Cincinnati – Joe Burrow, LSU quarterback. The Bengals would probably trade out of here for, say, four first round picks, but they wouldn’t draft any one else here.
Washington – Chase Young, Ohio State defensive end. While I won’t rule out Washington drafting Tua Tagovailoa. I think Chase still has the majority vote here. The Redskins don’t entirely know what Haskins looks like as a starting quarterback, and Chase Young is the “sure thing” of the draft.
LA Chargers (Trade with Detroit) – Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama quarterback. Tua’s repeatedly shown he’s as healthy as he can be after the combine. The Chargers have signed proven players to rebuild the offensive line and have the offensive skill group (Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, Hunter Henry, Austin Ekeler) to compete right now.
NY Giants – Isaiah Simmons, Clemson linebacker/safety. – Gettleman knows when to pick the best player available. Tackle will be a tempting choice here, and if Simmons is gone, I think they would take Mekhi Becton or Tristan Wirfs. Simmons can play two or three different positions on the field at a high level.
Miami – Justin Herbert, Oregon quarterback. I am not personally sold on Herbert, but some smart people like Daniel Jeremiah and Gil Brandt really like Herbert. Miami OC Chan Gailey is expected to run a spread offense in Miami, one that would take advantage of Herbert’s arm strength if he were drafted. This isn’t Miami’s only move, but I can’t imagine the Fish NOT taking a Quarterback. Herbert is even one of the few quarterbacks to check off all the Bill Parcells QB rules. Parcells is technically Brian Flores’ coaching grandfather (Bill Belichick was Parcells’ defensive coordinator before getting a head coach job at Cleveland).
Detroit (Through LA Chargers) – Jeffrey Okudah, Ohio State cornerback. Okudah is an ELITE cornerback, drawing comparisons to Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore. The Lions have a giant, gaping hole at corner after trading away Darius Slay, and corner’s an important position to be strong at regardless. The Lions could also decide they like Isaiah Simmons here.
Carolina – Derrick Brown, Auburn defensive tackle. GM Marty Hurney has valued drafting players near the line of scrimmage. They could draft a wide receiver here to help fulfill Rhule’s vision of the offense. The Panthers have long held an identity on defense as being a physical team. Brown could be the player Star Lotulelei was meant to be.
Arizona – Jedrick Wills, Alabama offensive tackle. Trading for DeAndre Hopkins allows Arizona to address a badly suffering offensive line group. Wills is a technician who thrived at Alabama. Wills can line up at his natural position of right tackle and let Humphries continue to play at left tackle.
Jacksonville – Javon Kinlaw, South Carolina defensive tackle. Kinlaw really performed well at the senior bowl practice. The Jaguars have a history of dominating at the line of scrimmage on defense, and Kinlaw has shown he does that well.
Cleveland – Mekhi Becton, Louisville offensive tackle. Cleveland has one of the league’s best young running backs (Nick Chubb) and would benefit more from Becton’s strengths as a devastating run-blocker than most teams. The Browns had the most success with Baker in 2018 when they were happy to run the ball a lot. New head coach Kevin Stefanski comes from a team (the Vikings) that ran the ball the 4th most in the NFL. Becton can pass protect better than anyone they currently have slated to start at left tackle.
NY Jets – Tristan Wirfs, Iowa offensive tackle. Wirfs showed up at the combine with a 40 in the 4.8 range and already had a reputation for his crazy impressive strength. Wirfs can play guard or tackle in year one and brings badly needed blocking to a struggling NY Jets offense.
Las Vegas – Jerry Jeudy, Alabama wide receiver. The Raiders have the worst wide receiver group in football. Jeudy is the best (according to some) wide receiver in the draft class.
San Francisco – CeeDee Lamb, Oklahoma wide receiver. The 49ers as of yet haven’t resigned their best wideout from 2019, Emmanuel Sanders. In either case, drafting Lamb is in the interest of their club and winning for seasons to come. Lamb averaged over 20 yards a catch in his 2019 campaign.
Tampa Bay – Henry Ruggs, Alabama wide receiver. Many media voices have been predicting Tampa to draft an offensive lineman here. They could pick a defensive tackle if Brown or Kinlaw are available. I believe Ruggs makes too much sense, Tampa Bay could double down on their strengths and be impossible to stop on offense with Evans, Godwin, and Ruggs lining up.
Denver – Denzel Mims, Baylor wide receiver. The Broncos badly need a receiver across from Courtland Sutton. Mims showed at the senior bowl he’s not a three-route guy, and he showed at the combine he can MOVE (4.38 40).
Atlanta – C.J. Henderson, Florida cornerback. Henderson’s stock has risen with his strong combine performance and steady overall tape. PFF thinks Atlanta’s secondary drastically underperformed last year. The addition of Dante Fowler gives the Falcons a legitimate edge rusher.
