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I would hope that Beane would be all over DK Metcalf if he were available in June. But I think they might be bought into a "rebuild" for 2025 mode and cling to all of their draft capital. I remember entering the 2007 offseason there was real hype building with media talking heads and Bills fans about how the Bills were putting together a young team that could soon challenge the Patriots. Fans were really in on Dick Jauron and drinking he and Marv's Kool aid. It was seen as OK that they let Nate Clements leave in UFA without using the franchise tag because they were getting their guys and getting younger. Then the Patriots traded a 4th round pick for Randy Moss........and proceeded to create MASSIVE distance between them and the Bills. They literally scored 8 straight TD's in the game at Buffalo that season as they went f*cking 16-0 with the highest scoring offense in NFL history. Moss tore Jauron's asssup for 3 years until he was rightfully sh!tcanned. The moral of the story is that only a fool would expect that the championship team that you have been chasing will get complacent or be conservative and get themselves caught. No team has won 3 straight Super Bowls. The Chiefs KNOW that it will be harder to get this 3rd one and they may well just go to excess to create separation between them and opponents. The Bills should be in on a difference maker like Metcalf. He's not going to bring a 1st round return............so don't NOT get DK Metcalf just so you can get a shot on next years Cole Bishop.

With the CBS crew I am guessing Nate will take over as the host once JB retires or is let go by CBS. I actually liked the CBS crew. I prefer that over FOX and not just because CBS focuses primarily on the AFC. As for FOX Terry and Jimmy should retire. The rest of them are OK.

PFF: B- https://www.pff.com/news/draft-2024-nfl-draft-grades-all-32-teams#BUF USA Today: B https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/columnist/nate-davis/2024/04/27/nfl-draft-grades-2024-team-classes-ranking-cowboys-steelers/73378215007/ AP News: B https://apnews.com/article/nfl-draft-grades-2024-334ef0dd263c4a7fc8d0c4c8e300e730 Sports Illustrated: C- https://www.si.com/nfl/2024/04/27/2024-nfl-draft-team-grades-analysis Looks like some of the other major sites haven't released team grades yet, I guess.

Beane and McDermott signing the son of a guy they like? Well I never. Wait until Nate Peterman has kids old enough to be drafted.....

We are literally going to smoke our garbage division and cruise on to first place. the fish got gutted and scaled. the jets have an old qb that hasn’t done anything in years with Nate Hackett. the patriots are going to suck for the next two decades with belichick out. we’ve got Josh Allen guys. It’s going to be ok

That is the last of my 1st/2nd borderline guys. So in terms of 1st round types it really is Johnny Newton, Nate Wiggins, Cooper DeJean, Kool-Aid and Xavier Legette for me. If people are interested AD Mitchell is #8 remaining for me and Worthy is #10 remaining.

Detroit trades into #24 Brugler's available 10 TERRION ARNOLD CB1 Alabama 18 GRAHAM BARTON OC1 Duke 23 JACKSON POWERS-JOHNSON OC2 Oregon 24 NATE WIGGINS CB3 Clemson 25 COOPER DEJEAN CB4 Iowa 27 TYLER GUYTON OT6 Oklahoma 28 JOHNNY NEWTON DT2 Illinois 29 JORDAN MORGAN OG2 Arizona 30 KOOL-AID MCKINSTRY CB5 Alabama

Okay.... The Bills are SIX picks away. My top 10 remaining: Jer’Zhan Newton, DT, Illinois Terrion Arnold, CB, Alabama Nate Wiggins, CB, Clemson Cooper DeJean, CB, Iowa Xavier Legette, WR, South Carolina Jordan Morgan, OT, Arizona Kool-Aid McKinstry, CB, Alabama Brian Thomas, WR, LSU Graham Barton, IOL, Duke Tyler Guyton, OT, Oklahoma State EDITED after Philly pick

In no order, here are 10 of the top players left for me. We will have a pick from one of these guys Chop Robinson Quinyon Mitchell Johnny Newton BTJ Nate Wiggins Koolaid Cooper DeJean Xavier Leggette AD Mitchell Worthy

Here’s my mock draft so I don’t lose it next year lol 1. Bears - QB Caleb Williams 2. Commanders - QB Jayden Daniels 3. TRADE! Giants - QB Drake Maye 4. Cardinals - WR Marvin Harrison Jr 5. TRADE! Vikings - QB Michael Penix Jr. 6. Patriots - QB JJ McCarthy 7. Titans - OT Joe Alt 8. TRADE! Jaguars - WR Malik Nabers 9. TRADE! Bills - WR Rome Odunze 10. Jets - TE Brock Bowers 11. Chargers - OT JC Latham 12. Broncos - QB Bo Nix 13. Raiders - OT Taliese Fuaga 14. Saints - Edge Dallas Turner 15. TRADE! Rams DT Byron Murphy II 16. Seahawks - DE Laiatu Latu 17. Falcons - DE Jared Verse 18. Bengals - WR Brian Thomas Jr 19. TRADE - Packers - Olu Fashanu 20. Steelers - WR Xavier Worthy 21. TRADE! Chiefs - WR AD Mitchell 22. Eagles - CB Terrion Arnold 23. Chargers - CB Quinyon Mitchell 24 Cowboys - OG Graham Barton 25. Packers - OT Amarius Mims 26. Bucs - OT Troy Fautana 27. Cardinals - DE Chop Robinson 28. Bears - OT Tyler Guyton 29. Lions - CB Cooper Dejean 30. Ravens - CB Nate Wiggins 31. 49ers - CB Kool-aid McKinstry 32. Dolphins - DT Jer’zhan Newton

Last year I was lucky enough to be one of the few people who had Kincaid ever in our spot and was a huge fan. Only one trade allowed and thats the QB trade. No other trades allowed. I would have had this out earlier but I create a 7 Round Mock Draft every year that I was finishing to see the latest pick I get right. In case anyone is curious the latest pick I've ever gotten correct in a 7 round mock draft is pick # 155 with Darrell Luter Jr. going to the 49ers. 1. Chicago Bears- Caleb Williams QB USC - This is a no brainer and a lock to happen. No further explanation needed. 2. Washington Commanders- Jayden Daniels QB LSU - This is also trending in a 95% way. He has gone head and shoulders above the other candidates at this pick and is expected here. 3. New England Patriots- Drake Maye QB UNC -Whether its the Patriots or the Vikings/Giants, Drake Maye is very likely to be the 3rd overall pick. I'm not as big a fan of Maye as a lot of people but his untapped potential is undeniable 4. Arizona Cardinals- Marvin Harrison WR Ohio State - I've held fast that Harrison is the # 1 WR in this draft and he's too good a prospect for the Cardinals to pass up here. 5. Minnesota Vikings(from LAC)- J.J. McCarthy QB Michigan - The Vikings are the team to move up in the draft and grab McCarthy at the 5th overall selection. The Vikings do not want to go into the season with Sam Darnold as their QB so they trade up and grab McCarthy here as their pick. 6. New York Giants- Malik Nabers WR LSU -Nabers is a great consolation prize for the Giants who need someone on the offensive side of the ball to be a dynamic playmaker now that Barkley has shipped out. I think its too little too late for the Daboll/Schoen regime as they never were able to get their QB and it will sink them 7. Tennessee Titans- Joe Alt OT Notre Dame - Status quo here as Joe Alt has been picked here since pretty much the combine. I think it would be awesome if the Titans go in a different direction though to literally throw everyone off. 8. Atlanta Falcons- Byron Murphy DT Texas - I can't believe that Murphy is considered a top 10 prospect as I just don't see it but here we are and Morris is going to want his prospects as a defensive coach and its clear they want to add to the defensive line in some manner. 9. Chicago Bears- Rome Odunze WR Washington - I think this is a prime trade out spot for the Bears so I expect Odunze to be the selection in the 9 spot by either the Bears or the trading up team. Will that team be our beloved Buffalo Bills. 10. New York Jets- Brock Bowers TE Georgia - I stick with Bowers here but I have the gut feeling this is going to be an offensive lineman. There are a ton of guys available at Tackle and the Jets need one despite having two old bookends. I could go either way here. 11. Los Angeles Chargers(from Min)-J.C. Latham OT Alabama - Seems like the Chargers are locked in here on Latham if they are going offensive line. I wouldn't pass up on Nabers but it seems this regime is set on working from the inside out which I can't fully blame them for doing. 12. Denver Broncos- Dallas Turner DE Alabama - I suspect the Broncos will try to trade down here to get some capital for next year but if they can't they decide to take Dallas Turner who has the most upside of all the Defensive Ends in the draft. 13. Las Vegas Raiders- Taliese Fuaga OT Oregon State - I had been on the Penix train but decide to go safe here and pick Fuaga who is a hell of a pick for the Raiders who can play multiple positions 14. New Orleans Saints- Olu Fashanu OT Penn State - The Saints need offensive lineman and Fashanu drops slightly into pick #14. He can slot in at either tackle spot and the Saints are thrilled to have him. 15. Indianapolis Colts- Quinyon Mitchell CB Toledo - I still think there is a strong possibility that this can be a weapon whether its Brock Bowers or trading up for Rome Odunze. If they decide to stay at this pick Mitchell is the go to # 1 CB in the draft and the Colts would be happy to swipe him. 16. Seattle Seahawks- Troy Fautanu OT/OG Washington - This pick just makes way too much sense and I fully expect someone to trade ahead of them to get Fautanu because its been out there forever that he is their guy. 17. Jacksonville Jaguars- Terrion Arnold CB Alabama - The Jaguars have been trending here for a CB for the last couple of weeks it seems over WR and Arnold is arguably the 2nd best CB in the draft so they pluck Arnold who still has a lot of upside. 18. Cincinnati Bengals- Amarius Mims OT Georgia - Speaking of upside, Mims is probably the top RT in the draft when it comes to upside. He's only made 8 starts at Georgia but he can be a monster if he reaches his full ability. The Bengals have done a lot of work on him. 19. Los Angeles Rams- Laiatu Latu DE UCLA - Word is that he was cleared by most doctors for his neck injury and the Rams strike me as the perfect blend of need, value, and GM/Coach who are willing to take that chance on a player with some medical issues. 20. Pittsburgh Steelers- Graham Barton OC Duke - I think there is little doubt that this is going to be an offensive lineman. Rumor is they are trying to trade up to get their offensive lineman of choice so Barton isn't locked in by any stretch but he is a versatile offensive lineman who can slot in at Center for the Steelers. 21. Miami Dolphins- Jared Verse DE Florida State - I can't believe that Verse falls this far but it makes a lot of sense for the Dolphins to add a young non injured pass rusher. Xavier Worthy has been my choice up to this point but you have to think that they would come to their senses and take a position of need more than taking a speedy 3rd WR. We shall see. 22. Philadelphia Eagles- Tyler Guyton OT Oklahoma - Everyone in their mother was mocking a CB to the Eagles and it could still very well happen but they have been linked to Guyton and the Eagles love drafting big bodies especially with Lane Johnson being 34 years of age. 23. Los Angeles Chargers(from Min)-Brian Thomas Jr. LSU - The Chargers two biggest needs were OL and WR. They drop down and take Latham and I believe they will turn around at pick # 23 and choose either Brian Thomas or Xavier Worthy with this selection. I choose to go with Thomas Jr. 24. Dallas Cowboys- Xavier Worthy WR Texas - The Cowboys can either go Offensive line or WR and I would probably choose offensive line just because of depth but it wouldn't surprise me at all if they add the speedster in Worthy to add to that WR corps. 25. Green Bay Packers- Cooper DeJean CB/S Iowa - DeJean makes a lot of sense from two perspectives. They need a CB and a Safety so if DeJean fails at CB they can easily slot him in as the other Safety opposite of McKinney. 26. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Jackson Powers Johnson OC Oregon - This will either come down to Chop Robinson or an offensive lineman. I just think that the Bucs offensive line is in such shambles outside of Wirfs and need some reinforcements up front. This is another example of going OL 27. Arizona Cardinals- Chop Robinson DE Penn State - Right after the Bucs pass, the Cardinals go up and nab another big need guy in Chop Robinson. I can def see the Cardinals moving up from 27 to get Verse or Latu due to having so many draft picks and there is a drop off from those guys to Robinson. 28. Buffalo Bills- Ladd McConkey WR Georgia - I honestly think that if BTJ and Worthy are off the board that the Bills will trade down here. That is not an option in this mock draft so I slot in Ladd McConkey into this slot. I have been on the McConkey train for multiple months and now is the time to put my money where my mouth is much like I did last year with Kincaid. 29. Detroit Lions- Zach Frazier OG West Virginia - Frazier just strikes me as a the type of player Dan Campbell and the Lions would love. Tough gritty player who can replace Frank Ragnow at Center in a couple of years while slotting in at Guard in the meantime. 30. Baltimore Ravens- Jordan Morgan OT Arizona - The Ravens need offensive lineman and Morgan has been moving up the ranks. He can play either Left or Right Tackle and the Ravens are happy to select him. 31. San Francisco 49ers- Nate Wiggins CB Clemson - Rumors are they either going with McConkey or Wiggins and with McConkey off the board the 49ers take Wiggins and finally take a 1st round CB. 32. Kansas City Chiefs- Kool-Aid McKinstry CB Alabama - The Chiefs can either go Tackle, WR, or CB here but I feel McKinstry provides too much value to pass up on for now.

