The A stands for April. Or Awesome. Or Asshole. Whatever.
Mock draft time! And it’s three glorious rounds of (probably) incorrect picks. Lovin’ it! Let’s go!
First Round
| 1 | Chicago | Caleb Williams, QB (USC) |
| 2 | Washington | Drake Maye, QB (North Carolina) |
| 3 | New England | Jayden Daniels, QB (LSU) |
| 4 | Arizona | Marvin Harrison Jr., WR (Ohio State) |
| 5 | LA Chargers | Quinyon Mitchell, CB (Toledo) |
| 6 | NY Giants | Dallas Turner, EDGE (Alabama) |
| 7 | Tennessee | Olu Fashanu, OT (Penn State) |
| 8 | Atlanta | Malik Nabers, WR (LSU) |
| 9 | Chicago | Rome Odunze, WR (Washington) |
| 10 | NY Jets | Joe Alt, OT (Notre Dame) |
| 11 | Minnesota | Laiatu Latu, DE (UCLA) |
| 12 | Denver | Terrion Arnold, CB (Alabama) |
| 13 | Las Vegas | Nate Wiggins, CB (Clemson) |
| 14 | New Orleans | Jared Verse, DE (Florida State) |
| 15 | Indianapolis | Brian Thomas Jr., WR (LSU) |
| 16 | Seattle | J.J. McCarthy, QB (LSU) |
| 17 | Jacksonville | Jackson Powers-Johnson, OG (Oregon) |
| 18 | Cincinnati | Brock Bowers, TE (Georgia) |
| 19 | LA Rams | Bo Nix, QB (Oregon) |
| 20 | Pittsburgh | Troy Fautanu, OG (Washington) |
| 21 | Miami | Cooper DeJean, S (Iowa) |
| 22 | Philadelphia | Adonai Mitchell, WR (Texas) |
| 23 | Minnesota | Chop Robinson, EDGE (Penn State) |
| 24 | Dallas | Taliese Fuaga, OT (Oregon State) |
| 25 | Green Bay | J.C. Latham, OT (Alabama) |
| 26 | Tampa Bay | Xavier Worthy, WR (Texas) |
| 27 | Arizona | Kool-Aid McKinstry, CB (Alabama) |
| 28 | Buffalo | Jer’Zhan Newton, DT (Illinois) |
| 29 | Detroit | Byron Murphy II, DT (Texas) |
| 30 | Baltimore | Kamari Lassiter, CB (Georgia) |
| 31 | San Francisco | Amarius Mims, OT (Georgia) |
| 32 | Kansas City | Tyler Guyton, OT (Oklahoma) |
Second Round
| 33 | Carolina | Zach Frazier, C (West Virginia) |
| 34 | New England | Jordan Morgan, OT (Arizona) |
| 35 | Arizona | Darius Robinson, EDGE (Minnesota) |
| 36 | Washington | Xavier Legette, WR (South Carolina) |
| 37 | LA Chargers | Michael Hall Jr., DT (Ohio State) |
| 38 | Tennessee | T.J. Tampa, CB (Iowa State) |
| 39 | Carolina | Keon Coleman, WR (Florida State) |
| 40 | Washington | Graham Barton, OG (Duke) |
| 41 | Green Bay | Tyler Nubin, S (Minnesota) |
| 42 | Houston | Chris Braswell, EDGE (Alabama) |
| 43 | Atlanta | Michael Penix Jr., QB (Washington) |
| 44 | Las Vegas | Kingsley Suamataia, OT (BYU) |
| 45 | New Orleans | Ladd McConkey, WR (Georgia) |
| 46 | Indianapolis | Kamren Kinchens, S (Miami) |
| 47 | NY Giants | Ennis Rakestraw Jr., CB (Missouri) |
| 48 | Jacksonville | Patrick Paul, OT (Houston) |
| 49 | Cincinnati | Troy Franklin, WR (Oregon) |
| 50 | Philadelphia | Edgerrin Cooper, LB (Texas A&M) |
| 51 | Pittsburgh | T’Vondre Sweat, DT (Texas) |
| 52 | LA Rams | Bralen Trice, EDGE (Washington) |
| 53 | Philadelphia | Marshawn Kneeland, EDGE (Western Michigan) |
| 54 | Cleveland | Ruke Orhorhoro, DT (Clemson) |
| 55 | Miami | Ja’Lynn Polk, WR (Washington) |
| 56 | Dallas | Trey Benson, RB (Florida State) |
| 57 | Tampa Bay | Adisa Isaac, EDGE (Penn State) |
| 58 | Green Bay | Cooper Beebe, OG (Kansas State) |
| 59 | Houston | Malachi Corley, WR (WKU) |
| 60 | Buffalo | Max Melton, CB (Rutgers) |
| 61 | Detroit | Christian Haynes, OG (UConn) |
| 62 | Baltimore | Roman Wilson, WR (Michigan) |
| 63 | San Francisco | Brandon Dorius, EDGE (Oregon) |
| 64 | Kansas City | Jalen McMillan, WR (Washington) |
Third Round
| 65 | Carolina | Cedric Gray, LB (North Carolina) |
| 66 | Arizona | Sedrick Van Pran, C (Georgia) |
| 67 | Washington | Payton Wilson, LB (NC State) |
| 68 | New England | Ricky Pearsall, WR (Florida) |
| 69 | LA Chargers | Ben Sinnott, TE (Kansas State) |
| 70 | NY Giants | Kris Jenkins, DT (Michigan) |
| 71 | Arizona | Leonard Taylor III, DT (Miami) |
| 72 | NY Jets | Devontez Walker, WR (North Carolina) |
| 73 | Detroit | Caelan Carson, CB (Wake Forest) |
| 74 | Atlanta | Cam Hart, CB (Notre Dame) |
| 75 | Chicago | Ja’Tavion Sanders, TE (Texas) |
| 76 | Denver | Javon Bullard, CB (Georgia) |
| 77 | Las Vegas | Jonathon Brooks, RB (Texas) |
| 78 | Washington | Austin Booker, DE (Kansas) |
| 79 | Atlanta | Braden Fiske, DT (Florida State) |
| 80 | Cincinnati | Kiran Amedagije, OT (Yale) |
| 81 | Seattle | Christian Mahogany, OG (Boston College) |
| 82 | Indianapolis | Mike Sainristil, CB (Michigan) |
| 83 | LA Rams | D.J. James, CB (Auburn) |
| 84 | Pittsburgh | Roger Rosengarten, OT (Washington) |
| 85 | Cleveland | Junior Colson, LB (Michigan) |
| 86 | Houston | Kris Abrams-Draine, CB (Missouri) |
| 87 | Dallas | Renardo Green, CB (Florida State) |
| 88 | Green Bay | Khyree Jackson, CB (Oregon) |
| 89 | Tampa Bay | Beau Brade, S (Maryland) |
| 90 | Arizona | Andru Phillips, CB (Kentucky) |
| 91 | Green Bay | Jalyx Hunt, EDGE (Houston Christian) |
| 92 | Tampa Bay | Dominick Puni, OG (Kansas) |
