Corona virus, amirite?!
Now that that's out of the way, let's get to the 2020 NFL KAVAMOCK DRAFT 1.0
I've noticed my partner in blog, Master Pio, is currently leading all mockumentarians with TWO mock drafts posted before St Paddy's day. Slainte, good sport. Well, it's time I get on the board with some picks for the fan. Hi mom.
1. Bengals
The Pick: Joe Burrow - QB - LSU
The Rationale: Burrow threw for 5,671 yards, 60 TD, 6 INT on 76% completion en route to a National title in 2019. Burrow grew up in Athens, Ohio. Andy Dalton sucks. The perfecto trifecta for this match made in Cincinnati.
2. Redskins
The Pick: Chase Young - DE - Ohio State
The Rationale: Young is the top-ranked overall player in the class. Ron Rivera loves him some good old fashioned grinders on the D-line. Young is expected to make an immediate impact as a pass rusher in the NFL and with the pre-Rivera Redskins drafting Dwayne Haskins last year, I can't see the Skins passing up a projected generational talent in Young.
3. Lions
The Pick: AJ Terrell - CB - Clemson
The Rationale: Yeah, Jeff Okudah is the consensus #1 defensive back in the class, but no one expected the Raiders to draft Clelin Ferrell at 4th overall last year with guys like Josh Allen still on the board. The Lions are a trash franchise. Trash franchises make trash picks. Matt Patricia goes with a position of need after losing Darius Slay to the Eagles and Patricia goes with a guy that he developed a man-crush on while watching film, a filman-crush, a stat that most experts fail to account for.
4. The Giants
The Pick: Mekhi Becton - OT - Louisville
The Rationale: The big boy from 75 miles west of Troy(kentucky). Machalacha Hi, Machalacha Hiney-Ho Becton stands at a whopping 6 foot 7 and 367 pounds. 367 pounds. The Giants will expect that weight to anchor down the left side of their offensive line for years to come and keep Danny "I'm not Jewish, why do people always ask if I'm Jewish?" Jones safe.
5. Dolphins
The Pick: Tua Tagmeallova - QB - Nick Saban
The Rationale: Tua is tan so he looks like he's from Florida. Miami needs a QB. Burrow is gone. Tua, despite his injury, is the next guy to go and he can sit for 8 games behind Fitzmagic before taking the reigns and keeping the Dolphins as an 8-8 team.
6. Chargers
The Pick: Jerry Jeudy - WR - Bama
The Rationale: They need a quarterback with Rivers moving to Indy, but Keenan Allen is in a contract year and I think Chargers GM Tom Telescope will look to pair Jeudy with Mike Williams so whoever their QB is, he'll have weapons right away.
7. Panthers
The Pick: Jeff Okudah - CB - Ohio State
The Rationale: Matt Rhule thinks Jeff Okudah falling to him at 7 rules! Carolina lost James Bradberry in free agency and has had a poor secondary for....ever. Okudah changes everything for them on the back end and they can recruit assets for Rhule's prolific offense in later rounds.
8. Cardinals
The Pick: Jedrick Willis - OT - Alabama
The Rationale: The Cards traded for DeAndre Hopkins so they use this pick to shore up the future of the offensive line and keep the prized possession upright to deliver the ball to Hopkins and co.
9. Jaguars
The Pick: Isaiah Simmons - OLB - Clemson
The Rationale: Jags look to improve their defense with the versatile Isaiah Simmons. I have Isaiah ranked as the number 1 bust because he's too small to play LB and too big to play DB. He is a college football player that is going to be bad in the NFL. Going to a bad franchise like Jacksonville won't help.
10. Browns
The Pick: CeeDee Lamb - WR - Oklahoma
The Rationale: The Browns would be smart to get OBJ out and bring CD Lamb in to play with fellow Sooner Baker Mayfield.