Not a simulator, just my final first round and full Bills mock draft 1- Chicago - Caleb Williams, QB, USC 2- Washington - Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU 3- New England - Drake Maye, QB, UNC 4- Arizona - Marvin Harrison Jr, WR, OSU 5- LA Chargers - *Trade* - Giants - JJ McCarthy, QB, UM 6- NY Giants - *Trade* - Chargers - Malik Nabers, WR, LSU 7- Tennessee - Joe Alt, OT, ND 8- Atlanta - Laiatu Latu. Edge, UCLA 9- Chicago - *Trade* - Saints - Olu Fashanu-OT, PSU 10- NY Jets - Taliese Fuaga, OT, OSU 11- Minnesota - Dallas Turner, DE, BAMA 12- Denver - *TRADE* - Eagles - Amarius Mims, OT, Georgia 13- Las Vegas - JC Latham, OL, BAMA 14- New Orleans - *TRADE* - Chicago - Byron Murphy, DT, Texas 15- Indianapolis - Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia 16- Seattle - Troy Fautanu, OL, UWA 17- Jacksonville - Quinyon Mitchell, CB, Toledo 18- Cincinnati - Tyler Guyton - OL - Oklahoma 19- LA Rams - Xavier Worthy, WR, Texas 20- Pittsburgh - Graham Barton - OL - Duke 21- Miami - Jackson Powers Johnson, OL, Oregon 22- Philadelphia - *Trade* Broncos - AD Mitchell, WR, Texas 23- Minnesota - *TRADE* Ravens - Jordan Morgan, OT, Arizona 24- Dallas - Chop Robinson, DE, PSU 25- Green Bay - Cooper Dejean, DB, Iowa 26- Tampa Bay - Jared Verse, DE, FSU 27- Arizona - Kool Aid McKistry, CB, BAMA 28- Buffalo - *TRADE* - Washington - Patrick Paul - OT, Houston 29- Detroit - Brian Thomas, WR, LSU 30- Baltimore -*TRADE* Minnesota - Kris Jenkins, DT, Michigan 31- San Francisco - Nate Wiggins, CB, Clemson 32- Kansas City - Darius Robinson, DL, Mizzou Bills pick Bills got 40 and 78 from Commanders 40- Troy Franklin, WR, Oregon 60- Trey Benson, RB, FSU 78- Ruke Ohrororo DT Clemson 108- Kam Kinchens, S, Miami Bills trade 128 and 133 to Vikings 144- Javion Cohen, OL, Miami 160- Willie Drew, DB, Virginia State 163- Luke McCaffrey, WR, Rice 200- Brennen Jackson, DE, WSU 204- MJ Devonshire, CB, Pitt 248- Ryan Flournoy, WR, SEMU

FINAL VERSION 3.0 NOTE: This was a rushed, crazy, and more aggressive one just for fun including a 3 team trade rumored but probably doesn't happen. Chicago - Caleb Williams, QB, USC: No brainer here, everything points to this being their guy. Washington - Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU: I have believed this pick to be Drake Maye in v1.0 and 2.0, and I have someone I trust who has insight who told me that both QB's were in play and had supporters inside, and Maye got momentum there for a little bit. I have not gotten a recent update to know for sure if there is still a chance Maye could go here or not, but given most buzz out there is still sticking with Jayden, I am reluctantly changing this to Jayden even though I won't at all be surprised if this was Maye. *TRADE* - Vikings (previous Patriots) - Drake Maye, QB, UNC: In a historic multi team trade...Vikings, Patriots, Cardinals make draft history. Minnesota decides to pull the trigger after Maye gets past Washington and Patriots have deal in place with GM Ossenfort (formerly of NE) to safely go back 1 where Cardinals also go back with Chargers so they can still get their QB and Cards still get MHJ and Chargers going to 11 where they can safely address OL. *TRADE* Patriots (previous Cardinals) - JJ McCarthy, QB, Michigan: With a deal in place with Cards before moving off 3, they still get their QB and net some extra draft ammo. *TRADE* Cardinals (previous Chargers) - Marvin Harrison Jr, WR, Ohio St: hNo team has more power in this draft than the Cardinals who brilliantly add more draft assets to an already treasure trove of picks while still getting their guy. Giants - Malik Nabers, WR, LSU: Missing out on moving up, they take a major weapon in Nabers to help address what is an anemic offensive group. Titans - Joe Alt, OT, Notre Dame: Not a lot to say here, maybe the safest mock pick in the draft outside Caleb...Having the best OT in this draft fall in their lap here is a gift they sprint to the podium to select. Atlanta - Byron Murphy, DL, Texas: Atlanta looks to bolster their DL with the best DT in the draft who is a guy that just moves different than the other DT's in the draft, who can get off the ball and shoot the gaps to wreak havoc. He is as much a force against the run as he is the pass as well and who could become an anchor up front for Atlanta for years to come. One of the edge rushers could be in this spot too such as Turner or Verse. *TRADE* - Bills (previous Bears) - Rome Odunze, WR, Washington: Im skeptical we do this TBH, but its a version 3 mock and I am taking a few more risks and liberties here on the news we are being aggressive to move up. Bills get their absolute stud WR who seems built to be in the Bills locker room for the next stage of Allens prime. *TRADE* Colts (previous NY Jets) - Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia: With the Jets missing out on one of the big 3 WR's, they move back and pick up some extra draft ammo and Colts get maybe the biggest mismatch creator in the draft and a young QB's best friend in Brock. *TRADE* Chargers (previous Vikings & Cardinals) - JC Latham, OT, Alabama: This is best case for Chargers, hey get to trade back adding more picks and land the guy they really covet in JC Latham who should be here at 11. Broncos - Bo Nix, QB, Oregon: Broncos explore trading back, but ultimately go ahead and take their QB and not mess around. Raiders - Michael Penix, QB, Washington: After missing out on going up to get Daniels, the Raiders pull the trigger on Penix who by all reports they are also very high on. Saints - Olu Fashanu, OT, Penn St: With big needs at OT, Saints also have the draft fall well and are able to take the 2nd best OT prospect in the draft. *TRADE* NY Jets (previous Colts) - Brian Thomas Jr, WR, LSU: Jets get their weapon for Rodgers while still picking up some extra picks from the earlier trade down to probably address OL to help protect Rodgers. TRADE* Eagles (previous Seattle) - Quinyon Mitchell, CB, Toledo: After giving up the most TD passes in the league, the Eagles need to address CB in the worst way, and if Mitchell getting into the mid teens they see the opportunity to go up and get one many see as the best corner in the draft. Jaguars - Xavier Worthy, WR, Texas: Jags need to keep pace with Houston, and not sure Kirk, Davis, Zay combo is scaring anyone and look to add some explosion so they can see if TD Jesus is really the long term answer at QB. Bengals - Troy Fatanu, OL, Washington: Bengals have to find a way to keep Burrow on his feet and healthy and signing Trent Brown on a one year deal with his injury history isn't enough to keep them from looking to the future here. LA Rams - Laiatu Latu, EDGE, UCLA: Buzz here is that McVay is gonna go offense in his first ever first round pick and is trying to trade up. Not getting into the top 10, Rams stay put and bolster their pass rush with maybe the best pure edge rusher in the draft. Pittsburgh - Graham Barton, IOL, Duke: Steelers need a Center and here is their chance to add maybe the best IOL prospect in the draft who can potentially come in and shore up that Center position for years to come. Miami - Dallas Turner, EDGE, Alabama - The trenches for Miami are an absolute mess and they could go OL or DL here, but with steep drop off on the DL after the first round, they take one of the best pass rushers in the draft, especially given the plethora of JAGS they brought in FA are nothing more than role players. *TRADE* Seattle (via Eagles) Jared Verse, EDGE, Florida St: Seattle has the draft fall great for them after trading back with Eagles and still getting one of the premiere edge rushers in this draft to help bolster their ailing DL. *TRADE* Commanders (previously Vikings, Patriots, & Chargers) - Taliese Fuaga, OT, Oregon St: Commanders are aggressively looking to move for an OT and they move up to get one of the best in Fuaga. Chargers, looking to rebuild both sides of the trenches and address WR in this draft see an opportunity to load up more picks here on days 2 and 3 to do just that. Dallas - Amarius Mims, OT, Georgia: Dallas wouldn't surprise me to take a WR here, but I think the smarter play is address the obvious needs on the OL with the guy with the most upside. Packers - Nate Wiggins, CB, Clemson: With the trade of Douglas to the Bills, GB looks to the draft to find its next CB opposite Jaire and take one of the top corners in the draft in Wiggins. If Wiggins is gone in the real draft here, I can also see some OL help in bound with this pick as well. Tampa Bay - Chop Robinson, EDGE, Penn St: With pass rushers dropping off soon, Bucs look to bolster that unit with the explosive Chop Robinson. Arizona - Jer'Zhan Newton, DL, Illinois: As I had in v2.0, Newton has been vocal about loving the Cardinals and if he is here I think this will most likely be the pick as AZ looks to bolster a unit very much in need of the help. *TRADE* Bears (previously Buffalo) - Darius Robinson, DL, Missouri: After the trade down with the Bills, the Bears take the versatile Robinson who can help inside and on the Edge. Detroit - Cooper DeJean, CB, Iowa: Lions could very well take Adonai Mitchell here or even someone on the OL, but with a high powered offense already in stow, I have changed my mind and have them addressing their biggest need and taking the talented corner from Alabama to help bolster their defense. Ravens - Jordan Morgan, OL, Arizona: I have moved off WR here for Ravens given the fact they lost 3 OL this offseason and if they want Lamar and Henry to be at their best, they need to bolster this unit and Morgan can potentially play RT or G giving them a versatile player to plug in. 49ers - Ladd McConkey, WR, Georgia: With a major WR run expected to begin at the top of round 2, 49ers look to add one with them looking at having to move Aiyuk possibly at some point. Chiefs - Adonai Mitchell, WR, Texas: I still think Ja'Lynn Polk could be in play here, or potentially OL or someone like Kool-Aid, but word is they want to add more speed at WR and have been trying to move up for that, so thinking Mitchell could be a guy here not previously believed to get to this pick. I really did not have the time to put into this third version as I wanted, in fact, its a minor miracle I even got it done TBH. So excuse craziness and any errors that I may have missed as I moved guys and teams around the board. But it was fun to cook up some creativity vs the more likely scenarios.

With the last and final pick of round 1 at 32 the KC Chiefs select Nate Wiggins CB Clemson. He will slip right in and replace L'Jarius Sneed. Although Newton is rated higher, I think him playing the same position as Chris Jones leads me to my pick. As the best man-coverage cornerback in this draft class, Wiggins is a perfect fit for Kansas City. It’s true: he doesn’t have the size that most Chiefs cornerbacks have — but neither did Trent McDuffie. While McDuffie has more weight and density, Wiggins is longer — and should profile better as an outside cornerback. And like McDuffie, Wiggins’s film shows an unexpected level of physicality and strength. https://www.arrowheadpride.com/2024/3/21/24104248/chiefs-draft-clemson-nate-wiggins-man-coverage#:~:text=As the best man-coverage,better as an outside cornerback.

