The Joel Klatt Show: A College Football Podcast - 2023 NFL Mock Draft 1.0: Joel Klatt’s predictions for Round 1

Episode Date: April 10, 2023

FOX Sports’ lead college football analyst Joel Klatt reveals his predictions for the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Joel projects selections for the first 31 picks based on team needs and his own big board, including a variety of trades involving the Indianapolis Colts, Arizona Cardinals, Chicago Bears, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Joel believes three quarterbacks will come off the board immediately, followed by multiple cornerbacks, pass rushers, and offensive tackles the rest of the round. We’re nominated for Webby Awards! Vote here: Sports Social Content Series Best Mobile User Experience Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome into the Joel Klatt show. This is Joel Klatt. Thank you for joining us. We very much appreciate everybody that has been listening not only during the offseason, but certainly if you were here for the fall as well, all things college football. As you know, we've transitioned a little bit more to the draft. And so we're going to do that some more today. It is mock draft time. My first mock draft as we get set for the NFL draft later this month in Kansas City. If you have not subscribed, to the show. If you have not followed us on social media, you need to do all of those things. So subscribe, first of all, wherever you get your podcast. If you're on YouTube, go ahead and subscribe, obviously. And all the social medias that you can find at Joel Klatt show. You can find all

of our content there. We deliver shorts throughout the week. A lot of stuff going on there. You can follow me at Joel Klatt. You can follow me on Instagram at Joel underscore Klat. And that's where you can find us. By the way, rate review us. It's been going really great. I appreciate everyone for continuing to follow, listen, and enjoy the show. I love to interact on social media, so make sure to get out there and I'll try to interact with you. Okay, it is mock draft time. Now, I'm not on 4.0 or 8.0 or, you know, I don't do a million mock drafts, okay? I can't wait to cover the draft. I'll be on with the NFL network on night one and two, with, you know, I don't with DJ, who's obviously great, Charles Davis and Rich Eisen.

So this is going to be my first mock draft. I will have a second on draft week, so pay attention for that. I'll have another podcast delivering a mock draft. Just so that you know, I think that it's valuable for the listener, or if you're viewing this on YouTube, it is valuable to know how the person who builds the mock, how they're trying to build the mock. For me, it's really a combination of who the teams need, my big board, not necessarily predictive of who I think the team is going to take,

but rather I'm trying to basically be like, if I'm the GM based on my board and their team needs and best player available and everything, that's how I build this. A lot of people get upset and me and they're like, there's no way this team would take that. Yeah, well, I would take that person if that player, if I was that team. I also conduct trades in my mock draft. So we're going to have a couple of trades in this mock draft as we get all set. So that's just a little background.

And here we go. With the number one, overall pick after that trade, blockbuster trade, Chicago trades out. Carolina's on the clock. Carolina, in my estimation, and this is a razor-thin margin, we all know they're going quarterback. We all know who the two best quarterbacks are. Razor-thin margin, I'm going to give it to my best quarterback on the board for me, and that's Bryce Young, the quarterback at Alabama.

As you guys know, I love Bryce and I love CJ. Both of these players are tremendous players, and I think that either of them could be or should be, you know, if you want to say it that way, the pick at number one. I think Carolina is going to get not only a great player, but a really good leader and a good person, regardless of who they take. Now, let me explain why I landed on Bryce Young. First and foremost, he processes information as well as any quarterback that I've seen in a long time at the college level. He's so quick in what he does controlling and manipulating the game from the pocket, whether it's pre-snap or post-snap. And I think that's going to serve him so well as he goes into the next level and he's going to have to play early.

Generally speaking, guys that don't process information quickly in college or need to learn that talent once they get to the NFL have a very steep learning curve. The guys that succeed early in their careers in the National Football League at quarterback are the ones that can process information. And he does that as well as anybody. He's obviously accurate with the football. I think he's way more athletic than people even give him credit for. You see what he does manipulating the pocket on some of those throws. He can throw it from any platform. While his arm is not the greatest arm I've ever seen,

he anticipates the downfield throw really well. So generally speaking, there's not a lot of downfield throws that are underthrown. So for all of those reasons, I take Bryce Young at Carolina. But again, this is not a knock on C.J. Stroud. I think he absolutely could be the pick. and that would be a great pick. However, in this mock draft, he's left for the Houston Texans at number two. So now Houston's on the clock and they're sitting there with the second pick in the draft and C.J. Stroud is going to be the pick. The quarterback from Ohio State. And there's going to be zero controversy, or I guess I should say like, what's the word?

