NFL Stock Exchange: An NFL Draft Podcast - 25. Post-Free Agency Mock Draft

Episode Date: March 21, 2022

Hosts Trevor Sikkema and Connor Rogers take all the info they learned from a crazy free agency week and put it in mock draft form. With so many major moves around the league, the two update team needs and see how that changes their predictive mock drafts one month out from draft weekend.

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I got it this year. It's awesome. Sign up now at youtube.com slash BS, device and content restrictions apply. Local and national games on YouTube TV. NFL Sunday ticket for out-of-market games excludes digital-only games. Welcome to the NFL Stock Exchange podcast. On this episode, we have a brand new post-free agency mock draft Monday for you. So many team needs have changed over the last week. So many quarterbacks going to different

spots, wide receivers on the move, franchises changing faces, and man, it's all coming down to some brand new team needs we have throughout the NFL. This mock draft is the first one where we really get to solidify what we believe could happen on night one of the NFL draft. I am Trevor Sycamore. With me is Connor Rogers. Let's get after it. Welcome to the opening bell of the NFL Stock Exchange Podcast. I am Trevor Sikma. That is Connor Rogers on a beautiful Monday morning, which means it is a mock draft Monday episode of the podcast. Super excited that you guys are here with us because it is post free agency. Well, free agency is not entirely over Connor,

but at least we have a lot of the big splashes, which you've changed a ton of team needs. And this mock draft right here is probably going to be the mock draft that we see the most shaking up with team priorities that we're going to see for the rest of the draft process i think yeah i think so i think free agency kind of paints a better picture for you what you're looking at with teams going into the draft and i think that you know this is fun this is our we've let a whole week of free agency go by we've had that whirlwind and now we have the full reaction here and you and i when we were done making this it took you know it took us a while we looked at it okay it's it's

it's like longer than the show when we make the draft it's more of unfortunately correct but yes it's more of like okay this isn't wildly different but everybody has a lot of people have new homes and then there's some surprises in here that Trevor and I are hearing buzz on we think can happen. And most notably for everybody listening, this is what Trevor and I think will happen, not what him or I would do. So there might be a player that goes in the top 10. That's not in our top 20. And that is more of we are going inside the lens of what these teams are trying to walk out with at the end of April. This is when prediction mock drafts get real, right? Because up until this point, we can sit here and we can talk about team needs and we can talk about what

holes we believe are going to be on that roster when it comes to draft weekend. But honestly, until free agency runs its course, at least that first week, we just don't know. There's too many projections of what might happen. Shoot. Some guys might go out and make big splash signings that we never even saw coming right and i think that's what goes into a lot of the team needs and that's why it took me and you so long to actually make this mock draft that we are going to reveal right now i'm going to have the odd numbers connor is going to have the evens as we have done a lot throughout this process and it's just going to be a little back and forth we're going to go down through every team picking in in the first round, give you a brand new post-free agency mock draft. Before I get to it, though, you guys are going to hear us reference

a lot of things that PFF has exclusively over at pff.com. Some premium stats, some snap alignments, some grades, the draft guide. And if you want access to all that, now is a great time to get it. Go over to pff.com, get a subscription, and get 25% off using the promo code NFLSE. That's 25% off any type of subscription. The cheaper edge model, the more premium elite model, college model, whatever it is, whatever you're into,

go check it out if you don't have a subscription. 25% off NFLSE. So, Connor, I guess I'll start it out. I got the odds. So I've got the Jacksonville Jaguars. We'll get this thing kicked off right away because we know it's probably going to be a lengthy podcast. Mock drafts always are.

Jacksonville Jaguars, you know, with the amount of attention it felt like they gave the offensive line in free agency. Signing Brandon Scherf, giving the franchise tag to Cam Robinson, talking about having Walker Little having Juwan Taylor still on the roster. And, you know, Trent Balky getting up there mid free agency, talking about how comfortable they were with a lot of the offensive linemen that they have there. It makes me think that they really are honing in on the other side of the ball. It was either offensive tackle or edge rusher for the Jags. I think we're leaning firmly edge rusher as it is right now. And I think

that that's going to be Aiden Hutchinson. I think the Michigan Wolverine is going to be the top pick in the draft. All signs are pointing that way from Jacksonville. And so even though it's a little bit boring, this one isn't changing at the top. I got to stick with it being a prediction mock. I think this is going to happen. I'm with you.

You want to be right. You don't want to be overly creative and be wrong. And I think what I find interesting, Trevor, is the more people I talk to in the NFL the that Hutchinson is almost the you know obviously Kyle Hamilton to its safety but that's different because he plays safety Hutchinson is this consensus guy like and I don't agree you you don't agree we had Thibodeau Thibodeau obviously number one on our edge rankings but the NFL the more people I talk to everybody has Hutchinson as the number one edge pass rusher and that's the more people I talk to, everybody has Hutchinson as the number

one edge pass rusher and as the guy they would draft, they love the floor. And when you look at it in that regard, the position he plays, that overall consensus opinion, what Jacksonville did in free agency in the franchise tag period, I agree that this will probably be the pick as we sit here today, which moves on to the Lions in a very interesting spot at number two, because we know if Hutchinson was at number two, they would sprint that card in. That would be the pick. It obviously makes a ton of sense. They're an interesting predicament. And for me here, I lean Kyle Hamilton for them. Now, I don't know. It's tough for me to draft a safety in the top three like this. And I don't think Hamilton is, you know, Ed Reed, Sean Taylor, right?

So, but looking at the Lions, I don't think they're going to go offensive line. We know how much they've invested in that recently over the years. I do think they're looking at the defense. Yes, there is the Malik Willis wild card in here. I'm not there yet for them taking him at number two. I think there's a lot of smoke around that right now. I'm not there yet for them taking him at number two. I think there's a lot of smoke around that right now. I'm not buying into that yet. And I think the Lions have shown you they just want really high caliber players that they adopt. They, you know, inherited such

a weak roster that they feel in these first two year phase, they are going to draft who they think is the best guy on the board. And I think Trevor in this situation with Hutchinson gone, which is going to break their heart a little bit, they're going to look at Kyle Hamilton and go, we like that we can move you around. You can play on the back end. You can play too high. We think we can use you in the slot. We think you can help our front seven out a lot underneath and play in the box and blitz from the line of scrimmage and do a lot of different things and start to turn over what this franchise looks like from a leadership standpoint and a talent standpoint.

So this is not an easy pick, but I think it would be Hamilton here at two. I think the draft, you know, obviously we've got to have a pick here. We're not getting too spicy with all the trades because I think he could waterfall, but yeah, Avalanche, even if you will. But I really do think that if Hutchinson's's off the board at number one their lines are open and the lions are going to take all 15 minutes to see what trades they could possibly get to move back down because i think there's a handful of players they like but i do think that kyle hamilton absolutely is one of them and i think that you're right dan campbell brad holmes that front office the guys who are making the picks they just want good football

players and guys they could believe in and players and guys that they can believe in. And they know they're still in a multi-year rebuild here. It's not like they're one piece away. So they're just trying to get as many really good football players as they can. Kyle Hamilton, damn good football player. Houston Texans up at number three. No longer have Deshaun Watson on the roster. Connor and I talked about that last week

and kind of the speculation of it before the trade went down, but the trade does go down. Houston Texans get three first-round picks, a third-round pick, and a fifth-round pick, actually swapping fourth-round picks and fifth-round picks, but essentially three first-round picks for Deshaun Watson from the Cleveland Browns. This is one of two first-round picks that they're going to have, not just in this draft, but in each of the next two that follow as well. So a lot of firepower, a lot of firepower for the Houston Texans. I don't think they use it on a quarterback, not this year. I don't think it's an immediate

one for one trade-off losing Deshaun and then drafting another guy. I don't think they love this quarterback class. I don't think a lot of teams in the NFL do Malik Willis still on the board. And as Connor mentioned, you know, you you'll hear talk of him maybe going to the top five shoot. Maybe it happens when it's all said and done but i don't think it would happen in houston because i do think they like what they saw davis mills last year with the limited resources that were really there to help him there was rumors that laramie tonso was going to be on the move especially if they traded to sean watson did they want to have his contract on the books while they probably weren't winning that many games instead of trading him they restructure him and so it makes the little

more feasible for him to just be around in the long term so I don't think they're moving on from him which means I don't think they're going to think it's got to be offensive tackle here at number three I think they give themselves a lot of flexibility especially with two first round picks to take best player available as again a team that is rebuilding and in a multi-year rebuild now without a franchise quarterback entrenched on the roster so i'm gonna go with trayvon walker the defensive lineman i'll call him a defensive lineman he could be an interior guy he'd be an edge guy probably mostly an edge guy but somebody who i just think the te Texans brass is going to love insanely

talented player. Now, as Connor and I have mentioned many times before, the pass rush profile isn't there for him yet, but that doesn't mean that it can't be. And shoot, man, you just watch. I don't know if you happen to catch this at, uh, on the pro day circuit with George's pro day and everybody was marveling at Jordan Davis. And there was a drill where Jordan Davis was kind of going inside and out with, with, with some of the bags that were there. And he was just kind of showing off how smooth he was for a massive man, six foot six,