Draft day is here so here is my third and final mock for 2024. This is the one I'll grade myself against. The last couple of years I've done pretty well so pressure's on! I was really tempted to break my golden rule of no trades in version 3.0 but I'm going to stick with it because otherwise you hamstring yourself too much by getting everything jumbled. 1. Chicago Bears – Caleb Williams – Quarterback, USC No need for analysis here. The Bears traded away Fields, they are going Quarterback and Williams is the best in the class. If he hits his ceiling he can be special. 2. Washington Commanders – Jayden Daniels – Quarterback, LSU I confess this feels a bit like it could be Mac Jones to the 49ers where everyone believed it would happen then when the pick was announced it was Lance. Everything I am reading and hearing suggests this is Daniels. I'm sticking with that. But if Maye's name is read out it wouldn't amaze me. 3. New England Patriots – Drake Maye – Quarterback, North Carolina The consensus took a while to form on what the Patriots would do here but I have always believed they have to stand pat and pick a Quarterback. If Maye went #2 this might be McCarthy, but I think if Maye is there they will select him. 4. Arizona Cardinals – Marvin Harrison – Wide Receiver, Ohio State I had the Cardinals moving down last time around for the Vikings to come up here and select McCarthy. If one of the presumed top 3 falls maybe Arizona can still be persuaded to move back for a pick bounty, but it feels for now like they will stay in this spot and select a receiver and most believe that will be Harrison. 5. Los Angeles Chargers – JC Latham – Offensive Tackle, Alabama I've been dismissive of the Chargers taking a tackle most of the offseason and I have been particularly dismissive of the idea Latham is top 10 pick material (I don't have a first round grade on him). But in the last 24 hours that seems to be the direction things are going. Possibly after a trade back in reality but they want to plug the Crimson Tide prospect in a right tackle whereas they concluded Alt would need to play on the left. 6. New York Giants – Rome Odunze – Wide Receiver, Washington The Giants moving up for a Quarterback is a possibility but if they can't then it will be a receiver at #6. That could be Nabers or Odunze but I am leaning towards them valuing the Washington product's more traditional #1 receiver style and there are one or two character whispers about Nabers too which might not be the guy to move to New York City. 7. Tennessee Titans – Joe Alt – Offensive Tackle, Notre Dame I have been pretty vocal on the Titans need at tackle. I thought they should have done more at the spot last offseason. This year is all about evaluating Will Levis for new Head Coach Brian Callahan and that starts with giving him protection. Callahan Snr is coaching the offensive line and will love working with Alt who is a mean, nasty plug and play left tackle. 8. Atlanta Falcons – Malik Nabers – Wide Receiver, LSU Since Terry Fontenot became the Falcons General Manager his first round selections have been Kyle Pitts, Drake London and Bijan Robinson. If one of the top three receivers gets here he will have the chance to trade back and collect picks but maybe he just sticks to form and picks the best offensive playmaker on the board. 9. Chicago Bears – Byron Murphy II – Defensive Tackle, Texas The Bears drafted two defensive tackles on day two last year but neither gives them any pocket penetration in the middle of the line. Byron Murphy is definitely in the running to be the first defensive player off the board and would be a big upgrade for the Bears. 10. New York Jets – Brock Bowers – Tight End, Georgia I have had Bowers here in both previous versions and I am sticking with it. But if Odunze slides past the Giants at #6 you better believe the Jets will be making calls. They have been fixed on Odunze and Bowers as offensive weaponry since spending capital on their offensive line in free agency. 11. Minnesota Vikings – JJ McCarthy – Quarterback, Michigan The story on the Vikings is that if one of the consensus top three quarterbacks makes it to #4 they would be willing to go big in a trade up. But if they don't they will try and wait on McCarthy because they are comfortable with at least one of the other options if he doesn't make it to them. In this no trade mock he does make it here and is the pick. 12. Denver Broncos – Dallas Turner – EDGE, Alabama The Broncos are a candidate to move back. They could also stay here and pick a Quarterback. But given that it appears the guy they like and the guy the Raiders at #13 like are not the same guy it gives them more flexibility at this spot. Their pass rush was anemic in 2023 and Turner's physical gifts would give them more pop off the edge. 13. Las Vegas Raiders – Michael Penix – Quarterback, Washington I've held off joining the Penix at #13 bandwagon for most of the offseason but in the last week I have come around to the idea. I have always liked him, he is the best pure pocket passer in this class to me, but I thought age and injuries would push him into day 2. It appears, however, that the Raiders are comfortable with his history and not willing to risk losing him by waiting. 14. New Orleans Saints – Olu Fashanu – Offensive Tackle, Penn State The noises from inside the building sound like the Saints are done with 2022 first round pick Trevor Penning and now we learn that right tackle Ryan Ramczyk’s could miss the season with a degenerative knee condition. The Saints are definitely going tackle. I think it will be Fashanu who would be an immediate starter at left tackle. 15. Indianapolis Colts – Quinyon Mitchell – Cornerback, Toledo The Colts have a solid roster and have been quiet in free agency. But one obvious hole is at corner where return specialist Dallis Flowers, with five career starts to his name, is top of the depth chart opposite second-year man JuJu Brents. Mitchell is likely to be the first corner off the board tonight. 16. Seattle Seahawks – Troy Fautanu – Offensive Tackle, Washington A lot of people seem to have pivoted to mocking a corner to the Seahawks with the word on the street being Mike MacDonald is not enamored with Tariq Woolen who struggled in year 2 after a good rookie campaign. I'm sticking with offensive line though and have Fautanu linking up again with his college Offensive Coordinator, Ryan Grubb, now occupies the same position in Seattle. 17. Jacksonville Jaguars – Kool-Aid McKinstry, Cornerback, Alabama I am increasingly confident that corner is the direction the Jags are going in round 1. I think they'd probably like to slide back a few spots before making this selection but they are rumoured to have done a lot of work internally on McKinstry and see him as a scheme and character fit. 18. Cincinnati Bengals – Taliese Fuaga – Offensive Tackle, Oregon State Corner and receiver are possibilities (especially if they were to trade away Tee Higgins) but I still think the achilles heel of this team is their offensive line, especially with an injury prone Quarterback. Mims is a possibility here but Fuaga has met with the team multiple times so he is who I'm going with. 19. Los Angeles Rams – Laiatu Latu – EDGE, UCLA This isn't a pick that I'm mad about because something tells me the Rams would prefer to go offense here. I've seen Xavier Worthy mentioned and he is more their type than someone like a Brian Thomas. But the Rams are rumoured to have done a lot of work on edge guys and Latu falling here feels too good to pass up. 20. Pittsburgh Steelers – Amarius Mims – Offensive Tackle, Georgia In recent days all the Pittsburgh insiders have been saying this pick is Graham Barton, the versatile offensive lineman out of Duke, who would solidify a troublesome center spot for the Steelers. But the phrase I try to remember is take notice in February, ignore in April. In February I heard that they were in love with Mims. He has the highest ceiling of any tackle in the class. 21. Miami Dolphins – Xavier Worthy – Wide Receiver, Texas This pick will tell us a lot about who is actually holding the balance of power inside the Dolphins building. If it is still GM Chris Grier this pick will be trenches on either side of the ball. But I suspect it is Mike McDaniel and if he is making this pick then the image of him 'fangirling' around Worthy at the Texas pro day may be instructive. 22. Philadelphia Eagles – Terrion Arnold – Cornerback, Alabama The Eagles corners Darius Slay and James Bradberry both began to look like they were declining last season. The secondary couldn't stop anyone. Arnold's ceiling and physical potential is off the charts and drafting high ceiling guys from the SEC is how Howie Roseman rolls. 23. Minnesota Vikings – Jared Verse – EDGE, Florida State Early in the process Verse falling this far seemed pretty unthinkable but as this offensive line group in particular has continued to rise up boards it has resulted in some good defensive players sliding. Verse isn't a fast, bendy, pass rusher but he is a really well rounded, powerful defensive end with good hands and plenty of motor. 24. Dallas Cowboys – Tyler Guyton – Offensive Tackle, Oklahoma State Dallas needs to add to its offensive line and, while Graham Barton and Jackson Powers-Johnson could both be considerations at center, when they have taken guys in the first round they have tended to go for tackles and then work out later who plays where. Tyler Guyton is the sort of big, physical specimen that they like. 25. Green Bay Packers – Cooper DeJean – Cornerback, Iowa This is possibly the most mocked pick of the entire draft season, and if he lasts this far he just makes too much sense for the Packers to pass up. They only ever draft defense or quarterback in round one and they love taking first round defensive backs. They lost Darnell Savage in free agency and traded away Rasul Douglas mid-season so they have possible holes at corner and safety. 26. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Chop Robinson – EDGE, Penn State The Buccs lost Shaq Barrett in free agency and they have had some misses with Logan Hall and Joe Tyron-Shoyinka not making much impact to this point in their careers but they did get good production out of third round rookie Yaya Diaby and adding Chop to play opposite him would them some freakish athleticism off the edge. 27. Arizona Cardinals – Graham Barton – Center, Duke The Cardinals have last year's first rounder Paris Johnson and free agency acquisition Jonah Williams penciled in to start at tackle but they still need help inside. Graham Barton is an athletic, versatile lineman who can start at center or guard and get you out of a game at tackle should you require it. 28. Buffalo Bills – Brian Thomas – Wide Receiver, LSU It is possible that if Thomas starts to fall towards them the Bills might move up a few spots in round one for the third year running to snag their future WR1. Their need is pretty acute with the trade of Stefon Diggs and despite concerns about the health of his shoulder Thomas is a legitimate downfield weapon for Josh Allen. 29. Detroit Lions – Jer’Zhan Newton – Defensive Tackle, Illinois I slotted this in to version 2.0 as a bit of a punt knowing that the Lions are usually a team that find a way to extract value from the draft and Newton would be considered among the best players remaining. Since then he had a private workout with the team that I was told "could not have gone any better." I really like this match. 30. Baltimore Ravens – Jordan Morgan – Offensive Tackle, Arizona The Ravens lost traded away their right tackle Morgan Moses and lost both starting guards in free agency – Zeitler to the Lions and Simpson to the Jets. I think Morgan starts at tackle but even if that isn't his long term home he could excel at guard. This is another believe what you hear in February player to team match. 31. San Francisco 49ers – Nate Wiggins – Cornerback, Clemson Whereas this is a trusting what I hear in April. In the last week I have heard two different sources connect Wiggins to the 49ers. The story seems to be that he has been high on GM John Lynch's list the entire process, what has changed is he now looks like he may make it to this sort of pick. 32. Kansas City – Kingsley Suamataia – Offensive Tackle, BYU I see this pick as wide receiver or offensive tackle for Kansas City. However, in this scenario where offensive tackles have flown off the board in front of them I wonder if they feel a sense of urgency to do something about the hole they have at left tackle. Third year player Wanya Morris is currently penciled in to start but in four starts in 2023 he relinquished 2 sacks and 24 pressures. That's no bueno. Okay there we are folks, the final mock of 2024 draft season. This is the one I'll score myself on tonight. Here's hoping!

Welcome one and all to Draft Day!! It's finally here. It has felt like a long time coming. As has become traditional now I publish a compendium of my draft content from the past few months on the day of the draft, or sometimes just before. Hopefully people find it useful to refer back to as the draft progresses but equally it serves as a useful archive for what I thought at the time when we look back. For example, when we have been talking about the relative strength of receiver classes this year it has been a useful cross reference back to other strong receiver group such as 2020 etc. It helps us remember where I was right and where I was wrong - and don't worry, I'm wrong plenty! I have graded 140 players this year and it is an interesting class. I think there is a small cluster of true elite guys at the top and then there is a real nice group of mid to late first round talent and that pattern continues through day 2. I don't think it is the deepest class though. Plenty has been made of the reduced number of underclassmen coming out and what you have this year is a ton of older prospects, especially on day 3, who might be at or close to their physical peak and have either had interesting journeys at the college level or have underachieved their expectations. That isn't to say some of those guys won't be productive NFL players, but I think it is going to be harder to find diamonds in the rough in this class. Most of them have been well polished and are not that shiny! Okay... onto business. Already published: My 2024 Draft Sleepers with an additional couple of added names My 2024 Quarterback evaluations My FINAL 2024 Mock Draft As ever the new content that I pull together for this thread is: A full list of my 21 first round grades; An analysis of my top 100; Positional top 5s. [Key: * denotes medical concern; ^ denotes potential off-field / behavioural concern] First Round Grades: 1. Joe Alt, OT, Notre Dame 2. Marvin Harrison Jnr, WR, Ohio State 3. Malik Nabers, WR, LSU 4. Caleb Williams, QB, USC 5. Jer’Zhan Newton, DT, Illinois* 6. Rome Odunze, WR, Washington 7. Quinyon Mitchell, CB, Toledo 8. Laiatu Latu, DE, UCLA* 9. Terrion Arnold, CB, Alabama 10. Olu Fashanu, OT, Penn State 11. Dallas Turner, DE, Alabama 12. Jared Verse, DE, Florida State 13. Byron Murphy, DT, Texas 14. Drake Maye, QB, North Carolina 15. Nate Wiggins, CB, Clemson 16. Cooper DeJean, CB, Iowa* 17. Amarius Mims, OT, Georgia* 18. Xavier Legette, WR, South Carolina 19. Jordan Morgan, OT, Arizona 20. Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia 21. Kool-Aid McKinstry, CB, Alabama I also then have five 1st/2nd round borderline grades. They are: 22. Brian Thomas, WR, LSU*; 23. Troy Fautanu, OT, Washington; 24. Chop Robinson, DE, Penn State; 25. Taliese Fuage, OT, Oregon State; 26. Graham Barton, IOL, Duke. Analysis of the top 100: Here is the positional breakdown of my top 100:- Quarterback: 6 Running Back: 5 Tight End: 3 Wide Receiver: 20 Offensive Tackle: 12 Interior Offensive Line: 10 Total offensive players: 56 Interior Defensive Line: 9 Edge Rusher: 10 Linebacker: 4 Corner: 13 Safety: 8 Total defensive players: 44 Strengths and Weaknesses of the top 100: This is a strong offensive draft at the top - helped significantly by the fact that there is a really good crop of wide receivers that could, and most will, go in the first two days. There is also a really good oline group. That broadly breaks down to - offensive tackles early (8 of the 12 tackles in my top 100 are actually in my top 40) and interior offensive line later (only 2 of the 10 interior offensive linemen are in my top 40). Those groups and an interesting Quarterback class that has some ability but has some holes too make up for a draft that is weak at running back in terms of bona-fide RB1s at the NFL level and very weak at tight end (my third tight end in the top 100 just sneaks in at #97). Tight end classes seem to go in odd years. Last year was a decent group, this year was very thin - that probably means 2025 will be stronger again. In terms of defense, it's a strange class on many ways. I think the corner group is pretty solid. There are some clear tiers in there, the top 5 then a group of round two guys, then a group of scheme specific types that can go rounds 3 and 4. And the safety class while lacking a standout star has a lot of guys who I think will go between late 2nd and mid 4th and could well be good long term NFL starters. The defensive line group is had to get a handle on. I think the top two interior guys and the top 3 edge guys are pretty good. They are all legit first round talents. When you get beyond that though you get scheme specific very quickly. I've said multiple times that my group of 2nd round grades at the edge spot probably all want to play as a 3-4 outside backer who is almost exclusively in a 2 point stance. The third and fourth rounds are thin at the spot and again you are going to have them graded all over the place by teams because the scheme specificity for some these guys is pretty clear. Finally it isn't a good linebacker group. I think since I started doing this off the ball linebacker is the position that feels like it has had the most consistent drop off in the depth of quality players available in drafts. As college defenses get increasingly multiple finding guys you can plug into base defenses in the NFL at mike linebacker in particular is getting more difficult. Once you go beyond the top 100 to 120 it starts to thin out. Kinda the opposite of last year when the top of my board was pretty sparse through the first two rounds but then like a Christmas tree it thickened out lower down. This board looks a bit more top heavy but I think this is one of the better top 100s of recent years - and certainly my 100th ranked player is almost a full round higher than he was in 2023 in terms of grade. Positional Top 5s: (round I have them graded in parenthesis) Quarterback 1. Caleb Williams, USC (1st) 2. Drake Maye, North Carolina (1st) 3. Michael Penix Jnr*, Washington (2nd) 4. Jayden Daniels, LSU (2nd) 5. Bo Nix, Oregon (3rd) Running Back 1. Jonathan Brooks, Texas (2nd) 2. Trey Benson, Florida State (2nd) 3. Jaylen Wright, Tennessee (3rd) 4. MarShawn Lloyd, USC (3rd) 5. Blake Corum, Michigan (3rd) Wide Receiver 1. Marvin Harrison Jnr, Ohio State (1st) 2. Malik Nabers, LSU (1st) 3. Rome Odunze, Washington (1st) 4. Xavier Legette, South Carolina (1st) 5. Brian Thomas Jnr*, LSU (1st/2nd) Tight End 1. Brock Bowers, Georgia (1st) 2. Ja'Tavion Sanders, Texas (2nd) 3. Cade Stover, Ohio State (3rd) 4. Ben Sinnott, Kansas State (4th) 5. Theo Johnson, Penn State (4th) Offensive Tackle 1. Joe Alt, Notre Dame (1st) 2. Olu Fashanu, Penn State (1st) 3. Amarius Mims*, Georgia (1st) 4. Jordan Morgan, Arizona (1st) 5. Troy Fautanu, Washington (1st/2nd) Interior Offensive Line 1. Graham Barton, Duke (1st/2nd) 2. Jackson Powers-Johnson, Oregon (2nd) 3. Christian Haynes, UConn (2nd) 4. Zach Frazier, West Virginia (2nd) 5. Christian Mahogany, Boston College (3rd) Interior Defensive Line 1. Jer'Zhan Newton*, Illinois (1st) 2. Byron Murhpy, Texas (1st) 3. Braden Fiske, Florida State (2nd) 4. Kris Jenkins, Michigan (2nd) 5. T'Vondre Sweat^, Texas (2nd) EDGE 1. Laiatu Latu*, UCLA (1st) 2. Dallas Turner, Alabama (1st) 3. Jared Verse, Florida State (1st) 4. Chop Robinson, Penn State (1st/2nd) 5. Bralen Trice, Washington (2nd) Linebacker 1. Payton Wilson, North Carolina State (2nd) 2. Edgerrin Cooper, Texas A&M (2nd) 3. Jeremiah Trotter, Clemson (3rd) 4. Junior Colson, Michigan (3rd) 5. Jordan Magee, Temple (4th) Corner 1. Quinyon Mitchell, Toledo (1st) 2. Terrion Arnold, Alabama (1st) 3. Nate Wiggins, Clemson (1st) 4. Cooper DeJean, Iowa (1st) 5. Kool-Aid McKinstry, Alabama (1st) Safety 1. Tyler Nubin, Minnesota (2nd) 2. Calen Bullock, USC (2nd) 3. Jaden Hicks, Washington State (3rd) 4. Cole Bishop, Utah (3rd) 5. Javon Bullard, Georgia (3rd) Final thoughts I think in terms of the names that we can expect to come off the board tonight there are not going to be too many shocks. Possibly one or two offensive tackles or wide receivers that had been pegged more as day two types by many sneaking into round 1 or if you want a total shock Payton Wilson finding his way into the last half dozen picks, which I've seen nobody mock, wouldn't be a complete shock to me. Otherwise it is going to be a case of waiting to see where the runs start. We expect an early run on the three top wideouts and on quarterbacks but then the teens and early 20s could be an absolute glut of offensive tackles and corners. I will do my usual day by day de-briefs and will be interesting to see what the board looks like going into day two. Last year we saw the likes of Joey Porter and Will Levis still there only to be snapped up in the first couple of picks, and then thinking back to the 2020 draft where the wide receiver depth was arguably comparable Tee Higgins and Michael Pittman were the first two names called on the second day. Almost time for the talking and speculating to stop.... my mock needs its final touches. Then we are ready to roll!!