There's going to be no suspense with the number two pick. Regardless of who goes number one, there's going to be some suspense there, I expect, unless there's something leaked draft. week as we get closer to Kansas City. I do think that there'll be a little bit of suspense between the two players for that number one pick, although we should have a decent idea up at that point. There's going to be zero suspense with number two, because whoever goes number one, I believe that the other quarterback is going to go number two. Now, there's a lot of talk that maybe Anthony Richardson is going to jump up there into the top two. I don't see it because these other two guys are way too good and way, way further along in their development to pass them up. I think CJ Stroud has a higher ceiling than Bryce Young, actually.

Bryce, in my mind, might be a little bit of the safer pick, only in the sense that you know exactly what you're going to get. And from day one, he's going to be able to step in there and play right away and do it very efficiently. Now, CJ has some growth that's still left, which means he's got higher potential. So if you're going to take this pick based on potential, then I think CJ would probably go number one to Carolina. Now, you might be asking yourself, well, Joel, that doesn't make any sense. If you're taking it on potential, wouldn't it be Anthony Richardson? Well, it's just too far, right? That's a bridge too far. CJ is so good. He's so clean from the pocket. He's accurate.

anticipates well. He controls the line of scrimmage. This guy was a consummate leader at Ohio State. He played his best game in that last game, even though it was a loss against Georgia. And he really proved his doubters, in particular of those doubters that thought that he didn't move well enough in the pocket. He proved him wrong. So that's the pick that I like for the Houston, Texans. I really love C.J. Stroudon, those two guys, I hope will have great NFL careers moving forward. Then we get to number three. And I think this is when the draft really gets good. Okay, so let's put ourselves in the draft. So C.J. Stroud gets called. Now the Cardinals are on the clock. Cardinals don't need a quarterback. They need defensive help, in particular after JJ Watts' retirement, like they could use a pass rusher. Hey, there's one right there, right?

There's one available. But Arizona in that spot holds a very very, valuable position because on my board and a lot of boards, the quarterback position is really three deep, not four necessarily. And I know some people are really high on Will Levis, but it's really three deep. And once the first two guys go, now all of a sudden that pick becomes very valuable. And here's why. Because the Colts are at number four and everyone knows that they're in the quarterback market, right? They're probably going to take the third quarterback if it lands to them at Therefore, everybody else that needs a quarterback, everybody else, is going to be thinking to themselves,

maybe we should trade up with Arizona. And Arizona is going to field those calls for two reasons. Number one, they don't need the quarterback. And number two, there's a depth of pass rushers in this draft that would make it comfortable to move down and say to yourself, yeah, we're going to get a really good edge rusher, regardless of where we move. So now all of a sudden, I think the phones start blowing up. CJ Stroud's taking his picture. He's got his hat on right there for the Houston Texans,

and the trades start to happen, and I think one gets executed. Here's my favorite part, though. I actually think it's the Colts who sense the urgency more than anybody else, and they understand that Arizona is going to be willing to move down one pick because then Arizona still gets what? Their best edge rusher, whoever that is. So Arizona can move down one pick, and the Colts can go buy. out everybody else in the quarterback market and move up one selection of number three and take that

quarterback. To me, that makes a lot of sense. So that's the trade that takes place. The third and fourth pick gets swapped. The Colts move up to number three, and they take Anthony Richardson. So there's Anthony Richardson. We've got three quarterbacks taken in the first three picks, and the quarterback from Florida is headed to Indianapolis. Now, you know exactly how I feel about Anthony Richardson. He's got the highest ceiling of any of these guys. If he can figure all of this out, then what you're seeing in terms of his potential is a guy that could be the best player on the field, regardless of who he's playing in the NFL. That's a big statement, and I totally understand that. However, look at his skill set, his arm strength, his athleticism, all of the things that he brings to the

table, and it's very easy to see this guy being the best player on the field if he can polish some of those rough edges that we see in some of his accuracy issues, maybe some of the processing issues, how quickly does he process information? Because it's not as quick as Bryce Young or C.J. Stroud. However, the Colts, they're going to need that quarterback, and I love that trade, and I love that scenario, and I can't wait until Drap Night for those types of scenarios. You see, It's not necessarily for me what teams get what players. It's the strategy involved with how teams are boxing out other organizations, getting to a spot where they get their guy based on their board.

And for me, this one makes a lot of sense. So Anthony Richardson, I'm going to just continue to call him the Rubik's Cube. If you can figure out the Rubik's Cube, it's beautiful. And he could potentially be the best player on the field. Now, how many turns away is he from finished? We don't know. Is it 10? Is it 15?

