DRAFT DAY IS HERE! FINALLY! There has been a whole lot going In my life lately , otherwise I would already have had My full team write up out at least a month ago , But life happens. I Apologize for not dropping this until draft day but I didn't have any other options this time around. At this point I don't have time to type up the detailed profiles from my notes so my profiles will be pretty brief this year . Although I will have NFL player comparisons for everyone in this first round mock I am not sure I will have time to do them for the first 3 rounds because on my board past 4:30 am on the day of the draft as I type this into to close out my mock. At this point I am pretty sure that Cam Ward , Abdul Carter , and Travis Hunter will all be gone in the top 3 , but after that we're all guessing. Since Vegas always has information that most don't , and the betting odds on Ward going number one have spiked It's obvious that he is going #1 now. Yes even after they Wilson's signing to a cheap contract the Giants could still easily take a QB at # 3 , but I doubt it. a week ago I'd expected Sanders to go in the top 7 , and shockingly he could even go #2 to the Browns , but now I am just betting he falls way out of the top 10 because Sanders family wants everything their way and that's going to turn off a lot of teams because - HOT NEWS FLASH DEION - IT'S A TEAM GAME. something tells me that deep down Deion still believes its all about him , and I can't be the only one who fears that he has passed that attitude onto his son. Also if you're the head coach of a team with Shedeur Sanders as your quarterback , and things don't go well I can just see Deion army of little sycophants lobbying in the media for Deion to get that job. Plus the Steelers are the only team that have patience for coaches to right the ship these days so even a first or 2nd year HC can get fired before they get a fair chance to rebuild at this point. It's a QB driven league and if you don't have one then the coach and/or GM are both on the hot seat. With the free agency chaos basically destroying my team writeups I decided to wait until my next mock to let this frantic part stop before finishing my full team summaries , but some family stuff also got in the way , and an old injury has flared up on me. So just saying I'm on a lot of painkillers right now and I'm not sure how this is even going to come out ,. but there will probably be even more mistakes than usual. Next some stupid big deals signed by edge rushers have sadly destroyed the market , and now greedy lesser players like Micah Parson will probably be even more overpaid than usual. Once again Jerry Jones waits and loses. At this point I would trade Parson and draft 2 edge guys with the 2 first picks I got for him if I was Dallas. Not to mention that some very talented players have been traded for 2nd round picks. Also a few more big time prospects have been plagued by injuries since my last mock. First Jalon Walker got hurt while training , but it's not believed to be serious. Walker says he will now just have a private workout in April. Yet another reason while players should just do it ALL at The Scouting Combine. If you don't like your workout you can try to improve at your Pro Day ( or a private workout ) , but if you get hurt after ghosting The Combine a whole lot of a unanswered questions just grow in the minds of NFL teams. Now if this is some agent B.S. where he's telling a not to workout because they aren't really that good then I hope the player goes undrafted , but if it's legit he could get injured again and never get to workout for teams. CB Will Johnson also has postponed working out for teams with a new injury , and even when he did workout he didn't run the 40. Then Jihaad Campbell just had shoulder surgery , although reports say he should be good to start the NFL season barring any setbacks , but at least he ran and did some other drills at the combine. So the reported injuries that have made me shuffle some rankings. With the season complete everything in the NFL season barring is still partly focused on the tail end of free agency , but the draft is a higher priority now. Still grinding through more tape , but I'm getting a better feel on these players now. I have broken down the film on one game for 467 players. Plus I have done 3 games on 413 players , but only 5 or more games on 177. Another significant difference between this draft , and other recent ones , is that everybody currently still has their own number one pick. That probably means 1 or 2 will happen in 2025 for a QB , but I wouldn't trade up into ( or draft ) any of them in the top 10. When I finished doing a deeper dive on 2024 eligible QB's , and I still don't have a 1rst round grade on any of them it just didn't make sense. Any team wanting to win now might be better served by going after a veteran option. Rodgers and Kirk Cousins , are still available. If I was a NFL GM who wanted to win I would rather have either of them starting for my team next year than any of the potential 2025 draftable QB's , especially Wilson. Also, Aaron Rodgers may still decide to keep playing , and if he's committed he may be even better than Russell next season, Also , Kirk Cousins has flexed his no trade clause until after the draft , but he should be on the move after it. To me it's a weird draft so far with very few high ceiling guys that also have a high floor. Plus the deepest positions I now see as far as good potential starters on the first 2 days of the draft are RB , edge rusher , and TE. With the exception of edge rusher , which is a premium position , the other 2 positions have been undervalued most by the NFL. In fact I expect edge to have both the most 1rst round picks , and top 50 selections in this draft for any position. If you count Jalon Walker & Jihaad Campbell as edge rushers then their could be as many as 20 edge rushers drafted in the first 2 rounds. Although DT has decent strength early . Also DT seems to have too many high ceiling boom or bust prospects who's production doesn't match their talent , but there are a whole lot of talented guys there. CB started out well when I was watching tape this off season and through the early part of the 2024 schedule, but the rash of injuries to many of the top prospects at the position has cooled me some on the group. A lot of the top OT's will be seen as a better fit inside , but I expect a LOT of O-Lineman to be drafted in the first 75 picks anyway. TE could be special this year as well. On the first 2 days of the draft I'm guessing there will 2 TE's taken in the top 22 picks, 4 in the first 2 rounds , and maybe 7 in the top 120. As for RB I have 4 in my top 32 and I believe there could be multiple 1,000 rushers who fall to the 5th round. I expect a trade up into the top 10 this year will cost less if a team does move up for a signal caller , but I still think it's probably a waste. The picks are all mine if you want to be mad at someone , but this is NOT my top prospects list , but instead what I believe NFL teams will do. A lot of trades will probably happen, but I expect it to happen more on day 2. As for as my NFL player comps go they are a projection of the prospect if he is a hit, but the lower I have the brakes the less likely that I think it's going to happen. Without further ado here it is. Agreeing or disagreeing is welcome, but please do it intelligently & respectfully or I just won't post it. so here it is. Enjoy.
# Is for a player for with reported character or maturity concerns.
** Is for a player with reported injury concerns.
***TRADE*** The GIANTS TRADE their 1rst (#3) and their 3rd (#65) rounder in this draft , and their 2026 first rounder to the TITANS for their 1rst (#1) rounder ***TRADE***
1.TITANS - CAMERON WARD - QB - MIAMI - 6"2" , 219
NFL PLAYER COMP - JORDAN LOVE - PACKERS
Needs - QB, WR , EDGE , LB , CB
When you are a GM of a NFL team the best thing you can hope for is that there is a desirable quarterback Prospect available when you have the number one pick. It doesn't matter if you already have a QB , and if anything that's even better because now you have powerful options. You may even decide to trade your veteran and his hefty contract for some cheap on the cap picks, and start over with a reset of the salary cap with a potential franchise QB on a rookie contract. If you don't have a quarterback at all it's usually pretty easy. You just sit and pick that quarterback , and hope you get it right so you don't waste those first 5 years of his less expensive deal. Not to mention if you already have a good quarterback that you are set with you can trade that first pick for a ton of draft capital , and then really get your franchise going in the right direction if you just make your picks decently. The Titans are in neither of these scenarios , and GM Mike Borgonzi is on the clock . They don't currently have a set quarterback , there is no surefire number one QB prospect in this draft , and even if someone were to trade up for Cam Ward my guess is they wouldn't get as much if they would for a more popular quarterback entry in the draft from past years. On the bright side Cam Ward is The consensus top QB in this draft , and while I can't tell you where everybody else has him , I have listened to (or read) The opinions of some people I respect that do have a first grade on him. I do not , as he Is the 18th player on my board , and he does not have a first round grade. Also Ward would have been 32nd on my board in last years better at the top draft right ahead of Penix & Mccarthy. He fits in what I call my bubble guys , as they are right between a 1rst & 2nd round grade. To me those are guys that should eventually develop into a starter , and have a good upside So there is no way I would be taking him with a number one pick, and normally I would NOT touch him in the top 10 , but this is a draft really lacking in blue chip & almost blue chip players. Basically after Abdul Carter , Travis Hunter and Ashton Jeanty there aren't any players that I would stamp as franchise cornerstones right now , but that doesn't mean there aren't any. Even the next tier of players that I graded well like Mason Graham ,Tyler Warren , Tetairoa Mcmillan , aren't slam dunks. As this draft doesn't have anywhere near 10 players with a top 10 grade , and because of that I wouldn't be surprised if two running backs were selected in the top 10 because at least both of those guys have very high floors & ceilings, and I would bet that they're going to be franchise backs for 4 to 6 years. So if you believe that this guy is a Franchise QB I get why you would take him number one overall , but you better be right. Otherwise the GM and the head coach are likely to get fired. So even though I like Cam Ward I don't love him. It's so much worse missing with the number one pick , or even a top 10 pick than missing in the teens & 20s. So I get it if the Titan thinks he's the only possible high floor starting Quarterback back in this draft , that also has a high ceiling. However , unless the owner is absolutely forcing you into drafting him there is a good chance you're going to get fired if he isn't a hit, and sometimes the owner will fire you anyway and blame it all on you. I would absolutely 100% take Abdul Carter or even Travis Hunter with the number one pick this year , and I wouldn't trade back farther than the Giants at number 3 because we all know if they trade up number one they're taking Ward. That is the dream scenario for the Titans and it wa possible. Now you've got extra picks and you still get one of the top two players in the draft , and for Brian Callahan's sake I hoped it would happen , but I doubt it. At this point I'm about 99% sure the Titans are just going to take Ward at number one. The Titans signed a lot of relatively low-Cost Veteran players this offseason in free agency , but none of them stand out to me right now. The one I like the most is perennial above average guard Kevin Zeitler. He is coming off another good season , and a one-year $9 million dollar contract is a good price for him. But I don't like giving average left tackle Dan Moore a 4-year 82 million contract with 50 million guaranteed. While it's good that it allows them to Leave JC Latham at right tackle that's a lot of money for a guy the Steelers were looking to replace for years , But on the bright side he will only be 27 this year, he will now be coached by legendary offensive line coach Bill Callahan , and he's coming off his best season. So let's hope that Callahan SR. can get the most out of him. Also those 2 moves do potentially solidify their offensive line. in addition to the aforementioned quarterback the Titans also could use a number one receiver on offense. On defense the Titans have many more needs. They are set at defensive tackle with the physical Duo of Jeffrey Simmons and last year's number one pick T'vondre Sweat who played more snaps , and held up better then I expected as a rookie. Everything else on the defense can use an upgrade , and that goes especially for edge rusher. A roster that lacks this much talent on defense beats a lot more high picks to build it up. and are instead going to draft Cam instead. Edge & WR are 2 of their biggest needs but they will still pass on Carter & Hunter. Ward started out at the small College of Incarnate Word and then Transferred from WASHINGTON ST where his career really took off . He has a sidearm release coming from a lot of angles , but with a very big arm. He needs to learn when to throw it away to fight another day instead if drifting and trying to find the biggest play down the field. Ward also has a penchant for fumbling . A lot of both special and stupid throws on his tape. On the bright side he played 5 years , improved every year, and that's more impressive considering it was 3 different schools. Yet he was also in a version of the Air Raid offense , and that doesn't usually translate well to the NFL. Yet he thinks he's Brett Favre, and by that I mean gunslinger who can make spectacular plays , but also put you in terrible spots with his forced throws and & sketchy decision making. He was better this year at getting rid of the ball at times, but his playing style is a lot like CJ Stroud's was in college for me. That means he keeps looking down the field way past when he should dump it off , run , or throw it away. Now Stroud had this problem right up until his final playoff game when he started dinking more , trying to dunk less , and running when he should. Ward is much worse in this department. Sometimes it's like he's trying to hold on to the ball Until the last second before he steps out of bounds. Yet he is a gunslinger that makes a ton of really exciting special place that will make you want to give him a lot of chances. If you could harness his talents and get him to be a better decision maker , speed up his reads , and get rid of the ball earlier he could be a great quarterback. Now I am not giving him a Brett Favre comp , and the only other player I gave that comp to was Patrick Mahomes. That sounds like a great thing but Patrick Mahomes went to Andy Reid , and I believe Reid is the greatest quarterbacks coach of all time , and that he can get the most out of any quarterback. Also Patrick Mahomes is a unicorn that can do things that no one else can , even though it looks like Ward is trying to do a lot of them. Personally I believe anyone that thanks they can replicate Mahomes unmatched improvisational skills , unique playmaking ability , and clutch poise is going to be sorely disappointed. Ward is a good athlete who can run a little when he needs to, but mostly he scrambles to buy time , and he has really good pocket awareness . Cam also has good accuracy from different platforms & arm angles. a quick release once he finally decides to throw it, and a cannon for an arm. Plus his college highlight reel can hang with most top NFL QB's. While Ward has that 6th sense for pressure in the pocket to avoid or escape an initial rusher a lot of his throws from pressure are just scary dangerous right now. Yet his work ethic and leadership helped turn around the Miami program last season. So I get it , but if it were up to me would take the picks from the Giants and draft a QB on day 2 , or even next year.