340 pounds. And at the end of the video, there's just like a little snippet and Trayvon Walker is after him. Trayvon Walker gets down in his stance and he just blows out of his stance into top speed. And it's like, that wasn't even the point of the video but I remember watching that video and thinking holy shit like that the fact that that guy could explode that fast it just tells you how athletic Trayvon Walker is and for a team like the Texans they've got the time to develop this dude into hopefully what they believe one of the best defensive linemen in the NFL so super high ceiling with Trayvon Walker it's not there yet but the Texans got time so I'm going with him at number three I don't think it's crazy at all I've told you this before I don't know if I've said it on the show I look at what the Texans are trying to do which is hard to figure out right because we haven't seen a lot of action from them to

actually build a competitive football team yet. And now with the Watson package of picks that they have, you're going to see Casario start to mold what he wants his team to look like. Knowing how long he was in New England, which I believe started in 2001, and a lot of different roles, assistant coaching roles, personnel roles, director roles,

obviously all the way up to essentially being their GM. I look at the Trayvon Walker pick at three and think back to Richard Seymour with New England for a long time, a gigantic, strong, athletic dude that can handle different roles on your defensive line that is going to shut down the run and set an attitude up front. And maybe you tap into him being a high end pass rusher down the road. And, you know, obviously Seymour was never this double digit sack guy, but he was somebody that absolutely can push the pocket and impact the quarterback as well. So when I see that pick at three for the Texans and people think it's insane, I try to go inside the mind of what Casario has been around.

And that's the comparable that comes to my mind. So I don't think I don't think that's nuts at all. And it leaves the Jets, the New York Jets at number four, in such a fascinating spot because now who I believe would be their top offensive player in this draft. Obviously, Hutchinson's not making it to them in this scenario. Hamilton and Walker are gone, although I don't think they would take either of those guys.

That would be interesting. Ikea Kwanu, I believe, is their top offensive player. He's on the board. And a lot of Jets fans do not react well when you make this pick. But once again, this is what we think will happen. This is not necessarily what we would do, although I would also make this pick. Let me make that clear.

I'm going Ike Ikuonu at four for the New York Jets. And Trevor, you said it perfectly. It's almost like we should record when you and I make the mock draft, the conversations that Trevor and I have. Some of it, not meant for the public. We've got to get better at not doing the pod before the pod on mock draft episodes. But it is really helpful. We walk through and talk through scenarios for every roster, every team.

It's very helpful to me. And I look at this, you you ask the perfect question you go okay cool you got aki aquanu right a top player in this draft for the jets that's all well and great what are you doing there and in which i replied to trevor the return would have to be right or else i think they would drag it out but i think the guy they would look to move is mckay beecton I do and this isn't me reporting anything this isn't sourced info this is just putting all the puzzle pieces together knowing how much they love George Phan and have publicly committed to George Phan as their left tackle I look at that and go you know obviously Becton was hurt last year that's not his fault

but some of the questions that the staff at public these are things that are public they're impressors this is an inside info it's all right there for you the lack of confidence that they have showed him at times has to make him the questionable guy to continue on as the reliable presence and i think that that being joe douglas's first first round pick a top 15 guy i think he would have to save face and get something substantial back for him in the top 50 or some kind of conditional pick. But I'm of the belief

that the Jets would not pass on Ike Ikuonu at number four overall. Just put Mekhi back in the center. It's easy. Could you imagine a center that big? Or just they just always run jumbo. They're always a six-man line. Yes! Yesbo they're always a six-man line yes yes they're always a six-man line that would be unbelievable bringing unbelievable dude uh look

you know like i've talked with jets fans before some of you guys want a more powerful running back to compliment michael carter mckay beckton's right there just hand on ball he did score a touchdown in college this is right there for you you know people people talk about debo samuel wide receiver running back hybrid being the next evolution of the game i would like to think that offensive tackle slash running back is the next evolution that we're talking about in the nfl no i i think that obviously kind of what you're talking about is it's a i have not heard just from you yeah right oh yeah the jets really like ikea kwano and what's not to like what's not to love they know their roster like they like the people who are talking about this they get it it. They see what's on paper. And so I don't really know what happens after this.

Shoot, like you said, like if they, and maybe even if they would entertain a trade from a Kybeck and maybe don't get the right offer and they just kind of figure it out. They figure out who needs to go where and they see what happens in that. But there's no doubt about it. I've heard a lot that the Jets simply love Iggy Aquano.

And I think that that's a fact at this point. Yes, absolutely. And it, you know, these things work themselves out And I think that that's a fact at this point. Yes, absolutely. And it, you know, these things work themselves out. I think a lot of people, and I'll be fair here. I won't just, you know, if it's not Aquano, I think they love Jermaine Johnson as well. They know they need pass rush help. I'm not going to get away from that. There's no doubt.

I understand the fans that are like, why would you take a six lineman when you don't have a reliable edge across from Lawson? You know, these are all things that are going to work themselves out. But as we sit here today, this is what I believe would happen in this scenario at number four. have a reliable edge across from Lawson. These are all things that are going to work themselves out, but as we sit here today, this is what I believe would happen in this scenario at number four. That's the point of the show. It is. We're trying to give you guys

time. Us? Lie to the people? Sex addicts? We can never. Number five, we've got the New York Giants. We're staying in the trenches here. Evan Neal has been a player, the offensive tackle from Alabama, who has been mocked at number one overall multiple times. I think he's down a little bit just given certain circumstances.

And I think he would be perfect for the New York Giants because the New York Giants, they have Andrew Thomas. He played a lot better last year, which is great to see. They made a couple additions in free agency to the interior offensive line. But that right side with Nate Solder, I think, is still something that they definitely need to figure out. And Evan Neal, for as much as people are going to watch his tape from the past year and see him at left tackle, he has played multiple spots along the offensive line.

He has played right tackle before. He has played right guard before. So this is a very versatile offensive lineman who he's not this blow you away kind of perfect prospect but he does have really good all-around game and i think he would be a great tackle pairing with andrew thomas who hopefully is only getting better and better then you got evan neal on the other side i just i think that's a really great start for the new york giants doing what they need to do to figure out whether Daniel Jones is their guy or whoever else they get in quarterback behind behind that that O-line either this year or next year I think that that's probably the way they need to go especially given

the fact that they're picking in two spots after this too so I'm gonna go Evan Neal here at number five man I think that's a dream scenario for the New York Giants and not one you have to overthink I think the Giants are sitting there at five praying that one of Iquanu or Neal makes it to them. And there's a good chance at this point. I think there's a chance, yeah, for sure. I think there absolutely is a chance of the way the cards have started to fall, the way you see this mock play out. And that is a home run for the Giants, and they would not overthink that one.

Number six, all right, let's get interesting. Let's get a little interesting here. A pretty chalky top five, which, once again, we're trying to be right. We're not trying to make a mock draft that everybody tweets at and says, screw you, I hate you, you're wrong. I mean, they'll do that anyways. We might as well try to be right. Here you go.

You could do it right here. Number six, the Carolina Panthers, Malik Willis. All right. I look at this, Trevor, and go, go they gotta figure it out at this spot or else they're out of time and that's matt rule and i david tepper after buying this team is probably at the frustration point right and you know they didn't land to sean watson we know how long they were connected to sean watson the sam darnold trade i call it what it is it's an absolute failure uh he was not good last year and you're stuck with the fifth trade, call it what it is, it's an absolute failure. He was not good last

year and you're stuck with the fifth year option money. It's spilled milk. There's no crying over it. You're stuck with it. It is what it is. Find a new solution. Go get a new gallon of milk. With Malik Willis, you go back to the store and you try to figure it out again. Go get another gallon of milk, baby. Malik Willis, at least there are top tier traits there. He's going into a situation where, while yes, the options in front of him are not great, he does not have to play right away.

