Well, the James and Travis mock drafts find us in a very strange and different situation than last year but the one thing that still reigns true is that we both almost got as many picks right last year as Kiper and McShay did in their mock drafts. While we used to have aspirations of being draft experts on TV it seems this year won't be the year but our maybe our goal was too low as Travis and I will be drafting like real general managers this year as we will both be drafting from our couches just like the real general managers. Maybe this is our year to prove our value to a NFL team because we both have a lot of experience making draft picks from our couch as we are veteran fantasy football general managers, I mean we couldn't do worse than some have done in year's past. In all honesty though we wanted to keep up our yearly mock drafts to give everyone something fun to read while we’re all quarantined and looking forward to the end of this virus. So without any further ado, here is the Quarantine 2020 Mock Draft and since I had a little extra time it also includes a second round but the descriptions are cut way down, as in none at all. Round 1 1. Cincinnati – Joe Burrows, QB, LSU SHOCKED!! I know this one just shocked you all because no one saw this being my first overall pick or maybe you just said “duh!” of course. Honestly it just seems like too obvious of a choice with him being from Ohio and I’m not going to worry about explaining this one past that. 2. Washington – Tua Tagovailoa, QB, Alabama NOW YOU ARE SHOCKED!! I know right now if Travis is reading this he just threw his phone against the wall. It’s not the obvious pick here and I honestly think it could not be the Redskins taking him but I do believe he goes at this pick. Just one year ago he was the sure fire number one pick and there are a lot of teams needing quarterbacks including the Redskins. If he stays in Washington I can see it being a good fit for them because Ron Rivera will want his own quarterback and who better to select than a guy Tua who ran a similar offense at Alabama. It could be a gamble to draft a quarterback again but who better to take that gamble than Riverboat Ron himself. 3. Detroit – Chase Young, DE, Ohio St The Lions are the biggest fan of the Redskins pick as they pick up the person many believe is the best player in the draft. The Lions offense is pretty solid when healthy so Patricia being a defensive guy is thrilled when he gets a pass rusher that can terrorize quarterbacks in the NFC North for the next decade especially with passers like Rodgers and Cousins being on the other side of the ball four games out of the year. 4. NY Giants – Mekhi Becton, OT, Louisville The Giants need to find someone to protect Daniel Jones unless they want to see a David Carr like scenario in Houston play out before them in New York. Dave Gettleman believes in having a strong offensive line and seeing his quarterback get hit constantly can’t sit well with him so while it may be a reach he gets who many consider the best tackle in the draft to protect his franchise quarterback for the next decade. 5. Miami – Justin Herbert, QB, Oregon Miami finds their quarterback of the future even though it’s not the quarterback they had originally planned on it being. With the top two quarterbacks gone off the board the Dolphins grab Herbert who brings a strong arm and mobility to the Miami offense and keep intact their picks to help build around Herbert going into the 2020 season. 6. LA Chargers – Jordon Love, QB, Utah St The Chargers have to find their replacement for Phillip Rivers because you don’t let an All-Pro quarterback leave just to go with a journeyman quarterback. Love has been rising up the boards and some experts believe he may have more upside than most of the quarterbacks in the draft. With the possibility of Taylor or even Cam Newton starting next year at quarterback it will give Love plenty of time to get acclimated to the NFL before taking over late in 2020 or to start the 2021 season. 7. Carolina – Isaiah Simmons, LB, Clemson When Luke Kuechly retired at the end of last season it was a shocker to everyone in the NFL and to the Panthers organization as well. With Simmons the Panthers pick up probably the most athletic defensive player in the draft and will be a great tool for the new Carolina defense. Dave Tepper comes from Pittsburgh who built around solid defensive players and they get just that with Simmons along with a great leader to replace Kuechly on that side of the ball. 8. Arizona – Tristan Wirfs, OT, Iowa The Cardinals need to find some help to protect Kyler Murray and find that with Wirfs as he will give Murray plenty of time to find DeAndre Hopkins and Larry Fitzgerald downfield along with helping pave the way for Kenyan Drake and Murray running out of the backfield. Arizona’s offense could really be something to watch this season. 9. Jacksonville – Jeff Okudah, CB, Ohio St After trading Jalen Ramsey to the Rams the Jaguars have never really been able to fill that whole on the defense and with Okudah they get the best defensive back in the draft to fall into their lap. With the run of quarterbacks early in the draft it causes one of the best players in the draft to fall farther than some thought but it’s a welcome sight for Jacksonville. 