2.BROWNS - TRAVIS HUNTER - WR/CB - COLORADO - 6 feet , 188
NFL PLAYER COMP OFF. - GARRETT WILSON - JETS
NFL PLAYER COMP DEF. - ASANTE SAMUEL SR. - retired
Needs - QB , OT , RB , CB , WR , EDGE , DT
I truly feel for Cleveland fans. They are a Diehard lot that John McClane would empathize with, and don't deserve this QB purgatory they have been put in. Deshaun Watson looks like a shell of his former top 5 QB self since coming back from perv related suspension, and that contract is a albatross around their necks. Watson getting hurt , and missing this upcoming season can even be seen as a boon because now they won't be pressured to play him, and his crappy play was dragging the team down. The Browns are putting it out there that they are going to take a QB, but are they really? It makes sense because they desperately need one , but you would have to be sure about Shedujer Sanders, and I'm not. Maybe they also know something we don't , or maybe they are just enticing someone to leap over them to trade with Tennessee so that Abdul Carter , or even Travis Hunter falls to them. I'm pretty sure that the Titans would love that , but the Brown could also take a QB in the 2nd , or even trade back up into the bottom of round one to to snag a signal caller. Although I think it unlikely this is the first spot that I could see Ashton Jeanty being drafted , as Nick Chubb is both a free agent , and he did not look like his normal dominant self after returning from injury last year. Plus the teams picking at 6 , 8 , 10 , and 12 all have pretty significant RB needs right behind them. As for the rest of the off season the Browns gave Myles Garrett a huge contract extension after he demanded to be traded because he said he wanted to go somewhere where he could win now. Well apparently enough money can change his mind because it's highly unlike that he's going to win with the Browns this year. the Browns also traded for former steeler first round pick Kenny Pickett after a year he spent backing up Jalen hurts in Philly. So the quarterback cupboard is not entirely bare. Free agent signings of note so far are Vastly overpaying veteran defensive tackle Maliek Collins , giving a little money to former buccaneer first round bust Joe Tryon-Shoyinka , add the one deal I like in signing guard Tevin Jenkins. The only reason that a good young starting guard with power was available was a lack of availability on the field. Jenkins has missed 10 , 5 , 5 , and 3 games in his first 4 seasons. the Browns had a great offensive line for a long time but now age has hit a lot of them. A few years ago the only offensive lineman they had starting on their team wasn't a potential Pro Bowler was left tackle Jedrick Willis , and he is recovering from a MCL tear. Yet father time is undefeated and the 3 mainstays on this line have gotten older. Now 2 time first team ALL PRO RT Jack Conklin is injury prone , 2 time ALL PRO & 7 time Pro Bowl guard Joel Botonio was contemplating retirement this off season before deciding to return after back to back down Seasons , road grading 3 time Pro Bowl guard Wyatt Teller is coming off his worst season in the last 5 where he missed 4 games. Plus all three of those studs for now and their 30's. Big tall center Ethan Pocic had surprisingly worked his way into my top 10 centers before a down year last season will also turn 30 this year. Ginormous OT Dawand Jones has potential if he could get under 350 pounds and bend his knees better , but even if he doesn't he is so wide its just hard to get around him at times, although his play has been subpar so far. Personally I think OT is a need that they need to address on the first 2 days of the draft , but QB , RB , and WR are bigger needs. The obvious question is do they draft Shedeur Sanders if Ward is gone? I wouldn't but here are some reasons why they might. 1-Head coach Kevin Stefanski is that his best with pocket quarterbacks , and Sanders is a pocket quarterback. 2- their team really need to quarterback. That's it. More importantly to me is that I have a mid-second round grade On Sanders , and I could see a team trading up into the bottom of the 1st to draft him , and it making sense. If the Browns did that i would deploy them. Unfortunately there's no way he falls to the bottom of the first round now borrowing some sort of gas mask situation like Laramie Tunsil. In fact at this point I'm very sure that he won't get past the Jets at #7 , and I don't see anybody trading up for Sanders in the top 10. In addition to the Browns the Raiders at # 6 , and jets at number 7 the Saints also need a quarterback at 9. I think the Browns are just going to sit there and take Carter and give them a huge 12 punch on the outside with Garrett , or take Travis Hunter i'm trying to make the most out of his incredible athleticism and versatility. I'm going to give them Carter strictly because I suspect that the Browns Promised Garrett if they would draft him are running mate to help keep him from being double And triple teens so that he would stay and Re-sign with Cleveland. a month ago Abdul Carter was a lock for me is the number one overall player but between his character questions and injuries I could see why someone might want to take the safer Travis Hunter instead. Hunter has elite hands and a much wider catch radius than his smaller size would make you think. He has good long speed on tape , but my guess would be a low to mid 4.4 because he never ran for teams. Although he does have great short area quickness as he explodes to the ball with a finishers mentality on both offense & defense. His tape also improved at corner this year , especially in man , but I like him best in off zone where he can read the QB and make plays on the ball. Hunter still needs to get bigger & stronger because right now he will get pushed around some on both sides of the ball by physical DB's & WR's , but he's so smooth and he can change direction like a high level RB. Although he does get grabby when beat. He's still raw , especially as a route runner on offense, but he separates well anyway because he can explode laterally out of his breaks. Travis also has the instincts for jumping routes , and he is threat to take it the house on every play on O or D because he can cover so much ground quickly when the balls in play , or in his hands. He reminds me of both Garrett Wilson on offense & Asante Samuel SR. on defense. I would want him to primarily be a WR because would have a longer career that way , and I would not him play than 100&% of the snaps combined. So I would have him on offense 70% of the time , and on defense during the most important passing downs about 30% of the time. Isaw get worked to many times against Colorado ST. in 2023 when he was gassed and I don't want that to happen.Not to mention that he isn't a big guy , and he could get hurt even more than he did in college playing too many snaps. Also I would like to see him running all his routes hard on offense instead of running lackadaisically when he doesn't expect the ball. He is a unique player , and #1 on overall board , but if the Browns use him right it could pay off huge both in the short & long term.
3. GIANTS - ABDUL CARTER - # - LB/EDGE - PENN ST - 6"3 , 250
NFL PLAYERS COMP - MICAH PARSONS - COWBOYS
Needs - QB , OT ,CB , DT-5 TECH , WR , EDGE , SAFETY
I truly feel for the Giants front office and coaching staff , because I think that they are skilled people on a hot seat that don't deserve it just because they didn't have a quarterback when they got there. Head coach Brian Daboll and GM Joe Schoen inherited Daniel Jones. Once Daboll got Daniel Jones to play well enough that they somehow decided to give him a contract extension I believe they were both screwed to some extent. although at least the contract wasn't big enough too tie their hands in the long term . Jones is a quarterback who is not a good passer , and is in fact a much better runner. That is not sustainable long-term in the NFL. Unless you're a huge guy like Cam Newton Or Josh Allen You're going to get hurt If you run a lot , And even then both of those guys ended up having major injuries , and despite his well above average size injuries also ended Andrew Luck's career because he took too many big hits . Now you can say Lamar Jackson, But Jackson avoids big hits most of the time , and he has started to run less & smarter while simultaneously becoming a very good passer. Jones is not anywhere near the runner that Jackson is , and FAR less of a passer than Jackson is. So I'm glad that the Giants got that albatross from around there necks , and Jones is now the Colts problem. Which is ironic because now the Colts have two quarterbacks that are better runners than passers. Anyway , that's the reason why I fear they will draft a quarterback at number three because it might give the GM and head coach more time to turn this team into a winner . Personally I would just go with Russell Wilson and win more games. But if they do draft Shedeur Sanders or Jackson Dart at number three It will probably be a huge mistake for their long-term stability and success. Not to mention it's probably going to get the head coach & GM fired. Back in the day when the Giants traded for and drafted Eli Manning at number one overall I got that because he was a great Prospect , but even then they already had Kurt Warner who was playing well. So when they benched him for a not ready yet Eli and their season fell apart it seemed stupid. Hopefully even if the Giants do draft a quarterback high they won't make the same mistake this time. Now if it's ownership forcing you to play The Rookie than I think both Daboll and Schoen should keep their jobs, but that's not up to me. NFL owners don't always show the best patience . Not to mention they rarely take responsibility for their screw-ups . The Giants offensive line was improved last year, and adding Malik Nabers as the new number one wide receiver certainly helped , but we all saw how many times Malik was running wide open down the field and the giants QBs couldn't make the connection. The Giants actually have some franchise building locks in place now , although most of them are on defense . In addition to Malik Nabers and left Tackle Andrew Thomas on offense the G-Man have off the ball linebacker Bobby Okereke , slot corner Andru Phillips, All world nose tackle Dexter Lawrence , and edge rushers Brian Burns & Kayvon Thibodeaux. Then this off season season they really improved their secondary by getting safety Javon Holland and young and probably still getting better corner Paulson Adebo. Throw Russell Wilson into the mix and it's been a great offseason in my opinion. As a matter of fact the only player they lost this off season that I would have tried harder to keep is Azeez Ojularii , but since he was their third Edge rusher I get it . The Giants also resigned deep threat wide receiver Darius Slayton , and even brought in feast or famine quarterback Jameis Winston to back up Russell. So they don't really need a quarterback right now. Now if they want to draft a young QB in the second third or fourth rounds that makes some sense to me , But if you trade back into the bottom of the first round to take Jaxson Dart or any of these other quarterbacks you better be sure because you're betting your job . If I'm this coaching staff & GM with my job on the line I'm playing Russ , and I'm using my second day picks on guys who can help me now. Maybe instead I draft Tyler Shough , Dylan Gabriel , Quinn Ewers , Or Jalen Milroe If one falls to the fourth round and see what I can do to help make them better. Deion Sanders has made it clear that he wants his son to go to New York , but whether that's to the Giants or Jets only Deion and his son probably know for sure. Basically I'm saying just because that even if The take Giants Sanders or dart at number three here I don't agree with it. The Giants have so many better options for both immediate and long-term success in my opinion . First draft who's ever there between Abdul Carter and Travis Hunter , and you just hit a home run. If not you could instead take DT Mason Graham and have one of the potentially best front fours in football on defense. How about even rather taking RB Ashton Jeanty because he is a legit elite Prospect , even if I fundamentally disagree with the idea of taking running backs in the top 10. With the Eagles being the defending Super Bowl champions, and Washington right on their heels even making the playoffs as a wild card is going to be very difficult in the NFC East. Yet if they draft a player who can help them now instead of reaching for a quarterback they should at least have a good chance to surpass Dallas for third place in the NFC East , and be in the wild card picture. Carter falls to them here. Before I heard about the character concerns & found out about his injuries Carter was my highest ranked player in the draft, but even after that he is #2. If you have Burns, Carter , and Kayvon coming off the edge in a rotation that will wear QB's out. Abdul is a former off the ball LB from Penn ST who converted to more of a edge guy his final year in college , although he still does a lot of A & B gap blitzes from the middle which is where Parson excelled most as a rusher in college. Yep just like Micah Parson but he made the move to more of a primary pass rusher more in college than Parson did. Carter is bigger than Parson was, has better tape as a pass rusher than Micah did in college , but also has that lightning first step to put a blocker in jeopardy. He will get the OT to panic & grab when he beats the early and will draw plenty of penalties. Yes he also wears the #11 that Parsons did too , and you can see he was tutored by him , and has patterned some of his game after him. Carter is just more advanced than Parson was on Penn ST . because he made the move earlier , but he's not quite as bendy to me , although he is a wider array of pass rush moves coming out of college. Yet he is still mostly a speed rusher ( 4,48 forty at Pro day ) like Parsons is , and even though he slaps away the blockers hands with violence he could use more speed to power in his game. That spin move is sick too , and he has the balance to pull it off , but he is still kind of raw despite his exciting tape & production in college. He is also surprisingly good in coverage with solid charge of direction ability for a bigger LB. Carter also has a higher football IQ as a off the ball LB than Parson did , takes on blocks better , and is a better tackler. He is still undersized ,and will get manhandled more against the run in the NFL too. ACCUSED OF assault shortly after the 2024 draft , but did some community service, and I have pinched a tow truck driver before so I get it . Also it was discovered by doctors at The Combine that Carter has a stress fracture in his foot , and that he may have to get surgery on it someday , but right now he is just resting it instead. Basically he as close to a MIcah Parson clone as you can get.