He's not the only guy. Darnold's going to be back for another year. He can start. I just think Carolina needs to take a swing. And yes, I would love to see Charles Cross here. You know, I would love to see them add cross here uh you know i would love to see them add to town add to the town of the roster that's non-quarterback related but this is the what we think they'll do mock draft and when there are jobs on the line you need to do something to

try to save it even if the risk is significantly high but that's why the reward is significantly high i feel like there's a chance malik willis goes at six trevor also gives them the whole okay you took him he doesn't need to be your hero year one right away we're not going to fire you just because he wasn't a savior right away you're going to sell the two-year plan of developing malik willis and now we're back on track at the most important spot for our roster. Yeah. Cause you know, for as much as,

as much as we all think that it's more likely than not, the Matt rule is probably not the coach in Carolina a year from now. It's not like Carolina wants that, right? Like they, they want him to work out. They would rather not fire him with that massive contract. Still,

they would rather not have to change coaching staffs again you know like they want this to work out and so i think that there is a reality in which this could happen i'm sure that rule is pushing for it big time because he needs a quarterback that he can hang his hat on if you him or pick it i'll make that clear that wouldn't shock me either i don't believe because of the ceiling right i'd have a hard time thinking pick it's gonna go six but i, I mean, I do. Quarterback's going to be on the table for Carolina. And, you know, unfortunately, I think there's a reason why Carolina was the first team that we heard that was out of the Deshaun Watson race. And it's because it's not really a great situation.

They don't have a good offensive line. Their head coach might not be there in a year. There's just a lot of instability that's going on with that team. Is that a really good place for Malik Willis? I don't think so. And I think that you probably don't agree with me there that they, that the actual landing spot, if this were to happen is probably not a great spot because like you

mentioned, they have Sam Darnold and they're paying him on his fifth year option so you're paying him anyway so they're probably going to start him a little bit but unfortunately man you know sam darnold i know sam everybody knows all too well sam darnold's not going to be playing well and malik willis is going to be starting by week five and so it's it's not like we're really in a better situation just because he missed the first four weeks and they tried to darnold out there so it would be a really tough spot but I don't think it's out of the question given what I know about Carolina given what I know about how highly the league believes in Malik Willis is the QB one in

this draft it seems I think that there is a reality where he goes number six what are here's the thing Trevor are they going to be bad enough this year and that they're going to be picking top two I say no I don't think so I think they have a lot of good players on that roster they have offensive skill talent they've tried to make the offensive line a little better recently they as not great as Darnold is he will go out and and do enough to get you by for a couple games. They have young defensive talent. They do play hard under Matt Rule.

You have to give them that. I just, for me, and yeah, you can say, okay, they'll make a godfather offer in 23 and they'll go up and get CJ Stroud. Like, this regime might not get the chance to do that. And at some point, you need to have the self-awareness to go am i gonna go to the battle of 300 my last stand with sam darnold next to me or am i gonna try something

else right right what are you gonna do is he gonna be leonidas pick up the shield and the spear i don't know i don't know man and die anyway probably right right and that's basically that's but at least you gave it a shot you didn't just lay over wait spoiler alert for everybody who hasn't seen oh my god come on what's the all right what's the spoiler rule on shows and movies how much time dude you watched game of thrones like 14 years after it came out it wasn't 14 years it was two years that was such a good bit such a good bit like bro i would like check i'd be like oh i've loved that episode you'd have it was like 90 years after the show came out and he's live tweeting it

really good it was good yeah i feel like i feel like it kind of it's different for how popular the show or movie is obviously but like 300 i look. But like 300, look, man, it's been out a while. If you haven't seen 300, you're probably not going to watch it. It's also history. That's true, too. That's true, too. It's not just – it's not made up. Whoa, whoa.

Maybe hyperbole, but it's not made up. History book. History book. Spoiler alert, please. Jesus Christ. All right, so the New York Giants at number seven. I took Evan Neal for them at number five. I think that's going to be a heavy target for them.

And the reason that I believe that they would go offensive line at number five instead of an edge rusher, which they would also need, is because I think that there's a chance that they believe that Carolina could take an offensive tackle. So they maybe want their pick of whoever's left at that point, which I think makes logical sense. And I believe that they think there's going to be at least one of the two edge rushers that are still on the board.

So on the board, and that is cave on Thibodeau and Jermaine Johnson. Those are the two guys that I think they're going to be debating between. I'm going to go Jermaine Johnson here. I think he's going to be a little bit more of Joe Shane's type. I think that as a heavy handed defensive and who can be more of a power profile player, I think that's just the kind of guys that Joe Shane was a part of drafting when they were in Buffalo. At least when I look at the defensive line,

I know Ed Oliver was an undersized defensive lineman, but outside of Ed Oliver, who I think was kind of a unique situation, I feel as though the player prototype of Jermaine Johnson just having a little bit more strength to his game is going to play into the history of what Joe Shane did under Brandon Bean and with Sean McDermott in Buffalo now as the GM of the New York Giants. And so I think they're going to lean a little bit more towards Jermaine Johnson. I think that's an area which they're going to want to address, not just as one edge position, but potentially be able to use him inside and out. And I think he gives you that ability and that flexibility. So I think it's back-to-back trench picks for them. I'd have been tempted by Sauce Corner, the corner,

but they haven't released James Bradbury yet. We were told that they were going to release James Bradbury and they still got James Bradbury. Maybe it's coming. Maybe we kind of amend this. They want some compensation. In the next couple of weeks, maybe it's different. But as of right now, they still got James Bradbury and I'd rather upgrade in both the trenches

if I'm the New York Giants. So there we go. I'm going Jermaine Johnson's step. Yeah, I'll back up your point further. You went with the, this is what the new guys from Buffalo would do. I also think the coaching staff would do this. When you look at Jermaine Johnson, the number to know for me is the 1.55 10-yard split.

That is a 97th percentile number. Basically, your get off the ball. Last year, so their defensive coordinator to the Giants is Wink Martindale, who came from Baltimore, who last year drafted Adafe Owe, who had a 1.59 10-yard split. That is an 87th percentile. That's a really, really good number. They like athletes that can get off the snap. And then, obviously, my player comp for Jermaine Johnson was Matt Judon.

We know the player Judon developed into under Wink. So trying to figure out player types. Great call, Trevor. That's a great pairing for the Giants. Eight, the Falcons. You don't need to do rocket science for this one. The Falcons, just Google the wide receiver depth chart. Oh my goodness.

So we're going Garrett Wilson here. I think he looks like a faster version of Calvin Ridley to me, who obviously they are without now. So it is a little ironic that that's the route they go here. But high floor, gets open, really good at the catch point just reliable for them i really like the pairing of garrett wilson and kyle pitts in their offense and i really think they are just forced in the spot uh to not look anywhere else i think it has to be wide receiver for the falcons at eight yeah i mean all of the roster needs are still there for atlanta could offensive line upgrades

yeah they can pass rusher yes they can take cave on here like all of this is still there for atlanta could offensive line upgrades yeah they could pass rusher yes they could take cave on here like all of this is still available for the falcons but at the end of the day man their top four wide receivers as it stands right now are oh i was about to say taj sharp start with taj sharp but he's even a free agent so he's not in it olamade zakias frank Darby, Christian Blake, Chad Hanson, Braden Linus, Austin Trammell. I just read their entire depth chart right there. That is their entire depth chart. I don't even know if there's a wide receiver three or four in that group, let alone a one or a two. And this is kind of the nightmare scenario.

And it's not exactly Terry Fontenot and Arthur Smith's fault. They didn't anticipate Calvin Ridley betting on games and getting suspended for an entire season. I think that if they weren't going to be with, if they were going to be without Calvin Ridley, they probably thought it was going to be a trade, right? Because he stepped away in the middle of the year. He was going through some mental health things and he just, he just said he needed to step away and they respected that. And it seemed like he wasn't going to be back in Atlanta.

So I figured at least they were going to get a trade for him, maybe a different wide receiver or another high draft pick to be able to replace him. But instead he gets suspended for all of next season. So they don't even get anything for him. And I'm sure they didn't anticipate Tom Brady personally calling Russell Gage and luring him down to Tampa Bay. What do you do at that point?