Dallas – Tyler Biadasz, Wisconsin center. If you think Jerry Jones won’t spend a first round pick on a center no one else was going to think about drafting until round 3, have I got a story for you. Biadasz won the Rimington Trophy awarded to the nation’s top center. Travis Frederick, the Cowboys standout center, retired this off-season leaving Dallas thin at center. The Cowboys like to spend high draft picks on linemen. Kristian Fulton could go here if Dallas wants to pick an interior OL later in the draft.
Miami – Andrew Thomas, Georgia offensive tackle. Miami needs serious help in the front five. Kind of an unlikely slide for Thomas, but Miami will draft him here for sure if he is available. Thomas can line up at right or left tackle.
Las Vegas – Kristian Fulton, LSU cornerback. The Raiders will need to replace some key assets in the secondary, losing Karl Joseph and Daryl Worley. It’s obvious Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock pay close attention to the championship game, where Fulton allowed zero receiving touchdowns. Fulton has allowed a completion rate of 40% since 2018.
Jacksonville – Josh Jones, Houston offensive tackle. Jones showed up and played well at Senior bowl week. Left tackle Cam Robinson has never lived up to the first round hype where he was drafted.
Philadelphia – Justin Jefferson, LSU wide receiver. The Eagles should target wide receivers. Jefferson caught over 100 passes in his ’19 season. He’s 6 foot 3, and ran a 4.43 40 time.
Minnesota – A.J. Epenesa, Iowa defensive end. Epenesa performs at a high-all around level against the run, and as a pass rusher. The Vikings need a wide receiver along side Thielen, Michael Pittman or Brandon Aiyuk could fit here.
New England – Curtis Weaver, Boise State defensive end. Weaver PERFORMS consistently and had over 19 tackles for loss in 2019. Boise State has been producing quality defenders recently. Weaver represents a potentially high value selection here.
New Orleans – Brandon Aiyuk, Arizona State wide receiver. Aiyuk is a YAC specialist with an ENORMOUS wingspan. His 80 inch wingspan is wider than almost all of the tight ends in this class. Aiyuk fits well with this Saints offense, and can help the Saints next QB adjust to the NFL.
Minnesota – A.J. Terrell, Clemson cornerback. Terrell is one of the steadier corners in the draft. He got burned by JaMarr Chase, but Chase is going to burn every one.
Miami – Xavier McKinney, Alabama safety. McKinney has shown he is a solid, all-around high level safety. Flores and Chris Grier have shown they care about the secondary by signing both Xavien Howard and Byron Jones to long term, high dollar contracts at corner. In free agency, Miami added front seven players like Kyle Van Noy, Elandon Roberts, and Shaq Lawson. The Dolphins’ safety position is their weakest area on defense, McKinney is “high floor” player the Dolphins should be able to depend on.
Seattle – Bradlee Anae, Utah defensive end. Anae is a senior bowl standout player, but he played very well on a stacked Utah defense in 2019 as well. Anae had 13 sacks in 2019. Seattle has needs at defensive end and Anae’s stock has been on the rise.
Baltimore – Kenneth Murray, Oklahoma linebacker. Murray was all over the field at Oklahoma. The Ravens added Calais Campbell for a late round pick, but really need help at linebacker. Murray has shown versatility in coverage, run defense and occasionally as a pass rusher.
Tennessee – Jeff Gladney, TCU cornerback. I think Gladney fits Vrabel’s defense well. He’s been willing to get involved in defending the run, running corner blitzes, and can operate well in man or zone schemes.
Green Bay – Laviska Shenault, Colorado wide receiver. The Packers won’t actually draft a wide receiver, they’ll draft a random safety out of Utah or Iowa or somewhere. But Shenault would make sense for Green Bay. Davante Adams is the only realistic wide receiver Rodgers can turn to. Shenault’s built his brand on versatility. He can line up in the backfield, out wide, where ever, Shenault’s got a stocky build and moves well, like a running back. If the Packers want to utilize P.A. more Shenault could function like Ty Montgomery and keep the defense guessing what his role will be after the play starts.
San Francisco – Grant Delpit, LSU safety. The 49ers secondary got exposed late in the biggest game of the year. Sammy Watkins and Tyreek Hill had their way with the 49ers defensive backfield when it counted. Delpit rightfully catches blame for his missed tackles, PFF raves about his rare coverage ability. If nothing else, Delpit should be serviceable as a nickel.
Kansas City – Neville Gallimore, Oklahoma defensive tackle. Chris Jones is on the franchise tag, whether he is in the team’s plans long term remains to be seen. Gallimore give the Chiefs a little freedom to part with Jones if Gallimore continues to develop. Gallimore showed up with a terrific 40 time and Lance Zierlein wrote that Gallimore looked good in senior bowl drills, which may help him get drafted high.
Video of the day is Tom Brady being drafted. Also, former packers head coach Mike Sherman (shown in the video) looks like he kidnaps women and wears their skin as a mask.
Song is The Edge, by David Axelrod (from the movie Baby Driver)
Gridiron Seasonal 