Is it 25? Five, how difficult is it going to be for him to polish some of those things and become the type of player that he could potentially be? But I think that that happens with Indianapolis, which means Arizona trades down to four, and they get their best edge rusher on their board. Again, this makes so much sense to me. So Arizona is going to take their card up right after Richardson is taken, and they're going to put that card right on the podium, and it's going to say Will Anderson, outside linebacker from Alabama. I love Will Anderson. This guy is an absolute alpha. he's what you want in the locker room.

He's going to be your captain by the time he's in his second or third year. That's the type of worker he is. When your best players are also your hardest workers, you've got something. And that's the exact style of player that Arizona can take here at number four in this trade scenario with Will Anderson. For the better part of two years, this guy has been the most dominant player in college football in our sport. And I understand that quarterback's going to be the need and it's going to drive the top of the draft. but I really love Will Anderson's game. I think he's good against the run.

I obviously think he's great rushing the passer, and he would help an Arizona defense that really needs him. So that would be the fourth pick in the draft. And then we get to some more interesting things. And again, not a lot of people talk about this, at least in my estimation, but this is where the draft for me gets really interesting. Because we know who the top few picks are going to be.

We know who the best players are going to be. But when you start to get to five, and they're Seattle via that trade with Denver for Russell Wilson. They have a lot of needs. It would be really easy to take an interior defensive lineman, but I kind of don't think they'll go there. And the reason is is because on my board, there's a guy sitting there that at the fifth pick,

there's a lot of value in him. All the things I said about Will Anderson, I can say also about Tyree Will, Wilson, the edge player from Texas Tech. Now, this is a guy that I didn't know a lot about. I'll be real honest. And then we did the game this last year, Gus and I, TCU hosting Texas Tech. And talking to people, first of all, studying Texas Tech on film and watching this guy dominate, watch him bend and the explosiveness on the edge, his ability to also stop the run, drop down into the C-gap if he needs to, or B-Gap if he needs to. All of those things are impressive. And I was like, man, this guy is really,

really good. Talk to some scouts. And I'm like, man, there's some scouts that are very high on him. And then I talked with the coaching staff and the opposing coaching staff. So Texas Tech and then TCU. And then I was sold. I was absolutely sold. Say for one thing. I just wanted to see him in person. It's one thing to see it on tape. It's another thing to see it in person. And there is a difference, folks. I'm telling you, when you see one of these guys that is going to be a tremendous edge player at the National Football League level, it looks different in person. Go down on the field for warm-ups of that game, and I immediately see Tyree Wilson. I mean, that's why I'm down there.

Yeah, I want to say a lot of the coaches and things like that. But you know what? I'm sorry, like, I was there to see Wilson. And I just sat there and I was just like, okay, yep, yep, that's exactly what it looks like. That's exactly what it looks like. And so I think Seattle takes Tyree Wilson. And listen, I understand there's some people probably out there thinking of themselves, hold on.

You're passing someone up that's pretty good. I understand that. And more on that in a moment. Because now here's the Lions via that Rams pick. And the Lions need a lot of defensive help. I think that they're pretty good offensively. And they need a lot of defensive help. Now, they've tried to address some things on the secondary.

They need some help on the interior. They need some help, obviously stop in the run. I think that they need help on third down. You could obviously pair a pass rusher up on the other side of Aidan Hutchinson. They're going defense. There's a lot of really good defensive players here. When I look at the Lions, I look at a team that looks at the division they're in all the sudden, an Aaron Rogers list division, at least we think,

And what, Bears, Vikings? Do we really think the Vikings are going to win that many one-score games again? They've got to be thinking to themselves, hey, we got something here. And there's a guy that I really love at Corner, and I saw him at Colorado when no one knew him. And then he goes to Oregon, and now everybody knows him. And I like Christian Gonzalez here to the Lions. I think that you look at what they've done in the secondary, and I know that they've addressed it in the draft, and they've addressed it some in free agency as well.