You go to Tampa Bay. Tom Brady calls you and tells you to come down to Tampa Bay. You know what you do? It's like your wife leaving you for Leonardo DiCaprio. Like there's just nothing you could, there's nothing you could have done. Right. Yeah. Chris Evans.

The hell? Henry Cavill. It doesn't matter. Like, I matter like i'm just gonna you know i don't know what to do i've lost i've lost here i need to now at eight need to find a new wife scary so yeah uh falcons find a new wife at eight uh going with gary wilson i think that that obviously makes a lot of sense you you want to go into the nfl draft and be able to address a lot of needs so that you don't be forced into taking a certain position and unfortunately for the falcons they're in the exact opposite they have to pick a wide receiver but good news is gary wilson's a damn good one i'm gonna go came on tibeto this where came on tibeto comes off the board this is a very common place for him to come off the board obviously west coast guy gets to stay on the west coast gets to go to seattle which we know loves their athletes loves their fast pass rushers um i think

that they're they're gonna be absolutely great with tibido if he falls to nine and i think that this is probably i don't want to say the floor because there's a chance that i who knows what's happening with seattle um especially with their quarterback situation i believe willis is still on the board they draft drafting a different quarterback there? You don't exactly know what's happening in that situation, so everything's up in the air. But this feels pretty close to the floor for Kayvon. If he's not going four to the Jets or something like that,

then I think this is probably the tail end of his range of where his talent certainly deserves to go. If he goes beyond this, man, it's starting to get crazy. Somebody's going to get an absolute steal of a pass rusher. i'll have seattle take cave on tibideau here at nine yeah i think the jets falcons then seahawks is the landing spots that have a chance for tibideau and i agree with you that if he does make it to seattle which we definitely think he could they almost have to make this pick you just look at their front right now and they're just they're working with nothing they need guys that can get off the ball and get after the quarterback and win with speed to power and that's what

Thibodeau can come in and do so that's just a no-brainer that spot number 10 the New York Jets to round out this top 10 uh they got Aquanu at four the problem here is for them the pass rushers are gone Hutchinson Jermaine Johnson and Thibodeau all went so the Jets would have to look in round two or trade back into round one and get some more pass rush help. But at this spot, I'm going to go wide receiver. I don't see how they pass wide receiver at 10. I just look at it and go, yes, Corey Davis will come back healthy. You have Elijah Moore. You brought back Braxton Berrios, but you still need somebody else out there for Zach Wilson to throw to. And in this spot, I think it would be Drake London. Garrett Wilson

has gone to eight. So that wipes off a very, very in-play option. And then you look at it, you know, Traylon Burks, obviously, if he had a little bit better of a combine, maybe he'd be in this conversation. Jameson Williams, if he was healthy, would definitely be in this conversation. But when you look at what Zach Wilson does,

giving his wide receivers a chance, Drake London, the contested catches, the blocking, what he can even do after the catch a little bit i think this would really help that wide receiver core where you roll it out and you've got cory davis and drake london on the outside elijah moore on the inside that can also flex out and they sign two tight ends as well now your offense is cooking a little bit you know i was on uh paul estin's podcast actually earlier this week and he was asking me about wide receiver for the jets at number 10.

And I talked about Drake London because you and I have talked about him a lot there as a really good spot. And an example that I kind of gave to him and why I think that he would be great for the Jets is I'm not comparing Drake London to Mike Evans. I think that Mike Evans truly is rare. So I'm not like one-in-one comp comparing those two. But when you remember what what johnny manziel and and mike evans were like at texas a&m johnny manziel had so much confidence for a lot of

reasons obviously he was a very confident quarterback anyways but he had so much confidence because sometimes he would just throw that ball up there to mike evans and he'd come down with it and you know what that does to your confidence as a quarterback when it goes right you loosen up you play free you have confidence in anywhere you're throwing the ball at that point and that could be zach wilson to me man on a on a on a third and seven gotta have it kind of continuing to drive late in the second quarter oops defensive end hits an inside move on the offensive tackle you get flushed you're going to your right uh it's third down i need to i'm throwing it to drake london and even though he's he might be a little bit covered if he comes down with that bad boy and we keep this

this drive going that is a massive confidence booster for everything and i think that that goes into the equation for me so even the people out there who would say, he doesn't separate as well as some of these other wide receivers. You're right. I don't think it's needed. But that's getting annoying. Because it's not as bad. Go ahead.

He has just enough speed that when the ball is in the air, the DB is making the adjustment and it's too late because of his size and ball skills. And that in a way is separation because you are at this whole, the DB needs to be off the screen. Like it's flag football is, it's just wrong. It's just not right. So that talking point is getting very old, very fast.

We're, we're reaching that part of the draft where people just keep bringing up that talking point about Drake London. And I'm like, I understand why people are hesitant about it. But I think Drake London is different. I really do. I think he's a different kind of wide receiver. It's health with him. It's not ability with him. It's health.

He would be huge. He would be huge for Zach Wilson and that Jets offense. Okay, that was the top 10. A little recap. We had Aiden Hutchinson going to the Jaguars. Kyle Hamilton going to the Lions. Trayvon Walker going to the lions trayvon walker going to the texans icky aquanu the jets at four giants got evan neal at five malik willis went six to the panthers jermaine johnson seven to the giants uh gare wilson eight to the falcons came on tibet 09 the seahawks and then drake

london just went 10 to the new york jets before we keep this mock draft rolling gotta talk to you guys about all-22. Our friends over at All-22 are unveiling the newest fantasy football game that hundreds of PFF employees have been playing. You use All-22, and they'll use PFF's weekly grades as a main scoring component to build basically, essentially it's a fantasy football game combined with like a Madden franchise

where you are drafting and you are building a full team. And then you are going head to head against somebody just like fantasy football every week, except it's not based off stats. It's based off actual performance. So it's a really cool concept. Join the wait list today, all dash 22.com with nothing more than your email. If you join the wait list before the draft, you're going to receive a special promo code and you'll get that all 22

subscription wait list. Users will even gain access to premium content like the inaugural draft guide in season strategies, feature release announcements, and so much more follow them at all 22 dash PFF on Twitter. All 22. It is premium fantasy football, full team fantasy football powered by PFF. I'm up at 11. So I'll resume it here.

Washington commanders traded for Carson Wentz. So I guess quarterback is off the table. Oddly enough, wide receivers to wide receivers going right before 11 does not bode well for the commanders, Drake London and Garrett Wilson off the board. They could go trail and Berks. If they are that interested in him,

I think he is going to be an option here, but I also think a mod Garner, a mod sauce Garner is going to be a big time option for them. know they've got kennel fuller i know they've got william jackson but do they consider either of those guys to be locked down cb1s for the foreseeable future i'm not sure my garner brings that unique size speed profile he really fills out a mock draftable spider graph i'll tell you man that with how big this guy is and how well he moves and the stats back it up man you look at some premium stats that we've got over at pff didn't allow a single touchdown in man coverage his entire career at cincinnati that's over a thousand coverage snaps did not allow a single touchdown so i mean he's impressive dude now does that mean

he's a perfect player am i calling him the next daryl rivas no but it means he's damn good and i think he's got that CB1 potential in the NFL. So I'm going to have him going here. A little bit of a different look, but I'll have him going here at 11 for the Commanders. Not a pick we've seen a lot, but I do like it a lot because of how the wide receiver board did not fall into their hands. And he's just too talented to fall that far at 11

and would help that defense, especially that front four can stay healthy and get home. Might make some plays on the ball as well. He didn't get a lot of looks this year in college number 12 the minnesota vikings they need corner help they would take sauce here at 12 uh he's not there he probably won't be there in the draft they'll have to go get him if they want him so they'll swing for the fences here and take derrick stingley and with stingley it's all going to be about where the medicals are at if he can test and how teams are confident in that but for the vikings i do think they'll take a swing in this spot if they are okay with the medical

information because trevor if if it's no sauce and no stingley here i mean maybe mcduffie but this is a team that has to secure a top corner they are so thin in their defensive backfield right now i just don't know if they're going to be interested in mcduffie i i don't think so yeah you i know you do too like i do i love them but not their type i just i even with the new regime coming in yeah i don't know if a i don't i we've we've said this so many times in this podcast when i say analytically driven i don't mean it to say that the front office doesn't think about like the real like football side of things because they have thresholds but i think they're gonna have thresholds and i think most importantly they're not going to draft a player that they already think has limitations if trey mcduffie has sub

30 inch arms and they want to play this guy on the outside then they're playing against the math they're playing against the percentiles they're're playing against the percentages. And I just don't think that Kevin O'Connell and Kwestia Adafo-Mesa are going to do that with the first premium pick that they have had as a decision-making group. That's kind of my thoughts there. I also thought this would have been a sneaky spot for Ojabo, but torn Achilles, obviously, that absolutely sucks. Yeah, a healthy Ojabo would be in play in this spot,

and it sucks. Obviously, really rooting for healthy Jabba would would be in play in this spot. And it sucks. We're obviously really rooting for a Jabba already were. But now I really hope that, you know, he can get on the field as a rookie and because he could be he could be a special player. We'll talk about a job a lot more. Yeah, at the he's not making he's not falling out around one. Let me know. No, no, no.