10. Cleveland – Andrew Thomas, OT, Georgia It is rare in recent drafts for the Browns to have a clear need but that’s the case this year and my friend Jed is thrilled to finally read those words. The Browns need to find an answer at left tackle because they haven’t been able to find a replacement since Joe Thomas retired. With Thomas they get just that and find someone to protect Baker Mayfield and run block for Nick Chubb, another former Bulldog now calling Cleveland home. 11. NY Jets – Jerry Jeudy, WR, Alabama When Robby Anderson left for Carolina it took away a key weapon for Sam Darnold and the Jets will have to find a way to replace him in their offense. Jeudy is a very similar wide receiver to Julio Jones and should be able to team with Darnold to give the Jets a strong combo for the next decade or so. 12. Las Vegas – CeeDee Lamb, WR, Oklahoma With this pick the Raiders add another weapon for Derek Carr to pair with Hunter Renfrow and Darren Waller. Lamb is an exciting player who averaged over twenty yards per reception and brings that flash to Vegas as the Raiders settle into their new home next season. 13. San Francisco f/IND – Henry Ruggs III, WR, Alabama After falling just short in the Super Bowl the Niners find another weapon to add to Kyle Shannahan’s playbook. Ruggs adds some more speed at the wide receiver position and gives defenses a matchup nightmare against San Francisco when lined up on the field at the same time with Deebo Samuel. 14. Tampa Bay – Josh Jones, OL, Houston Last season Jameis Winston was sacked A LOT which probably played into him throwing thirty interceptions. While Tom Brady is a legendary quarterback and a key pickup for the Buccaneers they are going to need to find someone to protect him as Jones is just the player to do that. If Jones can give Brady time to find the numerous receivers for Tampa Bay they could be doing some celebrating come February in the bay area. 15. Denver – Tee Higgins, WR, Clemson With a young quarterback with a strong over taking over the reins of the Broncos offense last season and going 5-0 to end the season Denver has to be wanting to add some weapons around him. With Phillip Lindsay and Melvin Gordon in the backfield and Noah Fant at the tight end position it’s going to be key to add a tall target to aim at in the red zone and that’s where Higgins enters stage right. Higgins was a key contributor in Clemson’s offense and will be that same type player for Denver next season. 16. Atlanta – Derrick Brown, DT, Auburn The Falcons saw Vic Beasley leave town and are in need of an upgrade on the defensive line and a combination of Brown and Grady Jarrett on the inside of the defensive line would make it tough for opposing defenses to run the ball. Atlanta lucks up by having one of the strongest players in the draft fall to them here because some people seemed to have concerns from his combine performance. 17. Dallas – K’Lavon Chaisson, DE, LSU Dallas adds some help to their defensive line giving them a young pass rusher off a championship team at LSU. In what has been a weak division the last few seasons a pass rusher like Chaisson could be the difference maker in getting the Cowboys to the playoffs in the 2020 season. 18. Miami f/PIT – Jonathan Taylor, RB, Wisconsin During free agency the Dolphins added Jordan Howard at the running back position but they’re going to need another running back to help them take pressure off of Herbert. Also, when the best running back in the draft is sitting there and you have three first round picks you have the ability to take a chance on what Taylor may become in the NFL. A combination of Taylor and Howard would be a pretty good one-two punch to bring into what looks to be a competitive AFC East. 19. Las Vegas f/CHI – AJ Terrell, CB, Clemson Jon Gruden it seems has been a big fan of college football the last few years and he must have watched Clemson play a good bit as he has added many Tigers off their pretty impressive run the last few years. While Terrell had one bad game against LSU last year (not many people had good games against their offense) he has been a pretty reliable player the last three years including a great game against Alabama last year. Gruden goes back to the Clemson well looking for another steal at the twenty-ninth pick and he’ll either look like a genius or the insane person Travis acts like he is in his mock draft. 20. Jacksonville f/LAR – Javon Kinlaw, DT, South Carolina The Jaguars added Okuah at the ninth pick and add to their defensive depth by getting Kinlaw here at the twentieth pick. Kinlaw is a tough player to judge as at times he looked unblockable and then at times you forgot he was on the field. Jacksonville will hope that the first player is the one that shows up and helps solidify the Jaguars defense against a strong AFC South. 21. Philadelphia – Justin Jefferson, WR, LSU When the end of the season came around last year the Eagles lack of depth at wide receiver was apparent. Jefferson had an impressive game in the national championship and will give Carson Wentz another reliable target while giving the Eagles depth at a much needed position. 