But his length, you know, everything I just said about Tyree Wilson, you can also say about Christian Gonzalez, he just looks the part. And he's the type of guy that you can easily project into being a number one corner and a guy that can be a really locked down guy. And one of the ways that you can improve young pass rushers is give them some good quality cover corners so that the ball can't come out of the quarterback's hand quickly. So how do you help Aidan Hutchinson? You give him some good quality secondary players. And I think that they can do that with Christian Gonzales. Now, now, if you're not screaming yet about like, where is Jalen Carter, then you don't know what's going on? And I hear you. So I'm going to address it right now. I believe that Seattle and

Detroit could very easily take Jalen Carter. The problem is, there's a lot of red flags with Jalen Carter. There are. Now, his talent might supersede those, if that's the correct term. Or, or outweigh, his talent might outweigh the red flags for some organizations. And he might very well be picked with one of those picks. But, you know, you look at the way this process has gone for him. And it has not gone well. The off-field issues. Obviously, the horrific incident stemming from the drag racing in which two people lost

their lives. That's, that's, that's obviously really tough. And, and he's right in the middle of that. The pro day goes horribly wrong, totally out of way, out of shape, overweight, nine pounds, nine pounds. Got to tap out, basically. And, you know, like, I, this whole, I'm only going to meet with teams in the top 10, I guess, and I get it, and you've got to really believe in yourself. and I know that he's got really reputable people representing him, and they know exactly what's going on. And so, listen, is he going to be in my top 10? Yes, I'm going to tell you he's going to be in my top 10.

But those are the reasons why I think that Seattle and Detroit might pass on him. I don't think Dan Campbell wants to take a flyer on a guy that might not be great in the locker room. I mean, we all watched hard knocks, right? Like we kind of understand Dan Campbell, his way, what he's trying to do with Detroit. So why did Detroit, Joel, pass on Jalen Carter? Well, it's that reason. It's that reason. I don't think he fits.

And so if I'm making that pick and I'm trying to look at Detroit and I'm trying to see what they're trying to build, I'm not going to take him. I'm not going to take him. All right. So now let's go to the seventh pick in the draft. So the seventh pick in the draft, and this is another interesting part for me is that generally speaking, when you get into a draft, what you'll see is a couple of guys in a position. position group get selected right away. Because someone has, and this is what happens in these rooms, is that they'll have two guys on their board at a position.

They'll be like, we're really confident in either one of those two guys, hard to, you know, we're splitting hairs here. It's a razor's edge. But after that, maybe we've got a bit of a margin on our board. Okay. So now, Christian Gonzalez, it gets taken off the board. And here's the Raiders. And I think that the Raiders are looking at this.

And maybe they're looking at a guy like Witherspoon from Illinois, the corner, who basically excelled in man coverage. They were a really good defense, Illinois. Brett Bilema did a heck of a job. And Ryan Walters, who was the defense coordinator, now the head coach at Purdue, he did a wonderful job with that defense at Illinois. And they ran man coverage. Wetherspoon is going to major in man coverage.

He's got good length. When you turn on the film of Witherspoon, you think to yourself like, boy, this guy could play for a long time in the National Football League. I think he can also play in this lot, but he's obviously a great outside corner. And I think that the Raiders take Witherspoon, the corner from Illinois. Now the Falcons are up. And I think that the Falcons need edge help. And you're looking at only two guys, and there might be more at this point,

but two guys, at least in my mock, are off the board. And that's Tyree Wilson and Will Anderson. And so for me, Atlanta is looking at a guy kind of right down the road, certainly in the right region. Miles Murphy makes a lot of sense to me, the edge player from Clemson. So, you know, I'm looking at the Falcons. They can make themselves better on that side. And the Falcons need a lot of help everywhere.

And so could this be a wild card? Absolutely. How confident am I in the Miles Murphy? pick to Atlanta? Not very, but to me it fits. It fits in need. He's obviously value right there. He's a wonderful player. I think Atlanta goes with Miles Murphy. Then we go nine, the Bears. The Bears pick via that trade with Carolina. Okay. And now the bears are sitting there and they're like, hold on a second. There's a lot of draft boards that are going to have the guy I just talked about, Jalen Carter as maybe even the best player in the draft. Now you're getting to a spot in the draft

where you're like, we need defensive help on the interior and you're saying that we can get what many people think is maybe the best talent in the overall draft so we can trade out a number one, get a ton of picks to build our roster, and still come away with what many think might be the best player in the draft or the second best player in the draft. Or the second best player in the draft. Sign me up. And I think Chicago takes Jalen Carter. I obviously talked about everything with Jalen Carter that comes with him off the field, but at this selection, I think it makes some sense for Chicago, Jalen Carter, the defensive tackle for Georgia. Then we get to the 10th pick in the draft. And this one is like the freebie of all freebies. How about the Eagles via New Orleans?