11. Jets
The Pick: Andrew Thomas - OT - Georgia
The Rationale: Joe Douglas didn't come to the Jets to not build a stout offensive line. He signed George Fant and Connor McGovern, but Thomas will step in to be the brick(shaw) wall at LT and let Fant play RT since he's a converted TE to begin with.
12. Raiders
The Pick: Henry Ruggs III - WR - Alabama
The Rationale: Vegas Baby, Vegas!!! The speed of Ruggs the third will bring crowds of hammered gamblers to their feet as D̶a̶v̶i̶d̶ ̶C̶a̶r̶r̶, M̶a̶r̶c̶u̶s̶ ̶M̶a̶r̶i̶o̶t̶t̶a̶, whoever they draft this year under throws him for a pick.
13. Niners
The Pick: Kristian Fulton - CB - LSU
The Rationale: San Fran needs an heir apparent to the aging Richard Sherman and Fulton is a playmaker in the defensive backfield, albeit he needs to add a little size to make an impact as a tackler.
14. Buccaneers
The PIck: CJ Henderson - CB - Florida
The Rationale: The Bucs are all-in now that they've added Tom Brady in free agency. Henderson can make an immediate impact in Tampa's young secondary. A homecoming for Florida Gator Henderson to go to Tampa.
15. Broncos
The Pick: Kenneth Murray - ILB - Oklahoma
The Rationale: The Broncos need an Al Wilson type of middle linebacker to take their defense to the next level. They added AJ Bouye to help rebuild the secondary in the wake of Chris Harris leaving, so I think this pick is used on the consensus #1 inside linebacker in the draft.
16. Falcons
The Picks: Noah Igbinoghene - CB - Auburn
The Rationale: There's always that one pick that makes people say, who? Noah Igbinoghene isn't the highest ranked CB on the board at this point in the draft, but he's a talented defensive back from a tough SEC defense and I think the Falcons will make a move to boost their secondary with Brady and Brees in the division.
17. Cowboys
The Pick: Derrick Brown - DT - Auburn
The Rationale: Derrick Brown is ranked as a top 10 prospect by most experts. I don't remember seeing him all that much in the fall. He slides to 17 and the Cowboys swoop up the best available talent and hope they don't have to ever sign him to a long term deal because all their money is tied up in Cooper and Elliot.
18. Dolphins - Part II
The Pick: Grant Delpit - S - LSU
The Rationale: Miami has been very active in free agency and carries 14 picks into this draft. 14 seems like too many picks. They should have to give some away to the Browns or something. Anyway, they spend the second of their three first-round picks on my top-ranked safety, Grant Delpit, who will step in and start right away.
19. Las Vegas Raiders - Part II
The Pick: Austin Jackson - OT - USC
The Rationale: Like Miami, Vegas has a billion picks in this draft, and they spend their second and final (or is it??) pick of the first round shoring up their offensive line with tackle Ausin Jackson from USC.
20. Chargers - Part II
*THE JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS TRADE THIS PICK TO THE LOS ANGELES CHARGERS FOR A 2021 FIRST AND A 2020 2ND*
The Pick: Justin Herbert
The Rationale: The Chargers get their guy at quarterback by trading back into the first round at 20. Tom Telescope looks like a genius as he walks away with both Jeudy and Herbert, and the Jags add a future first by sliding down 17 spots in from 20 to 37 in the 2020 draft. They already had a first-round pick at 9. They take this deal with pleasure and Jags fans already begin to look forward to the 2021 draft.
21. Eagles
The Pick: Tristan Wirfs - OT - Iowa
The Rationale: I feel like the Eagles will go with a pass rusher here, someone like Yetur Gross-Matos, a local guy from Penn State, but with Wirfs on the board and Jason Peters dying of old age I'm slotting Wirfs to step in as the replacement. I never figured Andre Dillard as a LT, so with Wirfs, Dillard, and Lane Johnson on the roster, the Eagles will have some flexibility at tackle.