My only attempt of the season, grades are preliminary and initial, no deep dive into the class this year, just surface scratching, enjoy!! 2024 NFL Mock Draft V1.0 Round 1 1 – Chicago – Caleb Williams (QB – U.S.C.) – Would be the biggest draft shocker in my lifetime, if it is was anyone else. Grade: Top 5 2 – Washington – Jayden Daniels (QB – L.S.U.) – Top dual threat QB in the draft, elite level production against SEC defenses from the pocket and on the run. 2023-2024 tape is the best in the class. Grade: Top 5 *Trade* New England trades the 3rd pick and a 2025 4th round pick to Minnesota for the 11th, 23rd, and the Vikings 2025 1st pick. New England’s roster on offense is offensive, no QB is developing there for some time. Minnesota is the opposite and gives a young QB a chance to develop and make an impact in the near and distant future. 3 – Minnesota (via. N.E.) – Drake Maye (QB – U.N.C.) – Maye could end up being the best QB in the class, with the most natural tools and traits, he did more with less (supporting cast) this past season of any of the top QB’s in this draft. Grade: Top 10 4 – Arizona – Marvin Harrison Jr. (WR – Ohio St.) – Arizona is going to take calls for the next QB teams want, likely J.J. McCarthy, however… They have 6 picks in the top 90 to rebuild the roster and don’t feel the need to trade down, just stick and pick the best non-QB in the draft at a position of need, #1 WR. Grade: Top 5 *Trade* San Diego trades the 5th pick to Las Vegas for the 13th, 44th, 77th and a 2025 3rd. Las Vegas pays a premium to a division rival to leap frog the Giants, while the Chargers look to keep building their roster. 5 – Las Vegas (via. L.A. Chargers) – J. J. McCarthy (QB – Michigan) – While not being personally sold on McCarthy, many in the league apparently are. McCarthy’s demeanor and skill set seems perfect for the Raiders, who leapfrog the Giants to get there QB of the future making the AFC West even more interesting this off-season. Grade: 2nd/3rd Round 6 – N.Y. Giants – Malik Nabors (WR – L.S.U.) – The Giants smoke screen works with teams believing they are on the J.J. train, they are not and land their #1 WR in the draft. Nabors has the same grade as MHJ on my board and the Giants, give D. Jones one last look before cutting the cord, with a top 5 value at 6. Grade: Top 5 7 – Tennessee – Joe Alt (LT – Notre Dame) – The Titans watch the draft unfold with a smile on their face. Grade: Top 10 8 – Atlanta – Laiatu Latu (OLB/DE/Edge – U.C.L.A.) – Atlanta has not a single defensive player who opposing offenses have to plan for in pass pro. Latu is the best pass rusher in the draft, production, traits, he is him. Medically, I don’t know… In this mock, he is cleared by Atlanta’s doctors and provides an instant impact needed to compete in the K. Cousins 2 year window. Negative medical = D. Turner. Grade: Top 10 (RF – Med*) 9 – Chicago – Rome Odunze – (WR – Washington) – The Bears continue to help future and present Caleb Williams succeed. Grade: Top 10 10 – N.Y. Jets – Olu Fashanu (LT – Penn. St.) – The Jets would love to add a weapon for A-A-Ron in Brock Bowers, however, they can’t go into next season or the future without solidifying edge pass protection. Grade: Top 20 11- New England (via. Minnesota) – Brock Bowers (TE – Georgia) – The Patriots start stacking talent with the BPA. Grade: Top 10 *Trade* Denver trades the 12th pick to Washington for the 40th, 67th, 100th and Washington’s 1st round pick in 2025. Washington looks to upgrade their edge rush while Denver looks to add assets in this draft and the next, while recovering from the Russell Wilson disaster. 12 – Washington (via. Denver) – Dallas Turner (Edge/34OLB – Alabama) Washington is going to have to create pressure from their front 4 in Dan Quinn’s system and Turner has the physical tools and potential to terrorize NFC East QB’s for the next decade. Grade: Top 20 13 – Los Angeles Chargers (via. Las Vegas) – J.C. Latham (RT/T – Alabama) Jim Harbaugh’s master plan is slowly coming to fruition, Latham is a mass of humanity and a physical marvel who should pave the way for the Chargers to lead the league in rushing in the near future. Grade: Top 20 14 – New Orleans – Troy Fautanu (LT/G – Washington) The left side of New Orleans O-line needs an overhaul, Fautanu I believe to be the answer at either LT or LG moving forward. Grade: Top 20 15 – Indianapolis – Quinyon Mitchell (CB – Toledo) My #1 CB in the draft slides right into the Colts lap, and they shall rejoice. Mitchell has the traits, tape and underwear olympic numbers to justify a top 10 selection, a steal at pick 15. Grade: Top 10 16 – Seattle – Micheal Penix Jr. (QB – Washington) Obvious connections to Ben Grubbs aside, the personnel in Seattle’s offense and the offense itself are tailor made for Penix, who won’t have to be QB1 day one, but could if needed. Seattle lets Penix marinate and looks to add their future QB without the risk of losing out on him via a trade back from 16 or a trade up from 81. Grade: 2nd Round (RF – Med*) 17 – Jacksonville – Terrion Arnold (CB – Alabama) Competitive and aggressive, with good CoD skills, quick eyes when the ball is in the air and natural fit for the new DC and press scheme they will be employing next season. Grade: 1st Round 18 – Cincinnati – Taliese Fuaga (RT/G – Oregon St.) Continuing to protect Joe Burrow is a must, as Joe goes, so do the Bengal’s, Fuaga may not ever become elite, but is steady as they come and plays with an aggressive demeanor that will fit in well with the Bengals offense. I Grade: 1st Round *Trade* L.A. Rams trade the 19th pick to Buffalo for the 28th, 160th and a 2025 2nd round pick (Buffalo). The Rams are in a weird place of win now mode and needing to rebuild the defensive front four quickly to maximize Stafford’s career window, as they traded away 1st rounders like Mardi Gras beads the last few years. They did win a CHIP… Buffalo looks to add a premier deep threat to stretch the field and really stress defenses down the field, complementing the existing and future roster in the pass game. 19 – Buffalo (via. L.A. Rams) – Brian Thomas (WR – L.S.U.) Thomas is an explosive play waiting to happen at any time, with natural and go-get-it speed, and general athleticism that requires defenses to account for him and the deep half of the field every time Thomas touches the field, utilizing Josh Allen’s arm and the field itself to the fullest. Grade: Top 20 20 – Pittsburgh – Graham Barton (C/G/T – Duke) Barton’s ability to play anywhere on the line and excel in the interior will help the entirety of the Steelers offense, stabilizing the center position for the next decade. Grade: 1st/Top 20 21 – Miami – Jared Verse (43DE/Edge/OLB – F.S.U.) Miami’s pass rush was devastated by injury late last season, injuries that will linger into this season and leave the Miami defense toothless in a conference they hope to compete in. Verse starts and contributes day 1 for the Dolphins. Grade: 1st Round 22 – Philadelphia – Cooper Dejean (S/CB – Iowa) Dejean is a secondary swiss army knife, injecting youth and flexibility into an Eagles secondary that needs it. A top notch athletic profile combined with excellent tape make Cooper a great pick at 22. Grade: Top 20 23 – New England (via. Minnesota) – Tyler Guyton (LT/T – Oklahoma) Connor McDermott is an average back up at best, if he is starting your QB is always going to see ghosts from the blind side, Guyton is a projection, but the athletic traits and natural frame could develop into an elite level pass protector. Grade: 2nd/1st 24 – Dallas – Byron Murphy II (3DT – Texas) Dallas hope’s Mazi Smith turns into the run stuffing NDT he was supposed to be last year, I wouldn’t hold my breath, unfortunately the interior DL is still lacking severely. Murphy gives the group some much needed energy and juice. Grade: 2nd/1st Round 25 – Green Bay – Amarius Mims (RT/G – Georgia) Mims is a swing for the fences type of pick, and the normally risk adverse Packers take a swing. Mims is a Boom or Bust prospect, giving the Packers some positional flexibility with their current personnel. Grade: 2nd Round 26 – Tampa Bay – Xavier Worthy (WR – Texas) Worthy gives Baker Mayfield and the Bucs offense a game changing weapon, forcing defenses to pick their poison in coverage. Grade: 2nd Round 27 – Arizona – Adonai Mitchell (WR – Texas) Arizona lands Mitchell to pair opposite MHJ, why another WR in the first you ask? Without looking anyone up, name me an NFL caliber receiver on their current roster? Exactly, boom, now they have two. Grade: 1st Round (RF – -Med) 28 – L.A. Rams (via. Buffalo) – Chop Robinson (Edge – Penn. St.) The Rams have no pass rush in the defensive front now, and look to infuse some explosiveness and juice into their front. Grade: 1st Round 29 – Detroit – Nate Wiggins (CB – Clemson) Elite level cover ability, traits, athleticism, he is the package. Can he develop the physicality and consistency at the next level? Grade: 2nd Round 30 – Baltimore – Kool-Aid McKinstry (CB – Alabama) Baltimore addresses the current and future need at CB with Kool-Aid. Grade: 2nd *Trade* San Francisco trades the 31st and 124th picks to Washington for the 36th and 78th picks. Washington looks to add a blindside protector for Jayden Daniels to grow and flourish with. While San Francisco looks to trade down and move up and add another top 100 pick to the roster. 31 – Washington (via. San Francisco) – Jordan Morgan (LT/T – Arizona) Washington continues to use their draft capital to work around the board and add day 1 starters, Morgan should start right out of the gate and develop into a dependable starter in short order. Grade: 2nd Round 32 – Kansas City – Kingsley Suamataia (LT/T – B.Y.U.) The Chiefs look to Suamataia’s ceiling as a longterm solutions to their hole at LT, it may not be pretty (not that it was with Donovan “tug not a hold” Smith) initially, but Suamataia has the potential to potentially protect Mahommes blind side for the rest of his career. Grade: 2nd/3rd Round Round 2 33 – Carolina – Ladd McConkey (WR – Georgia) Tough call for Carolina here, the pick should be offense, as should the next. Legette, JPJ and several others are in consideration. Having solidified the interior oline in FA, they look to add the explosive route runner, giving Bryce Young a versatile option in the passing game day 1. Grade: 2nd Round 34 – New England – Xavier Legette (WR – S. Carolina) The Patriots future offensively continues to get brighter for whomever is at the helm this season and into future seasons. Legette gives the Patriots an outside threat to complement Bowers on offense. Grade: 2nd Round. 35 – Arizona – Ennis Rakestraw Jr. (CB – Mizzu) The Cardinals look to add to their secondary at the corner spot, with the fiesty potential day 1 starter. Grade: 2nd Round 36 – San Francisco (via. Washington) – Patrick Paul (LT/T – U. Houston) Paul has the potential to be one of the best left tackles in this class, and a plus starter in time. Grade: 2nd/3rd 37 – L.A. Chargers – Jackson Power-Johnson (C – Oregon) Another piece for the offensive line that is quickly developing the potential to be the best in the league in short order. Grade: 2nd/1st 38 – Tennessee – Darius Robinson (DE/DL – Mizzu) Tennessee takes the versatile front 7 weapon, who can play DE in the 34 defensive front, rush the passer from the inside or outside, even rushing from the nose when needed. Grade: 2nd/1st 39 – Carolina (via. N.Y. Giants) – Zach Frazier (C/G – West Virginia) Austin Corbett maybe the answer in the pivot next season, coming off consecutive MCL and ACL tears in 2023 and 2022 respectively, and with one year left on his contract. Frazier completes the rebuild of the Panthers interior offensive line, giving Bryce Young a pocket to work from for the foreseeable future. Grade: 2nd Round 40 – Denver (via. Washington) – Bo Nix (QB – Oregon) Bo Nix does not go in the 1st round, but lands in the best spot for himself in Denver, who views Nix as a potential QB1, but does not handcuff themselves to him, in taking him in round 2, with more options moving forward than had they stayed and picked at 12. 41 – Green Bay (via. N.Y. Jets) – Edgerrin Cooper (LB – Texas A & M) Cooper gives the Quay Walker a partner at LB capable of wrecking opponents game plans in their new .05 defense. Day one starter, who effects the opposition run game from the light box. Grade: 2nd Round 42 – Houston (via Minnesota) – Jer’Zhan Newton (3DT – Illinois) More fresh, young juice for the defensive line complementing recent investments on the edge, Newton will bring the heat from the interior in a rotational role early in his career with the Texans. A steal at 42. Grade: 2nd/1st 43 – Atlanta – Ricky Pearsall (WR – Florida) Pearsall can play any WR spot a coach would like, and contributes to the Falcons passing game day 1. Grade: 2nd Round 44 – L.A. Chargers (via. Las Vegas) – Malachi Corley (SWR – W. Kentucky) The Chargers continue their 2024 NFL draft theme: “We are going to beat you up, and the beating will continue until you give up.” Corley is capable of more than he showed in college, while extending the hand-off range of Justin Jerbert. Grade: 2nd Round 45 – New Orleans (via. Denver) – Keon Coleman (WR – Florida St.) Coleman’s skill set complements Olave’s in the Saints offense and is a solid value in round 2. Grade: 2nd Round 46 – Indianapolis – Marshawn Kneeland (DE/Edge/OLB – W. Michigan) The Colts need waves of edge rushers moving forward, and Kneeland has the tools to develop into an long term asset for the Colts. Grade: 2nd Round 47 – N.Y. Giants (via. Seattle) – T.J. Tampa (CB – Iowa St.) In adding to the secondary, the Giants land Tampa who’s name and coverage ability will resonate with 70’s Steelers and 2000’s Buc’s fans, and give the Giants a quality #2 corner opposite Deonte Banks. Grade: 2nd Round 48 – Jacksonville – Troy Franklin (WR – Oregon) Jacksonville needs a #1, some would argue an #1 and a #2 WR, Franklin is a good value pick at 48, who should be able to fill the role of #2 now, and potentially #1 down the road. Grade: 2nd Round 49 – Cincinnati – Ja’Lynn Polk (WR – Washington) The Bengal’s start planning for life after Tee Higgins, whether it be this year or next, Polk will be ready. Grade: 2nd Round. 50 – Philadelphia (via. New Orleans) – Christian Hayes (G – U. Conn.) Hayes gives Philly a potential short term, and better long term solution at RG than Tyler Steen, competition and depth at worst. Grade: 2nd Round 51 – Pittsburgh – Roger Rosengarten (RT – Washington St.) Rebuilding the offensive line continues for the Steelers in this mock, with Broderick Jones moving to LT, Rosengarten slides into RT, helping with the two birds one pick ideology. Grade: 2nd/3rd 52 – Los Angeles Rams – Brandon Fiske (DT/3DT – Florida St.) Fiske was one of my favorite prospects after watching several FSU games during the past season, Kevin Williams 2.0. The Rams continue to add to their defensive front with the high motor Fiske. Grade: 2nd Round 53 – Philadelphia – Payton Wilson (LB – N.C. State) Medicals will likely cause Wilson to fall in the draft, his tape, testing numbers and athletic profile are 1st round caliber. Watching Wilson reminds me a lot or watching Brian Urlacher in my early amateur scouting days. Yes, blurry VHS tapes, Pro Football Draft Preview, fun times. Don’t mind me. Grade: 2nd/1st Round (RF – Med) 54 – Cleveland – Junior Colson (LB – Michigan) Cleveland has a solid roster and while DT was in play here, I was really hoping Payton Wilson would fall to this pick. Colson is a solid consolation prize and heck of a football player in his own right, potential year one starter and future mainstay for the Browns roster. Grade: 2nd Round 55 – Miami – Cooper Beebe (G – Kansas State) Miami takes the best available offensive lineman, they need help everywhere on the OL. Injuries and free agency have not been kind to the Fins this past 12 months. Grade: 2nd Round 56 – Dallas – Trey Benson (RB – F.S.U.) Benson gives the Cowboys offense a bell cow back, who is capable on 3rd down with room to grow. Grade: 2nd Round 57 – Tampa Bay – Adisa Isaac (OLB/Edge – Penn St.) Adisa Isaac gives the Bucs D an non-stop motor who maybe relegated to DPR status early in his career. Grade: 3rd Round 58 – Green Bay – Max Melton (CB – Rutgers) Max is one of the more versatile CB’s in the draft and contributes early and often, effective immediately. Grade: 2nd Round 59 – Houston – Kamari Lassiter (CB – Georgia) Lassiter will not have to start early, but provides depth and future starting potential for the Texans. Grade: 3rd Round 60 – Buffalo – Tyler Nubin (S – Minnesota) “Plays with predatory mentality from split safety and robber alignment.” Reminds me of Jordan Poyer, Nubin does not have the athletic Olympic underwear profile, but the guy competes all the time. Grade: 2nd/3rd Round 61 – Detroit – Jalen McMillan (WR – Washington) McMillan is one of sleepers for the 2024 draft, a naturally talented receiver with more to offer as a pro. Grade: 3rd Round 62 – Baltimore – Mike Sainristil (NCB – Michigan) Sainristil has future all pro written all over him, instincts and IQ are elite. The Ravens… Grade: 2nd Round 63 – San Francisco – Javon Bullard (S – Georgia) Bullard should be able to come in and give the 9ers a new starting SS immediately. Grade: 2nd/3rd 64 – Kansas City – Devontez Walker (WR – U.N.C.) Kansas City continues their off-season offensive assault on the deep half of the field, adding another deep threat to pair with FA Marquise Brown. Walker will help Mahommes stretch the field. Grade: 3rd Round