and they're sitting there, and when you really dive into the Eagles, they don't really have a need. Everybody else that has selected to this point, it's like they've got five or six needs, to be quite honest. But now the Eagles are sitting there. They're one of the most complete rosters in the entire NFL. So this is a freebie. Like, what a great spot if you're the Philadelphia Eagles. Now, you can make an argument, and I toyed around with this, that this is a great. time to trade. And I'm fine with that. If you think that this could be a trade, I'm totally

fine with that. However, however, I love this. Got a big grin on my face. Why not just take the most dynamic player on the board? Why not just take the best offensive skill position player on the board? Pair him up with Jalen Hertz. Just so happens he's a running back. Why not Bejean to the Eagles. I mean, blow everybody's mind. That makes them better. That makes them better. It's not just a depth pick. It's not just a pick looking at an aging, maybe offensive or defensive line. It's a pick saying we're one of the best teams in the National Football League right now, and this guy makes us better right now. It alleviates some of the pressure on Jalen Hertz, because now he has an outlet immediately. There's another dynamic.

player that has to be defended side to side. You think of that system with some of the RPO's that they run, the creativeness of that offense, and you put a guy like Bejohn Robinson on the Philadelphia Eagles, and I am in. This is why I love this pick. It's a totally free pick. Why not take the best player available on the board, Bejohn Robinson to the Philadelphia Eagles, and they're immediately better as one of the best teams in the league already. All right. At number 11, the Tennessee Titan, I think they could go wide receiver. I think they also need help on the offensive line, and we haven't had an offensive lineman drafted.

So the Tennessee Titans, in my mind, are sitting there, and they're thinking of themselves, hey, the best offensive linemen on our board, and this is, of course, using my board, is still there. So Peter Skoronsky, the tackle from Northwestern. I've loved this guy for a long time. I remember he coming in as a freshman

and playing really well opposite of Rishon Slater. And then Slater obviously didn't play in the COVID year. And Skoronsky's been really good since he stepped foot on campus there at Northwestern. I love his game. I love his makeup. I think he makes some sense for Tennessee. Now the Texans have their second pick. And this is via the trade with Cleveland, obviously. And the Texans are sitting there. And to me, they got their guy. They're going to get a quarterback at number two. They ended up getting C.J. Stroud. Well, you know that they would like C.J. Stroud if this ends up happening. and that they would have vetted him thoroughly every single start that he made over two years.

Why does that matter, Joel? Well, in his first year, who was the most dynamic player on the field alongside two guys that just shredded the NFL in their rookie seasons? Oh, Jackson Smith and Jigba. So you can give my best wide receiver on the board to his college quarterback, who's going to be our rookie quarterback? Sign me up. Jackson, Smith, and Jigba of Ohio. State goes to Houston. I really like this pick pairing these guys up. They obviously have a great relationship. They've got a great timing. You're immediately getting a combination that's going to

gel quicker at a young age than most, obviously. And you're getting a guy specifically that's not just the teammate of C.J. Stroud, but he's also a guy that I think is the best wide receiver in the draft. I don't care what he ran. I really don't. I think people, If you're hung up on what Jackson Smith and Jigba ran in the 40, I think you're thinking about the wrong things. This guy is going to lead the league in receptions at some point in his first three or four years. I'd be surprised if an offensive coordinator is worth their salt at all, I think he has 75 catches as a rookie, as a rookie.

I think if he's got a great quarterback, which in this instance, it would be a rookie in C.J. Stroud. So I don't think he would get to the mark that I'm about to say, but let's just say sake of argument. Smith and Jigba goes to some place with a veteran quarterback. I think he have 90 catches in his first year. He's that good. He understands space. He's got great hands.

And when you talk to Garrett Wilson and when you talk to Chris Olivae, who were those two guys that I said shred the NFL. Obviously, Garrett Wilson did exactly what he did in his rookie season. When you talk to those guys, even they admit that the best player on that offense two years ago was Jackson Smith and Jigba. Okay, so when you talk to the coaching staff there, I think people are sleeping on this guy. That's why he's my number one wide receiver and I love him going to the Texans. All right, the Jets. I think that the Jets, you know, when they land Rogers, I don't know, you know, whatever's going on, got to protect him.

And the Ohio State tackle, Paris Johnson, there was no one better in past protection than Paris Johnson. Okay, so he is a pass protection specialist. That's exactly what you're going to need with an aging quarterback. and I think that that pick makes a lot of sense. A lot of sense. Now, I would love to give them Jackson Smith and Chick because I think that combination could go absolutely wild,

but I'm going to go Paris Johnson, the tackle from Ohio State. This is where you start to trigger offensive tackles. So remember a couple of picks ago with the Titans, who did I take? Peter Skoronski. Now a couple of picks later, Paris Johnson. So everybody that had an offensive tackle need or an offensive line need, now their radar is up. and I think that it triggers a run on offensive linemen here in the middle of the first round.