22. Minnesota f/BUF – Kristian Fulton, CB, LSU This offseason has been a tough one for the Vikings secondary and they will look to replenish their losses at secondary with the lead cornerback off a LSU defense that held a strong Clemson offense in check for most of the national championship game. Fulton will be a very welcome sight to the Vikings defense. 23. New England – Kenneth Murray, LB, Oklahoma Belichek is without Tom Brady for the first time in years but I don’t think he’s going to panic to find a new quarterback and instead just build his team like he always does, with defense. Murray is an impressive linebacker out of a conference not known for playing a lot of defense and it just seems like a Patriot’s type pick. 24. New Orleans – CJ Henderson, CB, Florida In a division that has the look of the Big 12 when it comes to offensive firepower every team is going to need some extra help in the secondary. Henderson comes from a strong defense in the SEC and will be ready to step up when his number is called upon next year against some tough competition. 25. Minnesota – Trevon Diggs, CB, Alabama Just a few picks later the Vikings continue to add more pieces to their secondary by getting another strong defensive back in Diggs. 26.Miami f/HOU – Xavier McKinney, S, Alabama The Dolphins add to their secondary and use their third first round pick of the 2020 draft to add depth to their defense as they continue to look to fill in pieces that go along with their signings during free agency. McKinney was a key piece of the Alabama secondary over the last three seasons. 27. Seattle – AJ Epenesa, DE, Iowa With Jadeveon Clowney possibly heading elsewhere in free agency the Seahawks will have to look to add to their pass rush and they get a steal as Epenesa falls to them here at the twenty-seventh pick. Epenesa was a bright spot on the Hawkeyes defensive line last year and should be a key addition to the Seahawks defense this year. 28. Baltimore – Cesar Ruiz, OG, Michigan When you need to make additions to your offensive line and you’re not really able to do a lot of scouting in person, you go with someone you trust like your brother who was Ruiz’s college coach. The Ravens want to add some strength to their offensive line and Ruiz fits just the type of player that they are looking to put on their team. 29. Tennessee – Austin Jackson, T, USC After an amazing run in the playoffs last season the Titans were bound to lose some players and one of those was tackle Jack Conklin. They will need to look at replacing him and they find Jackson who may not completely replace him but will be a quality replacement. 30. Green Bay – Denzel Mims, WR, Baylor Aaron Rodgers always seems to make whatever wide receivers he has work but it’s time for the Packers to invest in another option for Rodgers and that is Mims. Mims brings an explosive dynamic to the Green Bay offense and at 6’3” a nice target for Rodgers in the redzone. 31. San Francisco – JK Dobbins, RB, Ohio St Dobbins brings a tough running back to the 49ers offense who impressed many in the playoff game against Clemson before getting injured. Adding the lightning to the team earlier in the draft they add the thunder here and find a player that will help San Francisco control their ground game. 32. Kansas City – D’Andre Swift, RB, Georgia The Super Bowl champions add another playmaker to their offense that took them to a championship last season. Swift comes from a long line of strong running backs from Georgia and hopes to carry that success into next season. Round 2 33. Cincinnati – Patrick Queen, LB, LSU
34. Indianapolis f/WAS –Laviska Shenault Jr, WR, Colorado 35. Detroit – Neville Gallimore, DT, Oklahoma 36. NY Giants – Ross Blacklock, DT, TCU 37. LA Chargers – Zack Baun, LB, Wisconsin 38. Carolina – Antoine Winfield Jr, S, Minnesota 39. Miami – Yetur Gross-Matos, DE, Penn St 40. Houston f/ARI – Marlon Davidson, DL, Auburn 41. Cleveland – Grant Delpit, S, LSU 42. Jacksonville – Ashtyn Davis, S, California 43. Chicago f/LV – Isaiah Wilson, OL, Georgia 44. Indianapolis – Jacob Eason, QB, Washington 45. Tampa Bay – Cam Akers, RB, Florida St 46. Denver – Jeff Gladney, CB, TCU 47. Atlanta – Noah Igbinoghene, CB, Auburn 48. NY Jets – Prince Tega Wanogho, OL, Auburn 49. Pittsburgh – Bryan Edwards, WR, South Carolina 50. Chicago – Bryce Hall, CB, Virginia 51. Dallas – Jaylon Johnson, CB, Utah 52. LA Rams – Julian Okwara, Edge, Notre Dame 53. Philadelphia – Damon Arnette, CB, Ohio St 54. Buffalo – Brandon Aiyuk, WR, Arizona St 55. Baltimore f/NE via ATL – Jalen Reagor, WR, TCU 56. Miami f/NO – Lloyd Cushenberry, OL, LSU 57. Houston – Terrell Lewis, Edge, Alabama 58. Minnesota – Kyle Dugger, S, Lenior-Rhyne 59. Seattle – KJ Hamler, WR, Penn St 60. Baltimore – Jordan Elliot, DL, Missouri 61. Tennessee – Troy Pride Jr, CB, Notre Dame 62. Green Bay – Akeem Davis-Gaither, LB, Appalachian St 63. Kansas City f/SF – Cameron Dentzler, CB, Mississippi St 64. Seattle f/KC – John Simpson, OL, Clemson
0 Comments
|
JamesBoiling Springs native, lover of sports and food. 15x SC Press Association Award Winner. I do some sports writing and radio every now and then. Archives
April 2020
Categories |