And I do not think that he should. Houston Texans up again at number 13. I had them going Trayvon Walker at number three here at 13. You know, I talked about the Atlanta Falcons wide receiver room, not looking great. I mean, when you look at the Houston Texans,

you got Brandon cooks, who's good. Who's fine. Neal Collins. Okay. And then Chris Conley, Phil Dorsett, Chris Moore,

Davion Davis, Jalen camp. I mean, it's just, it's a lot of guys that are fill out a depth chart kind of guys. And I'm going to, I'm going to have Traylon Burks going here because I think that Burks is going to be that kind of all around weapon that they really need a player who could be an inside out wide receiver, a player who you could use on reverses, shoot, you use

them out of the backfield at times. He is a mismatch kind of potential player. And I think that Connor is right. I mean, if he would have tested a little bit better at the combine, maybe we're talking about him as a top 10 pick, but it's funny because I thought his numbers at the combine were fine. We, we just,

we were way overhyping what he was going to do going into the, into the end of the week. So I think that he's still going to be a top 20 pick. And I think Houston's going to have their eyes on him here at 13. And that goes back to the Casario coming from new England, want to be bigger, stronger, faster than everyone else.

And, and Berks fits that mold and they're just an offense. It doesn't scare you at all. And at some point you got to get guys that threaten and Berks. Absolutely. When you look at what he's done in the sec, he is that dude that always threatens. All right.

14, the Baltimore Ravens. They've lost a lot, obviously in free agency. They did make some nice additions. I'm going to go Jordan Davis in this spot, get a big hulking dude in the middle. They, they do lot, obviously, in free agency. They did make some nice additions. I'm going to go Jordan Davis in this spot. Get a big hulking dude in the middle. They do have an open spot for this role for him in the middle of the defense.

The space he can eat. The room he can give this defense. Jordan Davis, I think what he did at the Combine kind of solidified his top 17 status, we've been calling it. The Ravens at 14. Man, he would be a force up front for that front and really give everybody else a lot of room to work with yep I mean when you look at the Raven steps chart yeah they brought in Michael Pierce and I think that that probably goes into it but Brandon Williams, Calais Campbell, Justin Houston, Pernell McPhee, Justin Ellis all these dudes are

free agents that have not been brought back yet. So there are plenty of spaces that Jordan Davis could fill with that Baltimore Ravens team. And we say this so many times, but I mean, the dude feels like a Baltimore Raven. He really does. Davis, 99 in a purple Ravens jersey, just feels right. It just feels or Ravens jersey just feels right. It just feels right.

It looks right. Feels right. I do think this is a direction they would look to. The top two corners are gone. We've talked about how sneaky wide receiver for them is here. Three are already gone. They need defensive line help. You get, in my opinion, the top defensive lineman in this draft.

Philadelphia Eagles now at number 15. line help you get in my opinion the the top defensive lineman in this draft uh philadelphia eagle is now at number 15 that's their first of three picks they have between 15 and 19 i'm gonna go with jordan davis's georgia teammate davante wyatt a player who i absolutely love who was quite literally playing in jordan davis's shadow but it it just it felt like davante wyatt was a first rounder right next to another first rounder all year long man i mean he is not as big as jordan davis was so it wasn't as eye-popping but the dude can move he is such a prototypical one one gap penetrating pass rush three technique defensive tackle and any team that is playing any kind of four three base defense i think is going to absolutely love davante wyatt now fletcher cox got released and then the eagles

are planning on bringing him back so i think fletcher cox is obviously going to be there and he's going to be in the rotation but it's from what i was told from eagles people who i asked about it when fletcher cox was being released it's like hey how much does he have left in the tank like he's still got something in the tank. It's just more of a, you want him kind of on a rotation thing. You don't want him out there every single snap. So I think that draft and Devontae Wyatt's perfect. You get him in that rotation there.

Javon Hargrave is there as well. And so it's a really nice interior defensive line there for the Philadelphia Eagles. And as Cox kind of starts to play less and less snaps, Wyatt plays more. There you go. Perfect transition. Yeah, Fletcher Cox back on a one-year deal,

you know, that can max out around 14 mil. So that means it's time to look for the next guy up after him. And Wyatt really fits that bill. I like what he could do as a pass rusher. That gives him a little bit more juice at times than his teammate in Jordan Davis. Eagles back on the clock again, picking back to back 15 and 16. I'm going Jamison Williams. I'm looking at, you look at the wide receiver depth chart. It's clear this is a need. I also think they need speed

at wide receiver. I think they need somebody that can start clearing out some space, win down the field. We know it would be really exciting to watch him with Devontae Smith. I think they complement each other very, very well. Obviously, Jamison, a one-year breakout, but would have ran sub-4-3, will be healthy enough to impact their season this year. So for the Eagles now, they've had their misses at wide receiver over the years, but this is a chance to get it right and roll forward for a long time with the Jamison and Devontae Smith pairing.

We got the Los Angeles Chargers now at number 17. And with Jordan Davis off the board, we've often had Jordan Davis go to them. Instead, we get to switch it up with a name that they don't often get to pick. But holy cow, it feels like it'd be an absolute home run for them. Charles Cross is still on the board. Offensive tackle Charles Cross, who we've often had going number six to Carolina. Carolina in this mock draft takes Malik Willis. Charles Cross sliding a bit on the board. Offensive tackle Charles Cross, who we've often had going number six to Carolina. Carolina in this mock draft takes Malik Willis. Charles Cross sliding a bit down the draft.

And if he makes it to the Chargers at 17, it'd be absolutely perfect for him. They moved on from Brian Bulaga. They thought that was going to be a fantastic signing for him as a right tackle. He just has not been healthy. Rayshon Slater has been a home run as a left tackle player for them last year in his rookie year.

And though Charles Cross has not played right tackle before, you could try him out at right tackle. If he doesn't work, there's the possibility that you can move him to left tackle because Slater is so good and has played right tackle before, you might be able to get away with it. So I think there exists a combination somewhere in there of these two guys at left and right tackle where you have two really great young offensive tackles playing really really well and then the interior

for the chargers is a lot better thanks to last off season's moves and so when you pair that with what they've been able to do this year going out and getting khalil mac you know like just getting jc jackson upgrading so much all of sudden, if they can handle their bookend tackles, Chargers are scary, man. Chargers are scary. They're not living in the Chiefs' shadow anymore. Of course, they've got to go out and prove it. I know, I know.

But the roster on paper becomes one of the best in the NFL, and I'd absolutely love to see it. So I'm going to go Charles Cross here at 17. All right, 18, the Saints are on the clock, and this pick comes with the caveat that I think they should bring back Jameis Winston. I think they will bring back Jameis Winston and kind of kick that quarterback can down the road a little bit longer. And I'm going to go with Chris Alave here.

I've said it before. They were all over the wide receiver class last year. They decided to take Peyton Turner instead. They will be back on the wide receiver class this year. And I keep saying it. you better do it while you can because there's going to be a run that goes all the way to maybe even the Packers at 22 of wide receivers. So the Saints don't mess around here.

They take a lave, can win at all three levels of the field, super pro ready. He's been a productive college player for a long time right now. A really high IQ player would come in and, you know, if Michael Thomas is back, he'd be the number two instantly player for a long time right now a really high iq player would come in and you know if michael thomas is back he'd be the the number two instantly and really produce especially if you have jamis back there where you're going to be a pass heavy kind of offense uh for the saints this is a mix of need and bpa in this situation and i think it's one that they are very aware needs to improve on

their roster we got five wide receivers in the top 18. Not crazy. Five. And the first one didn't even come off the board until eight. We got five wide receivers from eight to 18. That crunch run. 10 picks, man. Eight to 22. It's going to happen.