So New England is sitting there, and now they're looking at their board, and you know that they love Georgia players a lot of times, you know, and I think that Broderick Jones makes a lot of sense for the New England Patriots. So I think Broderick Jones goes to the Patriots. Now the Packers are on the board. And this was a really fun pick to make because I really wanted to take a wide receiver, just so that Rogers would lose his mind. mind. I'd be like, this is exactly what I wanted, and it never happened. But it wasn't a wide

receiver, but I am going to give them a skill position player, my best tight end on the board, Michael Mayer, the Notre Dame tight end. Really love his game, in particular on an offense that did not have a dynamic quarterback that would struggle at times, and he was the focal point. Very similar to Sam Leporta. If you've watched my show at all, or listen to my show, you know what I say about Sam Leporta. Terrible offense. The defense focused on trying to stop Sam Leporta. This is the exact same analysis that you would give on Notre Dame. Everyone was trying to stop Michael Mayer, and he still was able to produce. Great player, great kid, great leader. And he's, I think, a really safe pick. And I think that the Packers would be better with

mayor at tied end. The commanders, this was, to be honest with you, a tough one. Because there's already been a couple corners selected. I do think that the corner board is three deep at the top, and they need secondary help. But I wanted so badly, I really wanted to wait on this pick, one pick, because I gave the commanders Joey Porter Jr., the corner from Penn State,

and the Steelers are picking 17th. And I'm like, that would have been too perfect. I could have given the Steelers, Joey Porter Jr., I don't think Joey Porter Jr. gets past the Steelers. Let me just say that. I think that that's his backstop. But right here, he made a lot of sense for me with the commanders.

They need help in this area and then some. This guy is long. He's not afraid of man coverage. He's not afraid of defending the best receiver on the field. He's competitive. He's got great pedigree. And he is strong with his hands. Now, at times he can be hands-e.

I understand that. But what good corner isn't? And so I like Joey Porter right there to the commanders. So that leaves the Steelers. And unfortunately, Joey Porter Jr. is not on the board there. But they are going to fall in line with this offensive line rush. They need offensive line help. I like darn old right, the tackle from Tennessee.

I think that he is a good player and he can help them. And they need a lot of help. By the way, this is another wild card where I feel like the Steelers could go in a lot of different directions. because quite frankly, there's a lot of pieces of this roster and this team that could use some help and some depth. I'm going to go with offensive line because you can never go wrong with offensive line. Now you get to the Lions. And now remember the Lions up above, at least in my scenario, at the sixth pick, they passed on defensive tackle. Remember, they've got four selections in the first 55 picks.

And this could be a spot where they would take a flyer on an offensive guy, knowing that they could get defensive help, in particular in the middle of their defense, in that second round. They've got two picks in the first, two picks in the second. I don't think that they do that because I think that they're going to look at the board at this point, and they're going to say to themselves, hey, we can get what we thought was the best corner on the board and what we thought was the second best tackle on the board. Cancy from Pitt. Kalaya Cancy from Pitt is the pick right there to the Detroit Lions.

Okay. Let me pause at 19 only because I have a great trade opportunity right here. And it's a team that is not flipping first round picks, but has a ton of ammunition, both in this draft and in the future. And I think that they would be really ecstatic with what they got in their first pick in this first round and this mock. And that was the Bears with Jalen Carter. You see, the Bucks at this point, like, I didn't love a pick for the Bucks right here. Now, you could make an argument that this is the Will Levis spot, okay? And I understand that.

I didn't go that direction. I look at the Bucks, and I think to myself, this is a good spot for them to trade out. Chicago, with all of this ammunition, has a chance to pair their first pick, Jalen Carter, with a guy that he played with who is rock solid off the field. And so I like Nolan Smith, the edge rusher from Georgia. They got a lot of draft capital, and now I think that they would feel really good about getting out of this first round if they were able to jump back in.

And this might be too rich, and I understand that. And we'll see if this maintains in my second mock, and my second and final mock right before the draft. But in this scenario, with all the ammunition that they've gotten from trading out of the first pick, I think that they could jump back in, get Nolan Smith, and then you're sitting there with the Chicago Bears, and you're sitting there and you've gotten Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith out of the first round in this draft, and I think that they would be really happy with that. Nolan's a heck of a player and a really good leader and the exact type of guy that you would want on your team.

