jets
Pick: QB Zach Wilson (BYU)
Reason: With Darnold out the door, this becomes the next most obvious selection in this draft. **Note** In the history of the NFL draft, Quarterbacks have gone picks 1 and 2 seven times. Of those seven drafts there are five that we can safely grade. In 1993 Drew Bledsoe went 1, Rick Meier 2, Meier was a bust. In 1998 Peyton Manning went 1, Ryan Leaf 2, Leaf was a bust. In 1999 Tim Couch went 1, Donovan McNabb 2, Couch was a bust. In 2012 Andrew Luck went 1, RG III 2, RG III was a bust. The verdict is still out on the 2016 draft (Goff and Wentz) but it’s not looking good, also not looking good for the 2015 draft (Winston and Mariota). The only draft that looks like it went relatively alright was back in 1971 when Jim Plunkett went 1 and Archie Manning went 2. Of course Plunkett was looking like a bust before changing the course of his career when he joined the Raiders. And you could make the argument on either side of the bust fence for Manning whose Saints teams never performed well as a whole. If Lawrence and Wilson go 1-2, I hope they’re able to change this stat.
3) San Francisco 49ers (via Miami via Houston)
Pick: QB Trey Lance (North Dakota State)
Reason: We all know the Niners didn’t trade up to three to take a Tight End or Wide Receiver. So we have to ask ourselves “which QB do they want?” There are quite a few people out there who think they want Mac Jones. But the rumor is they didn’t even ask Nick Saban about him while at Alabama’s pro day. Not to mention, Kyle Shanahan made a comment a little while ago about wanting a mobile QB running his offense. That could result in Justin Fields, but Shanahan and Lynch opted to go to Alabama’s pro day instead of Ohio State’s, which could be a smokescreen, but who knows. I think the pick is Trey Lance, who lacks much of the experience of the other QBs being considered in the first round, but I feel his ceiling is higher than Fields and Jones. With San Fran also saying they want a first-round pick for Jimmy G, and talking about how they would like to use him as a bridge for the next guy, this would make even more sense. OH, and I almost forgot, rumor has it the new Falcons GM likes Lance a lot, so that may have been more incentive for the Niners to move up to 3.
4) Atlanta Falcons
Pick: TE Kyle Pitts (Florida)
Reason: There’s a lot of talk that Atlanta is going to take a Quarterback or trade back. I think that would be dumb either way. Players with Pitts’ talent don’t come around very often. Stay put, take the weapon with the freakish wingspan (nearly 84”), who also weighed in around 245 and ran a 4.44 forty. Plus, he runs routes like a Receiver and blocks like a Tight End. Do Matt Ryan and your present team a favor, ignore your future wants.
5) Cincinnati Bengals
Pick: WR Ja’Marr Chase (LSU)
Reason: Rumor has it Burrow would love to have his #1 Receiver from his incredible 2019 season. Can you blame him? Chase posted 1,498 yards at a rate of 20.5 yards a catch and topped it off with 18 touchdowns during that year. The Bengals seem ready to appease that request. Can you blame them?
6) Miami Dolphins (via Philadelphia)
Pick: WR Jaylen Waddle (Alabama)
Reason: Worst-case scenario for the Dolphins after their flurry of trades would be that they ended up at pick 6 and both the guys they wanted (presumably Pitts and Chase) are gone. One option would be to trade down again, but since there are no trades in this mock they take Jaylen Waddle to provide Tagovailoa with a security blanket that he’s well acquainted with. Heard a rumor recently that Waddle is who Miami wants if they can't get Chase or Pitts.
7) Detroit Lions
Pick: OT Penei Sewell (Oregon)
Reason:
8) Carolina Panthers
Pick: CB Jaycee Horn (South Carolina)
Reason:
9) Denver Broncos
Pick: CB Patrick Surtain II (Alabama)
Reason: Denver traded for Bridgewater and while they are saying that Quarterback remains a possibility here, I don't think they mean it. It's either a smokescreen to try and get someone to jump them so a player they want slides, or to up the asking price for their pick. They end up staying put and taking the top Corner on most people's boards.
10) Dallas Cowboys
Pick: OL Rashawn Slater (Northwestern)
Reason:
11) New York Giants
Pick: Edge Kwity Paye (Michigan)
Reason:
12) Philadelphia Eagles (via Miami via San Francisco)
Pick: WR Devonta Smith (Alabama)
Reason: Smith slides because of his size, and Philly reaps the rewards. Also, for everyone out there saying “but he’s so thin,” go back and watch his tape, the man knows how to get open and he does a great job of avoiding the big hit.