4.PATRIOTS - WILL CAMPBELL - T/G - LSU - 6"6" , 319
NFL PLAYER COMP- MATT LIGHT - retired
Needs - OT , WR , EDGE , DT , RB
The Patriots were an absolute crap festival last year. I really thought Jerod Mayo well at least be their head coach for a while since he was the hand picked successor to Belichick according to owner Robert Kraft. Now Mayo did not have enough older veteran coaches on his staff , and he went too far the other way in comparison to Belichick in the discipline apartment , but I still I thought it was pretty quick pulling the trigger to fire him after one season. My guess is that because Mayo got such a quick exit that he might be one of those rare guys who gets a second chance to be a head coach down the line because he is a very smart guy who knows and loves football. However I also believe that if Mike Vrabel was available when they hired Mayo that the Patriots would have hired Vrabel in the first place instead. Vrable was fired by an incompetent owner who doesn't know what she's doing in Tennessee, and he lost a power struggle with either her or the GM or both. Either way I love the Vrabel hire for the Patriots this offseason. Unfortunately the Patriots were the NFL roster with the least amount of Talent on it when Vrable got here but they have made some exciting moves this off season. On the on the bright side of what they already had at least they already have a quarterback as I love Drake Maye. However two very important things to keep Maye playing well are missing. They need a left tackle , and a number one ride receiver right now , and this draft doesn't have an absolute ready to go number prospect one wide receiver or starting left tackle just sitting there for them even at number four. Now I am of the belief that Travis Hunter would have a better career if his primary position was wide receiver because he's already my number two wide receiver in this draft while only playing in a limited number of snaps on offense. He reminds me a lot of Garrett Wilson as a wide receiver because it's very rare for a small to average size guy to have such a wide catch radius , great hands , and to be almost fearless in contested catch situations in the way that Wilson & Hunter are on tape. So if Travis Hunter's there at number four , and the Patriots snag him they could make him their number one WR playing 70% to 80% of the snaps on offense. Then I would have Hunter play about 30% of the snaps on defense on passing downs only. My current #1 WR receiver in this draft is Tetairoa McMillan . While I like Mcmillan a lot , and would take him in the top 10 of this draft, in last year's draft he would have been my number 4 receiver behind Rome Odunze. Now I had Brian Thomas Jr. with a solid first ground grade last year and at number 19 on my board in a much better draft , but after the rookie year that Robinson just had I think I was too low on him. However coming out of college I do have a higher grade on McMillan so make of that what you will. Mcmillan could be that big outside X wide receiver that every NFL team wants , although he did spend about 20 to 25% of his snaps in the slot last year and the year before. In a draft where I only have 15 players with a actual first round grade , and that is a small amount especially when you consider that I am trying to think in the terms of every teams board. Mcmillan should be at LEAST one of the top 15 players drafted , but I have looked around the net at some of the mock drafts of people who are plugged into NFL clubs at McMillan has been falling. Whereas most teams only draft specifically for their system , and in this draft that it's lacking in a lot of surefire high-end talents some teams may only have 10 to 12. So I can't fathom how he could fall outside of the top 15 , but it only takes one team to see what I do. I think the Patriots could take Mcmillan at number four and I would give them a solid grade for it. There is no other wide receiver I would consider that high other than those two. As far as OT goes I don't see a left tackle who is worth a top four pick in this draft. Josh Simmons was the best past blocking Blindside protector in the draft early in the season before his patellar tendon knee injury , but now it's anyone's guess where he will go based on what each individual team's doctors say about his possible recovery. If it was ruptured, according to my brother the doctor , his career is going to be cut short. Yet I don't have that medical data so I'm just throwing him in the bottom of the first round now and there's no way I can see the Patriots taking him here . Now I get that Armand Membou has solid tape, has some excellent traits & tools, and had a great combine. It's just that he is not a upper echelon Prospect to me. I know some people will say well just flip him over to left tackle , but that is not as easy as everyone thinks. If it can be done well it often takes time , and Membou has only played right tackle all 3 years in college , but the Patriots did sign steady journeyman Morgan Moses to play right tackle in the off season so I don't think the Patriots are going to take him this High . Also that's a big "if" that he can make the switch to the left side at all. Will Campbell is another offensive tackle I could see being drafted here, and although I think it's too high for him In a normal draft he does have solid tape actually playing left tackle. Not to mention he was a 4-year starter on the blind side at LSU. Yet his 2023 tape was considerably better than his 2024 tape. It needs to be said that some teams don't like guys offensive tackle's unless their arms are at least 34 inches long. With all the weird measurements this draft season I'm not sure if Campbell's arm length is 32 and 5/8 or 33 in or somewhere in between , but I am absolutely certain that I would let him try to lay left tackle in the NFL before I tried to move him to guard. also keep in mind that one of Campbell's weaknesses is that he gets too high and that is much more difficult to deal with with bigger stronger players on the interior so I'm not sure if the transition to guard would go as well as everybody else seems to think so. Personally I just see a guy with pretty good tape and left tackle so that's where I'm going to play him. It also behooves me to remind everyone that the Patriots won their first three super Bowl championships with Matt Light at left tackle , and his arm length was under 33 inches , and I'm sure his three championships & three Pro Bowls in New England made Tom Brady feel very safe & protected by Mr. Light. Coincidentally Campbell reminds me of Light. Texas OT Kelvin Banks has the highest floor among the offensive tackles in my opinion , but no one's talking about him going in the top 10 so I don't think he's going here either . Personally I'm taking Tavis Hunter or Abdul Carter if either one of them fall , and if not I'm taking Mason Graham. Barring a trade back , and not taking any of those aforementioned guys there's always Jeanty because he is an elite player , and you know that Vrabel wants to run the ball . The only other option I can see is Tyler Warren. In fact not only did Mike Vrable play with Gronk and Hernandez In New England, but he also played some tight end himself and caught a lot of touchdowns in key moments. Basically any player drafted by the Patriots that isn't named Abdul Carter , Travis Hunter, Ashton Jeanty , Mason Graham , Tyler Warren, or Tetairoa McMillan is mistake At pick number four to me. That doesn't mean that they can't Draft someone else and it won't work out , but it does mean that they are not using their resources in the most efficient way. Now I thought the Patriots had a pretty good off season for the most part. Armed with a lot of cap space they signed some high-end relatively young players to big deals like defensive tackle Milton Williams coming off a huge Super Bowl performance for the Eagles. Even often injured Edge rusher Harold Landry , who played for Vrabel with the Titans , because he is still a very good passer when healthy. Plus the money's not too bad even if he gets hurt. Then you have Smart tough guy between the tackles off the ball linebacker Roberts Spillane who I think the Raiders are going to miss. Veteran corner Carlton Davis is still only 28 , and while he's had his ups & downs he's played a lot of snaps against good receivers , and held his own. Adding him to Young stud corner Christian Gonzalez and Speedy slot guy Marcus Jones could really give the Patriots an edge over a lot of teams. Big blocking wide receiver Mack Hollins has some value , but he is a number three or four WR , and since the Patriots already have a wide receiver room full of number three & fours I didn't expect him to be signed here. I'm not a big fan of Center Garrett Bradbury just because he's one of those centers who can't handle power well , but he is athletic , and can help spring some long runs on the second or third level. So all the buzz is that they are going to take Campbell , and he is a battle tested 3 year starter on the blindside in the SEC. He has a finishers mentality . and when his techniques on it's pretty , but he needs to play lower consistently to alleviate the arm length concerns.
5.JAGUARS - TETAIROA MCMILLAN - WR - ARIZONA
NFL PLAYER COMP - TEE HIGGINS - BENGALS
Needs - O-LINE, DT , CB , WR
At least the Jaguars have a franchise quarterback already on the roster , and yes I absolutely see Lawrence as a franchise quarterback despite last year , but last season was a unmitigated disaster. With so many injuries In one season it's very hard to overcome. at the beginning of the season it was mostly on defense, but it just snowballed from there. Then they're already leaky offensive got worse due to the injuries, and Kirk and Engram got hurt too. Then Trevor Lawrence got hurt ,and even though Matt Jones actually played decently , the team just looked defeated near the end to me . Now the Jags have a new innovative young head coach in Liam Coen and hopefully their new GM James Gladstone will just take good football players in the draft instead of the player with the highest athleticism score like former GM Trent Baalke did. They cut some high salaried injured guys like Christian Kirk and Evan Engram. They also didn't resign long term stud guard Brandon Scherff , but he was also coming off an injury , and is on the decline. I actually like some of their free agent signings like versatile CB Jourdan Lewis , G/T Pat Mekari , and deep threat WR Dyami Brown. It's just that I think they overpaid all 3 of them. They also brought in 2 backup TE's known more for blocking than receiving to join Brenton Strange in the seam. The biggest areas of need for this team are Offensive Line , cornerback , DT , WR , and offensive tackle. They don't really need a running back Because they already have two good ones so that leaves out my highest graded player in Ashton Jeanty. Defensive tackle Mason Graham would be a perfect fit here. However everything I hear and read is that they're not into him which is very weird because their GM comes from the Rams where in the last 2 years they have drafted short armed highly productive defensive tackles who have worked out very well in the pros. it's possible that could go to a heavy 2 tight end set in which case Tyler Warren would make perfect sense , but I haven't heard anything about that either. So I am going to give them who I think it's the best wide receiver in this class, although he has been falling on a lot of public boards lately. In case you haven't noticed Trevor Lawrence does his best work throwing the tall receivers. He's a very tall quarterback , and when he misses he usually misses High. that's only has about average ball placement so a guy with a wide catch radius can help him out. That's Tetairoa Mcmillan to a tee. A big WR with a wide catch radius , adding McMillan to Brian Thomas on the outside would give Trevor Lawrence 2 huge targets who could go up and get it , break tackles after the catch and block their butts off while they're in the mood for it. The first time I thought McMillan might be something special was when he Dominated against Miss. ST. in week 2 of 2023 , and then had over 100 yards in each of the final 4 games. He is a nice reliable hands catcher who wins jump balls. The contested catch he had in double coverage versus USC was spectacular , and he is a ACE on them overall. If he can get a little thicker he could be a Mike Evans type. Since he goes up against Tacario Davis at practice all week it alleviates some of my worries about him seeing enough good coverage in the big 12. He was hurt a lot in 2024 , and his tape wasn't quite as good , but he is #1 WR in this draft on my board. If Mcmillan was in last years draft he would have been my #4 WR right behind Rome Odunze, although my actual #4WR in last years draft ( Bryan Thomas) played 2024 like I had him too low on my board at #19 overall. Yet I would still happily take him in the top 10 of this draft . Mcmillan has a very high floor in my opinion , and a guy with his size hands , jump ball ability , and catch radius is rare. I see him as a true X receiver , but so is Thomas. It' s a good problem to have , but Mcmillan also played about 20 to 25% percent of his snaps in the slot the last 2 years and he could spend a lot of time there in Jacksonville , or switch off with Thomas inside and out. The fact that McMillan reminds me of Tee Higgins , and that Higgins had back double-digit touchdown seasons with Trevor Lawrence at Clemson doesn't hurt either.
6.RAIDERS - MASON GRAHAM - DT/DE - MICHIGAN - 6"4" , 296
NFL PLAYER COMP - QUINNEN WILLIAMS - JETS
Needs - QB , WR , RB , CB , DT
The raiders are entering a new era with Tom Brady as the lead football voice in Vegas , i'm back to only make their franchise better. They've been without a good quarterback up their car in 2022 and their record paid for it. Now with Pete Carroll that's the head coach there's one thing you'll know for sure she will get his players to play hard for him , but I do worry that Carroll has never fully adapted to the adjustments teams made to his Seattle cover 3 defense. When you look at Dan Quinn he took what Pete Carroll taught him , and took it to a new level. there's a lot more a lot more Variation mixed in , And Carroll has to learn to do the same. Mark Davis is dangerous like his father Al , but in a different way, i'll be more about football than any other NFL owner but even though he was a coach at one time he did not know enough to be a coach in the current times when he was a Miller. I was still trying to run 1960s and '70s schemes in the '80s and '90s. Not to mention he should be interfering with coaches no way more about how to coat football than he does. Mark on the other hand doesn't know Squat about football , and I'm pretty sure he knows ir. So he generally picks someone he trust to help make football decisions. It's just that Mark has not picked the right people to be that football man. Just because John Gruden is a great football coach doesn't mean he knows squat about picking players. Something tells me Brady will be good at if they let him really be in charge of football decisions. The Raiders gave Crosby a new gigantic extension , and that was probably their best move of the off season. Although I do like getting a reliable steady quarterback like Geno Smith for only a third rounder , and Geno played his best for Carroll In Seattle. I also bringing in safety Jeremy Chinn , and taking a low cost flier on explosive running back Raheem Mostert. Mostert is older , injury prone, and coming off a down season. However, he also had a huge 21 TD season just recently in 2023. A lot of us believe that Ashton Jeanty is going to be the pick here , and while I am normally against Running backs being taken in the top 10 , in this draft he is one of the three truly Elite players. Plus he has such a high floor , and I could totally be on board with it here at number six. However the Raiders have a lot of needs if they want their team to be competitive now , and I am not sure if they're going all in to make a quick jump this season , or if they're building for the long term . I'm betting that Brady wants to go long term ,but since Pete is so old he might want to invest more in winning now. And this is a very deep running back draft so I can see them taking one or two later. In this case a player I definitely would be comfortable taking in the top ten of most drafts is available in Mason Graham. Putting him next to Christian Wilkins on the interior could really make the Raiders interior defense so much stronger. Not to mention it will open up Lanes forMaxx Crosby to come screaming in off the edge. Graham was a disruptive force inside against Bama's O-line in the first playoff game on 2024 , and was named the defensive player of the game. Then he balled out again versus Washington's award winning O-Line in the National Championship Game in his true sophomore season . The former wrestler has a innate understanding of leverage , and a great motor . Quality spin moves are rare , and even rarer from interior D-lineman , but Graham flashes one. Came in much lighter than the 320 he was listed at Michigan when he weighed in at 296 in Indy , had shorter arms, and also didn't workout. However, Graham has the strength to control & stack & shed one on one inside, but wasn't as stout as I was expecting against double teams in college. Graham can play all over the line in a odd or even front, but I think if he was primarily a 4-3 three technique that he could unlock more of his pass rush potential with his quickness & technique. Mason has a good upside and a great floor, but there are so multiple DT's with a higher ceiling in this draft. I think he should at least go top 10 , and maybe even top 5 in this draft because he is at least a plus starter in my book. Yet there will be teams who don't like his below average length , and those who want a higher ceiling could pass on him anyway. Personally he's the number four player on my board in this whole draft and he should definitely go on the top five.
7.JETS - ARMAND MEMBOU - T/G - MISSORRI - 6"4" , 332
NFL PLAYER COMP - JOE STALEY - retired
Needs - QB , WR , OT ,CB , DT , EDGE
the Jets have another new head coach GM this year. New head coach Aaron Glenn is a former undersized pesky three-Time Pro Bowl cornerback , and he comes from the Lions where his players loved him even though their defense was not that good. Although to be fair they did have a ton of injuries last year. New GM Darren Mougey comes from the Broncos so you know he must have very thick skin if he got along with Sean Payton. However Aaron Glenn and Payton have Dan Campbell in common , and it's my guess that is part of the reason why Darren got the job. well the Aaron Rodgers experiment didn't work, , and I was one of those you thought it was going to work. Although to be fair no one could know he was going to tear hiss achilles on the first drive of the season in his first year as the QB in New York. He definitely didn't look the same last year after the injury , but he did look improved at the end of the season. When they fired Robert Saleh I didn't expect such a drastic change in coaching. Since they just turned it over to their current defensive coordinator , but things sure looked a lot different on both sides of the ball. or maybe just a lot of guys had phoned it in at that point. Aaron Glenn won't put up with that crap. In addition to losing Rogers Davante Adams is also gone , Hassan Reddick was shown the door after a lost season in a contract dispute , above average & consitent veteran CB DJ Reed went to Detroit , Tyron Smith retired , and steady veteran right tackle Morgan Moses went to the Rival Patriots. So it's a new day for the Jets. Glenn is a defensive head coach and those guys usually want to go pick defense first , but I'm going to go against the grain here and give them a right tackle. the Jets signed Justin Fields to play quarterback , and while he is very talented he has yet to show he could be a consistent Pastor at the NFL level, and he is also shown that he is a dynamic runner that will get hurt if he keeps running so much. he also brought in big but underwhelming Corner Brandon Stephens from The Ravens. And I was shocked that they gave him 36 million over 3 years. Why not just resign DJ Reed? Yes Reed got 48 million over 3 years , but he has proven to be a very good player for a long time , so I guess they're betting on the future with Stevens. so all in all it was a very tumultuous off season but the best thing you added was a new head coach. That's a lot of pressure on the first time head coach , but maybe they're rebuilding this season. Memou is really big & athletic but he doesn't play with the consistent power of a 330+ pound guy , and you especially see it when he gets pushed into the QB's lap although he does have a strong punch when it lands inside , but sometimes he waits too throw them or throws them wide. He can move , and if your running stretch zone a lot this a great RT prospect for you. Great upside overall , but his arms are 33 and a half which is to short for some teams to value him this high. Also I don't care if he is short for a OT because it makes it easier for his QB to see & read the defense. I like him , but not as much as everyone else apparently because he is #16 on my board and my highest graded player that I don't have in the first.