I agree with you, man. I think that that's the big time sweet spot there. Eagles at 19. I'm going to go cornerback Trent McDuffie. I think that this is a guy who's going to be heavily on their radar. They've got Darius Slay. They've got Amante Maddox, but I think they'd still go cornerback Trent McDuffie. I think that this is a guy who's going to be heavily on their radar. They've got Darius Slade. They've got Amante Maddox, but I think they'd still need cornerback help.

You know, if there's any team in the NFL that it feels like is okay with taking a chance on talented corners with small arm length, it is the Philadelphia Eagles. And I think that, sure, maybe they would like a longer corner, but I think that they would take Trent McDuffie over Kier Elam, over Andrew Booth, over the guys that are left i think that they would probably prefer derrick stingley or amad saskarner but i don't think they'd be doing too much complaining especially for how versatile trent mcduffie is um how much how easy it is to love his game he's got such great physicality subtle physicality and coverage and then a lot of really nice physicality when it comes to uh how he is in run support i think an inside out player has not played in the slot

nearly as much as you might think but he has also rotated and played a little bit of safety too so that goes into his versatile tag so i think that they would wait a little bit a corner pick unless it's stingley stingley i think being on the board at 15 they'd probably pick pick him there. But if not, I think they can wait a little bit and maybe make this decision here at 19. I think that McDuffie's going to be on their board, and I think he's a good pick for them. McDuffie currently a top 15 player for me right now. So 19 for the Eagles, awesome value.

I have him right at number 14. 20, the Steelers. Every mock draft, I say they're going to have to move from here to get a quarterback, and here they are not moving again and getting a quarterback. Can he pick it? So maybe they don't have to move when all is said and done. Maybe're going to have to move from here to get a quarterback. And here they are not moving again and getting a quarterback. Kenny Pickett. So maybe they don't have to move when all is said and done. Great for the Steelers. I know everybody's connected them to Malik Willis, and I'm not saying that's not real. It definitely is. But I also think Pickett needs to be in play. The Trubisky contract structure tells you they are still looking at the quarterback market in

the draft. Maybe Trubisky starts. They let their rookie sit for a little bit. If Pickett makes it to 20, Trevor, I would be really surprised if they pass on him. I think it gives them a chance without mortgaging any other assets to take a shot at getting this position back on track after Roethlisberger obviously is retired. So for the Steelers here, and they did quietly make some improvements

for a tattered offensive line during free agency, which kind of opened the door here for them to pass on that and look for their quarterback of the future. Yeah, I think that they're going to be all in for Malik Willis. I think that we've heard that from multiple sources now that they really do like Malik Willis a lot. But if Malik Willis goes super early, you know, if Malik goes number two overall, obviously that dream is dead early. And so maybe the Pittsburgh Steelers really feel comfortable enough to sit back and wait at 20 and see what kind of comes to them. And if that's the case,

maybe they do have the chance to pick a guy like Kenny Pickett. Maybe they got like a guy like Sam Howell as well. And maybe it's just going to be a quarterback pick here at 20, no matter what, it'll just be a guy that they, like you said, can kind of take a chance on wait a little bit have trubisky as well see who wins a quarterback camp battle and maybe get more aggressive for a quarterback the following year but we can see so i agree though i think the quarterback is firmly on their radar their new england patriots they lost jc jackson

this one's easy and kairi elam for him kairi elam the only real question mark with him from a scouting profile standpoint was long speed and he showed up 439 40 yard dash of the combine thing that was huge for him being a bigger longer corner being able to have that long speed to him now he's a little bit slow to flip the hips just because he is high waisted he is longer it's just physically that's more difficult to do when you've got a longer body frame and so you do see that a little bit with how he is guarding players who are either very quick off the line scrimmage or just doing in breaking routes whether it's quick stuff like drags and digs or maybe inside slants or just in routes uh five ten yards

down the field whatever it is anything that that has a hard in-breaking route. You see him be a little bit slow to flip the hips, but he is physical, he loves man coverage, and he does not back down from a challenge. And I think that's something that the Patriots really need, especially with a thin cornerback group now with JC Jackson out. I agree. I know we've had him in round one on this show

for a couple weeks now, I believe. But Kier Elam, for whatever reason, might be the guy that a lot of people are missing as a first round player right now. And when you look at the track record of a corner that's, you know, over six foot one and runs sub 440 and has that kind of tape, those guys traditionally do not make it out of the first round so we've been all over Elam the Patriots are a corner is a vital vital position in their offense obviously that opens the door with Jackson leaving I think Elam's a really good fit he is a true press man-to-man corner 22 the Green Bay Packers The wide receiver run came and went.

And listen, Packers fans, I know you want a wide receiver. You need a wide receiver. And we're going to get there eventually. But in this spot, I'm going with Zion Johnson. I still think this offensive line has holes. I think Zion has the versatility that they would really like. He's going to play guard for the Packers. You know, Jenkins is going to move to right tackle. In this scenario, Zion Johnson will play left guard.

And that is a foundation of the roster that they are always going to take care of both sides of the ball, the trenches. And Zion is worth every bit of a top 25 pick rather than the Packers reaching a little on a wide receiver in this spot. Yep. I know a lot of people are going to say, OK, well, what wide receiver are you drafting at 22 to make up for Devontae Adams? But there's not a great one left.

We just mentioned we had five of them go off the board between 8 and 18. And it's just, you know, you'd be reaching for one at 22. And I think that their money could be better spent. Yeah, moving Ellison Jenkins out to right tackle and addressing Zion Johnson with one of those interior spots. I think that's a really great move. And I think that that's something they're definitely going to have their eye on. Arizona Cardinals, 23. A couple different directions they could go.

Certainly offensive line is an area that they might have to address. But with losing Chandler Jones, man, that defensive line, it's not super impressive right now. Regression alert. We said it when during the prep show the show before the show you are we can start a second podcast instead of the stock exchange just the show before the show just yeah regression alert just release the early show on like a patreon or something everybody just wants to hear our raw unfiltered thoughts of just

spitballing ideas uh yeah you look at their defensive line zach allen jj watt devin canard marcus golden they've got victor dubin kj as well but she's not a lot of pop she is not it's not a lot that's really standing out to you and i think that you got to be able to get out to the bathroom without chandler chandler jones it's going to be huge for him so i'm gonna go george karloff this year george karloff speaking of not a lot of pop no i'm just kidding i'm just kidding it's not true i'm just kidding he's fine he's a fine player i think the back end of the first round is a lot more believable at this point than front end of the first round where we sometimes had him yeah going in the top 10 it seems like he's just kind of settling in this 20 mid 20s range and so i think

this is a really this is a good spot for him. This is a good spot to take a chance on him. And Arizona really needs it. So with him being there, he can be a little bit versatile for you, especially in that multiple 3-4 front that Arizona likes to run. I think this is a good pick, and I'm going to go George Karloff. This is 23. Yeah, I think it makes sense, and that's a huge need for them.

And it helps their run defense right away, gives them a little bit high effort pass rusher. I know it's cliche, but obviously Watt would be a great player for Karloftis to learn from. With the way they're moving around, the hand usage, the body type. That would be a really good landing spot for him as well. 24, the Cowboys. Sorry, Cowboys fans, if we're putting you to sleep with this pick. I am responsible.

I keep putting you to sleep with this pick. Kenyon Green just makes the most sense to me. Obviously, it's a need for them as we sit here and do this show. And Lyle Collins goes to the Bengals. The Cowboys have had some holes open up on their offensive line. Kenyon Green has played left guard, right guard, right tackle, left tackle. Obviously, local-ish kind of guy they will be hyper aware of. And Kenyon Green is a damn good player, especially a a guard i don't love him at tackle trevor uh but in this situation he is going to

a team to be a guard and quite frankly he's one of the best players on the board in this scenario other player i'm tempted to take here i mean trevor penning is still on the board so i think dallas might be tempted by trevor penning but tyler smith from tulsa is somebody oh i can get behind that actually gives you that decent guard to tackle flexibility that kenny green also gives you but do you think like i i just wonder do some teams think that tyler smith has a higher ceiling than kenny green does and if that's the case i think the versatility is somewhat similar and i i would be just just keep an eye on it just just keep an eye on him maybe being a target for the dallas cowboys at the back end of the first round uh buffalo bills at 25 i've often had a defensive lineman go to them but after getting tim settle and daquan jones

and von miller they still have ed oliver they've got randy gregory uh aj epinesa, Boogie Basham, they drafted last year as well. Like, they've got so many defensive linemen that I just don't think that's going to be where they look anymore. I'm going to go Andrew Booth, the cornerback from Clemson. I think he's a bigger, longer, athletic corner who he's a little bit undisciplined. He's a little bit unbalanced, it seems, quite literally. Like, sometimes he's just literally falling over. Sometimes his chest gets ahead of his feet a little bit on discipline. He's a little bit unbalanced, it seems quite literally. Sometimes he's just literally falling over.