He's explosive, he's fast, and he's just played on the back-to-back national champions that didn't have a great quarterback. All apologies to Stetson Bennett. That's a defensive lead team. He was the leader of the defense. I think you could do a lot worse than taking Nolan Smith right there at 19. All right, 20, the Seahawks. This is their second pick of the first round. I think there's really good value right now at wide receiver because I've only taken one wide receiver off the board. So now I'm thinking to myself, I could see a little run on wide receivers. You saw my run on tackles, started with Skoronsky, then we went Paris Johnson, Broderick Jones, and Darnell Wright. Now, with the Seahawks, I think to myself, this could be the start or a trigger, the first

domino in a little bit of a run of wide receivers. Jordan Addison to Seattle, that's really good value. A lot of people will have him as number one. Now, I disagree with that, but a lot of people will have him at number one as far as the number one wide receiver. So at 20, the Seahawks have got to be feeling like they've got good value there. So they take Addison, which means that the run has started. Okay, the top two wide receivers are now off the board. Now you look at the chargers and you think to yourself,

hmm, why don't we give Justin Herbert a strong-armed downfield passer a downfield target with another wide receiver, Quentin Johnston from TCU? We see what this guy can do down the field. The 50-50 situation, his ability to be open at the second and third level, then win contested catches. He's been overlooked in this draft process, and I don't know why. I mean, there's a reason why TCU out of nowhere went to the national championship game, and he's a big reason why. So I like Johnson there to the Chargers. Now the Ravens, the Ravens have to replace some guys that left in free agency up front on the defense,

including some edge players. So I'm looking at some of the edge players. And on my board, Now I've gotten three edge players taken off the board. My fourth edge player, best one available is Lucas Van Ness, the edge player from Iowa. I love his game. Now, his game is he's used to playing in a system for Iowa where the system is kind of king, if you will. And it's a different type of system with Baltimore, but the Baltimore system is a system. is a system that I think that he would really thrive in.

So I like Lucas Van Ness, the edge player from Iowa to go to the Ravens. The Vikings need some help in their secondary. I don't think the Vikings are going to have the year that they did a year ago. Again, that's just too many one score wins. So I like Deonté Banks, the corner from Maryland. He's my next corner on the board. So I looked at that. I thought they needed secondary help.

I've got Banks from Maryland going to the Vikings. The Jaguars come up now. So the Jags, I thought about moving the Jags up. I thought about having them trade up a couple of different times for edge rushers, and I decided against it based on their history over the last couple of years. And I gave them one of my favorite players in the draft, Brian Branch, Safety from Alabama. He's a really tough, hybrid-style player.

and when you talk with the people down at Alabama, they will tell you, this guy was a heartbeat type of guy. Now, I know Will Anderson is going to garner most of that conversation, but Branch is in that mold. I think that he can fit in a hybrid space. He can fit inside and outside. I think that he can also play deep safety. He can play down safety because he's physical and tough enough. I just like Branch. and I like giving branch to the Jaguars right there. That puts the Giants on the clock. And for me, they really need a number one outside threat on the outside.

Offensively, and we've already seen this run on wide receivers start to take place. Jalen Hyatt makes a lot of sense to me right there. They need a guy that's a bona fide number one outside threat. Hyatt had a great year. He had a great feel for that system, and I know it was a unique system. but boy, you talk about a deep threat. He certainly is a quality player. I love Jalen Hyatt.

And when you talk with teams that played against Jalen Hyatt, they'll say, like, he was tough. You know, talented, tough, made tough catches. So I like him right there. Cowboys. Okay, so the Cowboys, they have to get somebody to help Dak Prescott out. I thought about running back here. I thought maybe is it Jemir Gibbs.

But then I'm looking at it and I'm like, you know what? There's some really good tight ends in here. And Jerry has had good luck with tied ends. And they're at their best, generally speaking, when they've got a good tight end. So Dalton Kincaid, the tight end from Utah, I think he makes some sense. Kind of need their next Jason Witten, if you will, to control and solidify the middle of the field. So I go Dalton Kincaid right there. Now the bills pop up.

Okay. And here's, this is going to be an. exciting into the first round for me when we get to Kansas City because you've got these teams that they're going to be there in the end for the foreseeable future and they're all picking here in the last few picks. Save for the Saints, you've got Bill's Bengals, Eagles, Chiefs. And I'm like, all of these teams are going to be looking at the board and they're going to be like, man, there's some good players available that can help us in areas that make us or continue to make us strong. So with the bills, I think that they need to give Josh Allen a little bit of help at running back.