8.PANTHERS - JALON WALKER - ** - LB/EDGE - GEORGIA
NFL PLAYER COMP - JULIAN PETERSON - retired
Needs - WR , CB , DT , EDGE , LB
I loved what he Panthers did last season in regards to fixing their O-Line , and it look like it was almost too late because Bryce young look like he had happy Feet in the pocket after getting the crap beat out of him in 2023 . He was getting rid of the ball too early and just panicky to start the season, but then they turned it over to Andy Dalton , and after seeing Andy look pretty decent behind this new offensive line it seemed like it gave Bryce the confidence to get back in there and start looking like a former number one overall pick. So now that they've got that new offensive line what they need to do is get him more weapons. Adam Thielen is a great Route runner and he's a tough guy , but at this point he's just a slot guy who doesn't separate anywhere near as well as he used to. last year's number one pic wide receiver Xavier Legette looked just as raw as I feared as a rookie , but he did make some positive strides. to me it looked like undrafted free agent rookie Jalen Coker outplayed him in 2024. wide receiver Diontae Johnson also lost his mind last year when he was traded after a really good start in Carolina , and was cut by both the Ravens & Texans after the trade. Rookie RE Jatavion Sanders made some strides, but he needs to get more looks in the offense. the Panthers need a young number one target for Johnson to throw to , and it doesn't have to be a wide receiver. In fact since their head coach loves to run the ball so much I would draft Tyler Warren here run a two tight end set with him and Sanders. Johnson is a short quarterback and part of his problems are is that he can't see over the line well enough to find the disguised robbers in the secondary. But big targets like Sanders and Warren are easily seen , and have wide catch radiuses which gives him a wider margin for error. however the Panthers had a dismal defense last season. the 2024 Panthers defense was last of the league in yards allowed , and more importantly last in the league in points allowed. So I can see why they would be going defense first in this draft. As far as free agency goes the panthers overpaid undersized defensive tackle 3 technique Tershawn Wharton at 3 years 54 million. They also signed young NT Bobby Brown away from the Rams , and I actually like this lower cost 3 year 21 million dollar deal. i like thumping safety Trevon Moehrig some , but thought that 3 years and 51 million was to much for a guy who can struggle in coverage at times. Walker is a super explosive off the ball linebacker / edge rusher out of Georgia. As off the ball linebacker I don't really see it because his football IQ is a tick slow , it wasn't that great encourage which surprised me with a guy who was so athletic ,and he gets fooled way more than he should. On the positive side he is a man at taking on blocks , is actually much bigger than today's typical off the ball linebacker, brings the wood as a tackler, is a beast when he's coming forward, and he runs like the wind. Off the edge he is undersized , but he comes off the ball like he was shot out of a cannon , and only Abdul Carter consistently gets off the ball as well as walker does in this draft. On top of that he is known as a leader on a Georgia team full of 4 and 5 Star Prospects , and if you're the alpha in that room you're probably going to be the alpha in the NFL locker room at some point. Now I'm not at first to using him like Micah Parsons was used earlier in his career as a hybrid off the ball guy/ blitzer in the A app / Edge rushern , but I'm not sure if that's sustainable in the long term. Maybe he puts on another 10-15 lb and becomes more of an edge rusher than a linebacker, But his frame is as big as s Parsons is , and Micah still is undersized for an edge rusher , and does get pushed around against the run sometimes. So I'm just going to go with the option that Walker stays in this hybrid roll for the long-term and hope that he gets a defensive coordinator who knows how to use that versatility properly.
9.SAINTS - MYKELL WILLIAMS - DE/OLB - GEORGIA
NFL PLAYER COMP - EZEKIEL ANSAH - retired
Needs - QB , WR , CB , DT , EDGE , SAFETY
the Saints are royally screwed this season , and it's not just because of Derek Carr's injury. This damn ass cat problems and most of their really good players are past their Prime. In fact the Saints are my pick to have the worst record and the league this season , andBe picking number one next year. Now I know you're all going to say oh yay Arch Manning , But who's to say Arch even comes out next year. Manning will only be a 1-year starter , and both his uncles we're four-year starters in college. However , the reason why it might actually work out is because Arch is named after his grandpa Archie who is an icon in New Orleans. That could lead to Arch coming into the draft If he wants to go play for the same place as Grandpa did , and that's Archie was a very talented quarterback on a terrible team it's almost like karma that his grandson could fulfill the promise Archie had if he'd had a good team around him Back in the day . They have a new young head coach in Kellen Moore who was once the hot wonderkin offensive coordinator , but his star dimmed a little bit in Dallas because he didn't find enough creative ways to run the ball well. So Moore then becomes the OC for Philly , which has the best offensive line in the league , and they also got a healthy Saquan Barkley last year who can make any offensive coordinator look good. so if I'm the same I'm trading stud linebacker DeMario Davis & TB Alvin kamara for whatever I can get , although I'm not sure they would be willing to let franchise icon Cam Jordan go. Actually I'm not sure they should anyway. The guy's a future Hall of Famer for a reason , and he's earned the right to play his final seasons at home If he wants to. If I was Cam I might want a chance at another ring , and it would also help the Saints out in the long-term if they could get like a third or fourth rounder for him. actually I would take all my cap hits now , rebuild this season , and start a new future in 2026. Their RT Ryan Ramczyk retired, and they lost inconsistent but promising young CB Paulson Adebo in free agency. This team has so many needs and so little depth that I can't see a scenario where they don't have at least a top 10 pick next , but again i think they'll end up picking number one. i would take gmt or Warren here, but i don't think they are going to. There's a lot of Buzz about them taking either an edge or an offensive lineman. At this point if I'm taking an edge I would take Mike Green , But the Saints seem to like bigger edges. So I'm going to give them Mykell Williams or Shamar Stewart , and since I think William does a higher floor he's the pick. A lot of people compare williams to former number one overall selection Trayvon Walker , but I don't see that. Walker's college tape was better , especially against the run , and Trayvon just had a more power in his game. The only game that I saw from Williams where he looked like a top 10 pick was against Texas , But the word is is that he was hurt a lot this year, Although I can't keep just have to be healthy for both Texas games. walker has a big athletic long-armed frame with good explosion and power but he doesn't really know how to use those tools consistently yet. walker can get off the ball well when he times it right , but too Often he gets off the ball slow. He flashes violence and power but it's rarely consistent , and it's more frustrating how a guy with these kind of tools & arms that long doesn't know how to use them well on the regular . Basically he's the type of high level tools and traits athletes everybody wants to coach in the hopes that they can turn him into a superstar, but I just don't see that kind of beast mode alpha motor that comes along with it.
10.CHICAGO - ASHTON JEANTY - RB - BOISE ST. - 5"9" , 211
NFL PLAYER COMP - PRIEST HOLMES - retired
Needs - RB , WR , DT , EDGE
I absolutely love the Bears off season. From new head coach Ben Johnson coming in , and I could just see his run first attack making waves On the day he took the job. To the way they shored up their offensive line getting 2 veteran starting guards in trades , and signing run blocking center Drew Dalman to a big contract I tip my cap to you sirs. Bringing in young talented edge Dayo Odayingbo from the Colts might pay off too. i thought they paid too much for stud long-term interior offensive tackle Grady Jarrett , because he is on the downside of his career but he's still a very good player who gets after it on every play. The kind of guy that can help change the culture of your position room. Now it gets even better because 2 weeks ago I thought there was very little chance that Jeanty would fall to the Bears , and I still think it's an incredible steal in this draft that's lacking in players that have both a high ceiling & high floor. If the Raiders pass on him , and another team doesn't trade ahead of him like Dallas Denver or the Chargers this makes a lot of sense. Ben Johnson wants to run the ball , and he wants to do it with more than just one back. While the Bears already have talented backs in DeAndre Swift & Rocshon Johnson , Jeanty is on a whole other level. nothing helps a young quarterback out that a strong running game and a good offensive line. This gives Caleb Williams a really good chance to develop into a legitimate franchise quarterback , and I'm sure last year was really humbling , but it might make him more culturable and tournament to a legitimate franchise QB over the long term . Ashton is almost everything you could want in a running back. Maybe being a little taller would help , just average ball security , and he needs to improve in pass pro , but other than that he amazing. To be fair I think his short arms & lack of height are partly why he isn't a great pas protector right now, but at least he is willing to stick his face in there. He runs with power , can make you miss , speed , short area , quickness, high level vision , incredible contact balance , great hands , built like a slightly taller MJD a.k.a a human fire hydrant , enormous big play ability , and he carried Boise State into the playoffs. I kept wondering why Boise State didn't throw it to him more in 2024 instead of making him take that pounding in the middle so much but man was he electric anyway . My only real problem with him is his workload last year was ridiculous. Jeanty's 2024 tape is even better than the other 3 RB's I had with a top 10 grade ( Zeke Elliot , Saquon Barkley , and Bijan Robinson) in their draft years over the last decade. However, Jeanty's 2024 workload 397 touches in 14 games) was excessive. That amount of miles on his tires makes me fear he will either get hurt as a rookie , or need to share the backfield with another good RB , at least in 2025. He was my highest graded player, but Travis Hunter's unique versatility would have made him #1 on my board over Ashton even if he had a normal amount of touches last season. I am usually fundamentally against taking a RB in the top 10, especially in a loaded RB draft like this one, but in a draft with so few players with both a high upside & floor I can see why a team would take Jeanty there this season. gmt was my highest graded player but since he's a running back I can't put him on the top of my board. Yet after doing all the prospects tape I was so disappointed in a lack of blue chip players that I get it this year . If New England took him a number four I'd give him a solid grade for it because he's just so good , nd they're just you so few blue chippers in the 2025 draft. Well congratulations to the Bears , dnd since they already have two other good running backs Jeanty won't be overused this season. As a matter of fact I would try to keep him under 275 total touches in his rookie here just so his body could recover some from last season. there are only four running backs in NFL history then I refuse to use as a comp for any draft Prospect. Jim Brown , Walter Payton , Emmitt Smith , Barry Sanders , and Derrick Henry. Ashton remind me of both Peyton and Sanders at times. I considered LT too , but Tomlinson was much bigger and a definite ACE in pass pro. So I settled on a player that I personally believe would have been considered among the ALL TIME greats if not for injuries. Priest Holmes had about a 3 and half year run that I would put up against anybody ever.
11.SF 49ers - WILL JOHNSON - ** - CB - N. DAME
NFL PLAYER COMP - TREVON DIGGS - COWBOYS
Needs - DT , CB , GUARD , SAFETY , LB , EDGE
Last year Frisco's championship window ended. Injuries, a lack of ( especially at D-line) depth, and the cap finally caught up to them. They cleared their cap of a lot of those aging veterans this off season , and if they have a great draft I could see them being a wildcard team , but short of Brock Purdy becoming a great quarterback instead of a solid one I don't see them being a championship contender for the next year or two. DT Javon Hargrave , CB Charvarious Ward , DT Maliek Collins , Guard Aaron Banks, and edge Leonard Floyd are on other teams now. However, they also lost young guys who might have become corenstones because their cap was so tight . Up and coming young OT Jaylon Moore went to the Chiefs, LB Dre Greenlaw was coming off a Achilles tear so I get not paying him , and while The Packers massively over payed Guard Aaron Banks to leave town losing a 27 year old home town guard coming off his best season seem south of character for them. Ditto for safety Talanoa Hufanga going to the Broncos but they just didn't have the cap space. Washington took Deebo off their hands on the cheap in a cap saving move , but they just signed Brandon Aiyuk to a huge deal ,and there was talk about trading him last month. 37 year old Perennial ALL PRO LT Trent Williams in slowing down some too , and Mccafrey is coming off a injury riddled year. So This team has Williams , Nick Bosa , Fred Warner ,Mccaffrey , and George Kittle We're all legitimate superstars. Maybe Purdy and Aiyuk up their games a little bit this year , and Ricky Pearsall starts to come into his own? basically all those guys need to be healthy this season , and frisco needs to draft really well or they get a bunch of immediate contributions from this year's draft picks for Frisco to have a chance to make the playoffs this year. Because at this point they have a stars and scrubs roster like Dallas. their biggest needs are at cornerback , defensive tackle , and interior online in my book. I know that Will Johnson has add a Tumultuous off season With injuries , And that was followed by a season that was marred by entries. Yes he may not have top end speed , and he never ran for teams, but man if you play a lot off Zone like Frisco does this guy's awesome. He reminds me a lot of Trayvon Diggs. A big ball hawk outside corner who can take it to the house on any play. He just needs some help over the top sometimes.
***TRADE*** The TEXANS TRADE their 1rst (#25) and their 2nd (#58) and 3rd (#89) rounders to the COWBOYS for their 1rst (#12) rounder ***TRADE***
12.TEXANS-(dall)- KELVIN BANKS JR. - OT - TEXAS
NFL PLAYER COMP - CHRISTIAN DARRISAW - VIKINGS
Needs - OT , DT , GUARD , WR ,
Boy I bet former Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik really wishes he had taken a head coaching job before the 2024 season began , because now he was fired and made the scapegoat for all the problems the Texans had on offense. The real problems the Texans had on offense were that their offensive line and wide receivers kept getting hurt. That's it , but for whatever reason they fired him. New OC Nick Caley has never been a OC before , and has never called the plays before , but he was the passing game coordinator & tight ends coach for the Rams over the last two seasons. At this point basically any guy who has coached for Sean McVay has a good chance of getting an OC position , and maybe even a head coaching job. Anyway we'll see how he does calling plays for the first time. Some people may be down on CJ Stroud this year , but I am not one of them, Because like I said if they just have a healthy offensive line & wide receivers he probably has a really good season. right now that looks like they are rebuilding their offensive line because they traded all-pro left tackle Laramie Tunsil to Washington , let former 1rst round bust Kendrick Green leave, and didn't resign veteran right guard Shaq Mason. To replace them they have just signed some veterans stopped gaps. Offensive tackles Trent Brown and Cam Robinson are actually solid if they are healthy and motivated. Guard Ed Ingram was acquired from the Vikings for a sixth round pick and the former second rounder has been a bust so far , but maybe a change of scenery is just what he needs. Guard Laken Tomlinson's best years are behind him , but he could be a stopgap starter too. so this team really needs offensive lineman , and that's why I am putting this trade in my mock. With Josh Simmons injury Kelvin Banks is the last of the Potential First round offensive tackles in this draft that I would feel comfortable starting on the blind side as a rookie. Since Dallas has so many needs , and such a messed up cap they actually might make this deal , although Frisco one pick ahead of them might be wise to do A similar deal as well . Yes I know it's liar season right now , but there are a lot of the rumors going around right now that Houston is one of the few teams that is trying to move up. if they're moving up it only makes sense to me if it's for an offensive tackle or wide receiver and I don't see them trading up this high for any wide receiver left in this scenario. Banks is a good OT prospect , and outside of the early Georgia game I can't see any other reason why someone would move him to guard. Yes he's powerful , can move like a good pulling guard does , and he is a better Run blocker than pass blocker right now. Yet he just needs to stop leaning forward so much , and time his punch better and keep his back straight so he won't get shucked in pass pro. He has the feet & quickness to play outside already , and his 33 and half inch arms are good enough for me, but some teams won't play a guy at OT if his arms aren't at least 34 inches long. There is some of that crazy forward get after you drive him to the stand balance problems in run blocking too,that Troy Fautanu had last year but its not quite as wild with Banks. Last year he probably would have gone in the late first ahead of Troy Fautanu , Jordan Morgan , and Tyler Guyton , but this year I can see him getting out of the top 20 even if the team drafting him sees him as a guard. Also I would rather see him at left tackle protecting my blindside if I was CJ Stroud instead of Cam or Trent Robinson. Banks also needs to cut down on the penalties. Just in case the Texans don't move up I expect the pick to be either WR Emeka Ebuka or the best O-lineman available at # 25.
