The draftniks are huddled in Mobile, Alabama this week for the Senior Bowl, grinding out practices and watching tons of future NFL players put on a show. You should be following our own Ryan Wilson (@RyanWilsonCBS) and Chris Trapasso (@ChrisTrapasso), both of whom are on site checking out the players involved in the Reese's party.
Their departure leaves me in charge of the mock draft situation around here, which means it's time for a TRADE. Specifically a quarterback trade, and this one is tailor-made to make people mad but also make perfect sense, with the Jacksonville Jaguars securing a quarterback who can put them back in contention in the AFC South.
One problem here: I don't think the Jags are going to give up No. 7 overall in exchange for Nick Foles. You could work out a deal where the Jags send No. 7 and No. 69 to the Eagles for Foles, No. 26 and No. 54 (the trade value basically makes Foles worth the 28th overall pick, which is probably a reasonably fair swap), but Jacksonville is going to likely lose high-end, expensive talent to free agency as a result of salary-cap issues.
Jacksonville would like to use the seventh pick to either replace the talent or to secure another young quarterback for the long haul.
How about we make both front offices happy instead? The Jaguars can send Leonard Fournette -- their former top pick and a very talented player who has struggled with injuries and hasn't meshed well with the front office -- to the Eagles for Foles and a throw-in pick down the road.
There are some contractual issues here that might hold things up on both ends. Foles is either going to have his option picked up or will be given the franchise tag and traded. So he won't be cheap. Fournette isn't cheap either -- he has a top-10 salary over the next two years at the running back position.
Philly might not be willing to spend at the position, but Fournette is a better pass catcher than he gets credit for, and he could excel in Doug Pederson's scheme. The Eagles were at their best with LeGarrette Blount and Jay Ajayi running downhill.
If you hate the Fournette idea, just sub in a second-round pick from the Jaguars instead and roll with it. To the picks -- when you inevitably hate them, come yell at me on Twitter @WillBrinson. And make sure you subscribe to the Pick Six Podcast, our DAILY NFL pod that continues to deliver the goods throughout the offseason.
1. Arizona Cardinals
Nick Bosa, DE, Ohio State. I'd love to get cute and have the Cardinals go in a different direction here, but no one is passing up Bosa with the top pick in the draft. Arizona can pair the younger Bosa brother with Chandler Jones and unleash a pass-rushing fury on opposing quarterbacks.
2. San Francisco 49ers
Josh Allen, EDGE, Kentucky. The 49ers have a pretty good roster for a team picking No. 2 overall, but they need help getting pressure off the edge, so they add Allen to a fairly formidable defense.
3. New York Jets
Quinnen Williams, DL, Alabama. I don't know what the nickname would be for multiple Williams players on the defensive line and I'm sure the Jets would like to get some skill position guys or protection for Sam Darnold, but the speedy behemoth defensive lineman is too talented to pass up here.
4. Oakland Raiders
Rashan Gary, DL, Michigan. The Raiders need to get defensive help with their first pick if they're not sold on a quarterback and Gary can give them a physical presence on the defensive line, where they badly need to reload after trading Khalil Mack.
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Devin White, LB, LSU. My guess here is Bruce Arians thinks he can handle things offensively with the talent on the staff, but that Todd Bowles needs some more talent to run his defense.
6. New York Giants
Clelin Ferrell, DL, Clemson. People need to stop mocking a quarterback to the Giants just because they need one. Dave Gettleman won't flinch if he has full authority here -- he'll take the best player on his board (although hopefully not a running back this time).
7. Jacksonville Jaguars
Jeffery Simmons, DT, Mississippi State. Sure looks like the Jaguars might lose a defensive tackle (or two) to salary-cap issues. If they can replace one with this pick, it's a huge win for them.
8. Detroit Lions
Ed Oliver, DL, Houston. The Lions need more defensive line help and it's not hard to imagine Matt Patricia being interested in a guy with Oliver's upside who can move all over the place on the defensive line.
9. Buffalo Bills
Jonah Williams, OL, Alabama. The Bills could go in any direction, honestly, but I'll have them take the best offensive lineman in draft to help protect Josh Allen.
10. Denver Broncos
Jawaan Taylor, OL, Florida. The hiring of Mike Munchak could easily signal a decision to try and beef up the offensive line, protect Case Keenum and let Vic Fangio work his magic on the defense.
11. Cincinnati Bengals
Dwayne Haskins, QB, Ohio State. Shocker! Andy Dalton is over 30 now, so he's not going to magically become an All-Pro and he has zero dead money left on his contract. Drafting Haskins gives Zac Taylor the chance to work with Dalton now and groom Haskins for later.
12. Washington Redskins (MOCK TRADE with Packers)
Kyler Murray, QB, Oklahoma. The Redskins PANIC when they see Haskins go off the board and they see the Dolphins up after the Packers. So they make a splashy trade up with Green Bay and grab Murray. Washington trading up in the first round to grab a Heisman Trophy-winning, mobile, Big 12 quarterback? What could go wrong!
13. Miami Dolphins
Christian Wilkins, DT, Clemson. The Dolphins have a whole lot of different ways they could go, but one of them certainly needs to be an improvement on the defensive line, where they are not young.