There's where I'm going, Jemir Gibbs. I love Jemir Gibbs' game. He's versatile. He catches it out of the backfield as well as anybody. Now, is he not quite Bijon Robinson? Yeah, he's not quite Bijon Robinson because I don't think he runs between the tackles with the same field that Bijon does. But when you get him into some space, when you can check the ball down to a guy like Jemir Gibbs and he can make everybody miss and he can run the ball tough. I just love this pick. Now, he got in trouble a couple of times early in the year for blitz pickup. Now, that was not necessarily an issue late in the year. So you know that that developed. And when you see this guy run the football, whether he's catching it out of the backfield or whether they hand it to him between the tackles or on

that stretch play, it's explosive. And I really love his game. And think about Josh Allen and the bills with another weapon on the outside. They get better. So then Cincinnati comes up. And I think Cincinnati would get caught and they'd be thinking to themselves like, do I really love any of the offensive linemen on the board? Probably not because I already told you there was an offensive line rush in the middle of the first round. And so what hasn't been a rush yet? Well, a deep position group that could give Joe Burrough some help right away is tied in. So how about Darnell Washington the tied end from Georgia? I think it feels like a perfect fit right there.

Now, was he the best tied end on his team in college? No, but that's because Brock Bowers would be the best tied end in this draft right now. And he's got to play another year of college football. I love Washington. I love his game. And you give Joe Burrow another weapon. You know, this Georgia team was better offensively than I think we give them credit. Washington was a big reason.

Bowers, this guy is physically very gifted and talented. I think that he can play in line. He can help them in the run game if needed. But more than anything, you take some of the stress off of their outside players, right? Jamar, those guys. And you give them some help in the red zone by solidifying the middle of the field. That makes a lot of sense to me. Now you've got this sandwich pick, right? So you got Bill's Bengals, Eagles, Chiefs, these four teams that we all think are going to be great. And then the Saints are back there. This is via like San Francisco, Miami and Denver, like a wild one in there. I think that the Saints need defensive line help. And I think Brian Brzee, the tackle from Clemson, makes a lot of sense to the Saints there

with the 29th pick. At this point, you could see a trade. Because if someone really wanted to get Will Levis under a first round contract and not a second round contract so that they would have an extra year of team control for a prospective franchise quarterback, then you could absolutely see a trade here. But I didn't trade in for Will Levis. Levis to me is a guy that he's a bit of a thrower and I want a starting pitcher. There's guys who play the position like a middle reliever and they come in with like one dominant pitch. I don't see the requisite change. I don't see the requisite change of speeds from Levis, where he really understands how to layer the ball and use touch and anticipate windows in tight spaces. So that's why I'm not trading up for him in the first round.

And everyone says, like, well, that means you hate Will Levis. Well, no, no. I think he's still one of the best, you know, 35, 40 players in the draft, which is special. I just think that he might fall to the second round. And we'll see how this comes as I get more information and we go into the second mock draft. So my last two picks in the first round here, Philadelphia, I like Ringo the corner from Georgia. He's the best player available. They can get better. And you look at the Eagles and then they would be thinking of themselves, wait, we get Bejohn Robinson and Keeley Ringo. Sign us up.

Sign us up. Now it leaves the Super Bowl champs at 31. And I'm sitting here and I'm like, man, I just can't help myself because Zay Flowers is on the board. Give Patrick Mahomes another slot weapon, right? Like give him a guy that understands. how to operate in space, create separation in tight windows. Zay is a hell of a player. I think he had a great senior bowl. Obviously, he catches it well. He was lost a little bit up there at Boston College, but this is a type of guy that you put him with Patrick Mahomes and you put him with

Andy Reed, and he immediately becomes a guy that can give you 50, 60 catches a year. I mean, right there, he's wide open. But trust me when I tell you, when he runs routes, he breaks ankles of the defensive backs. He's clean, he's sudden, he's got burst, great hands, and there's the defending Super Bowl champions getting another weapon for what is right now the best player in the league in Patrick Mahomes. I think that that's a great idea, and I think that that would be a great pick. So there you have it. Mock draft 1.0. We got through it. I'm sure you have no comments whatsoever. I'm sure you think it was perfect. If you don't think it was perfect, actually if you do,

and you want to compliment, do this as well. But if you don't think it was perfect, go ahead and hit me up on social media. I'm at Joel Clad on Twitter, at Joel underscore clad on Instagram. You can also do it on our show page, any of the social media's at Joel Clatt show. We're going to have a lot more draft content coming up leading up to the draft. Hopefully we're going to run down Peter Schrager, hopefully for an interview. Good buddy. And we'll give another top 50 and another mock draft.

So both of those will be coming out all before the draft as we are getting closer to Kansas City and the NFL draft. Thank you for watching, listening, all of that. Make sure to rate, review us, and we'll be back next week with more Joel Clashio.