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Mock trade with Cardinals Kyler Murray, QB, Oklahoma
The kind of aggressiveness Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock have displayed this offseason in springing for Antonio Brown, Trent Brown, Tyrell Williams, and LaMarcus Joyner makes me think they're not going to be content to just sit there with Derek Carr -- a quarterback they did not draft. It's no secret that Gruden and company are all in on Kyler and they make the move to go get him right here. |
| 2 |
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Nick Bosa, EDGE, Ohio State
Kyle Shanahan can turn pretty much any pieces into a good offense, but his team entered this offseason badly needing help on defense. San Fran has already spent some money to rectify its issues but bring in Bosa, who provides something much different than any of the 49ers' recent defensive-line draft picks, to give Robert Saleh a devastating pass-rush combination alongside Dee Ford. |
| 3 |
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Mock trade with Jets Dwayne Haskins, QB, Ohio State
The Giants trading their best wide receiver only to move up for a quarterback a year after passing on a quarterback at No. 2 overall so they could continue with the Eli Manning experiment for another year (or two) sounds about right. |
| 4 |
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Mock trade with Raiders Josh Allen, EDGE, Kentucky
The Cardinals have made some nice free-agent moves to bolster their defense by bringing in Robert Alford, Jordan Hicks, and Terrell Suggs. Snagging Allen here allows them to get a Suggs partner for the short term and replacement for the long term. |
| 5 |
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Montez Sweat, EDGE, Mississippi State
The Buccaneers are low on cap space and in need of impact players on both sides of the ball. Sweat crushed the combine and looks like a force off the edge, so he makes some sense here. |
| 6 |
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Mock trade with Giants Quinnen Williams, DL, Alabama
The Jets move down three spots, pick up some extra draft capital from their MetLife Stadium brethren, and get a great piece to drop into the middle of Gregg Williams' defense. Williams and C.J. Mosley should solidify the interior for a while. |
| 7 |
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Jawaan Taylor, OL, Florida
The Jags made their move for Nick Foles. Now they need to make sure he can stay upright. |
| 8 |
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Devin White, LB, LSU
The Lions' early free agency moves for Trey Flowers, Jonathan Jones, and Jesse James made their biggest need "anyone who can cover in the middle of the field" and White fits that bill as a full-field playmaking linebacker for Matt Patricia's defense. |
| 9 |
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Ed Oliver, DL, Houston
There will be some questions about Oliver's ability to rush the passer but there is no doubting his quick-twitch abilities as a penetrator in the run game. He can slide immediately into the spot of the retiring Kyle Williams, and the Buffalo defense won't miss a beat. |
| 10 |
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Drew Lock, QB, Missouri
Sure, the Broncos traded for Joe Flacco. But they can't possibly view that as a long-term solution. Word at the Senior Bowl and combine was that John Elway is very into Lock, and he slides to the Broncos at No. 10 here. |
| 11 |
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Rashan Gary, DL, Michigan
Gary teaming with Geno Atkins up the middle and moving all over the front would be a nightmare for opposing offensive linemen. |
| 12 |
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T.J. Hockenson, TE, Iowa
The Packers addressed their needs on the edge (Za'Darius Smith, Preston Smith) and at safety (Adrian Amos) in free agency, so here they give Aaron Rodgers one of the best weapons in the draft. They can use Hockenson in two tight end sets with Jimmy Graham, split either or both of them out wide, or even cut ties with Graham and let Hockenson run with the job. |
| 13 |
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Clelin Ferrell, EDGE, Clemson
Miami didn't land Trey Flowers and let Cameron Wake leave for the Titans, so new coach Brian Flores gets his edge rusher right here. |
| 14 |
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Christian Wilkins, DL, Clemson
Even with Grady Jarrett getting the franchise tag, the Falcons can still use some help up front. Wilkins is a nice piece who makes a ton of plays in the backfield and can rush the passer a bit as well. |
| 15 |
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Daniel Jones, QB, Duke
Washington has pretty much nothing at quarterback right now (Case Keenum doesn't count) thanks to the devastating injury Alex Smith suffered last season, so the franchise takes a chance on Jones becoming its quarterback of the future. Jay Gruden did strong work with Smith and Kirk Cousins, and can hopefully do the same with Jones. |