13) Los Angeles Chargers
Pick: OT Christian Darrisaw (Virginia Tech)
Reason:
14) Minnesota Vikings
Pick: OG Alijah Vera-Tucker (USC)
Reason:
15) New England Patriots
Pick: Edge Jaelan Phillips (Miami)
Reason:
16) Arizona Cardinals
Pick: LB Zaven Collins (Tulsa)
Reason:
17) Las Vegas Raiders
Pick: LB Micah Parsons (Penn State)
Reason: Here we are. Micah Parsons. The Linebacker that is widely expected to be a top ten pick, who has all the talent in the world and showed at his pro day he has the speed and explosiveness to go with said talent. So, why do I have him falling? Simple; character. Parsons is involved in a lawsuit where he and a few of his teammates reportedly hazed another teammate. That’s bad publicity. There were also reports that he’s a bit of a diva in the locker room. No coach wants a guy in his locker room that’s going to cause problems. I could easily see those two things causing him to drop out of the first-round. But I also think that if there was an (old-school) coach who would still be willing to take the red flag talent, it would be Gruden.
18) Miami Dolphins
Pick: RB Najee Harris (Alabama)
Reason: Miami continues to surround Tagovailoa with players who he’s already comfortable with that also add the talent needed to help him grow. This would be the best way to help him make a big leap in year two.
19) Washington Football Team
Pick: OT Teven Jenkins (Oklahoma State)
Reason:
20) Chicago Bears
Pick: QB Mac Jones (Alabama)
Reason:
21) Indianapolis Colts
Pick: CB Caleb Farley (Virginia Tech)
Reason:
22) Tennessee Titans
Pick: WR Rashod Bateman (Minnesota)
Reason: Corey Davis, Adam Humphries and Jonnu Smith are out. As good as Derrick Henry and A.J. Brown are, if the Titans want Tannehill to continue to play well they’re going to need to add talent back to his Receiving corps. Bateman is the next man up at the position as far as the hype train goes. I like Bateman a lot, his PSR from my draft board (you’ll have to check out my draft board articles when they’re released) didn’t turn out as high as I thought it would, but I still wouldn’t argue against him being selected in the first.
23) NY Jets (via Seattle)
Pick: OT Dillon Radunz (North Dakota State)
Reason:
24) Pittsburgh Steelers
Pick: QB Justin Fields (Ohio State)
Reason: If a Quarterback fell to Pitt they'd be dumb not to pull the trigger, if one started tumbling down toward the higher teen range they'd have to consider trading up. Fields gives them hope that they'll have a smooth transition post-Big Ben, unlike after Terry Bradshaw retired.
25) Jacksonville Jaguars (via LA Rams)
Pick: LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (Notre Dame)
Reason:
26) Cleveland Browns
Pick: LB Jamin Davis (Kentucky)
Reason:
27) Baltimore Ravens
Pick: Edge Jayson Oweh (Penn State)
Reason: Baltimore is a little tricky to try and figure out what direction they’re going to go. With Orlando Brown wanting to be traded so he can go somewhere and play Left Tackle, something I think we’ll see happen on draft day, they could use this pick to take a Right Tackle. They could also go Receiver, interior O-Line or D-Line. But Edge is their biggest need. Oweh doesn’t necessarily fit the mold of what they’ve looked for off the Edge lately (the bigger, stronger kind of rusher), but it would be hard to pass on his length (6’5”, 34.5” arms) and speed/burst (4.37 forty, 39.5” vertical and 133” broad jump). I wouldn’t be surprised if they took Azeez Ojulari instead though.
28) New Orleans Saints
Pick: CB Asante Samuel Jr. (Florida State)
Reason:
29) Green Bay Packers
Pick: CB Greg Newsome II (Northwestern)
Reason: According to the rumor mill the Packers have spent more time with Corners during this pre-draft process than any other position. It makes sense. Outside of Wide Receiver, Linebacker and Offensive Line, the Corner spot opposite Jaire Alexander would be the biggest hole. Newsome has the size, speed, productivity and hype to be the guy that lands here.
30) Buffalo Bills
Pick: DE Carlos Basham (Wake Forest)
Reason:
31) Baltimore Ravens (via Kansas City)
Pick: OT Alex Leatherwood (Alabama)
Reason: Now that the Orlando Brown Jr. trade is official the Ravens have a hole at Right Tackle that needs to be filled as soon as possible. The talk surrounding Leatherwood has him landing in the second round. Picking this late in the first is basically the equivalent to that. As far as Tackles left on the board, I think Leatherwood is the most ready to step right into a starting role.
32) Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Pick: Edge Azeez Ojulari (Georgia)
Reason: What do you get the team that seems to have everything? A Quarterback for Brady to groom would be nice, but I don’t think Brady would agree, and I don’t see Arians going that route in round 1. A Corner to help out in case Carlton Davis’ recent choice of words leads to an unexpected release would help, but Davis apologized and I don’t think the Bucs will cut him. How about an Edge Rusher to add to the rotation that already features Shaq Barrett and Jason Pierre-Paul? That sounds pretty good to me, and I have a feeling Todd Bowles would agree.