13.MIAMI - JAHDAE BARRON - CB/S - TEXAS
NFL PLAYER COMP - TRENT MCDUFFIE - CHEIFS
Needs - OT , CB , SAFETY , DT , GUARD , TE
The Dolphins and Mike McDaniel are basically In a similar situation as the San Francisco 49ers that McDaniel came from. i have a bunch of guys on big contracts , some of them are injury prone , And they have very little depth. Last year after Jaylen Waddle got a contract extension Tyreek Hill held them up for a new deal even though he said he was going to retire the next season. Plus he was already over 30 , ended up missing some time last year with injuries, and is not worth that contract unless he is healthy and playing on all cylinders all season. Zach Martin did the same thing to Dallas a few years ago , and it just wrecked their cap , That selfish greed is part of the reason why Dallas missed their Championship window. Well so did Frisco , and So did the Dolphins. LT Terron Armstead retired , and even though he was injury prone at this point he was a very good player when he was healthy , and they have no one to replace him. On top of that they decided to trade Jalen Ramsey right after giving him a new contract , which makes zero sense so you know there's some sort of drama in there with Ramsey. Between Tua , Waddle , Hill , and Ramsey that's over a 3rd of their cap , and if they trade Ramsey the dead money piles on. Sure hope the other 3 stay healthy & play well this season. Let's not forget that 25 year old safety Javon Holland signed elsewhere , and that he was elite as recently as 2023. Future HOFer Calais Campbell is also gone and he was the best Interior D-Lineman they had by far .The only players of note that they brought are solid guard James Daniels , and nickel LB Tyrel Dodson. So they should join Dallas and Frisco in hoping that they can trade back because they are going to need a lot of draft picks tj play & play well to compete for even a wildcard spot this season. Barron is such a versatile guy who can inside or out CB , safety , and even the occasional LB spot. I prefer him primarily in the slot, but I wouldn't take him off the field if they were in a 2 WR set. Instead I would just move him outside or to safety. He's not as big , but he can a lot of what Jalen Ramsey does now in that STAR/slot hybrid position , and he would help shore up a secondary that Holland and now Ramsey are leaving. GREAT in zone, but he does alright in man too. Barron is smart , fast , and physical enough in coverage. Also will step up and play the run , but he could use some more form tackling practice at times. to me he's a high four player but also a good enough upside and a draft that lacks a lot of guys with that profile.
14.COLTS - TYLER WARREN - TE - PENN ST. - 6"6" , 256
NFL PLAYER COMP - JEREMY SHOCKEY - retired
Needs -GUARD , TE , LB , CB , CENTER ,QB ?
Personally I believe that unless either Anthony Richardson , or the even less likely Daniel Jones makes a big step up as Passer this season the Colts are doomed and possibly so is their head coach. Or maybe it depends on who was in charge when Drafting Anthony Richardson. Was he the head coaches pick, the GM's pick, or the owner's pick? Even if he was the owner's choice the owner could still blame someone else. They do it all the time. The Colts MIGHT need two NEW interior offensive line starters, a center and a guard, but they did draft center Tanor Bortilini last year in the 4th , and he played pretty well when he got a chance last season. A corner , a real threat as a receiver TE , and a off the ball LB at the very least as well , but what they really might need is a quarterback. Richardson needs to be healthy this year , and needs to show significant progress the way Josh Allen did In his third year because they are very similar players. The biggest difference I see is that Richardson keeps getting hurt so he never progresses , and while it's not a certainty that he even would progress if he was healthy , but he's got no chance if he can't stay on the field. Daniel Jones has had two halfway decent seasons out of 6 , and they still paid him 14 million despite his failures & injury history. To quote Shoresy " Huh?" AnywayIn the beginning of doing mocks this offseason I thought that Tyler worn might fall tuna calls at 14 , but then after doing all the players tape and doing my grades warren ended up as the fifth player on my board so I thought there was no chance of that. So maybe I'm being fooled by all the rumors right now but the way this might worked out is a dream scenario for the Colts. One is a big fast bruising tight end who can block when his techniques are on and he's fully engaged with it , But mostly. He's just a force with the ball in his hands in the middle of the field. Huge catch radius , fearless over the middle , gets open, and Punishes Defenders after the catch. I think he's definitely fast enough , but the fact that he didn't run at the combine or his proday is a legitimate worry. Warren generally works hard as a blocker , but he needs to improve his technique , especially his hands. Tyler also needs to make sure he doesn't get too far forward , or he will get shucked. Needs some route running refinement as well because he's kind of like a ball in a china shop at times but it's working. Against USC they knew he was getting the ball and they still couldn't stop him. Plus he's not just an inline tight end because he can line up all over the formation , and you can use them as a mismatch. He's not Gronk , And I bring that up because I have heard people say it , but I can see the comparison as far as the receiving part goes. It's just that Gronk was faster , stronger , and a far superior blocker. I really hope he improves as a blocker , but at the very least he's going to be a high-end receiving tight end.
15.ATLANTA - MIKE GREEN - # - DE/OLB - MARSHALL
NFL PLAYER COMP - RYAN KERRIGAN - retired
Needs -EDGE ,CENTER, CB , DT , LB , SAFETY
Let's face it the Falcons defense was bad last year. They were in the bottom third in yards allowed and points allowed. they also lost franchise Cornerstone Grady Jarrett In free agency , and even though grady is on the decline he was still their best interior D-Lineman and his leadership void is going to be a difficult one to fill. They did resign long-Term left tackle jake Matthews , and that's a plus. The Falcons have had one of the best offensive lines in the league , but all of them but Matthews are better run blockers than they are pass blockers. Speaking of run blockers Center Drew Dahlman also joined the Bears like Grady. I didn't have any free agent signings that I particularly liked , and now they have needs to fill. Even though he didn't play center last year Grey Zable is probably the best center Prospect in this draft , and while I think this is a little high for him normally ,in this draft it actually might make sense. Plus I don't see Grey getting out of the top 25 because he has such a high floor , and he moves so well. Yeah defense is their main problem and they're pass rush is atrocious because they just don't get much pressure. Mike Green is my next highest rated pass rusher , and the small school Prospect really put on a show this year. Both on tape against mostly lesser competition and at the Senior Bowl against other high-level prospects. Despite average size he holds his ground pretty well against the Run and he tries to play with power , but he can be driven out by stronger OT's or double teams . With my top 3 corners off the board Green is definitely the best pick for them here , and they did have him in for a visit. His arms aren't as long as you want , and he's just average size for the edge, Green is one of the 15 legit first rounders I have in this draft . He can explode off the ball, has a wide array of pass rush moves, a great motor, he can bend , and he will strike you. There is a reason why Green led the FBS in sacks with 17 , But there have been some character questions floating out there about him , that's the only reason I could see him falling out of the top 15 of this draft. I have no idea why this guy couldn't get on the field at Virginia , but his tape was great at Marshall last season. He plays with technique , violence, power , and quickness. Is much stronger than his size indicates and he can forklift you onto your ass like he did at the Senior Bowl where he proved himself against a higher level of competition over the first 2 days before getting "the first round flu" , and leaving. Green explodes out of his stance low , because the former wrestler gets that the low man wins, and can set the edge like a 270 pounder. In a draft with so many guys you have to project production for green is not one of them because he led the leak in sacks and was second and tackles for loss in 2024. Has had some accusations of unwanted sex stuff , but he's never been charged , and no more claims since 2022. So keep that in mind if he falls a little, but I would take him at # 9 if my security people cleared him.
16.ARIZONA - DEREK HARMON - DT - OREGON
NFL PLAYER COMP - JAY RATLIFF - retired
Needs - DT , OT , GUARD , EDGE , CB ,WR
Kyler Murray needs to take a big step forward in order for the Cardinals to become a legitimate Contender. He just didn't look right to me last season. I know he was coming off a big injury but he didn't run enough , and his timing an inability to throw in tight windows is wasting a future star receiver in Marvin Harrison Jr. There were games where I kept watching Harrison and Expecting Tyler to throw him the ball because he was clearly open , but either Kyler would get to his read too late or he just wouldn't think he could fit it in there. Whatever the reason If someone buys you a Ferrari you should drive it fast , but apparently Harrison is a Ferrari that Murray wants to leave in the garage or just take leisurely drives in on a lazy Sunday . No I'm not saying Murray sucks or that he is the the worst problem with that team , but he's the quarterback . He makes the most money, Should be leading this young locker room , and he bears the biggest responsibility for helping them win.the Cardinals defense was surprisingly good last year what's some journeyman and other unheralded guys coming out of the woodwork to play some good ball , but they need more high-end players. I'm talking legitimate plus starters to help turn this ship right around , Because after they're hot startA team kind of cratered. The best way to do that Is up front on both sides of the ball. Build through the trenches on offensive and defensive lines and you will see progress. Also there needs to be a Legitimate third option in the passing game , And I'm not talking about a dump off to the running back. Right now the only player that Murray consistently throws to TE in Trey McBride. Harrison was underutilized, and they could use a speedster just to stretch the field as well. The Cardinals heavily invested in their D-line this off season especially along the edge. Super Bowl hero Josh Sweat Signed a big deal with the cards , and they also inked two young talented Edge rushers In LJ Collier and Baron Browning. Arizona also signed older Interior stud D-Lineman Calais Campbell to a very cheap deal. They paid NT Dalvin Tomlinson more , but he is also 31 instead of 38. I think they need Youth on the interior so I'm giving them I am giving them DereK Harmon from Oregon. He's a big athletic force who gets into the back field on the regular. Harmon can play all the interior spots in a odd or even front, but he is best as a penetrator , and I expect him to primarily be a force this year if he picks up what Calais Campbell is putting down. That dude is a legit 6"8" and he plays low , so hopefully that will rub off the not quite 6"5" Harmon. There just aren't many 6"5" , 313 pound long armed DT's who can move like him on earth. A 4,95 forty and a 1,74 ten at that size is ridiculous , and he was so disruptive this season.. This dude runs stunts , twists , and games well too. Plays with violence and power and when he stays low he can hold his ground ,and even 2 gap sometimes , but he gets high too often kind of like KC's Chris Jones did coming out of school. I really wish I had done more of this guys tape earlier , but I did 4 more games this week , and it was a revelation. He went from the the late 20's to #9 on my board when I finished his tape, and I have a first round grade on him.
17.BENGALS - SHEMAR STEWART - DE/DT - TEXAS A&M
NFL PLAYER COMP - RASHAN GARY - PACKERS
Needs - EDGE , GUARD , CB ,DT . SAFETY
At this point I think Joe Burrow is one of the few elite quarterbacks in the league when he's healthy , but his enormous contract and the two enormous contracts he forced on the Bengals for Jamar Chase and Tee Higgins are probably going to keep his team from winning a championship for a while. You can't pay everybody and succeed with the salary cap, and without the salary cap half of the teams in the league would have no chance before the season even started. it's kind of funny that the once notoriously stingy Bengals are paying everybody when their owner is known for pinching pennies , but I think Mike Brown ( he's 89 )wants to have a chance to win a championship before he dies, and Burrow along with most of of generation Z seem to care about their bank account more than winning. It's not a coincidence that Brady won the most rings taking less money , and it's also not a coincidence that Patrick Mahomes takes far less money than he could get , and the Chiefs are a consistent world championship Contender. So Burrow can brag to everyone about how much money he has , but the dude has his priorities in the wrong place. Every time one of these kids decides to break the bank instead of just getting a good contract I just shake my head because their grabbing of the bag means they're probably will never hoist the big trophy. Not to mention that there's a good chance that they are going to lose NFL sack leader Trey Hendrickson because of this. So unless the Bengals can stay healthy and outscore everyone I don't see them hoisting the Lombardi in the near future. Cincinnati's defense was pretty rough last year , especially in the beginning when they're DTs were hurt , but I think it could actually be worse this season. They did bring back one significant player on defense in defensive tackle BJ Hill , but that is counterbalanced by overpaying soft receiving only tight end Mike Gesicki. Someone tells me that Burrow had something to do with that too , And maybe he leads the league in passing yards again but does it really matter if you don't win it all? So maybe Joe will have to console himself with fashion tips from Cam Newton. Then the two of them can sit around consoling each other , and braiding each other's hair arguing over who's more stylish in their ridiculous outfits while lamenting why neither of them has a Super Bowl trophy. Well at least in this situation they use to pick on defense where it's needed. Stewart is a very talented guy who plays hard, but gets very little production , and hasn't lived up to his elite tools & traits yet. The only reason I even them have him in the top 40 on my board is that he does have a good motor , But I really wonder why he hasn't taken to coaching yet , and a part of me figures he never will fully unlock his awesome potential. Stewart shows up in violent flashes on tape , but he just doesn't know how to put it all together consistently right now. Until he can marry consistent technique with his talent he never will.
18.SEATTLE - GREY ZABEL - OL - N. DAKOTA ST.