14. Atlanta Falcons
Dexter Lawrence, DT, Clemson. When you have Grady Jarrett why not add a second Clemson defensive tackle with him? Two Clemson defensive tackles are better than one Clemson defensive tackle.
15. Green Bay Packers (MOCK TRADE with Redskins)
Deionte Thompson, S, Alabama. Let's just have the Packers take a defensive back every year from now until the end of time. They lost Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix during the season last year so they can replace him with another Alabama safety.
16. Tennessee Titans (MOCK TRADE with Panthers)
Montez Sweat, EDGE, Mississippi State. I wouldn't be surprised if the Titans decided to seek out either a defensive back here (they have good corners but can't bank on Malcolm Butler for the next half decade) or a wideout to pair with Corey Davis, but ultimately decided to give them some edge presence and they trade up here with the Panthers to jump two teams who might draft for defense.
17. Cleveland Browns
Cody Ford, OL, Oklahoma. The Browns have a really good roster right now but could use some more depth when it comes to their offensive line as they continue to look for someone to fill Joe Thomas' spot at left tackle for the long haul (good luck with that).
18. Minnesota Vikings
Byron Murphy, CB, Washington. You: The Vikings don't need a cornerback, what are you DOING? Me: The Vikings never need a cornerback and they keep drafting them because Mike Zimmer is awesome at developing defensive backs.
19. Carolina Panthers (MOCK TRADE with Titans)
Garrett Bradbury, C, NC State. This is going to be high for Bradbury and maybe they could trade down even further to land the talented center. One thing that really fits: Bradbury's said he only wants to play center (not other line positions) and Carolina needs a starting center with Ryan Kalil retiring. Bradbury is a local kid who can step in and start from Day One.
20. Pittsburgh Steelers
Greedy Williams, CB, LSU. Pittsburgh might need to even consider a wide receiver here if they ultimately trade Antonio Brown, but they take advantage of the hyper-talented Williams being available.
21. Seattle Seahawks
Noah Fant, TE, Iowa. Trying to figure out what the Seahawks will do in the first round -- outside of trading down -- is literally the most difficult thing involved with mock drafting. John Schneider and Pete Carroll are NOT afraid to zig. Here they do so by landing a weapon for Russell Wilson who can help block too.
22. Baltimore Ravens
Brian Burns, EDGE, FSU. This will be an interesting spot to watch, with Eric DeCosta taking over as GM for his first draft. I think he'll want to land some high-upside, impact player for the defense, although I wouldn't be stunned to see him go for a weapon that can help Lamar Jackson either.
23. Houston Texans
Greg Little, OL, Ole Miss. It would be borderline negligent to go in a different direction than offensive line for the Texans after seeing all the hits that Deshaun Watson took last year behind that offensive line.
24. Oakland Raiders (via Chicago)
Kelvin Harmon, WR, NC State. Trading away Amari Cooper and losing Martavis Bryant and leaning on Jordy Nelson is not sustainable to help Derek Carr. The Raiders need to get him a weapon and Harmon would be a great fit in Jon Gruden's offense; he's the type of receiver who can move the chains and also body up dudes down the field.
25. Philadelphia Eagles
Devin Bush, LB, Michigan. The Eagles are going to have an interesting offseason, with a lot of players no longer under contract. They already (maybe) landed Fournette so they can focus on adding a defensive player instead.
26. Indianapolis Colts
D.K. Metcalf, WR, Ole Miss. The Colts already have T.Y. Hilton as a true No. 1 wideout, but adding another weapon for Andrew Luck gives the Colts an additional over-the-top dimension they can use in order to terrorize opposing defenses.
27. Oakland Raiders (via Dallas)
Daniel Jones, QB, Duke. The Raiders could easily wait until 2020 to draft a quarterback, but I wouldn't be surprised if they used one of their THREE first-round picks on one in this draft. Jones could boost his stock at the Senior Bowl this week and secure his spot in the first round.
28. Los Angeles Chargers
Mack Wilson, LB, Alabama. The Chargers played a lot of defensive backs on the field and it got tons of hype until the Patriots destroyed it. They did so because it worked but also because of necessity. They could use depth and talent at the linebacker position to slow down the run.
29. Kansas City Chiefs
DeAndre Baker, CB, Georgia. The Chiefs clearly need some upgrades on defense and it would make sense to add a talented, high-level cornerback in the draft.
30. Green Bay Packers (via New Orleans)
T.J. Hockensen, TE, Iowa. Jimmy Graham was a high-profile free agent signing as a tight end, but he's really more of a glorified red-zone receiver for Aaron Rodgers. Green Bay can use some muscle at the position as well as another field-stretching weapon.
31. New England Patriots
Drew Lock, QB, Missouri. Tom Brady sure looks like he can keep playing into the 2019 season at a pretty high level, but the Patriots have to think he can't play FOREVER. And the Pats need to think long term about who will play the position next.
32. Los Angeles Rams
Zach Allen, EDGE, Boston College. The Rams could easily end up trading this for a veteran instead, because that's what they do. But it wouldn't be surprising to see them grab a pass-rusher.