| 93 | Baltimore | McKinnley Jackson, DT (Texas A&M) |
| 94 | Kansas City | Braelon Allen, RB (Wisconsin) |
| 95 | San Francisco | Kalen King, CB (Penn State) |
| 96 | Jacksonville | Johnny Wilson, WR (Florida State) |
| 97 | Cincinnati | Josh Newton, CB (TCU) |
| 98 | Pittsburgh | Jeremiah Trotter Jr., LB (Clemson) |
| 99 | LA Rams | Calen Bullock, S (USC) |
| 100 | Washington | James Williams, S (Miami) |
The top few picks seem set in stone. Maybe on in that specific order but those top four will, most likely, be the top four come draft night. As for some of the other picks, man there were some huge drops. Like Kris Jenkins. Only a few weeks ago, a fair amount of mocks had him in the first round. I don’t think he’s even being considered as a first rounder anymore. Almost the same with Byron Murphy II. I had him going fifth to the Chargers which may have been a bit high in retrospect. But for him to drop to almost completely out of the first round is an alarming drop. Sometimes it’s fairly easy to find out what has happened to lower a potential draftee’s stock and sometimes…well, sometimes who the hell knows. It just happens.
Potential Draft Day Trades
OK so these would include trades coming up toward the draft as well, not just the ones on draft opening night. And no, I can’t see the Bears or the Commanders trading their picks so let’s start with the #3 pick.
New England (#3) – Chances of the Patriots trading this pick are slim but considering the haul that some teams have received for a top 3 pick in NFL history, the right package might come along to entice them to trade down. I have a feeling it would take at least two first-rounders, two second-rounders, and at least one other pick.
NY Giants (#6) – Probably the highest pick with true potential to be dealt is the Giants at #6. The Giants desperately need help on both lines but there are a few options available meaning they could trade down a few spots and still get one of the guys they covet. A first-round pick swap would have to happen and the team trading with the G-Men couldn’t be far below the #16 spot for this to work. Other picks would come the Giants way as well.
Tennessee (#7) – This becomes a possibility if the Patriots trade down. The reason is, one of Drake Maye or Jayden Daniels would be available and there are a few teams that would love to trade up to get one of the two. That includes the Falcons, Vikings, Broncos and Raiders. Knowing that, the Titans could get a larger pick haul than the Giants even though the pick would be later.
NY Jets (#10) – The Jets are hoping that Aaron Rodgers will be healthy this year. And to help with that, they want an offensive lineman desperately. The hope is that one of Olu Fashanu or Joe Alt fall to them. If neither of them are available, I would fully expect the Jets to shop the pick and they could drop a fair way if they wanted to.
The Vikings feel like the most likely pick to move up since, for some reason, many are saying they really want J.J. McCarthy. I think it would be crazy to trade up because I think McCarthy, at least at this point, would be available to the Vikings at #11. Maybe I’m wrong with that. They would most likely just trade picks but they have one bargaining chip that some teams might not be able to ignore: Justin Jefferson. If the Vikings can’t extend Double J, then they might include him in a trade to see what they could get. Arizona would be a trading partner if (and only if) this was a possibility.
In non-draft news, the UFL has commenced their season. Not exactly a ton of fans for a couple of these games but some wacky shit happened. Jake Bates hit a 64-yard field goal to help his Michigan Stags beat St. Louis. Funny enough, it was on the same uprights that Justin Tucker kicked his NFL-record 67-yarder to beat the Lions a couple years ago. Then you had San Antonio punter Brad Wing throwing a 40-yard touchdown pass on 4th and 11 to the team’s centre Alex Mollette. So at least it’s entertaining, you have to give it that. And it’s football. A tiny appetizer before the CFL, then college football, then NFL season starts. So embrace it. Or don’t. I don’t care. I realize March Madness was on this past weekend so I can see why people might not watch.
OK I will do one more mock draft closer to actual draft day (which starts April 25th). And even then, most of my picks will be wrong. At least I can take solace in the fact that I will have close to the same record as the so-called experts have.
The college schedule is coming into form. It’s kind of tough with the changes coming up this season so for good parts of the schedule I have nothing to compare it to. So we shall see how that goes when I start doing my most important game posts. Anyway, I hope you all had a great Easter long weekend and have a great first week of April.