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The NFL Draft is quickly approaching, as we are just slightly over a week until we witness Roger Goodell turn college football stars into millionaires from the comfort of his own basement.
Former Alabama quarterback, wide receiver duo of Tua Tagovailoa and Jerry Jeudy were both perceived as top-five locks in the draft. Now, both players’ stocks seem to be taking a hit. See where each player comes off the board in our latest 2020 NFL Mock Draft.
Jump to: Round 1 Mock Continued (Picks 17-32)
2020 NFL Mock Draft (Picks 1-16)
- 1) Cincinnati Bengals
- Joe Burrow | QB | LSU
The Justin Herbert Cincinnati talk is heating up, but unless Miami decides to trade away the farm to the Bengals, the Ohio Kid Joe Burrow will be returning home.
- 2) Washington Redskins
- Chase Young | EDGE | Ohio State
Dwayne Haskins is set to be part of the team’s virtual draft party. Normally, I wouldn’t dig too deep into this kind of thing, but when you own the second overall pick, you mostly know how things will play out. If they planned on taking Tua or any quarterback for that matter, chances are Haskins wouldn’t have received an invite.
Rivera has also pointed towards the uncertain offseason leading to Kyle Allen potentially having “a leg up” on earning the starting job. This likely means that the ‘Skins will move forward with what they have at the QB position.
Chase Young is a home run draft pick, and teaming him up with Montez Sweat on the edge will give NFC East offensive tackles nightmares for years to come.
- 3) Miami Dolphins (Trade w/ DET)
- Justin Herbert | QB | Oregon
Concerned the Bolts will jump them, Miami trades up to ensure they grab their guy. And as of now, Herbert appears to be their guy. According to Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller, “there have been strong signals coming out of the team’s scouting department that they prefer quarterback Justin Herbert to Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa.”
- 4) New York Giants
- Isaiah Simmons | LB | Clemson
Giants GM Dave Gettleman spoke to the media earlier this week and seemed more concerned about filling his center void than the one on the right side of his offensive line. It’s clear there’s no center in play here, and New York appears “excited” about in-home talent Nick Gates moving forward.
Simmons is the top player on many boards. New York could use help at all three levels of their defense. Thankfully, they could improve all three levels with just one selection.
- 5) Detroit Lions (Trade w/ MIA)
- Jeff Okudah | CB | Ohio State
Detroit moves back a few selections, acquires some draft capital and snags a player they would have likely been ecstatic to draft at number three. The Lions brought in Desmond Trufant in free agency. However, Okudah should be able to step in day one and serve as the team’s top corner.
- 6) Los Angeles Chargers
- Tristan Wirfs | OT | Iowa
The first real shock of this mock, LA passes on Tua, instead opting to shore up their offensive line and fill the void left behind by the Russell Okung trade.
Spoiler alert: That doesn’t mean they’re out of the quarterback market in the first-round.
- 7) Carolina Panthers
- Derrick Brown | DL | Auburn
- The Panthers no longer have Luke Kuechly to do clean up duty at the second-level of their defense. In return, they must improve their defensive line.
Brown, the reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Year, is dominant in both the pass and run game. He would serve as an immediate upgrade over Stephen Weatherly, who is currently penciled in as the starter across from Kawaan Shorts and is fresh off a season in which he earned a meager 50.2 PFF grade.
- 8) Arizona Cardinals
- Jedrick Wills Jr. | OT | Alabama
I believe that should Derrick Brown fall to eight, Arizona would jump all over him. However, in this scenario, the Cardinals find protection for their franchise quarterback.
Wills is a guy who’s been all over the place in terms of stock these past few months. He’s extremely young (20-years old) with unlimited upside. His one downfall, like Wirfs, was that he played mostly on the right side in college. That’s something that won’t be an issue with Cards re-upping left tackle DJ Humphries this offseason.
- 9) Las Vegas Raiders (Trade w/ JAX)
- Tua Tagovailoa | QB | Alabama
Derek Carr is an underrated quarterback, evident by the fact that he currently owns the 15th-best completion percentage in NFL history. However, he’s also yet to appear in a playoff game throughout his career.
Sooner or later Jon Gruden will jump at the possibility of working with an early first-round quarterback, and as the Raiders roster continues to improve, this may be the last time for a while he will get that chance.
- 10) Cleveland Browns
- Mekhi Becton | OT | Louisville
The Browns added tackle Jack Conklin in free agency, but that still leaves a hole on the left side of their line.
Becton is a boom-or-bust prospect. The attributes are off the chart for the Louisville product. However, PFF has also gone on record calling him “potentially the biggest draft reach in recent memory.” With that said, if he hits, Cleveland finds their franchise left tackle.
- 11) New York Jets
- Andrew Thomas | OT | Georgia
From a talent perspective, CeeDee Lamb and Jerry Jeudy should likely be off the board by this point. The fact that the Jets would have the option of picking between both players is somewhat absurd. However, don’t be surprised if they pass on the wide receiver position altogether in the first-round.
Adam Gase has shown time and time again he does not value the wide receiver position, and while the Breshad Perriman signing shouldn’t leave the team content at the position, it likely allows them to look elsewhere with their first pick.
Just a few months ago Thomas was the sure-fire top player at his position. He may not be the sexy pick at offensive tackle, but he may very well simply be the best.
- 12) Jacksonville Jaguars (Trade w/ LV)
- CJ Henderson | CB | Florida
The Jags move back a few spots, collect draft capital and still land a top-two cornerback in the draft class by most accounts.
Henderson’s stock appears to be soaring at the moment. According to Peter King, he spoke to a GM that “bet 40 percent of the teams in the league have C.J. Henderson higher on their boards than Okudah. Better cover guy.'”
- 13) San Francisco 49ers (VIA IND)
- Henry Ruggs | WR | Alabama
Ruggs may not be the top receiver on our board, but the speedster seems to be enjoying a late rise in NFL circles reminiscent of Tavon Austin back in the day. It also helps that he’s the perfect fit for Kyle Shanahan’s offense. The loss of Emmanuel Sanders makes wide receiver an even more pressing need. A trio of pass-catchers consisting of Ruggs, Deebo Samuel, and George Kittle will allow San Fran to see what they truly have in Jimmy G.
- 14) Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Josh Jones | OT | Houston
This may seem early for Jones, but the moment Tom Brady signed with the Bucs this offseason, protecting the shoo-in Hall of Famer became goal number one in Tampa. The Bucs allowed the 10th-most sacks in football a season ago. Right tackle Demar Dotson will be a 34-year old and still remains unsigned. Jones actually ranks ahead of Mekhi Becton in our offensive tackle rankings.
- 15) Denver Broncos
- CeeDee Lamb | WR | Oklahoma
The Broncos may have something special in Drew Lock. However, as long as Tim Patrick is his second-best option at wide receiver, we won’t truly know.
Lamb has experience operating outside and in the slot. He has the ball skills of a DeAndre Hopkins and a run after the catch ability similar to a player half his size.
- 16) Philadelphia Eagles (Trade w/ ATL)
- Jerry Jeudy | WR | Alabama
With CJ Henderson off the board, Atlanta trades back, allowing Philly to move up and land arguably the top receiver in the class. Jeudy, one of the smoothest wideouts to come out of the draft in the past decade, has fallen victim to lacking the certain flash that Ruggs or Lamb possesses.
