first ever mock draft
My first ever mock draft. Well, it’s a pseudo-mock draft. This is part what I would do as the GM of each team and what might happen mock. I am going off of Daniel Jeremiah’s top 100 rankings. Without further adu.
1) Tennessee Titans: Cam Ward. My opinion for the past couple months is that Tennessee should trade out of this pick and try to get a Chicago Bears type haul. Trade with one of the teams that desperately need a QB. Swap firsts this year, grab a 2026 first and what ever other picks that you can squeeze out of them. Let Levis start one more year. He either figures it out, or you potentially have a couple of top ten picks in what will supposedly be a deeper QB class. If this year’s Cam Ward were to have been in last years draft, he’s a QB 7.
2) Cleveland Browns: Travis Hunter. If I was Cleveland, I’d take Abdul Carter. Myles Garrett and Abdul Carter wrecking havoc on opposing offenses…yes please. But, you can’t go wrong with Hunter here.
3) New York Giants: Abdul Carter. Combine Abdul Carter with Kayvon Thibodeaux and Brian Burns. Suddenly the Giants front four is scary.
4) New England Patriots: Armand Membou. The Patriots biggest need is on the Offensive Line. So why not take the better O-Lineman between Membou and Campbell? This pick will likely be Will Campbell. But I would take Membou.
5) Jacksonville Jaguars: Tyler Warren. Looking at the Jags depth chart, they don’t need a Defensive Lineman. They could use a pass catcher or an O-Lineman more. If you’re Jacksonville, maybe you take a hard look at Tyler Warren or Colston Loveland with this pick. While looking further at Jeremiah’s top 100, you can get DT help in the third round if you want to take one of the really good TE’s. Mason Graham is the likely pick here.
6) Las Vegas Raiders: Ashton Jeanty. The Raiders need a lot. I feel like they could use another OT, CB, LB, WR. In my scenario, if Mason Graham were to fall, you have to think about taking him. But, I would still take Jeanty. Pete Carroll would have to work miracles to get the Raiders to even sniff the playoffs in his first year. Jeanty helps with that.
7) New York Jets: Will Campbell. Offensive Line is the major need for them. Not only to protect Justin Fields, but the best way to utilize Fields is to have a run first offense.
8) Carolina Panthers: Mason Graham. OL, LB, and WR are needs for Carolina. Mason falling means that you snatch him up and don’t look back. Since Carolina’s second round pick goes to Chicago, they should consider trading back and adding more picks.
9) New Orleans Saints: Jalon Walker. Looking at the depth chart, I kind of chuckled. The Saints don’t have too bad of a roster. They are just in perpetual salary cap hell. And losing your high priced QB for an extended time doesn’t help matters. I gave them Jalon Walker because at some point you have to think about replacing Cam Jordan. Also, he is fifth on Jeremiah’s top 100. Best player available at this point.
10) Chicago Bears: Colston Loveland. They could still use an edge rusher or some more depth at OL. The good thing about the Bears free agency spree is that they can take BPA.
11) San Francisco 49ers: Jihaad Campbell. The 9er’s suddenly find themselves needing a lot of help. Campbell is listed as a LB but was recruited to be an Edge Rusher. If he can continue to develop as a LB, nice get for SF.
12) Dallas Cowboys: Matthew Golden. The Dallas depth chart isn’t too bad. They could use another player on the OL. Receiver is a big need for them. I went back and forth between Golden and McMillan with Golden winning out. Of course, this is Dallas and you can expect Jerry Jones to do something dumb at some point in the draft.
13) Miami Dolphins: Kelvin Banks Jr. They need help in the trenches on both sides of the ball. With the retirement of Terron Armstead they need to protect Tua at all costs. Even though Zach Wilson got a raw deal in New York, if he has to come in due to a Tua injury, Miami is gonna be hurt. It would be better for Miami to trade back though and take Banks Jr. or one of the other offensive linemen later.
14) Indianapolis Colts: Jahdae Barron. The Colts really don’t have too bad of a team. Outside of QB of course. so they can go best player available.
15) Atlanta Falcons: Mike Green. The Falcons biggest weakness is an almost non-existent pass rush. Take the best one left.
16) Arizona Cardinals: Tyler Booker. They could use help on the O-Line because this is likely a make or break year for Kyler Murray.
17) Cincinnati Bengals: Mykel Williams. The Bengals could use help all along the defense but they need to generate a better pass rush. Especially since the best pass rusher they have, Trey Hendrickson, asked to be traded.
18) Seattle Seahawks: Nick Emmanwori. Seattle actually has a pretty good team. Not a lot of holes although, Sam Darnold needs to play like he did for Minnesota the first 16 games and not his last two.
19) Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Tetairoa McMillan. Get a tall WR that can learn from Mike Evans for a year or two.
20) Denver Broncos: Omarion Hampton Funny that a pick this late is a foregone conclusion but it seems like fate that this will happen.
21) Pittsburgh Steelers: Shemar Stewart. I would absolutely not take Sanders here. I’d rather roll with Mason Rudolph. In my opinion, if Sanders goes at any point in the first two rounds, it’s a wasted pick. That being said, the best player available at this point is a CB. The Steelers don’t need a corner so they go edge rusher to help compliment TJ Watt.
22) Los Angeles Chargers: Will Johnson. The Chargers though, could use a corner.
23) Green Bay Packers: Emeka Egbuka. There is a question as to whether Jaire Alexander will be with the team next season. They will have to grab his replacement in the second round. They’ve needed WR forever though.
24) Minnesota Vikings: Malaki Starks. What’s more important; OL or the potential replacement for Harrison Smith? If you feel like the starters you have now on the O-Line are going to be good enough, get a high quality player that can be a replacement for your AP safety. They could move back and pick up more picks also.
25) Houston Texans: Grey Zabel. Perfect scenario for Houston since they traded 2/5ths of their Offensive Linemen.
26) Los Angeles Rams: Will Johnson. He slides a bit but the teams in front of the Rams didn’t need a corner.
27) Baltimore Ravens: Kenneth Grant. Who’s more perfect for the Baltimore style of play than a massive DT?
28) Detroit Lions: Derrick Harmon. BPA. A DT that gives them even more solid depth up front.
29) Washington Commanders: Mason Taylor. One of the only things that Washington is missing is a better TE. He can learn from Zach Ertz.
30) Kansas City Chiefs: Walter Nolan. The Chiefs need an offensive lineman in the worst way. This pick is just BPA because according to Jeremiah’s rankings, O-Line is further down. Not much of a reach but ideally the Chiefs would trade back and take OL in the early second round.
31) Philadelphia Eagles: Donovan Ezeiruaku. The best team in the country just goes BPA and gets another pass rusher.
This was a fun exercise. I don’t think that I am remotely close. And like I said, this is more of a what would I do kind of thing. And again, I am using Daniel Jeremiah’s prospect rankings. I did not use a mock draft for this exercise. Enjoy the NFL Draft everybody.