Did he though? His best games came against the a freshman corner at UNC, a backup corner and safety at Georgia, Furman, 1-7 in SEC play MSU, 3-5 Florida, Jacksonville State, 0-8 Vanderbilt. His best game was probably against 3-5 Kentucky when he went one on one against Andru Phillips who is a good player. He is pretty good downfield when he can be more physical than the other player and push off or jump over them. He takes a lot of steps to turn those vertical routes and transition them into a comeback or dig. He also is pretty good at running crossers. Watching all of his targets really disappointed me. He was not good at screens or end arounds, regularly getting tackles one on one by everyone including players from Furman, etc. He didn’t run his agilities and you can see why as him getting tackled one on one looks to be from him not being able to dodge players laterally or run through tacklers at his feet. He is very fast when he gets a runway to run a straight line For a five year player, his route running is so under developed which makes you wonder how long it will take him to develop effective counters to corners that take away his verticals. Watching Nate Wiggins mirror him and Legette not having any counter was disappointing. To me, he is a one dimensional player at the moment. You can send him vertical or have him run a crosser but that is not a first round player. Even those hoping he could be the second coming of DK: he is smaller, slower and does not stack vertically like DK did. I think he is a later day 2 guy based on taking a shot on measurables def not day 1, imo.

Two corner links I have heard in the last couple of days on podcasts that when I've done some cross checking seem to check out: Kool-Aid is getting a lot of looks by Jacksonville and Nate Wiggins and the 49ers. Told that John Lynch has loved Wiggins since the start but thought until recently he had no chance to still be there. If he gets in range don't be shocked if the 9ers even trade up slightly for him.

Hi Everyone and a welcome to the TSW Mock Draft 3.0 sign-up thread. Mock 3.0 is 1 round with trades allowed. The Bills selection will be done by a survey of the BPA’s at the time. The decision on whether to trade up has been completed in multiple polls and depend upon how the board falls. If the Bills trade up, it will be for certain players and no poll will be created. The Draft will begin once all 32 owners have been found. Support Tools: Trade Chart: https://www.drafttek.com/NFL-Trade-Value-Chart.asp Team needs by position: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-pydwGDVGPIcpS60RzF7FGP9f7xAHm66nzTmEUASAg0/edit#gid=0 Player rankings, both by position and overall: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vSeZokjzJ-CfxeFNyFHHLAqtb7FqDNSV0gy0zVtYSBsyXV42SLiD0w0aSjAnVF9DAE05lKvDfcsAJc6/pubhtml Owners: (To volunteer to serve as a team GM, you need to) · Be in good standing on this site (daily activity, account history, etc) · GM cannot request a previously owned team · Reply in this thread with the top 3 teams you want to manage (only listing one will be ignored) · Be prepared to keep up with your picks (3 hour window between picks) · Be prepared to follow the posting guidelines when it’s your pick (failure to do so might lead to your exclusion to participating in future mocks) Rules: · Every owner has 3 hours to make their pick · When you pick, you must use the following format o With the 28th pick, the Buffalo Bills select Josh Allen, QB, Wyoming @XXXX is on the clock. (Please do not post in all caps or use different punctuation) · When you pick, please give a few sentence summary as to why you made the pick you did. The more commentary and ownership, the better the experience. Trades: · Trades must meet the trade chart value at a minimum · A team’s pick must be made within the 3 hour window. The pick window does not reset for trades (Trades must be agreed upon within the first 2 hours of being on the clock) · Trades must be agreed before gaining approval o Once trade is agreed upon by the two GMs, a message needs to be created between the two GM’s, Virgil, and Alphadawg7. The message needs to contain the trade and points value of picks. Once approved within that message, by either Virgil or Alpha, the trade and pick can be posted · The following players can be traded by their current teams, and only for a 1st round pick: o Tee Higgins, Brandon Aiyuk With that being said, below are the available teams Round 1 1- Chicago (3000) - HappyDays - Caleb Williams, QB, USC 2- Washington (2600) - mrags *Traded* Denver - TOBoy - Drake Maye, QB, UNC 3- New England (2200) - BuffaloBillyG - Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU 4- Arizona (1800) - GunnerBill - Marvin Harrison Jr, WR, Ohio St 5- LA Chargers (1700) - NeverOutNick - Rome Odunze, WR, Washington 6- NY Giants (1600) - JJguana - Malik Nabers, WR, LSU 7- Tennessee (1500) - Doc Brown - Joe Alt, OT, Notre Dame 8- Atlanta (1400) - CNYfan - Dallas Turner, Edge, Alabama 9- Chicago (1350) - HappyDays *Traded* Washington - mrags - JJ McCarthy, QB, Michigan 10- NY Jets (1300) - TPS - Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia 11- Minnesota (1250) - H2o - Byron Murphy II, DT, Texas 12- Denver (1200) - TOboy *Traded* Washington - mrags *Traded* Bears - Happy Days - Laiatu Latu, Edge, UCLA 13- Las Vegas (1150) - NewEra - Michael Penix, QB, Washington 14- New Orleans (1100) - qwksilver - Olumuyiwa Fashanu, OT Penn St 15- Indianapolis (1050) - BigdaddyinOrlando - Jared Verse, Edge, Florida St 16- Seattle (1000) - EmotionallyUnstable - Taliese Fuaga, OT Oregon St 17- Jacksonville (950) - LEBills - AD Mitchell, WR, Texas 18- Cincinnati (900) - Kirby Jackson - JC Latham, OL, Alabama 19- LA Rams (875) - MrEpsYtown *Traded* Bills - TSW Poll - Brian Thomas Jr, WR, LSU 20- Pittsburgh (850) - Big Blitz *Traded* Cardinals - GunnerBill - Quinyon Mitchell, DB, Toledo 21- Miami (800) - Alphadawg7 - Amarius Mims, OT, Georgia 22- Philadelphia (780) - stinky finger - Terrion Arnold, DB, Alabama 23- Minnesota (760) - H2o - Bo Nix, QB, Oregon 24- Dallas (740) - Might Rather - Jackson Powers-Johnson, C, Oregon 25- Green Bay (720) - Virgil - Cooper DeJean, DB, Iowa 26- Tampa Bay (700) - RyanC883 *Traded* Washington - mrags - Xavier Worthy, WR, Texas 27- Arizona (680) - GunnerBill *Traded* Pittsburgh - Big Blitz *Traded* Washington - mrags - Ladd McConkey, WR, Georgia 28- Buffalo (660) - TSW Poll *Traded* Rams - MrEpsYtown - Chop Robinson, Edge, Penn St 29- Detroit (640) - frostbitmic - Troy Fautanu, OL, Washington 30- Baltimore (620) - Allen2Moulds - Tyler Guyton, OT, Oklahoma 31- San Francisco (600) - QLBillsFan - Graham Barton, IOL, Duke 32- Kansas City (590) - section122 - Nate Wiggins, DB, Clemson Trades: The Broncos are trading 2024 #12, #76, #121, #136, #147, 2025 #1, 2025 #2 to the Commanders for 2024 #2 The Commanders are trading #12, #100, and #121 to the Bears for #9 The Bills are trading #28, #163, and 2025 2nd Rounder (From Vikings) to the Rams for #19 The Cardinals trade #27 and #71 to the Steelers for #20 and #119 The Commanders trade #40 and 2025 2nd for Bucs #26 The Steelers trade #27 and #119 to the Commanders for #36 and 2025 2nd