NFL PLAYER COMP - MAX UNGER - retired
Needs - GUARD , WR , QB , CENTER , OT ,EDGE
There has been a lot of upheaval in Seattle this off season. Last year I really thought There would be a lot more turnover on Personnel because you had a new head coach but I guess Mike McDonald's was just testing everybody out or something. This year he traded his starting quarterback The Raiders for a measly third round pick. And while Geno is just solid , and Sam Darnold had a great season statistically right up until it really mattered near the end i would still rather have Geno on his contract than I would Darnold on his deal. To be fair Darnold does have a higher upside , and he is younger. Yet he just melted down mentally when it battered most at the end of the regular season & in the playoffs , and I just don't trust that. At the beginning of last season The Hawks had three really good wide receivers ,and l I thought Tyler Lockett might be a cap costly because he was slowing down & had a big salary I did not expect DK Metcalf to get traded. So now Seattle has an extra second round pick , and they paid Cooper Kupp a lot of money to be their number 2 wide receive. That doesn't make sense to me because he's been injury prone for the last couple of years. Cooper started out hot last year before he got hurt, but when he came back from injury he did not look the same , and he was absolutely relegated to the number two or three wide receiver spot for the rams. Also Cooper does almost all of his best work in the slot which is where Jackson Smith-Njigba plays as well. Last year's version of the Washington offense did not go well and they have a new offensive coordinator , and you might think maybe that offense is going to be a spread with two slots, but that's about the only way I expect this to work out well for both of them. It's just that the new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak runs a Shanahan west Coast offense , and that offense doesn't have two slot receivers . On the bright side it's absolutely crucial that the wide receiver's blocking this offense , and Cooper Kupp blocks his ass off , but that's not worth $17 million a year. Otherwise Jauan Jennings would be paid 20 million a year. Edge rusher DeMarcus Lawrence was having a really good season before he got hurt last year , but I don't know if I want to give him 18 million guaranteed at his age coming off a major injury. Off the ball linebacker Ernest Jones seems like a solid signing , but It's just that I'm not sure if he's worth 11 million a year. Marquez Valdez scantling has been teasing his talent for years , and usually he has one big game each season , but has more games where he has a crucial drop deep down the field. He's big and he busted out enough After getting cut and then signing with the Saints to get a 4 million one year deal. but one thing all these wide receivers have in common is that the can and will block so I expect seattle to go back to being a run first offense this season , and mostly just threw off play action. Seattle also desperately needs a guard , and if they prefer a guard I would take Tyler Booker here , but maybe they even need a center too so I am going to give them a guy that can play both. Grey Zabel is a guy that could play any position along the offensive line in a pinch. He has played some guard at North Dakota State culminating in a season as the starting left tackle in 2024. Grey has great feet good Movement skills and he can latch on and drive you off the ball in the run game , especially in zone , But his lack of arm length is likely to make His best position somewhere inside , although he does have that tackle emergency ability if you need it. Because of his smarts & quickness I would prefer him at Center but my guess is Seattle might play him at guard this season. He will need to play a little bit lower there especially in pass protection because you see him getting driven back into the pocket by smaller players on the outside on tape , and his anchor will be tested much farther in the NFL. If he would just learn to punch hard with his hands a lot of that might not be needed. Grey also has the high level athleticism the Seahawks crave.
19.TAMPA BAY - MATTHEW GOLDEN - ** - WR - TEXAS
Needs - EDGE ,WR , GUARD , CB , SAFETY
Once Tampa Bay decided to let Baker be himself he has really come into his own in the NFL. You can get away with being a cocky sometimes as long as you are also self-deprecating AT TIMES , and can take the blame when you screw up. That's something that Shedeur Sanders needs to learn or his career might never fully take off. My biggest worry about the Bucs this year is age , and how will Baker do without his guy Liam Cohen calling plays. Both Mike Evans ( turning 32 this season ) and Chris Godwin ( 29 ) are older now and Godwin is coming off a major injury even though they gave him a pretty nice contract this offseason. Lavonte David is also 35 and while still a good player he is clearly on the decline the last 2 seasons. Vita Vea is also over 30 , and the bigger you are the more likely that all that weight leads to injuries, and Vea is carrying about 40-45 pounds of bad weight. That's 4 of the best 7 players on their team. i'm sure many of you would think that an edge rusher would be the best pick here , and I can't fault you for it , but considering the age of their top two wide receivers I think a speedy deep threat would really help Baker stay at a high level , and while Evans is different kind of deep threat he dropped more balls last year than I ever expected to see. Plus it would be a huge reach for any of the edge rushers left here , and they did at least sign Hasn Reddick to help with the pass rush. A off the ball LB like Jihaad Campbell might be nice , but his injuries might scare them from taking him this high , and their will be some really good LB's available in the 2nd through 4th rounds. Guard Tyler Booker might be a fit too , and that's who I would take , but I just have a feeling about Golden here even though Jalen Mcmillan did come on some in the second half of last season. I don't know why it took so long for Matthew Golden to have a breakout season , but when Bond went down and Golden got his chance he ran with it. He became the Longhorns #1 WR and main deep threat because Golden took both roles from him. He has great feet , is really good at getting off the line despite his lack of size. Golden is a a smart , smooth , shifty route runner who separates well. Made some highlight reel catches and he has game breaking 4,29 forty speed.
20.DENVER - COLSTON LOVELAND - TE - MICHIGAN
NFL PLAYER COMP - DALLAS CLARK - retired
Needs - RB , WR , TE ,LB , CB
Quarterback bow mix went to exactly the right coach for him. Sean Payton's primarily short passing ball control offense suits him , and while it took awhile to actually look like a decent passer NIX did play pretty well last year. It's even more impressive when you consider his lack of receiving Talent around him. Well I'm not sure about the ceiling for Nix I was definitely wrong about how well he might play early. The Broncos had 2 possibly significant signings this off season. Hard hitting throwback Safety Talanoa Hufanga and receiving TE Evan ENgram. If Engram can stay healthy it would help , but I wouldn't bet on that and I could easily see Payton running a lot more 2 TE sets if he had the personnel . I remember Jerry Jeudy destroying them IN WEEK 13 on Monday night when Riley Moss was out and Levi Wallace became a constant victim so I had intended to give them a CB that could play inside here, but with Barron gone any others would be a reach. The Broncs also re-signed stocky NT DJ Jones to a new deal. I think running back Is potentially the Broncos biggest need , but I don't think they would take one here If Colston Loveland is available. I am not comparing Loveland to Travis Kelsey because Kelsey is a much bigger more powerful guy and a better blocker , but as far as being a receiver Kelce's the only guy to compare him to because Loveland separates all over the field no matter who is covering him or where he lined up. He is not a inline tight end , and is not a impressive blocker there , but he does try. Colston is a great Route Runner with the high IQ to find holes in zone , is willing to make the tough catch over the middle, he is smooth & crafty , can stretch the field up the seam, is a mismatch weapon , and he has great hands. At 6 ft 6 and nearly 250 lb he has the frame to get stronger and develop into more of a blocker and a guy who can win contested catches. , but even if he doesn't he could end up a Jordan Reed type who's just a really good move TE , but I think that's his floor. He didn't workout or run at his Pro day otherwise I think he might have gone higher
21.STEELERS - SHEDEUR SANDERS - QB - COLORADO - 6"2" , 212
NFL PLAYER COMP - KIRK COUSINS - FALCONS
Needs - QB , RB , CB , DT-5 TECH , LB
First off I want to say that I would have kept Russell Wilson if I was the Steelers , but that over now, and Aaron Rodgers should be an upgrade if he is healthy & committed. Also if he actually does indeed sign with them after the draft. In this case they ended up with the best of both worlds because they still get Rodgers on the cheap , and Sanders fell all the way to #21. This might be one of the better spots for him too because they run a ball control short passing that suits Shedeurs talents. Plus I believe that both he and his ( loud attention seeking usually blame someone else when something goes wrong ) father might actually respect Mike Tomlin enough to zip it , and try to be a team player. Other than getting Rogers and trading for DK MetcalfI don't think they did much this off season. Yes they need another running back , especially they need one with power , but there's plenty of them in this draft they could take two if they wanted to. A thumper like Damien Martinez could easily be available in the 4th , or even a Kyle Monangai ot Kalel Mullins in the 5th or 6th. Another corner opposite Joey Porter would also help , but at least they have veteran Darius Slay as an option to help fill that Gap. Another NT to allow Keeanu Benton to play more 5 technique, or maybe just another 5 technique could work too. Not to mention a off the ball linebacker who could quarterback the defense better would be greatly appreciated by all Steeler fans. Now as for Sanders he is a bit undersized , has just a average arm , needs to speed up his release ,his deep balls need a lot of work , and something like a true NFL out or DIG route could easily be picked at the next level , and if he can't complete those the defenders will just move in tighter and smother his short to intermediate passing lanes. Shedeurs also has a habit of holding onto the ball too long instead of just taking what the defense gives him, and he drifts in the pocket that he definitely lacks awareness of. In fact he doesn't just drift sideways , but even backwards like a much less elusive Johnny Manziel. Also he is not very fast or elusive as a runner which was a surprise considering that his father was a ELITE athlete who could run in the low 4.3's. Speaking of his loud selfish father who thinks he can dictate to the NFL , and that is a big reason why he fell this far , let alone not going #2 overall to The Browns who's system fits his skill set. That brash cocky over confidence will get you in trouble in an NFL locker room , and will only put more mental pressure on himself. Last but not least he has only been coached by daddy , and this could be a Brian Brohm type situation where he can't adjust without his family there to be the only ones he will listen to. That's the bad , now the good. This dude is tough as nails. He will keep his eyes down the field knowing he is going to get hammered and still deliver a decent pass anyway. He played in a pro style offense in college and has made real Pro reads , and made them well. Sanders is the fastest reader of defenses in this draft , and only Dylan Gabriel and Tyler Shough are even close. This isn't Jackson Dart and his pre snap already determined first read , but real quarterbacking. He's also very accurate in short areas , and pretty accurate in the intermediate areas of the field with consistent mechanics. Can throw on the run pretty well too , and since he was almost always under pressure behind his crappy Colorado O-LINE Sanders has shown to be very poised in the worst of times on the field. Also while not a greater runner he can scramble to by time and occasionally move the chains with his feet , but he should do it more. here's another thought that I have been contemplating. If Sanders is this good under constant pressure I wonder how good he could be if he actually had good blocking , time to make his reads even better, could step forward into all his throws , and a actual running game to keep the defense honest. Plus this guy rarely turns it over , and if anybody had good reason to fumble or throw a pick it was him. I haven't seen a QB have blocking this bad since Josh Allen was in college ,although Sanders did have good a good group of receivers unlike Allen.
22.CHARGERS - DONOVAN EZEIRUAKU - OLB/DE - B.C.
NFL PLAYER COMP - MELVIN INGRAM - retired
Needs - EDGE, TE , RB , CB ,CENTER , SAFETY
The Chargers are still in the process of turning over this roster to fit Harbaugh's vision ,they released excellent , but often injured edge rusher Joey Bosa this off season. Khalil Mack was also a Free agent , and while he played a lot better than Bosa last year , he is also a 34 years old. They did Keep Mack in the fold though. The Chargers also have 2 young CB's that are also free agents in Kristian Fulton & Asante Samuel JR. , but Samuel is coming off a season ending shoulder injury. Fulton went to the Chiefs , but Samuel is still unsigned and making noise about a permanent shoulder injury won't help him to get signed. The Bolts also lost NT Poona Ford to their crosstown rival Rams , and #2 WR Josh Palmer to the BIlls. Huge guard Mekhi Bexton who rejuvenated his career with a move inside to Philly could be a big find if he's healthy , and he could be even better if he dropped about 30 pounds. Well rounded power back Najee Harris is also here, and while he can play on all 3 downs I just don't like his lack of speed or quickness. Harbaugh will probably love his whole 3 yards and a cloud of dust game , but unless its 4 yards it too little for me. that The Chargers didn't lose or add anyone I currently see as significant. with both of the 1rst round TE's off the board, and NT Kenneth Grant off the board as well I am going to give them a edge rusher. Donovan is a explosive undersized edge rusher with fast technical hand use who plays a lot of wide 9 off either edge , and he can bend , dip , and close on the QB very well. He makes plays against the run but he can also be forced off the edge he's supposed to set , and he can dip himself out of the run lane at times losing contain , but he can track the ball carrier well while engaged. In addition I think the fact that he is standing up even in a base 4-3 should make the transition to a 3-4 OLB easier. He also has very long arms ( 34 inches) for a a guy who is only 6"2" which helps him to stack & shed better than was expecting at his size. A lot of guys his weight end as situational pass rushers in the NFL , but I think with that length and a little more added muscle he can make it because more power could take his game even higher. I have a 2nd on him , but he could easily go here because he is production over traits unlike some other highly valued edges in this draft.
23.PACKERS - MAXWELL HAIRSTON - CB - KENTUCKY
Needs - CB , EDGE , WR , RB , CB ,CENTER , SAFETY
A year after The Packers destroyed Dallas in the playoffs , and Jordan Love looked like the next Aaron Rodgers in the final 3rd of the season I was expecting Love to take a big step forward but it didn't really happen ,although he did miss 2 games early in the season and that can arrest your momentum. .Although the Packers did win 2 more games in 2024 its difficult when the Lions & Vikings got so much better and won 15 and 14 games apiece. The whole WR by group thong did not work well either. Between the injuries and other B.S. it sure looked like they really needed a new #1 WR that can be counted on to lead and make the big play. Josh Jacobs was a great investment though with almost 1,700 yards from scrimmage and 17 TD's. The Packers really needed a CB , but they did sign Nate Hobbs away from the Raiders. Although it looks like they might need another if Jaire Alexander is going to get cut because the former ALL PRO just can't stay healthy. He missed 12 games in 2021 , and then 9 each in 2023 & 2024. That's a lot period , but it's even more with a guy who has a near 25 million dollar cap hit. They also over payed a average guard in Aaron Banks , but it might allow them to move Elgton Jenkins to center full time now. The Pack also Stud NT Kenny Clark is starting to decline and he's turning 30 this season , and his backup TJ Slaton signed with the Bengals. So a potential replacement might be in the mix at some point. I would take Emeka Egbuka here because he is worth the pick , he can play inside or out , and he could maybe be that # 1 WR they need if he's in a room with all these 2 & 3's instead teh Ohio ST WR factory. However they haven't taken a WR in the first round since Javon Walker in 2002 , but I still have hope that the might now because he is my highest ranked player who isn't a RB left. Maybe a edge just because their are so many of them in this draft , its a minor need they can get ahead of before next seasons free agents, and it's a premium position. I'm sticking with the corner. Maxwell Hairston ran the fastest 40 at the combine this year at 4.28 , and while I have a 2nd rounder on him he is just barely in my top 50 because he doesn't play the run as consistently as l would like , although he did improve somewhat this year compared to the 2 games I watched of his 2023 tape , but at least he was more aggressive this year. Has twitchy nifty feet and smooth hips , but he's just a little too panicky on tape sometimes. I feel he will go ahead of the 2 thicker CB's I like a little more because of that speed. Has one of those lean rangy builds that can uncoil and strike like a snake with explosiveness , and I would love to see those feet in the slot where his lack of weight & super quick feet could be even more useful , but right now because he is going to to be tossed around by a guy like Davante Adams or some other strong crafty vet on the outside until he gets stronger , and learns to jam better. Max also might get dragged a few yards on some tackles until he improves his technique but he gives more effort against receivers he is covering as a tackler. That speed & upside can lead to pick sixes like the 2 he had against Vandy in 2023.