Sometimes his chest gets ahead of his feet a little bit. But when he kind of settles into his abilities and how good he can be and he gets to year two and year three in the league, I think he's going to be really, really good. You put him on one side, Tredavious White on the other, especially with Jordan Poirier and Micah Hyde behind him as one of the best safety duos in the league. Now we're talking.

Especially with the Buffalo Bills losing to Levi Wallace, I think this is a pretty good cornerback bet here at the back end of the first round, unless the well has gone that dry, which it hasn't here. Andrew Booth's a good pick, so he's going to be the guy. Yeah, has the versatility to play zone. We know how zone-heavy they are.

They are a true defense. What you see is what you get. This is who we are. This is what we're going to do. Try to score on us, and a lot of teams don't. The 26th, the Tennessee Titans. This pick was a layup. Tyler Smith, speaking of them, you talked about the Cowboys at 24.

We have them to the Titans at 26. They have a massive hole on their offensive line. Tyler Smith can come in, be your starting right tackle. Nasty, nasty Mueller in the run game. We know how important that is to them. And he's going to fit that Vrabel identity that they love. If you are making a mock draft and you don't have Tyler Smith in round one,

I think you're missing it. I think you're missing it, man. I think, number one, I like him a lot better than both Penning and Raymond. I know there is some hand usage that needs to be cleaned up with Tyler Smith. He is a bit of a, you know, that bowl in a, you know, China shop kind of wrecking crew mentality. But when an offensive line coach really gets to work with him, there is potential to be special there. And I think this landing spot fits the type of game he plays as well as a pure road grading blocker. Yeah. And he's only been playing offensive line for technically five years,

but really four years, two years of starting in high school, two years of starting at Tulsa. And so there's a lot of things that he is still working out with the hand usage and strike timing and just the overall balance to footwork, everything, but he's a great athlete. He's a strong dude. He's a, he is a relentless finisher. He's got a great mentality and he's really good kid.

So I think the teams are going to be very interested in getting him at the back end of the first round. Tampa Bay Buccaneers at 27. Connor and I, we got up to this pick in the mock draft and Connor was like, I'm very interested to see who you pick at 47. And I said, and I said back to him, I'm very interested to see who I pick here at 27. Cause I don't know. I think they're going to bring on Grononkowski back they've obviously got most of the offensive line figured out the wide receiver room i mean like you can't even jokingly take a wide receiver at 27 anymore because it's so deep at this point yeah no no carlton davis they signed um logan ryan to replace jordan whitehead they've

got dry joe try and show inka at uh at the other edge spot they're loaded if they were going to draft an interior defensive lineman it would have been more of a penetrating guy like a davante wyatt or something like that i don't think they drafted travis jones to put next to vita vea so it's almost like what are they doing so tyler linderbaum is still on the board he's one of the best prospects in this entire draft class i know ryan jensen is back i know they got shack mason but plug that other hole at right or left guard with Tyler Linderbaum. Just do it. I don't care that he's undersized.

He's a damn good offensive lineman. He's one of the best in this class. This would on paper, give Tampa one of the best offensive linemen. And it would be really hilarious because it would also mean the Tyler Linderbaum is probably playing right guard. And does Shaq play right guard? I can't remember.

I believe so. The Shaq. No, that ruins it remember uh I believe so the Shaq no that that ruins it that ruins it for me hold on I'm looking up the depth chart to see where he is I can't remember if he plays left or right but Shaq plays right Shaq plays right okay so Shaq's gonna play next to Tristan Wirfs I was gonna say it'd be hilarious because our Linderbaum and Tristan Wirfs the two Iowa boys who play next to each other but who faced each other in the state finals in wrestling in high school yes they did and linderbaum won and linderbaum freaking won so anyways really good offensive lineman just taking the best player available i've got linderbaum to uh to the bucks here i've become a

big like i'm usually not one of those people gets attached to random background notes i just find them cool and fun to tell the audience uh state champion wrestlers though on the offensive line means actually being something icky aquanu by the way if anyone didn't know that one state champion wrestler it it really means something creep and you can usually tell without looking it up when you watch them play create that's the funniest thing one of the best offensive rookies last season wrestling background yeah it's something that i know uh sean mcdermott who i believe never lost a wrestling match when he was in high school yeah crazy right and he doesn't like he doesn't like talking about it so you have to like really like look deep to find it but he was a uh mcdermott

was like a elite elite wrestler it's something that he has i'm pretty sure he has the buffalo scouts like mark that and like hot like it's a big highlight dude the core strength the balance the everything man it's so if you have that background it's huge because when you think about it when you lock up with a defensive lineman you essentially become in a wrestling match you are trying to pin them you're trying to finish them you were trying to not let them buy you like it becomes a mini wrestling match no doubt yeah so national prep champion sean mcdermott so that's yeah it's interesting note with scouting obviously uh okay so you have linderbaum going to the bucks i would love to sell you on lewis scene in that pick but i'm not going to argue ever against tyler linderbaum who's in my top eight

players i just don't know i mean i think it would you're like in the where does he play right i just winfield junior's not coming off the field they like mike edwards he's a ball hawk man he has so many turnovers like my words they let whitehead walk and they just signed logan ryan who i know that's where it changed yeah right if they didn't have logan ryan i think lewis scene could have could have been a could you've been a target must be nice trevor you have everything what do we buy the rich man goes to the store and goes i don't need any of this i have everything but i have the money so i need to make a selection all right 28 green bay packers here's your wide receiver packers fans christian watson um i will use this opportunity since everybody's talking so much about how great Watson is.

If a guy is so, and I think I love him. I've liked this player for a long time. I'm glad he's in that first round conversation right now. He's an elite athlete at that size. Love the way he practices the senior bowl. I think he needs to play stronger. I want to explain that's why he's not a top 20 pick. Instead, he's a fringe first rounder I think the play strength at 6-4 can improve playing at the catch point playing

through contact in your routes so I like to tell the audience okay like we all we do is talk about how this guy is basically built like in tests like Randy Moss here's why he's not a lock to go in the top 20 so Watson of the Packers you can work through those things with the way the offense is constructed, gives them more vertical speed. You're not replacing Devante Adams because there is no replacing Devante Adams, but now you have a rounded offense and a player that can come in and, and give you some juice down the field.

And honestly looked really good in his intermediate routes at the senior bowl. Yeah. I think that route running is still a work in progress for christian watson they just didn't i mean he just wasn't used super heavily as a wide receiver like in a traditional sense that he was with that offense it was very run heavy kind of like what you were mentioning kind of the just the background they came from so i think the best is yet to come for him but i also think that that's why i agree with you he's more of a fringe first rounder than i guaranteed a lock

for as much as people really love him and that's not to say like he won't be an incredible pro i just feel like that's where the nfl is valuing him as more of a fringe guy but yeah obviously huge upside there for miami dolphins at 29 there have been a lot of mock drafts where we get down to 29 miami dolphins need a offensive lineman so bad and there's just none that are available trevor penny is still on the board here for the miami dolphins i like this a lot better than i do some of the mocks that i have seen and even mocks that i have done with trevor penning in the top 12 top 10 just from what i am hearing i think this is a lot more realistic towards what the prospect's profile is of him going 29 being able to play at offensive tackle maybe kicking liam eikenberg inside so i think dolphins get their wish in this mock draft scenario with a couple of offensive tackles on the

board bernard raymond tackles on the board. Bernard Raymond is still on the board as well. So they got options at 29. They're going Trevor Penning. I think that that would be the pick for them if he's still there. Yeah, as we sit here, they need to make an offensive line pick. I think they should pay Teron Armstead, and I know you agree. Ah, yes.