***UPDATE*** GO TO PAGE 4 FOR FINAL 3.0 VERSION Here is my official version 2.0 on a first round Mock. Not sure I will do a v3.0, this one took me 3 days and a lot of hours of research and calls to some people I know and trust with actual insider insight. I would love to update one before the draft Thursday, but not sure I will have the time to put in between now and then to make a meaningful stab at it. I still want to expand it to a 2 rounder at some point as well and do have a working draft, however, since this one took me 3 days with lots of changes along the way as new info came about, it kept affecting my 2nd round and I didn't want to just throw up a round 2 without properly working through it. So hopefully I can find some time to finish that as I was enjoying round 2 as well. CLICK HERE FOR LINK TO v1.0 NOTE: Trades are color coated. The two teams linked in the trade are marked with *TRADE* in the same color to easily track who that trade played out on both ends of it. Compensation in bold of the same color on the higher pick of the trade. Chicago - Caleb Williams, QB, USC: No brainer here, everything points to this being their guy. Washington - Drake Maye, QB, UNC: I have believed him to be the pick over Jayden Daniels, and I have someone I trust who has insight who tells me that which QB is still unsettled and that there are supporters for both Maye and Daniels and he thinks its going to fall Maye when its all said and done. And as we get closer, the odds for this pick being Jayden are going down while Mayes are going up...just saying. New England - Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU: In v1.0, I previously had them passing on a QB to take MHJ as I kind of thought their eyes were set on Maye, but now there is buzz and stuff I am hearing that they like both Maye and Daniels, so with that in mind, NE now makes the smarter choice and goes and gets a QB. *TRADE* - Giants (via Arizona): JJ McCarthy, QB, Michigan: This is the same trade I made in the TSW mock draft as GM of the Cardinals, moving back to 6 with NY Giants, who know Jones ain't their guy, and that teams at 11, 12, and 13 who are all looking for a QB. So Giants take their shot here and move up to insure one of the other teams doesn't leap frog them at 4 or 5 and gets their guy. Giants have been doing a LOT of homework on the QB's and reports are that they have had great meetings with McCarthy and a great dinner with him at Ruth's Chris and are high on him. Cardinals already armed with 2 first rounders and 3 third rounders don't need a bounty on a move back here, so they opt to take the smaller offer and stay within range to still get one of the big 3 WR's. Comp received: ARI gets 6 & 70 - NYG gets 4 Chargers - Marvin Harrison, Jr: Chargers win the lottery here landing what is seen as the best player in the draft thanks to the Giants move up to McCarthy as they give Herbert an elite talent after losing their top 2 WR's. (Odunze wouldn't surprise me here either). *TRADE* - Cardinals (via Giants): Rome Odunze, WR, Washington: Previously, I have had Nabers here, but I am hearing more and more that there are teams who have Odunze as the 1st or 2nd WR in this draft. Murray had his best success with a big WR with excellent hands and catch radius in Hopkins, so I am starting to think Odunze could be the pick here. Having lost their top WR's, they still add an elite weapon for Murray while adding some extra draft capital along the way. Cardinals are in a great position to really reset their foundation with the amount of draft ammo they have in the first 4 rounds of this draft. (Would be MHJ if Chargers went Odunze) Titans - Joe Alt, OT, Notre Dame: Not a lot to say here, maybe the safest mock pick in the draft outside Caleb...Having the best OT in this draft fall in their lap here is a gift they sprint to the podium to select. Atlanta - Byron Murphy, DL, Texas: Atlanta looks to bolster their DL with the best DT in the draft who is a guy that just moves different than the other DT's in the draft, who can get off the ball and shoot the gaps to wreak havoc. He is as much a force against the run as he is the pass as well and who could become an anchor up front for Atlanta for years to come. One of the edge rushers could be in this spot too such as Turner or Verse. *TRADE* Colts (via Chicago) Malik Nabers, WR, LSU: While I know WR is a popular pick here, but its a bit of a luxury pick based on the needs of the team already having a long term WR1 and Keenan Allen for at least this season. This is a deep WR draft, they can find a guy to play opposite Moore later with the draft pick ammo they just added. There is just more and more buzz I am seeing about Bears maybe looking OL early, especially since Caleb has even been on social media about the importance of OL and having that been an issue for him at USC. And if they are willing to pass on Nabers, they can move back here and still snag a premiere prospect on the OL and add more draft capital given they only have 4 picks. For me, I think to move back and pass on one of the big 3 WRs, there needs to be enough draft compensation to do it, so I am looking at Colts here who are now staring down the barrel of a loaded Houston team in a loaded AFC conference in general. So they make a move here to get an elite weapon to pair with Richardson and Pittman. Comp received: CHI gets 15, 82, 117 - IND gets 9 NY Jets - Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia: With the Jets spending in FA on the OL (albeit short term help) I think it's a pretty good bet they look to appease Aaron Rodgers and go Bowers here, who is a mismatch nightmare, and maybe the best TE prospect of the past decade. If one of the big 3 WR's land here, then may be that player over Bowers. But I think they will be gone inside the top 10. Although I still wouldn't rule out OL here either as there are some real talented guys they could take to help anchor that line for years, but given they are in a win now mode, I think with the short term OL help addressed some already in free agency, they go ahead and take Bowers. Vikings - Quinyon Mitchell, CB, Toledo: After not matching what Arizona wanted to move for a QB, Vikings stay true to their board and add what many regard as the top corner in the draft who has been lighting up the offseason. Broncos - Bo Nix, QB, Oregon: Originally had Penix here, but after reading more into it, seems there is more Denver interest in Bo and it feels like his accuracy and intelligence will be something Sean Payton will be more intrigued by given his days with Brees where those were 2 of his strong suits. Raiders - Michael Penix Jr, QB, Washington: This is another change for me, there seems to be a lot of growing buzz about Raiders and Penix. And HC Pierce has been vocal about the need to get a QB in a division with Mahomes and Herbert. There are a lot of injury concerns with Penix though, so while this may feel early, there is also the fact that Vikings pick again at 23 and with Nix gone here, Penix could easily be in play there. And trading back up above 23 would be costly. If they really like Penix as much as being stated, then trading back up in bottom of first or waiting and hoping he falls out of the first would be a huge gamble for the Raiders. I try not to get too caught up in buzz, but I have a hard time believing Raiders feel good about Aidan and Uncle Rico as their 2 QB's this year, so the Penix interest feels plausible. Saints - Olu Fashanu, OT, Penn St: With big needs at OT, Saints also have the draft fall well and are able to take the 2nd best OT prospect in the draft. *TRADE* Bears (via Colts) - Troy Fautanu, OL, Washington: As I mentioned in pick 9, there seems to be a growing sentiment the Bears may look to bolster their OL to help their young QB who has already been on social media about the importance of OL. Adding Troy who can come in and push someone like Bates who struggled last year on the inside or compete to start as an upgrade at tackle is exactly the kind of versatility Bears would be thrilled to add. I was tempted to go Jared Verse here as they need help on the DL too, but for the reasons above I came back to Troy. Seattle - Dallas Turner, EDGE, Alabama: The draft falls favorably for Seattle here as they really need help all along the DL and are able to scoop maybe the best edger rusher in the draft. If Byron Murphy doesn't go to Atlanta at 8, I could see him going here too. Jaguars - Terrion Arnold, CB, Alabama: My heart wants to write *TRADE* here and input Buffalo Bills name to take Thomas, but I think this may be out of the range Beane will go up to for Thomas where it still likely takes our next years first. But I know its probably going to take a first, so not only do I not want to do it, I don't think Beane will either. So, Jags stay put and address their secondary in a division that is starting to have the makings of a high powered juggernaught and take one of the top corners in the draft. Bengals - JC Latham, OL, Alabama: 3 straight Bama guys come off the board as Bengals have to find a way to keep Burrow on his feet and healthy and signing Trent Brown on a one year deal with his injury history isn't enough to keep them from looking to the future here. Bengals are fortunate this a great OT draft early and land one of the best RT ones here to hopefully be the long term guy opposite Olrando Brown for years to come. LA Rams - Laiatu Latu, EDGE, UCLA: Buzz here is that McVay is gonna go offense in his first ever first round pick, and I get that. And there are some medical concern rumors around Latu as well that put this pick here in doubt. But, they need to bolster their pass rush, especially since they both need help on the edge and they have lost the QB pressure from inside that Donald brought for so many years. Which leads me to Latu here, the hometown star from UCLA staying home in LA. Pittsburgh - Jackson Powers-Johnson, IOL, Oregon: Steelers need a Center and here is their chance to add maybe the best IOL prospect in the draft who can potentially come in and shore up that Center position for years to come. There is some chatter of this being a place Brian Thomas Jr. goes via them picking him or someone like Bills trading up to get him. So won't surprise me to see BTJ go here in some fashion, but I just think JPJ is just a different breed and the kind of player Steelers covet. Miami - Jared Verse, EDGE, Florida St: With big needs in the trenches on both sides of the ball, they have a lot of options here. Miami did sign like 7 guys on the DL this offseason, but all of them are more suited as role players. So I flipped flopped between Jared and OL help (like Barton, Mims, etc) here several times before settling on Verse, and still tempted to flip again lol as I think this could go either side of the trenches. But I feel the value is higher on OL in round 2 than DL, so I used that as the defacto tie breaker and went ahead with Verse even though I am still torn on this one. *TRADE* Buffalo (via Eagles): Brian Thomas Jr, WR, LSU: Bills see the chance to lock in and insure they get BTJ moving up to 22 to get him for picks 28, 128, and 2025 3rd rounder. Originally I had Bills trading back from 28, but that was with BTJ off the board in the teens. With him getting into the 20's, Beane felt the value was there to go get a 6'3" guy with 4.3 forty speed to pair with Allen during this next era of his prime and hopefully giving DC's nightmares for years to come. *TRADE* Washington (via Vikings) - Taliese Fuaga, OT, Oregon St: Having missed on trying to get McCarthy followed with both Nix and Penix coming off at 12 and 13, the Vikings trade back and add a 3rd rounder (as they have no 2nd or 3rd round picks coming into the draft). Commanders are chomping at the bit to move back up and get one of these OT's, which is why I think if the Bills hold on to 28, Washington is a major potential trade back partner if they haven't moved up already. But, with how this draft played out, this Vikings pick is a great spot for the Commanders to go get a premiere tackle prospect to help protect their new QB, especially with teams looming after this pick that could be looking for OL help as well like the Cowboys up next. Comp received: MIN gets 36 & 67 - WAS gets 23 Dallas - Xavier Worthy, WR, Texas: There are some guys here at OL that make a lot of sense for Dallas, but Jones and company are drooling over that 4.2 speed in the dome and decide they can't pass up the opportunity on adding this kind of elite speed to his dome team to play opposite Lamb and makes the move to add some much needed firepower to the offense. Packers - Nate Wiggins, CB, Clemson: With the trade of Douglas to the Bills, GB looks to the draft to find its next CB opposite Jaire and take one of the top corners in the draft in Wiggins. If Wiggins is gone in the real draft here, I can also see some OL help in bound with this pick as well. Tampa - Graham Barton, IOL, Duke: Bucs considered bolstering their pass rush here, but were stoked to find Barton still on the board and decided that his versatility and strength was too good to pass up to bolster that interior OL to help Baker succeed. Arizona - Jer'Zhan Newton, DL, Illinois: In my v1.0 Newton was off the board to Miami, but with Verse falling there in this one it allowed Newton to fall here to where I think is a highly likely destination for him. Newton has even been vocal about loving the Cardinals and if he is here I think this will most likely be the pick as AZ looks to bolster a unity very much in need of the help. *TRADE* Eagles (Via Buffalo): Cooper DeJean: After the trade down with the Bills, the Eagles land the man dubbed the "Swiss army knife" and look to bolster a secondary very much in need of the help. Cooper is interesting to me, I can see him going earlier too starting in the mid teens. Detroit - Kool-Aid McKinstry, CB, Alabama: Lions could very well take Adonai Mitchell here or even someone on the OL, but with a high powered offense already in stow, I have changed my mind and have them addressing their biggest need and taking the talented corner from Alabama to help bolster their defense. Ravens - Jordan Morgan, OL, Arizona: I have moved off WR here for Ravens given the fact they lost 3 OL this offseason and if they want Lamar and Henry to be at their best, they need to bolster this unit and Morgan can potentially play RT or G giving them a versatile player to plug in. 49ers - Amarius Mims, OT, Georgia: Trent Williams is about to be 36 and their RT was a mixed bag last year, so they look to the future here knowing they need 2 new OT's sooner rather than later and take the mammoth Mims. While someone like Guyton could go here and has maybe a higher floor, the potential of Mims is too good to pass up. Mims is another one of those guys I can see going as earlier as well, just gonna depend on which tackle a team prefers as there are several strong prospects that will be on the board between picks 10 and 32 and at the top of round 2. Chiefs - Ja'Lynn Polk, WR, Washington: A controversial pick I am sure as many think this would be CB, OL, or a different WR. But...I have now had some people I trust tell me several times that Polk is quietly one of the biggest risers in the draft and has end of first, top 10 of 2nd potential to go. One of them told me that both Balt and KC are very high on him. Polk makes so much sense for them both. Chiefs are sick of drops and Polk has some of the best hands, body control, and ball skills in the draft. He also plays physical and go over the middle where they have relied on Kelce for years who is probably in his last season. He is also the best blocking WR in the draft and KC throws the most passes at or behind the LOS in the league and relies a lot on blocking. So while I can see a number of players at CB, OL, and DL here as well along with a different WR too like Mitchell or McConkey, I am gonna go with the Polk as he is also a personal favorite of mine. NOTES: This came about through individually researching each teem, their needs, insight from people I know personally and general chatter, buzz, and rumors online around certain players/teams. And it took me 3 days to get to pick 32 as I was making many amendments along the way as new information was being discovered. One change already that I am eyeing if I do a v3.0 is what to do at 12 and 13. I cover this more in "Surprises" below, but will the Raiders pull the trigger at 13 for Penix is a big question for me and I think it is highly impacted by who ends up trading for McCarthy and maybe even what Denver does at 12. But all the buzz around Penix seems to lie mostly with the Raiders. This is a fun draft to mock. There are a lot of scenarios that can play out at the top which impact how this draft falls. Unlike some drafts where the first 7 to 10 picks were highly predictable. I think it is a safe bet that Washington will be trading back into the first as it's been widely reported they want some OL help for their new QB. And if Bills don't trade up for Thomas, I do think they make a lot of sense as a trade back partner, assuming they haven't already traded up before our pick. Im still torn on passing on OL for Miami at 21 and taking Verse. Fastest offense in the league and can't win a playoff game or their division with a 4 game lead late. Why...because it's too easy to disrupt getting to Tua early and disrupting his early reads. But, like I said on that pick, the OL depth is better in round 2 than DL. Surprises: I think the biggest surprises of the this mock are: 6 QB's going top 13 - This is the one thing that is sticking out to me the most as the questionable. Will both Nix and Penix go back to back 12 and 13? Well, to be honest, I think Penix going 13 may come down to whether or not Denver takes Nix at 12. Vikings are looming in this mock at 23 where they could easily take Penix if they wanted after missing out on moving up for McCarthy as I have them in this mock. So, if that happens, then Bo going 12 puts a lot of pressure on Raiders to take Penix sooner rather than later by trying to trade back up into the first. If Denver passes on a QB at 12, then I am not sure the Raiders feel as much pressure to take Penix at 13. If Vikings end up being the one to trade up for McCarthy then I doubt Nix and Penix go back to back as I think the Raiders would feel more comfortable looking to trade back in towards the end of round 1 for Penix with Vikings out of the way at 23 and Denver reportedly preferring Nix. Thomas makes it out of the 12-18 pick range he is most often believed to go to teams like Den (12), Indy (15), Jags (17), Bengals (18) and he very well could. But, my thinking was I would be surprised to see him go to Denver over other players who should be higher on their boards still there at 12, plus the 2 QB's. Indy very well could take him, although I think if they don't trade up for one of the big 3 WR's there are CB's there they would take before Thomas at 15. Jags signed Davis to go along with Kirk and Zay, so while thats not great, its also not their biggest need where they really need a CB, especially with what Houston is doing. And Bengals must keep Burrow healthy, I have a hard time seeing them not go OL at 18. Steelers passing on Thomas at 20. One, I think Bills could trade here with them and there is some buzz about it too. But they have glaring needs on the OL and there are multiple top prospects likely there at 20 who can bolster that unit, including the 2 best centers for a team who needs a center. Ja'Lynn Polk sneaking in first round. I think most have him as a round 2 guy, but he fits so well the Ravens and Chiefs offense. His combo of size, catch radius and blocking really complement those offenses and both teams I believe are very high on him. So in v1.0 (Ravens) and now 2.0 (Chiefs) I have him sneaking in ahead of some of the other guys like Mitchell and McConkey more often seen as going in the 1st. And like with any mock, take it with a grain of salt as I am sure, like just about all mocks, it will look quite different on draft night anyway lol. But it was a real fun exercise getting in tune with all 32 team needs and the prospects that might fit there. Especially since its changed my view on who I really want to see the Bills go after this draft, including finding a way to get some guys in round 3 via trade back at 28 or trade up from one of our 4ths.

