Gridiron Seasonal

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. LA Chargers (Trade with Detroit. Detroit gets 6th, 37th, 112th(4th round pick). LA gets 3rd overall.) – 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.

4. 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.

5. 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).

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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 start at left tackle.

9. Jacksonville – Javon Kinlaw, South Carolina defensive tackle. Kinlaw really performed well at the senior bowl practices. The Jaguars have a history of dominating at the line of scrimmage on defense, and Kinlaw has shown he does that well.

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. Las Vegas – CeeDee Lamb, Oklahoma wide receiver. Lamb has helped Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray get drafted number one OVERALL. Lamb is the top receiver in the class.

13. San Francisco –  C.J. Henderson, Florida cornerback. The 49ers offense can elevate players without elite talent. Shanahan will certainly want a stud like Jeudy or Lamb, but getting Henderson allows the 49ers to play better defense, and ultimately run the ball more instead of having to play catch up so much. John Lynch was part of a super bowl winning defense in Tampa Bay and will continue to prioritize defense.

14. Tampa Bay – Andrew Thomas, Georgia offensive tackle. I would go with a wide receiver here, especially if Jeudy is available. Thomas has played at right tackle before, and could start for Joe Haeg if he wins the job.

15. Denver – Jerry Jeudy, Alabama wide receiver. Anyone that plays quarterback for Denver would have two great receivers in Sutton and Jeudy for years to come.

16. Atlanta – Xavier McKinney, Alabama safety. Dimitroff has been comfortable drafting Crimson Tide alumni before. Mckinney can take someone’s job as a starting safety or contribute as an important nickel.

17. Dallas – Matt Hennessy, Temple center. My guess is as good as anybody’s. Is Jerry Jones just going to draft a defensive back because they need one? Jerry has always made a priority of building a beast on the offensive line. The analytics crowd and the old-school crowd both really like Hennessy, the small school standout as both a pass and run blocker.

18. Miami – Austin Jackson, USC offensive tackle. Jackson is the best pass blocking tackle available here, and played against a high level of competition at Southern California. OC Chan Gailey is expected to run the spread on offense, their linemen will need to be able to hold up while Herbert finds his open man.

19. Las Vegas – Grant Delpit, LSU safety. The Raiders play a lot of zone coverage where Delpit would be at his best. While Delpit’s missed tackle issues are well documented, he covers at an elite level. Delpit demonstrated top coverage skills and could help the Raiders take on Travis Kelce, Noah Fant, and Hunter Henry as a taller (6’3″) safety.

20. Jacksonville – Isaiah Wilson, Georgia offensive tackle. Daniel Jeremiah’s confident Wilson will be a first round pick. Wilson is about as big as Mekhi Becton and a powerful blocker. Wilson was a right tackle at Georgia, so either Taylor or Wilson would move to left tackle eventually.

21. Philadelphia – Justin Jefferson, LSU wide receiver.  The Eagles are expected to target wide receivers in this draft. Jefferson caught over 100 passes in his ’19 season. He’s 6 foot 3, and ran a 4.43 40. They may trade up for Lamb if they can find a willing trade partner.

22. Minnesota – Jeff Gladney, TCU cornerback. Gladney covers well and is an all around strong corner. Minnesota’s drafted several busts at corner in the past 5 years. Gladney’s got a very high floor. He’s not as tall at 5’10”, but plays like his height isn’t a problem.

23. New England – Kristian Fulton, LSU cornerback. The Patriots play a lot of press, Fulton would fit well with that system. The Patriots have swung and missed on a number of  recent corners. In 2018, Bill traded UP for corner Duke Dawson in the 2nd round. Duke Dawson is currently a Bronco. They also spent a high pick on corner JoeJuan Williams who only played in 9 games and made 5 total tackles.

24. 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 the Saints current offense, and can help the Saints’ next QB adjust to the NFL as well. The Saints need what Aiyuk provides. Their offense stuttered against a Vikings team without elite corner play.

25. Minnesota – A.J. Epenesa, Iowa defensive lineman. Epenesa is a strong, all-around d-line prospect as a pass-rusher, run-stopper, and even forced four fumbles in 2019 at Iowa. His size will help him be particularly adept at playing the run, something Coach Zimmer will value.

26. Miami – Antoine Winfield Jr., Minnesota safety. Grier and Flores have shown they value a strong secondary. Winfield had dynamite season in 2019 at Minnesota. Both Flores and Grier are defensively minded leaders, and both saw Antoine Winfield Sr. play in the prime of his career.

27. Seattle – Patrick Queen, LSU linebacker. Seattle needs to improve at defending dual threat quarterbacks. They have great linebackers in Wagner and Wright, but they could get even stronger in the middle of the field with Queen and his toolkit.

28. 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.

29. Tennessee – Marlon Davidson, Auburn DL. The Titans play a physical brand of football. Davidson brings a versatile profile and can play at end or tackle. The Titans could look to restock at cornerback here.

30. Green Bay – Michael Pittman Jr., USC wide receiver. Pittman’s stock has soared with his giant frame and excellent drop rate. The Packers don’t often draft wide receivers in the first round. I would be shocked to see them not draft a wide receiver with how skinny they are outside of Adams.

31. Indianapolis (Trade with San Francisco. SF gets 34th, 122nd(4th round pick). IND gets 31st.) – Jordan Love, Utah State quarterback. The Colts have a selection at 34, so they wouldn’t have to give up that much to get here. The 49ers will be motivated to trade down if they don’t HAVE to have someone here at 31, they don’t have another pick until round 5. Drafting Love is the type of bold move we see from the Colts regularly. Frank Reich is one of the more forward-thinking minds in football, he’s one of the leaders that can make Love the best version of himself.

32. Kansas City – Jonah Jackson, Ohio State guard. Jackson is maybe the best guard in this draft. He’s got experience at center and guard, giving him versatility if the Chiefs offensive line suffers from injuries like it did in ’19. Andy Reid teams have often drafted offensive and defensive linemen early, and Jackson played well against top competition at Ohio State.

Song of the blog – “Better Days” by Onerepublic. The “feelings” part of my brain shit its pants watching this video.