***TRADE*** The CHIEFS TRADE their 1rst (#31) , their 3rd (#95) rounder , AND their 7th (#226) to the VIKINGS for their 1rst (#24) rounder ***TRADE***
24.CHIEFS-(minn) - JOSH SIMMONS - ** - OT - OHIO ST.
NFL PLAYER PLAYER COMP - JAKE MATTHEWS - FALCONS
Needs - OT , DT, LB , EDGE , GUARD
In my humble opinion the greatest current GM's are The Eagles Howie Roseman, The Ravens Eric Decosta , and the Chiefs Brett Veach. A few years ago when the O-Line went downhill he rebuilt it in one off season. He recognized the potential genius of Mahomes early and traded up for him , and even though the Chiefs signed a potential OT replacement in Jaylon Moore , but everyone they played at LT in 2024 was bad, and RT Jawaan Taylor wasn't much better. They drafted Kingsley Suamataia in the 2nd last season , but he looks like a guard to me , and he can be the replacement for Joe Thuney. Speaking of Thuney trading him when he is 32 and probably starting to fade a bit to resign the younger more powerful Trey Smith is genius. Yes Thuney was a little better last year , especially as a pass blocker , but father time is undefeated and Trey has gotten a little better all 4 years in the league. Plus the only reason he was available in the 6th round in 2021 was a medical issue , and Veach was the guy who stole him there. Now you pay the younger guy , and get the older guy's big salary off the books. The chiefs are one of those teams with a a small group of highly paid guys , but they draft well enough , make trades to massage the cap , pay the right guys for the most part, and just manage the cap so well overall that they are able to stay in regular contention without rebuilding like Dallas, Frisco , and Miami are. The Ravens do the same thing , and so does Philly. That's why even after a bad injury wrecked season they can return to contention right away. Now The Chiefs haven't gone through that in the Andy Reid , Mahomes, Veach era but Patrick Mahomes absolute unique awesomeness covers a lot of sins. The only other significant deals that they have made are maybe bringing in corner Kristian Fulton from the division rival Chargers , resigning versatile inside/out D-Lineman Charles Omenihu to a cheap 4 million deal , and bringing back Kareem Hunt on a really cheap deal after he bailed them out last year when Pacheco got hurt. Anyway this all comes down to medicals the Chiefs have on Simmons, because if the KC doctors say his knee is fine this is a steal. Out of tall the OT's I watched this year Simmons is the guy that I said that's a left tackle. That's the guy I want protecting the blindside of my franchise QB from the best edge guys the league has. Now the Chiefs are playing with the confident plan that they will make The Superbowl every year , and since that is their expectation they can afford to wait until Simmons is fully healthy before throwing him back onto the field. So even if it takes until week 10 until he's comfortable that's enough time to get re-acclimated to the game , and then hit the post season ready to go. Simmons has very light nimble feet, great balance in pass pro moving laterally but he can get leaning too far, nice hand placement despite them not always being up & ready to fire smooth fluid pass sets, and the quickness to beat you to the spot. His arms are just 33 inches long , but he keeps them in enough to make that less of a worry. He can move in the run game and make things pop at the 2nd level , but he is more of seal and wall off guy right now in the trenches. He needs to get stronger, and learn to stay low more consistently both to improve his anchor & to get a push when coming off the ball inline. If they stay at 31 I expect the pick to be the best player available, and that might just be a DT.
25.DALLAS-(hou) - OMARION HAMPTON - RB - N. CAROLINA
NFL PLAYER COMP - JOE MIXON - TEXANS
Needs - CB , RB , LB , OT , RG , DT , WR , DE
The cowboys had their team depth gutted in free agency last year due to Dak's greediness, and they are now in a transition period. Long time big salary stalwarts like Zack Martin and Demarcus Lawrence were both hurt last year, and there was was no one to adequately replace either, and now both are gone. Both of have been on Dallas their entire careers , but now they are in decline ,and the cowboys had a decision to make. Martin is a definite HOFer , but he has declined for 3 years in a row and wasn't even the best guard on his team anymore. Even if they had decided to try bring him back he might have wanted too much money , as he is no longer worth more than maybe half of his 2024 almost 16 million dollar salary at this point. I'm glad he retired so as not to tarnish his legacy of greatness any further , but after holding them up for a extension that he was no longer worthy of a few years back he had already started to do so. Lawrence is a legit 4 time Pro Bowler who was playing much better than Martin pre-injury , and if he would have taken a pay cut with incentives they might brought him back. Yet I have to agree with Mr. Lawrence when he says he never would have won a championship in Dallas , and that's why he signed elsewhere, but not with the Seahawks? However, some of their key core players need new contracts , and their is only so much cap space. The obvious one is Micah Parsons, and while he is a great player there is NO WAY he should be anywhere near the highest paid defensive player in the league. He's not even a top 5 edge rusher in this league , let alone a top 5 defensive player overall. If he goes the way of Dak wanting to be the highest paid , and "Jerrah" bends over for him as well , this entire organization will be in a long tailspin. Last years injury marred 7-10 season after 3 straight 12-5 campaigns will become the norm , instead of a blip. They would have to draft perfectly to even remain a potential playoff team for the next 3 years to weather that mistake. Lamb at least deserves his money , but what happens when Daron Bland gets paid too? Especially with the highly paid Trevon Diggs going through injury rehab now. Then you have 2 specialist that are currently the best in the game that actually deserve to be paid at the top of their positions. Ultra speedy return man and occasional big play WR Kavontae Turpin is now the highest paid return man in the NFL , and they will also probably promise him some more time with the regular offense. While I hate to advocate for a kicker what Brandon Aubrey has done in his first 2 years in the league is phenomenal. 24 of 27 from 50+ is literally insane! He deserves to be the highest paid guy. At least kickers and return men don't cost 40 million a year like Parson wants , or 60 million like the greedy Prescott. I would have payed Turpin 10 million a year if he could become the 3 WR as well . but at his diminutive size the 3 years and 13,5 million he actually got seems fair for a great return guy. Aubrey could get so much as 7 million respectively. While both salaries would set the market , at least they have earned it. In my opinion the biggest thing Dallas needs ( Other than a new owner and quarterback) is at corner. Trevon Diggs it's going through a major injury , and who knows if he even play this year l or how much. Jourdan Lewis is gone too. Right now Dallas still has Daron Bland , and they traded for Kair ELam who was mostly a 1rst round bust in Buffalo , but there isn't a CB I like enough here. Actually they have been collecting 1rst round bust this off season as in addition to Elam they also traded for LB Kenneth Murray , and signed formed Saints disappointing 1rst round edge rusher Payton Turner. With Sam Williams & Marshawn Kneeland returning from injury edge has become a much lesser need bit they brought back Dante Fowler after a year in Washington . Dallas also brought in 2 former highly drafted RB"s who haven't been the same because of injuries in Javonte Williams & Miles Sanders. Of course they overpaid Osa Odighizuwa as well at 4 years 80 million. I like the guy but not that much and this was the perfect draft to replace him on the cheap with so many talented D-Line guys. I would still draft a RB or even 2 this season. A number 2 WR like Emeka Egbuka might work too. Guard Tyler Booker could fill Martins spot too, It's just that I know Jerry wants to take a RB in the first , and this trade made ita smart move so I am giving Hampton to them. This team missed their Championship window, has a messed up cap, A bunch of greedy players, a interfering spotlight hogging owner, and way too many needs to fill even the majority of them after collecting all these picks in the trade back. Yet on Omarion Hampton is a stud, He's a full service every down running back who can do it all. He a big back who runs with power , has good explosiveness & speed , great balance , and he is a weapon as receiver. His vision & patience needs some work , but he also had crappy blocking from most of his O-Lineman over the last 2 years , and decent size holes might help. I also would like him to head more for open space to avoid some of his unnecessary collisions. He's a willing thumper in pass pro , but is currently too often a tick late identifying the right guy. All the tools for him to be a star running back are there. He just need some refinement in a couple of areas. I love that Hampton went from 5 fumbles in 2023 to 1 fumble in 2024. Plus he is one of those guys that almost always gets more than is blocked for him ,and he is one of those rare RB's who almost never gets a negative play because he will power through that quick penetrator and keep going forward.
26.RAMS - JIHAAD CAMPBELL - ** - LB/EDGE - ALABAMA
NFL PLAYER COMP - LAWRENCE TIMMONS - retired
Needs - CB , LB , QB , OT
The Rams actually actually have eight picks in this draft , but they don't have a second rounder so I could see them being one of the teams that is willing to trade back for a team coming up for a QB. Sean Mcvay & GM Les Snead are magicians to me , And their ability to rebuild on the fly after years of the F them pick strategy is truly impressive. it's even more amazing because for years they were going all in , screwed up their cap , and gave away their picks for vets , but they did actually get the ring so it was worth it. However , to then rebuild so quickly is a masterpiece. The Rams have just been taking good football players instead of the best athlete , or the best tester , and it's been working. Despite having the least talented secondary that I can remember last season their 2 deep shell just keep things in front of them , and eventually people make enough mistakes that the Rams kept getting by. The rams were able to adjust Matthew Stafford's contract , and get him to come back , but I'm not sure for how long so they may be drafting a quarterback at some point. I just doubt its in the first round. Other big moves that they made were letting Cooper Kupp go , but signing Davante Adams which is a big upgrade based on last years tape. Re-signing surprisingly steady left LT Alaric Jackson to a pretty big contract works too. Plus taking NT Poona Ford away from their Stadium sharing friends the Chargers is a plus as well. Veteran journeyman CENTER Coleman Shelton played well enough last year to earn a new 2 year deal, and it allowed them to move Steve Avila to guard, and trade Jonah Jackson to the Bears. Campbell is a off the ball LB with some decent pas rush or blitzing ability . He can be a real QB of the defense type if he can speed up his processing and get moving in the right direction faster, and while his football IQ is much higher than Jalon Walkers, it still needs work. Unlike Walker he needs to get better at taking on blocks instead of running around them , but he can move with sideline to sideline speed once he gets going in the right direction. He has a bigger frame than Walker too so I can see why some teams might want to move him to the edge at least part of the time , but he would need to add at least 20 pounds of muscle to do that more regularly. Although he does have the burst off the ball and bend to become a edge more often. Since he can also play the MIke & weakside backer I would want to to play on the weak side when off the ball so he can just see it run to it more with less block taking responsibility. He can also cover pretty well , and he brings the thump as a tackler. Personally I like the hybrid role for him where he plays off the ball a lot more while he learns how to read his keys faster , but still gets sent after the QB on passing downs a lot.
27.RAVENS - MALAKI STARKS - S/CB- GEORGIA
NFL PLAYER COMP - JESSIE BATES - FALCONS
Needs - OT , EDGE , GUARD , SAFETY
It never ceases to amaze me how the Ravens work the draft. A couple of years ago they traded back ,and picked Safety Kyle Hamilton who was the #1 player on my board at #14 , and Tyler Linderbaum who was #7 at my board at pick #25! That's just ridiculous. Former grand Poobah of the draft Ozzie newsome was the best drafter in his time , and while Newsome is still a consultant in Baltimore his protege Eric Decosta picked up right where Ozzie left off. This is the guy who traded back into the last pick of the first round in his first draft calling the shots when Lamar Jackson fell and now Jackson is a 2 time MVP , and he had a better season than Josh Allen last year. Although I still think Saquon should have won the 2024 MVP. The Ravens were also the first franchise to maximize the comp pick formula , and since they are usually a good team a lot of teams want the players they don't sign in free agency giving them a lot of extra picks. The Ravens were able to resign LT Ronnie Stanley after he finally stayed healthy in 2024 , and other teams wanted him. They also re-signed ALL PRO full back Patrick Ricard who is also a 300 pound DT when needed. Brought in D-Hop on a low cost 6 million deal in the hopes that he can find the magic again, and signed Cooper Rush who is the most successful backup QB in the league. #4 WR Tylan wallace isn't real big but he block his ass off, and he was brought back too. Journeyman experienced CB Chidobe awuzie is still better than Stephens in my opinion. So losing CB Brandon Stephens on a steep overpay to the Jets will probably net them a 4th round comp pick next season. They lost guard Patrick Mekari free agency , and he needs to be replaced. The Ravens have 2 obvious choices here. Malaki Starks who is just a really good football player who fills a need at safety , and of course he shouldn't have fallen to them, and guard Tyler Booker who is from Ozzie's alma mater Bama. Both are plug and play guys to me , and both fill a need. I am giving them Starks because he is higher on my board ,and the Ravens gave up a sickening amount of big plays on defense last year. Plus departed free safety Marcus Williams was one of the biggest culprits on those big chuck plays. Starks had better tape in 2023 compared to last season , but he still a rookie starter for me. The Georgia defense was just off kilter last season , and Starks looked like he was taking too many chances trying to make big plays to right the ship. Malaki can cover the slot and play high or low safety with a high football IQ. The games that the Ravens could run with 2 smart safeties once Starks joins Hamilton could be awesome to see.