I usually try to do 3 versions with version 1 and 3 involving no trades and Version two offering trades that I think could happen. I actually really like how this mock draft played out in general. Commentary for the first round and both Buffalo picks. Enjoy everybody. I will have Version 3.0 out probably on Wednesday night as I do complete a full 7 rounder just for fun to see if I can get any late picks correct. 1. Chicago Bears- Caleb Williams QB USC - I'm not even going to really explain this one. Its in the bag. 2. Washington Commanders- Drake Maye QB UNC - I would have thought this would be Jayden Daniels but apparently the camp is not happy with the Commanders as he was unaware that multiple QB's would be on his visit and he has let it be known he doesn't want to go to Washington now. This leads me to go with Drake Maye at this pick and I can honestly say i'm not a huge Maye fan but this isn't about my rankings its about what I think will happen. 3. New England Patriots- Jayden Daniels QB LSU - I think this one is tough. I keep wanting to put J.J. McCarthy here and my last mock might well have him here but I will still put Jayden Daniels here for now who I have as my # 2 QB in the draft. Daniels can provide a threat with his legs and take the Patriots into current football as they have been living in the past offensively since Brady left. 4. New York Giants(from Arizona)- J.J. McCarthy QB Michigan - NYG Trade 6,47 to Arizona and receive back 4, and 104 from Arizona. The Giants have to do something here. They can't possibly go with Daniel Jones again and expect to keep their jobs. The Giants go to the well again with the highly experienced national championship winning QB who is ready to play Day 1. The Cardinals chose to take the Giants offer instead of Minnesota because it allows them to still get one of the best players in the draft vs drafting a guy from the second tier. 5. Los Angeles Chargers- Marvin Harrison Jr. WR Ohio State - The Chargers could go Oline here but the best WR in the draft is literally staring them in the eye, its a need, and Jim Harbaugh got the pleasure of watching Harrison first hand for the last couple of years. Harrison is lucky as all hell to be drafted by the Chargers with a star QB to work with instead of going to a team starting completely over. 6. Arizona Cardinals(from NYG)- Malik Nabers WR LSU - The Cardinals drop down a couple of spots and still get a true # 1 WR in the NFL while picking up an additional 2nd rounder to build their awful roster still. If anything Arizona's GM shows that their willing to move around the board and gladly take the premium pick to slot Nabers in with Tre McBride to rebuild the Cardinals passing attack. 7. Tennessee Titans- Joe Alt OT Notre Dame - This pick essentially comes down to Alt vs Odunze and with the signing of Calvin Ridley, Tackle moves to the top of the list and Alt is clearly the # 1 Tackle in this draft. 8. Indianapolis Colts(from Atlanta)- Rome Odunze WR Washington - Colts Trade 15, 46 to Atlanta, Colts receive 8 and 104. I have always thought that the Colts would go WR in this draft because they really only have Pittman to throw to. Alec Pierce has been a disappointment and Josh Downs is a nice piece but the Colts need another bondafied weapon to develop Anthony Richardson. They are also in a weapons war now with the Houston Texans and Jaguars for supremecy in the AFC South. 9. Chicago Bears- Jared Verse DE Florida State - The Bears are left in a tough spot as they would prefer one of the top 3 WR's to drop but the Colts snipe them a pick before and with only 4 draft picks they would love to trade down but there is really no one worth trading up for at this current moment. With that happening, the Bears take who I believe is the best Defensive End in this draft in Verse. 10. New York Jets- Brock Bowers TE Georgia - The Jets also miss out of the top 3 WR's and this pick will come down to either Bowers or one of the offensive Tackels in Fuaga or Fautanu. The Jets filled their spots on the offensive line in Free Agency and decide to get a weapon for Aaron Rodgers to go with Mike Williams and Garrett Wilson. 11. Minnesota Vikings- Bo Nix QB Oregon - This pick I went back and forth on. I said well the Vikings can get this guy at 23 but if what I'm reading about Penix and the Raiders that puts the Vikings in a very vulnerable state to be left out of the "first round QB" market. I also think that if Nix is on the board at 19, the Rams would seriously consider taking him to be the successor to Matthew Stafford. The Vikings take zero chances here and select Nix to make sure they get their guy after being shut out of the trade up. 12. Jacksonville(from Denver)- Quinyon Mitchell CB Toledo - Jaguars trade 17, 96 to Denver, Jaguars receive 12. The Broncos need to completely retool their roster as well and have been looking to trade down in this draft and the Jaguars reciprocate. The Jags need WR help but not near as much as they need some CB help and the Jaguars move up to get the # 1 CB in this draft in Mitchell while giving up a late 3rd round pick. 13. Las Vegas Raiders- Michael Penix Jr. QB Washington - By all reports the Raiders love Michael Penix Jr. and if they love him then they have to take him at 13 instead of trying to trade up from the 44th position into the teens or 20's. If they did that they would for sure be giving up their 2025 first round pick which they can't afford to do at this point so they grab Penix here to be their future QB. 14. New Orleans Saints- Taliese Fuaga OT Oregon State - The Saints have their choice of who they believe is the #2 Tackle in the draft and they chose to go with the versatile Fuaga who can play all over the offensive line. Even if Fuaga fails at Tackle, he could potentially be an all pro guard in the NFL and presents an incredibly safe but needed pick for the Saints. 15. Atlanta Falcons(from Indy)- Byron Murphy DT Texas - This pick has come to light in the last couple of days in the rumor mill and I don't believe that Murphy is worth the 8th pick in the draft. This is why the Falcons move back and grabs Indy's second round pick in the process. Murphy fills a need and is strongly considered the # 1 DT in the draft this year by most pundits. 16. Seattle Seahawks- Troy Fautanu OT Washington - These types of picks worry me much like the previous one with Murphy and Atlanta. This has been a long rumor for the Seahawks and when those rumors are out there this long before the draft it either makes me think smokescreen or someone jumping the Seahawks to take Fautanu to ruin the pick. Still I will go with this pick as it does make a ton of sense. 17. Denver Broncos(from Jacksonville)- Dallas Turner DE Alabama - The Broncos trade down, get a premium pick and still get Turner at pick # 17. This very well could be Verse if the Bears decide to take Turner at # 9 and watch Verse tumble down the board. The Broncos are in a full rebuild but need help with their pass rush and Turner could represnt BPA at this point in the draft. 18. Cincinnati Bengals- Amarius Mims OT Georgia - I wouldn't have picture putting Mims as the 4 OT off the board(if you could Fautanu as a tackle) but the Bengals have spent a ton of time with Mims in the predraft process and they need a tackle and to protect Joe Burrow's fragile self. Mims has only started 8 games in college and is raw but has a ton of upside to become a high level tackle in time. 19. Los Angeles Rams- Terrion Arnold CB Alabama - The Rams have other needs as well most notably on their defensive line but they also have a need at CB despite signing a couple of vets including Tre White. Arnold is just sitting here for them to take and the Rams don't pass on the opportunity to take Arnold here. 20. Pittsburgh Steelers- Graham Barton OC Duke - For the longest time people were mocking JPJ to the Steelers but the rumor mill is stating that JPJ is sliding and not likely to be a first round pick and Barton has been flying up the draft boards for awhile. Barton's versatility is helping in this late process and the Steelers even came out and said that they see Barton as a Center. Check and Mate with that being said as it is the Steelers biggest need by far. 21. Miami Dolphins- Xavier Worthy WR Texas - Is it their biggest need absolutely not but the Dolphins and Mike McDaniel love speed. McDaniel has been seen in numerous videos and pictures fawning over Worthy like a school aged girl trying to gain the attention of the fastest man in school. Worthy would give the Dolphins even more speed and could potentially be Jaylen Waddles/Tyreek Hills replacement down the line. 22. Philadelphia Eagles- Nate Wiggins CB Clemson - The Eagles need secondary help in the worst way and get a top level man to man cover corner in Nate Wiggins to start re-tooling the secondary for the Eagles. 23. Buffalo Bills(from Minnesota)- Brian Thomas Jr. WR LSU - Buffalo trades 28, 128, 144, and a 2025 4th Rounder to Minnesota for pick # 23. I want to preface this that this draft is incredibly hard to predict once you get outside the first 8 or so prospects. Thomas could go as high as 12 or drop down to around this spot in the draft. I think if he made it to this range it would be too tempting for the Bills to sit on their hands. Thomas is the big vertical threat that everyone is hoping for in this draft that can play the boundary. I also want to state that I do not favorite the Bills in these things despite being a fan but it just happened to play out this way after picking through each teams information. The Bills jump ahead of the Cowboys for a 2nd straight year to snag a skill player they wanted. 24. Dallas Cowboys-Olu Fashanu OT Penn State - I can't tell you why but Olu Fashanu is dropping like a rock in the pre draft process. He was once considered a possible top 8 pick in the draft but he falls all the way to the 24th pick in the draft. The Cowboys have a huge need on the offensive line as they lost Tyron Smith, Tyler Biadisz, and Martin is getting extremely old. This allows Fashanu to slide in at LT while leaving everybody else in their current positions. 25. Green Bay Packers- Cooper DeJean CB/S Iowa - The Packers take DeJean here and can play him either at Cornerback or Safety in their system. They have a need at both positions even with the signing of Xavier McKinney. DeJean has good versatility and the Packers would start him at Cornerback with the hole opposite of Jaire Alexander who also isn't exactly on solid footing in Green Bay after his antics. 26. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Chop Robinson DE Penn State - The Buccaneers have a big need at Edge and Robinson presents a high upside player who is also a safer pick than Laiatu Latu. Robinson will have to improve his production but he is going to a team that has a defensive HC who can mold him hopefully into what team's believe he can be. 27. Los Angeles Chargers(From Arizona)- Jordan Morgan OT Arizona - Chargers Trade pick # 37 and 69 to Arizona and Receives pick # 27 and 138. The Chargers trade back into the first round and fill their second biggest need which is Left Tackle by selecting Morgan. With the selections on offensive tackle and the gauntlet of teams that need at Tackle ahead of them the Chargers don't take any chances by going up and getting Morgan while sliding into Arizona's spot. 28. Minnesota(from Buffalo)- Laiatu Latu DE UCLA -Latu is another one that is an anamoly. He has the talent to be a top 15 pick in the draft but he has a ton of medical red flags that could derail his career. The Vikings have spent a lot of time with Latu and hosted him on a 30 visit and decide to take the chance at pick 28 after allowing Buffalo to move up in the draft. 29. Washington Commanders(from Detroit)-J.C. Latham OT Alabama - Commanders trade 36 and 100 to Lions for pick 29. There are strong rumors that the Commanders are going to move in into the end of the first round, much for the same reasoning I had the Chargers move up in the draft. The well on ready tackles is running dry and the Commanders go up and get Latham. 30. Baltimore Ravens- Tyler Guyton OT Oklahoma - The Ravens grab the last ready made OT at pick # 30 by taking Guyton at pick 30. 31. San Francisco 49ers- Ladd McConkey WR Georgia - This one interests me a lot as McConkey seems to be gaining traction in this spot with the uncertainty of Brandon Aiyuk. I do think McConkey is worthy of a late first round selection and would honestly be a great fit in a Kyle Shanahan type offense. 32. Kansas City Chiefs- Kool-Aid McKinstry CB Alabama - The Chiefs could go a couple of different directions but the value the McKinstry provides is too much for the Chiefs to pass up on at this point. He steps in to fill the loss of Sneed. 2nd Round. 33. Carolina Panthers- Adonai Mitchell WR Texas 34. New England Patriots- Troy Franklin WR Oregon 35. Arizona Cardinals- Jer'zahn Newton DT Illinois 36. Detroit(from Washington)- Zach Frazier OG West Virginia 37. Arizona Cardinals(from LAC)- Darius Robinson DE Missouri 38. Tennessee Titans- Keon Coleman WR Florida State 39. Carolina Panthers(from NYG)- Jackson Powers Johnson OC Oregon 40. Washington Commanders(from Chicago)- Ja'Tavion Sanders TE Texas 41. Green Bay(from NYJ)- Braden Fiske DT Florida State 42. Houston(from Min)- Ennis Rakestraw CB Missouri 43. Atlanta Falcons- Kamari Lassister CB Georgia 44. Las Vegas Raiders- Max Melton CB Rutgers 45. New Orleans(from Den)- Kris Jenkins DT Michigan 46. Atlanta Falcons(from Ind)- Ricky Pearsall WR Florida 47. Arizona Cardinals(from NYG thru Sea)- T.J. Tampa CB Iowa State 48. Jacksonville Jaguars- Xavier Legette WR South Carolina 49. Cincinnati Bengals- T'Vondre Sweat DT Texas 50. Philadelphia Eagles(from NO)- Tyler Nubin S Minnesota 51. Pittsburgh Steelers- Roman Wilson WR Michigan 52. Los Angeles Rams- Marshawn Kneeland DE/DT Western Michigan 53. Philadelphia Eagles- Mike Sainristil CB Michigan 54. Cleveland Browns- Edgerrin Cooper LB Texas A&M 55. Miami Dolphins- Cooper Beebe OG Kansas State 56. Dallas Cowboys- Trey Benson RB Florida State 57. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Kiran Amegadjie OT Yale 58. Green Bay Packers- Payton Wilson LB NC State 59. Houston Texans- Javon Bullard S Georgia 60. Buffalo Bills- Cole Bishop S Utah - The Bills needs are very hard to meet in this area of the draft and Bishop to me has the potential to be the best safety to come out of this draft. Safety presents the best value at this time as I believe both DT and DE would be a reach at this spot. They could go unconventional and grab a Tackle, CB, or RB here but Bishop is a hell of a player who had the pleasure of covering last year's first round pick Dalton Kincaid in practice everyday last year. 61. Detroit Lions- Andru Phillips CB Kentucky 62. Baltimore Ravens- Ja'lynn Polk WR Washington 63. San Francisco 49ers- Patrick Paul OT Houston 64. Kansas City Chiefs- Malachi Corley WR Western Kentucky