| 16 |
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Andre Dillard, OL, Washington State
How many more huge hits do we have to see Cam Newton take before this team really does something about the offensive line? Hopefully zero, and they take Dillard here. He tested off the charts at the combine. |
| 17 |
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D.K. Metcalf, WR, Mississippi
He's no Odell Beckham but the Giants need somebody to catch the ball. |
| 18 |
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Cody Ford, OL, Oklahoma
Let's just copy/paste the same thing we said about the Panthers above into this spot, OK? The Vikings very badly need to address their offensive line issues, which undermined their entire season last year. Slotting Ford in up front starts that process. |
| 19 |
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Noah Fant, TE, Iowa
The Titans addressed their edge needs in free agency by signing Cameron Wake and their slot vacancy by inking Adam Humphries, so here they spring for Noah Fant as a long-term replacement for Delanie Walker. Marcus Mariota loves throwing to his tight ends. |
| 20 |
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Devin Bush , LB, LSU
Ryan Shazier wants to play football again some day. That's admirable and I hope he can make it back. But the Steelers can't realistically count on it. They may be in need of a wide receiver if they give into Antonio Brown's trade demand, but no team has shown more skill at getting production out of late-round receivers than Pittsburgh so they solve their linebacker issues in the first round instead. |
| 21 |
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Nasir Adderley, S, Delaware
Adderley is not Earl Thomas. Nobody is. But you have to find his replacement somewhere. |
| 22 |
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Brian Burns, EDGE, Florida State
The Ravens replaced Eric Weddle with Earl Thomas and signed Mark Ingram to be their lead back, but they also lost Terrell Suggs to the Cardinals and even after snagging some mid-round edge rushers over the past few years, they need bodies and high-level talent at the position, so they tab Burns at this spot. |
| 23 |
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Jonah Williams, OL, Alabama
If the Texans don't draft an offensive lineman to give Deshaun Watson some help up front, they should just fold the franchise. |
| 24 |
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Mock trade with Oakland A.J. Brown, WR, Ole Miss
The Cardinals pick up multiple picks from the Raiders in their trade-down, nabbing an elite edge rusher for their defense and another target for Josh Rosen in the process. Pairing Brown with Larry Fitzgerald and Christian Kirk will give Rosen much more of an opportunity to succeed in Kliff Kingsbury's offense. |
| 25 |
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Byron Murphy, CB, Washington
The Eagles could always opt for a defensive lineman, of course, but the secondary seems like a bigger need right now. |
| 26 |
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DeAndre Baker, CB, Georgia
Indy retained Pierre Desir in free agency but still has a long-term need for high-end talent at corner. |
| 27 |
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From Dallas Greedy Williams, CB, LSU
Doesn't the name "Greedy Williams" just seem like a Jon Gruden kind of guy? |
| 28 |
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Jeffery Simmons, DL, Mississippi State
The Chargers could lose some or all of their interior defensive line talent in free agency. They already added needed depth at linebacker by signing Thomas Davis, so they swing for Simmons here, a very talented player with some question marks. |
| 29 |
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Deionte Thompson, S, Alabama
If ever there were a team in need of a talent infusion in the defensive backfield, it is the Kansas City Chiefs. After signing Tyrann Mathieu they're expected to cut ties with Eric Berry, and Thompson would make a heck of a replacement. |
| 30 |
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From New Orleans Dalton Risner, OL, Kansas State
David Bakhtiari and Bryan Bulaga are both headed into the final year of their contract in 2019. Risner can fill in as the long-term replacement for either one (probably Bulaga) or he can move inside to guard. |
| 31 |
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Dre'Mont Jones, DL, Ohio State
If Ndamukong Suh leaves in free agency, as expected, the Rams are going to need a replacement. Jones would benefit from playing next to Aaron Donald and Michael Brockers along the defensive line, and could be an incredibly valuable contributor both right away and over an extended period of time. |
| 32 |
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Taylor Rapp, S, Washington
Rapp slides into the New England defense and essentially becomes Bill Belichick's next Patrick Chung. |