22. Vikings
The Pick: Trevon Diggs - CB - Alabama
The Rationale: Xavier Rhodes, Trae Waynes, and Mackensie Alexander are all gone. Minnesota selects Alabama standout Trevon Diggs to play across from Mike Hughes in an attempt to reload rather than rebuild their secondary.
23. Dolphins - Part III
*THE NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS TRADE THIS PICK TO THE MIAMI DOLPHINS FOR A 2020 FIRST, 2020 FOURTH, AND A 2020 SEVENTH*
The Pick: Yetur Gross-Matos - DE - Penn State
The Rationale: Like I said before, Miami has too many picks in this draft. They swap 3-for-1 to move up three spots in the first round and snag their guy, Yetur Gross-Matos, with a couple of teams in need of a pass rusher at 24 and 25.
24. Saints
The Pick: AJ Espensa - DE - Iowa
The Rationale: See what I mean? Who knows if the Saints preferred Gross-Matos over Espensa, but they follow the Dolphins pick of YGM with another defensive end from the Big 10. Espensa gives NO some depth behind Cam Jordan and Marcus Davenport and they hope he can help get to Ryan, Brady, and Bridgewater 6 times a year.
25. Vikings - Part II
The Pick: Laviska Shenault Jr. - WR - Colorado
The Rationale: Minny goes with Laviska Shenault to replace Stefon Diggs and give Kirk Cousins a big target to miss in December.
26. Patriots
*Courtesy of the Miami Trade outlined in pick 23*
The Pick: Patrick Queen - ILB - LSU
The Rationale: I've never been more confident of something than I am of Patrick Queen going to New England as an underrated inside linebacker and becoming the most dominant linebacker in the game for the next half-dozen years.
27. Seahawks
The Pick: Javon Kinlaw - DT - South Carolina
The Rationale: Kinlaw is a big boy who can make an impact in the run and the passing game. Seattle brings him into the rotation with Jarran Reed to bolster their defense in the trenches.
28. Ravens
The Pick: K'Lavon Chaisson - OLB - LSU
The Rationale: Chaisson has shown he can be a great football player on the edge, but he is a little undersized for a pass rusher in the NFL and it will be interesting to see if he becomes more of a stand-up linebacker at the next level. Baltimore is a great place for him to land and become the next guy in a long line of successful LB/DEs to wear the black and purple.
29. Titans
The Pick: D'Andre Swift - RB - Georgia
The Rationale: Thunder, meet lightning. A Derrick Henry + D'Andre Swift backfield is exciting to think about. The Titans were a win away from the Super Bowl last year and they should roll the dice with the blazing speedster Swift to take them to the next level.
30. Packers
The Pick: Justin Jefferson - WR - LSU
The Rationale: Simply put, the Packers have a dire need for help at WR behind Davante Adams. As much as they need help at inside linebacker, with both Murray and Queen off the board, it has to be a wide receiver. Jefferson caught 111 passes for 1,540 yards and 18 touchdowns from Joe Burrow in 2019. Not too shabby. He ran a 4.43 40 and should fill in nicely for Green Bay as a WR2 or in the slot.
31. 49ers - Part II
The Pick: Tee Higgins - WR - Clemson
The Rationale: The 49ers have two first-round picks at 13 and 31, and then don't pick again until the 5th round. I wouldn't be surprised to see this pick get traded for a handful of picks in the middle rounds of this draft, but if the niners hold it they could go with a replacement for Emmanuel Sanders. Higgins can be as good as any WR in this draft. But he probably won't be.
32. Kansas City Chiefs
The Pick: Netane Muti - OG - Fresno State
The Rationale: Being Super Bowl champs, there is not a whole lot of "need" for the Chiefs. Interior offensive line is a need area, however. They address it right away with the most impressive guard in the draft, although Muti might get passed on because of his history of being injured.
And that's how the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft goes. It ain't no guess, that's how it's gon' be.*
*Unless I make another mock and then it will be like that one.
Suck it Kiper.