Here is my official version 1.0 on a first round Mock. I am going to try and find the time to make a 2 rounder at some point as well. Since I am not there yet, I did add what I believe the Bills first pick in the 2nd round will be in the notes below since in this mock I have the Bills trading back a little bit. Chicago - Caleb Williams, QB, USC: No brainer here, everything points to this being their guy. Washington - Drake Maye, QB, UNC: I have believed him to be the pick over Jayden Daniels, and I have someone I trust who has insight who tells me that which QB is still unsettled and that there are supporters for both Maye and Daniels and he thinks its going to fall Maye when its all said and done. New England - Marvin Harrison, Jr: With Washington taking Maye, I think NE opts to take what many see as the best player in this draft. *TRADE* - Minnesota (via Arizona): Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU: Minnesota sends their 2 first round picks to AZ to move up and get their QB. Chargers - Malik Nabers, WR, LSU: Having lost their top 2 WR's, they add an elite weapon for Herbert, especially with last years first round WR not looking the part yet. NY Giants - JJ McCarthy, QB, Michigan: Having a QB sitting here that can at least push or challenge Jones is too tempting to pass up for the Giants, although it was hard to pass on Odunze. Titans - Joe Alt, OT, Notre Dame: Having the best OT in this draft fall in their lap here is a gift they sprint to the podium to select. Atlanta - Jared Verse, EDGE, Florida St: While I think Atlanta is going to get some calls for this pick, and trading down is tempting, but the chance to add the best pass rusher in the draft is too tempting and we go ahead and stick with the pick. Chicago - Dallas Turner, EDGE, Alabama: While I know Odunze is a popular pick here, he is also more of a luxury pick for a team with a long term WR1 already in DJ Moore and they can find a great compliment to him to replace Keenan Allen in the next year or 2 later in this draft with how deep WR is. Chicago instead looks to bolster their pass rush with adding Turner at 9. With 4 QB's off the board already, the trade up interest here was lighter than expected and they decide to make their pick. NY Jets - Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia: While someone like Odunze is tempting here, Jets already have a WR1 and look to add what is maybe the biggest mismatch creator of any player in this draft and without question the best TE prospect to come out in over a decade. Arizona (VIA TRADE from Vikings) - Rome Odunze, WR, Washington: Cardinals are ecstatic to have moved back and landed extra picks and still get one of the best WR's in this draft who would quite frankly be the top WR in most drafts. They still get their new weapon for Murray and extra draft ammo to boot. Broncos - Michael Penix Jr, QB, Washington: With a glaring hole at QB and the largest dead cap hit in history, Broncos look to reset here and bring in Penix. Raiders - Quinyon Mitchell, CB, Toledo: Draft falls great for Raiders where they have their pick of a top OT or the first CB off the board. With depth at OL in this draft, they opt to take top rated CB in the draft. Saints - Olu Fashanu, OT, Penn St: With big needs at OT, Saints also have the draft fall well and are able to take the 2nd best OT prospect in the draft. Colts - Terrion Arnold, CB, Alabama: Colts need a lot of secondary help both at Safety and CB. With no safeties worthy of this early of a selection, Arnold comes off the board to help bolster their secondary. Seattle - Byron Murphy, DL, Texas: I had originally thought maybe this could be a home for Penix, but I think Denver jumps first. Seattle needs major help on the DL and they make the move here to bolster that unit with someone who can get off the ball and shoot gaps. Jaguars - Brian Thomas Jr, WR, LSU: My heart wants to write *TRADE* here and input Buffalo Bills name, just like I wanted to above for Odunze when he got past Chicago (but can't see Jets trading him to us, nor can I see AZ passing on him at 11 the way the draft fell). But, they need in the worst way to find out of Football Jesus is really the guy they thought he was when they drafted him. They need a WR1 bad, and BTJ is too good to pass up here and they rebuff trade offers and get Lawerence a Ridley replacement. Bengals - Troy Fautanu, OL, Washington: They have to find a way to keep Burrow on his feet and healthy and are fortunate this a great OT draft early and land one of the best ones in the draft here at 18. LA Rams - Cooper DeJean, CB, Rams: I know a lot of people assume they look at DT here, and Newton was tempting, but the Rams biggest 2 needs on defense are IMHO at CB and Edge. I had home town Latu penciled in here, but with concern about his medicals potentially affecting his stock, I think they opt for the swiss army knife himself with Cooper, and they know a thing or two about "Coopers" in LA. Pittsburgh - Jackson Powers-Johnson, IOL, Oregon: Steelers need a Center and here is there chance to add the best IOL prospect in the draft who can potentially come in and shore up that C position for years to come. Miami - Jer'Zhan Newton, DL, Illinois: With big needs at IOL and DL, they have a lot of options here. But when one of the best DL drop here he is too good to pass up given the guys on their roster now are nothing more than role players. Eagles - Nate Wiggins, CB, Clemson: Eagles need help in a big way at CB, and I think one way or another, Eagles will be going CB here in the draft. Arizona (VIA TRADE from Vikings): Laiatu Latu, EDGE, UCLA: Having now 3 first round picks, AZ has the ammo to take the gamble on the concerns on medicals and take one of the best pass rushers in the draft. Dallas - Xavier Worthy, WR, Texas: The smart move here would be to go OL, and its what I would do if I was the GM. However, Jerry Jones can't help himself here and falls in love with elite speed in that dome opposite Lamb and makes the surprise pick of the first round thus far. Packers - Kool-Aid McKinstry, CB, Alabama: With the trade of Douglas to the Bills, GB looks to the draft to find its next CB opposite Jaire. Tampa - Chop Robinson, EDGE, Penn St: Bucs considered IOL here, but the value of IOL vs DL later is greater and make the move to bolster their pass rush now. *TRADE* Chiefs (Via Arizona): Amarius Mims, OT, Georgia: Chiefs can't risk waiting on this guy to get any closer to them and make the move to go get him. *TRADE* Commanders (Via Buffalo): JC Latham, OL, Alabama: Buffalo was tempted to take a WR here, however, Beane gets an offer to move back and pick up a 3rd rounder we are lacking so Commanders can come get some help to protect their new QB Maye. (BUFFALO sends pick 28 for picks 36 and 78) Detroit - AD Mitchell, WR, Texas: Lions benefiting from the Bills trade back land yet another weapon in what could be the most explosive offense in the NFC next year and for years to come. Ravens - Ja'Lynn Polk, WR, Washington: A guy not being talked about enough goes here to the Ravens who look to add a playmaking WR who has the best ball skills outside of his college teammate Odunze in the draft giving Lamar their guy with a big catch radius who also plays physical and may be the best run blocking WR in the draft as well. 49ers - Taliese Fuaga, OT, Oregon St: Trent Williams is about to be 36 and their RT was a mixed bag last year, so they look to the future here knowing they need 2 new OT's sooner rather than later. Arizona (Via Cheifs) - Graham Barton, IOL, Duke: Another trade down plays right into the hands of AZ where they land IOL help that can come in and compete to start and is versatile to play guard or tackle. NOTES: I have Buffalo trading back even with Adonai Mitchell on the board, not because I want them to (I think I would prefer to take Mitchell there), but because I think there is some real smoke to the Bills being very high on Troy Franklin. This trade back here I have Buffalo landing TROY FRANKLIN, WR, OREGON at pick 36 while adding a 3rd rounder with pick 78. And between picks 60 and now 78 I think the Bills could add potentially a Pass Rusher and a Safety (or vice versa), including being aggressive to move up from one of those spots using some of the extra ammo we have if someone they covet is there. Surprises: I think the 3 biggest surprises of the this mock are: Dallas taking Worthy over the OL help they need. Just feels like such a Jerry Jones thing to do though. Buffalo passing on Mitchell to trade back. I think many feel if Mitchell is on the board he would be our pick. Ja'Lynn Polk sneaking in first round. I think most have him as a round 2 guy, but he fits so well the Ravens offense. His combo of size, catch radius and blocking really complement the Ravens offense and I do think he is a great fit there.

With the 43rd pick in the 2024 NFL draft, the Arizona “Draft Crushing” Cardinals (via trade with Atlanta) select: Chris Braswell, Edge/LB, Alabama CLICK HERE FOR HIGHLIGHTS Having 5 picks in round 3, we are thrilled about trading 2 of them to move up to get someone with his kind of speed to power ratio and with the kind of pass rush first step that’s like a gun shot and keeps offensive lineman up at night. Not only does he bolster our pass rush, but he brings the athleticism and fluidity to drop into coverage and run with those TE’s. We are confident our defensive staff can continue to coach him up and develop his pass rush techniques to be able to wreak havoc at the next level. Draft Recap: TRADES #4 - Trade 4, 138, 162 for 6, 70, 107 #27 - Trade 27 for 32 and 95 Cardinals still have a 2nd at pick 35 and now have 5 picks in the 3rd plus 2 more in the 4th to go with a couple late picks. #43 - We acquire 43 for picks 66 and 71. #6 - ROME ODUNZE, WR, WASHINGTON #32 - NATE WIGGINS, CB, CLEMSON #35 - DARIUS ROBINSON, DT, MISSOURI #43 - CHRIS BRASWELL, LB/EDGE ALABAMA If we were done here, this would be an A+++...but we are still sitting on three 3rd round picks and 2 more in the 4th to bolster more of our offense as well, such as another WR, IOL or RB. Who knows, maybe we see each other again before the rounds over @CNYfanand the Las Vegas Raiders are now on the clock.