28.DETROIT - TYLER BOOKER - G- ALABAMA
NFL PLAYER COMP - MICHAEL ONWENU - PATRIOTS
Needs - EDGE , GUARD , DT , CB
The Lions came up short again ,and this time they lost in the divisional round after a year where they had the best record in the NFL. Frustrating , but there are valid reasons for it. The Lions had a slew of injuries last year ,especially on defense , and they just ran out of ready to go players who could hold it down at the highest level. The biggest things to happen to the Lions this off season were a basic swap of Corners on free agency where they ended up with the steadier , but shorter DJ Reed , and los the bigger with a higher ceiling Carlton Davis coming off his best season. They stalwart veteran guard Kevin Zeitler too, but that's it as far as key players go. Now they are going to getting back big name key players like Aidan Hutchinson & Alim Mcneil back healthy. Personally I think Christian Mahogany should get the first crack Zeitlers spot , and that they should take a big edge like JT Tuimuoloau or Nick Scourton , but I am not sure that DEtroit feels the same. Plus Booker is higher on my board and I can't see a guy who has a floor this high falling out of the first in this particular draft, and I wouldn't be shocked if he went at #12 or #14. Booker is big and nasty and when he locks on you are going where he wants you to because keeps those feet driving. Tyler is huge with LT arm length but a big guards body , and wants to bury his man. Smart and a leader & team captain. He's not a great mover , but he is freight train on the move and if he sees you coming he can light you up. He's actually a better pass blocker because his head is always on a swivel for stunts & twists , and he is a wide load that's hard to get around. Plug and play starter for the next 8 to 10 years in my book.
29.WASHINGTON - JAMES PEARCE JR. - # - OLB/DE - TENNESSEE
NFL PLAYER COMP - BRIAN BURNS - GIANTS
Needs - OT , CB , EDGE , GUARD
Washington shocked the world riding Jayden Daniels and his great rookie year to the NFC championship game. They went from 4 wins to 12 in massive turnaround in new head coach Dan Quinn's first year at the helm. This year they made a ACE move by trading their 2nd to Houston for LT Laremy Tunsil to protect Jayden's blindside , but they still need a RT too , and at least a guard up front. Other than adding versatile inside & out veteran D-Lineman Deatrich Wise from New England the rest of their free agent moves didn't make move the needle for me, and I hated the 3 year 45 million deal to injury prone DT Javon Kinlaw. If you want a older injury prone DT just keep Jonathan Allen because he is a better player & he is less likely to miss the whole season in my book. Safety Jeremy Chin & young deep threat are gone too , and I was surprised they didn't bring either back because neither got huge money in free agency. Basically Dan Quinn is putting together his roster now. I would take a corner here but Quinn wants waves of pass rusher and Pierce is so explosive & athletic that even with his lean build & character questions I can't see him getting out of the first unless those character questions are even bigger than I feared.
***TRADE*** The GIANTS TRADE their 2nd (#34) , their 3rd (#95)and the 5th (#154) rounder they got from The SEAHAWKS to the VIKINGS for their 1rst (#30) rounder ***TRADE***
30.NYG-(BUFF)- JAXSON DART - QB - OLE MISS
NFL PLAYER COMP - JALEN HURTS - EAGLES
Needs - QB ,WR , OT , GUARD ,
Well the Giants got their QB ,and he is a bigger stronger armed QB who can be a force as a runner compared to Sanders and that fits Brian Daboll. I want to make clear that I have a 3rd round grade on Dart and that he is only my 5th QB inthis draft . Here is why. We now have the winner of the coolest name in the Draft contest , and it's even more apt because he's a quarterback with the last name Dart. Jaxson was initially a big recruiting get for USC , but was displaced when Lincoln Riley came in , and brought Caleb Williams with him. He transferred to Ole Miss To play in Lane Kiffin's gimmicky offense . His first read is usually schemed open in this RPO heavy system , but if it's not there he is too slow going to the second , and even slower on those rare occasions he tries for a 3rd read. On those predetermined reads he looks great even when he's pressured , but almost all else worries me. Plus he has very few reps under center , and you have to be able to play under center with your back to the defense to sell play action right. Also, Kiffin's offense doesn't translate well to the NFL. On the bright side when that schemed first read is open it is quick , mechanically sound , accurate , efficient , and pretty to watch. When he has to go to that second & 3rd read he slows down significantly and his release slows down as well. He is a good athlete , and a tough runner who can run pretty well when he needs to. Dart also has good pocket presence & movement to help stay on schedule instead of drifting or going backwards like some of the other top quarterbacks in this draft. He has solid height at 6"2" , but a very sturdy 223 pound build , and he is willing & able to throw over the middle. Dart just has a little above average arm , and you can see it affect his errant deep balls at times , But it looks good on short to intermediate throws. Under pressure he kind of impressed me at times with his poise because will hang in the pocket with his eyes Down the field knowing he's going to get hit , and still deliver a strike , but again its usually that first schemed open read . So many drops on tape from his receivers too , and a lot of them were at key moments. In conclusion you got a guy who can make very accurate quick NFL throws when his first read is open , but everything after that is a questionable to me right now. At best I'm hoping he goes to a really good NFL quarterback's coach who can speed up his secondary reads because when your arm is just average you need to throw with greater anticipation than a big armed QB does. Otherwise you'll probably just end up as a good backup to spot starter , but his best hope for success is to go to a west coast offense with a patient coaching staff with good teaching credentials . I'm aware of all the talk of him going in the first round , and crazily enough to me some of them even have him in the top 10, But I have a solid third round grade on him. Since he's a quarterback I get that you have got to take him a round earlier most of the time, but taking him even in the top 50 seems like a big risk to me. However I think it's most likely that's some QB needy team well trade up into the bottom of the first round to take him , and that's what happened here.
31.VIKINGS -(kc)- TREY AMOS - CB - OLE MISS
NFL PLAYER COMP - JIMMY SMITH - retired
Needs - CB , SAFETY , WR , another CB
The Vikings only have 4 picks in this draft ( 24, 139, 154 ,and 187) , and so I think they are the most likely team to trade back and it might happen more than once. After Darnold's meltdown and his subsequent signing with Seattle it now it looks like it could be the JJ Mccarthy sow in 2025 for the Vikings. He had a lost rookie year from a physical standpoint due to injury , but I am sure he did get a lot of mental learning in 2024, Its just I wasn't high on a guy who already hadn't showed much ability to pass, and I could see Kirk Cousins coming back to Minnesota after the draft. The Vikings were bust this off season. First they stole a starting center & guard from the Colts in Ryan Kelly & Will Fries , and both are clear upgrades up front. However, that's a lot of money for a 31 year old center, but I like the deal for the 27 year old Fries more. I like both Javon hargrave & Jonathan Allen at DT , but I would prefer both 3 years ago before the injuries hit. Committing 80 million to 30 & 32 year old DT when both are coming off injuries seems risky to me. Even after resigning Byron Murphy their CB room was pretty bare. Former Vikings Stephon Gilmore , Shaq Griffin , and Fabian Moreau are still available so its possible one or more of them come back after the penalty part of compensatory picks is over. They also took some relatively low cost fliers CB'S Isaiah Ridgers & former top 5 pick Jeff Odukah. I'm giving them a big press man corner because DC Brian Flores loves to play man and disguises coverages as good as any one. Trey Amos is big outside press man corner who is physical when he's in your face and can get his hands on you to disrupt your release, but if is playing off man he can get lost and stacked at times , and then he gets too grabby. He also tends to play too high which slows his transitions when he's off the ball. He's good in zone too , as long as he is up at the line to challenge the WR. Has played a lot of special teams too. His big question was max long speed , but he ran a 4.43 forty at the combine. Good feet and flies to the back to disrupt at the catch point. I don't think he's that fast on tape, but he is fast enough on tape to beat up a WR at the line , but I prefer him with help over the top most of the time. I absolutely love the way he plays the run like a man, and he will even come up to take on block , but he needs work on shedding them or avoiding them better in certain circumstances. As a 5th year Senior transferring into the SEC you have a lot of pressure and Amos answered the bell. Played well at the Senior Bowl too , and he's a ball hawk who had 3 picks and 13 pass breakups last year. Also , and this is a pet peeve of mine I never saw him drop a pick in the 8 games I watched over the last 3 seasons.
32.EAGLES - EMEKA EGBUKA - WR - OHIO ST.
NFL PLAYER COMP - ROBERT WOODS - TEXANS
Needs - OT , EDGE , GUARD
The Eagles won it all again, and they did it in dominant fashion this time while beating the favored Chiefs into the ground. A 40-22 score is a wuppin, but it wasn't even that close, as The Eagles took their foot off the gas to get some backups extra playing time in the 4th quarter. GM Howie Roseman is a absolute genius! He built the most talented team in the league , and was just rewarded with his 2nd Superbowl victory . It's even more impressive considering that he had to fix Chip Kelly's screw ups when he took over again, and rebuild the team after his departure for their first Lombardi. Then to build the franchise into a perennial powerhouse while jettisoning the previous Superbowl winning head coach in Doug Peterson , and then picking Nick Sirianni to be the head coach out of relative obscurity. Wow! However there is always a price to be paid for excellence. When you are successful everybody wants your players , coaches, and even front office people. With OC Kellen Moore becoming the new head coach of the Saints the Eagles will be on their 4th new OC in 4 years. Lets not forget that under the Roseman/Sirianni regime previous OC Shane Steichen and DC Jonathan Gannon also got head coaching jobs a year ago. Howie - U DA MAN! I also want to mention Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie who is the anti Jerry Jones. Lurie is smart enough to hire Roseman, and then let him do his job , and support him however he needs. I know .... DUH. It reminds me of something one of my best friends said to me about 30 years ago that has always stuck with me " Common sense is not that common". Too many NFL owners interfere with the football people to the detriment of the team , but Eagles fans can sleep well at night knowing that from the top down ( owner , GM , and head coach) they have studs in place running the show. Now the price of success must be paid. The Eagles might need a lot of help on their D-Line next season , especially off the edge , and you can't pay everybody. Long time stalwart Brandon Graham is retiring , after re-tearing his triceps in The Superbowl. Nolan Smith ALSO tore his triceps in the Superbowl , and while they hope he will back by the start of the season , I am not so sure , In my experience a former mentor of mine tore a triceps , and it happened 2 more times in the next 4 years. Finally he just left it that way , because he refused a 4th surgery and the corresponding grueling physical therapy. Not only does it look weird, but it ended his body building career , and completely changed how he can workout. Not to mention Josh Sweat , as in he of the 2 and half sacks in the super bowl victory , was a free agent demanding big money. Well Sweat signed a pricey deal with Arizona. Then you have DT Milton Williams , who had 2 sacks himself in the Superbowl , also a free agent this off season. Williams signed with the Patriots for big money as too. That's one of the costs of victory , because a lot of those players who helped you win want a hefty raise, and other teams want the guys who elevate teams to Championships. The birds did sign pass rush specialist Josh Uche to help fill the edge void , but it's not like the cupboard is bare as Howie plans ahead. In addition to drafting Nolan Smith in the first round at 2 years ago the eagles also signed Bryce Huff to a 3 year deal before last season , and while he was limited by a wrist injury last year he should be fully healed when the camp begins. Also Jalex Hunt was drafted in the 3rd round last year , and they even brought in Azeez Ojulari from the rival Giants to join his fellow mass of Georgia Alums on the Eagles defense. I still think Howie could be drafting a edge rusher high because Roseman rightly prioritizes the trenches. The Eagles also rewarded Saqoun Barkley with a new contract making him the highest paid RB in the game , and they didn't have to because Saqoun still had 2 years on the new deal he just signed last year. Normally I don't like getting new deals right after just signing one , but all RB's are under paid by the NFL in my opinion, and Barkley just had one of the greatest seasons in the history of the NFL. In my opinion Barkley should have been the MVP last year. No disrespect to Lamar or Josh Allen , because they both had great seasons , but Barkley deserved it. The Eagles also lost last year starting mammoth right guard Mekhi Becton to the chargers one year after the Eagles helped salvage his career. Now there has been some recent whisper chatter that AJ Browns wants out , and I have no ides if that's true but I watched the Eagles offense become very limited when either AJ Brown or Devonta Smith was hurt last year , and they could use a legit WR that can fill whatever roles that are needed. Also since TE Dallas Goedert also missed time last year, is the defacto #3 pass catcher, and is the last year of his deal it makes even more sense to get a guy like Egbuka. Everybody loves this guy , but too many see him as just a slot guy , but he is more when you watch the tape. I truly believe he can play the X, Y , slot , and do them all well. He is a great precise route runner ,and I believe injuries are probably the main reason that he had to return to Ohio ST. to rebuild his draft stock. He is such a selfless team guy that he gets lost among the Garret Wilson's , Marvin Harrison JR's and Jeremiah Smith's of the world at Ohio States WR factory . Yet I believe he could be a solid # 1 WR if he tried and was given a shot at it. At the very least he will be team leader , a good separator with strong hands , who is a great #2 WR , and he will block his ass OFF! Hunter , McMillan , and Golden may all have a higher upside , but this guy has the highest floor of them all , and he will definitely make your team better however you need him to.
TEAM WITHOUT A FIRST ROUNDER NOW
34.BUFFALO-(nyg) - KENNETH GRANT - DT - MICHIGAN
NFL PLAYER COMP - LINVAL JOSEPH - FA
Needs - OT , EDGE , GUARD
The Bills have to make some cap conscious decisions this off season if they want to stay in a Championship window. Which is why them resigning LB Terrel Bernard to a new 50 million dollar contract kind of surprised me because he took a step back in quality play last season compared to his 2023 tape. Yet he's gong to only be 26 this year , and his 2023 was pretty good. I do love the Greg Rousseau re-signing though. He's only 25 , and turned out to be much better player than I expected considering his injury history & late bloomer status in college. A 4 year 80 million deal with 54 guaranteed seems fair for a guy of his caliber , especially when you consider that he has just come into his own over the last 2 seasons. I really believe that of the bIlls are going to win a Superbowl it will only happen if they can stop the run better. NT Dquon Jones is still pretty serviceable , but his play took a dip last season , and he is 33 now and heading into his 12th season. So I'm giving them big Kenny Grant. This surprisingly spry nose tackle has the athleticism to be every teams dream player, but his pads get too high too often , and the main reason for that is he doesn't play with a wide base. If you play with your feet wide or apart it helps keep you lower , and you can help maintain leverage , but when your feet start to get close together you naturally get taller. You see him flash as a pass rusher but mostly Gran't just Clogging up the run lanes for Michigan , and he can 2 gap. Since his issue is so easily fixable and I've seen this guy run like a much smaller man on tape I firmly am of the belief that he could become the next great nose tackle in the game. Kind of like a Vita Vea , except Vea plays more like a 3 technique sometimes instead of a nose because he sometimes gets too aggressive to get up the field instead of minding his gap. Grant is the opposite right now, but he has similar big man athleticism that can wreck an offensive line because his speed to power is like a Mack truck hitting you and creating wide gaps in the middle. I may be higher on him than others , but I don't see him getting out of the top 40 picks in any case in , and the bills could really use a big young plugger in the middle.