They've not done that, so it's got to get better on the offensive line. I was watching them recently by accident. I was watching Jacob Martin after the Jets signed him. All of his great... You were watching Miami by accident? All his great rushes were against Liam Eichenberg. I knew this was

a bad unit, but it's a really bad unit. So yeah, Pates are on Armstead. All right, 30, the Chiefs here. David Ajabo, right? This is a chance for the Chiefs to take a guy that needs to rehab who is going to play his rookie season. But most importantly, Trevor, if the Chiefs don't do this,

somebody's going to come back in round one to get that fifth-year option on Ajabo. You don't take a hurt developmental guy without the five year security of having him. Um, I think a job on the chiefs actually would have a really nice rookie role. Once he gets healthy, where you're third and longs that you go that NASCAR package, or you get them on the field and you're saying rush from the outside, we can kick some people inside. Uh, so for a job, oh, this is a nice little luxury pick here for the chiefs. And the board just didn't break where there's a glaring play like Christian Watson's not available here that would have been a nice pick for the Chiefs there's no glaring player it you know people have asked me like oh what if you take a you know a tight end to pair with Kelsey it's not a round one tight end so they get the luxury of a little

draft and stash with the Jabo here yeah and I think this is a really great landing spot for him all things considered obviously you would have loved for him to go higher because talent warrants that and the injury absolutely sucks look some people have also been like oh david ojabo tours achille as well look at how quickly like cam acres came back that's not a good comparison that's kind of crazy like the you i'm sure they are shooting for that like i'm sure they would absolutely love that but don't sit here and think that like every case is going to be like that i know medical advances and rehab has been really great and it's getting guys back on track faster which is great to hear but this is still a tough injury to get back from and certainly we wish ojabo the absolute best he's one of the

most talented dudes in this class and we'd love to watch him play but honestly it's gonna be a great place for sensitive for uh oh my god chiefs They've got to get better, and they've got to get more juice on the edge. And this would be perfect for them. And like you said, that fifth-year option is right there. Cincinnati Bengals, 31. They signed Alex Kappa. They signed Ted Karras to play on the interior offensive line, those two guys.

And now, most recently, right before we recorded this podcast, they signed Lyle Collins as well to play offensive tackle. Job well done there. Very much taking the blueprint that the Kansas City Chiefs had and that the Los Angeles Chargers had the previous year of how to overhaul an offensive line in one offseason. Bengals have done a great job of that. Now they turn over to the defensive side of things.

I think the linebacker still needs a big upgrade there. Devin Lloyd is still on the board. I think that they would love Devin Lloyd. I there. Devin Lloyd is still on the board. I think that they would love Devin Lloyd. I think N'Kobe Dean would also be on the board for them, but I think linebacker is really where they're going to look. So I got Devin Lloyd going 31 to the battles. Him and Logan Wilson, that's a nice linebacker duo in the middle of their field for a long time.

And you brought up N'Kobe Dean. He's not going to make it out of the first round. I have him going 32 to the Detroit Lions in this spot. How crazy, though, Trevor, would it be if Hutchinson did make it to two and then the Lions take a Jabo at 32 and they're just like yeah you know what we'll reunite these two and run this one back I know that's a long shot because we think Aiden's going number one but just something that crossed my mind when a Jabo was falling, falling, falling. And I was like, maybe. But the Lions 32, N'Kobe Dean, they need to get better in the middle of the field.

I say that a lot about a lot of teams, but it matters no matter how much you value or don't value linebacker position. I think they hit on some nice defensive line picks up front last year. And in this draft, they got Kyle Hamilton for the back end. You have Tracy Walker in this scenario. I donyle hamilton for the back end you have tracy walker in this snare i don't really love a corner for them the wide receiver board did not break very well for them maybe you could take sky more at 34 to still get in that on that or george pickens uh but at 32 i think nicobe dean no no matter how you view his height that he's not working out all these different things the tape is phenomenal. The instincts are phenomenal.

He's that dude for the entire defense. Yelling at guys, getting guys set. They're going to love that. I mean, you got Kyle Hamilton and the Kobe Dean in the first round if you're the Lions. Your defense went from, nah, to kind of scary a little bit. Now you have a real identity. You have dudes that can run around and make plays on the football. Guys that lead.

Guys that are the front-facing guys of your organization. I actually really like this Lions draft. Yeah. No, that's really great. I don't know where N'Kobe Dean goes. I really don't. Because it tastes phenomenal, but he wouldn't test. And I think there's a reason why he wouldn't test,

or else he'd be out there doing it. And I don't think it's an injury from the season. I think that he's probably on the hand timer. I think he's slower than people believe he is when he's on film. I think his explosiveness scores might not be as good as they want them to be for whatever reason. So, look, I mean, like, there's a reason the guy's not testing. But still, he's just a damn good player.

And he should be a first-round guy. Top 54, sure. Beginning of the second round, no doubt about it. And he's just one of the best football players. He might be this year's Wusu Koromoa. And I know Wusu Koromoa did have a health flag come up. That's why he fell a little bit, but was phenomenal for the Browns last year. And N'Kobe Dean might be that guy.

We're sitting there after the top 40, and we're going, how the hell is this guy still on the board? Someone takes him, and he's one of the best defensive rookies in the NFL. I think there's a good chance that at the end of all this, you're right. We end up looking into Kobe Dean as an extra name to add to a draft list that we absolutely love because we would love the picks that they have early on, especially if it's a double dip pick here, whether it's Philadelphia Eagles or Green Bay Packers or the Detroit Lions or whatever it is.

Just somebody getting a really good player there. There we go. That is our updated mock draft post-free agency. A lot of team needs have changed right there. And I think we addressed a lot of them, whether it was the signings or where they're going to be looking. And I think we're honing in, man. We're getting pretty close, Connor, on having a really good feel for where these guys are starting to go.

And obviously the next couple of weeks, that's only going to get more true as we move forward. Yeah, it is. We haven't switched odds and evens yet, which I've kind of liked because I think it's made us a lot better at the picks we've been consistently responsible for. We've seen those draft slots evolve,

whether it was a signing or trade, a player stock up or down, a team need that you missed there's just so much that we've been able to watch evolve there some so maybe down the road we'll flip them um but other than that you know we're hoping to get like a a beast in at some point maybe a three rounder we'll see i know we got a lot of special things planned so this was a much needed mock draft coming off a wild week of NFL free agency and all of the trades that have happened and continue to happen. Yeah, we've been doing a little bit of homework for the odds and the evens figuring out exactly what these teams really need. And honestly, tomorrow, starting with tomorrow's episode, we're going to have an even better idea

of what these teams might be honing in on. If you are an old listener of Locked On NFL Draft, you know this series that we are about to kick off. It is the Guest Mock Draft Series. I'm taking it from that podcast and I'm bringing it to this one because I love doing it. I know you guys out there love this so much. Essentially, what the structure is, Connor and I are going to have three different guests on every single episode to pick for three different teams

as we go down a full first round mock draft but it's not done by us we are going to have guests on either a beat reporter for the team somebody who just knows it really well it might be somebody who works for the team as well we know a lot of team reporters who might get in on it and essentially we're going to ask them all about the team their free agent strategy where they might be going in the draft how the last year was where they think they're going and ultimately have our guests make a mock draft selection and we're going to go through all 32 picks one by one three episodes on every tuesday and thursday is the structure we have now might have to switch it up a little bit

to make sure that we are done right before the draft but that's what we're going to be doing over the next month and connor i'm going to learn a lot i know you're going to learn a lot the people out there listening are going to learn a ton about the details of what these teams have been doing and the strategies they're going to have going into draft weekend man i'm so excited to kick this thing off tomorrow it's going to be awesome uh you obviously will get to hear some new voices on the show. These people will have insights of what the general managers that they cover are thinking, what they might be looking at, who they've done a lot of homework on. So it's really narrowing in on a way to know every single team's thought process and views of the draft.

And it might start to alter our mock draft. So I'm excited to get it get it going man and i think people that are not just draft fans but obviously team specific fans will will just eat this up this series is a beast it's definitely an undertaking but we are going to have some fan tastic guests connor and i are going to open up the rolodex of people that we know as deep as we possibly can to give you the best guests, the best information for where we believe. And these people believe their teams are going to go in the 2022 NFL draft. Thank you.