Final 2020 First Round Mock Draft and Some Thoughts Heading Into Tonight
Douglas DeFelice - USA TODAY Sports
With the 2020 NFL Draft set for tonight, here’s a look at how I believe things may go down as team’s begin making their selections:
- Joe Burrows QB LSU
CIN selection is the consensus #1 pick
- Chase Young EDGE Ohio St
WAS has that Edge rusher every team covets
- Andrew Thomas OT Georgia
MIA TRADES with DET to jump ahead of NYG. They want that stud LT to anchor their OL for years to come. MIA was scared off by Tua’s medical reports.
- Tristin Wirfs OT Iowa
NYG get their plug and play RT who will eventually replace Solder at LT
- Isaiah Simmons LB Clemson
Big surprise here as DET switches to the swiss army knife defender they can play all over the place. They can pick up a pretty good CB in rd 2.
- Justin Herbert QB Oregon
LAC don’t waste any time in taking Herbert a laid back cool cat that will be the face of the Franchise for years to come.
- Derek Brown DT Auburn
Talent wise, Brown may be the best player in this draft. CAR is thrilled to get him
- Jeff Okudah CB Ohio St
Arizona can’t believe the best CB just fell in their lap. They were trying to trade up to insure they got a good CB
- Jedrick Wills OT Alabama
The 3rd of the big 4 OL. JAX forgoes taking Tua to solidify the OL for Minshew.
- CeeDee Lamb WR Oklahoma
CLE starts the run of WR’s. Could this mean OBJ is on his way out of CLE?
- Mekhi Becton DT Louisville
NYJ pull a surprise here by not taking a WR. They get the 4th Big Ugly OT. He is so big that he needs his own zip code! They can get a WR in the 2nd round
- Jerry Jeudy WR Alabama
LV grabs a speedy WR just like days of old.
- Henry Ruggs WR Alabama
SF can’t pass on taking the super talented Ruggs. Nice book ends with Deebo Samuel.
- CJ Henderson CB Florida
TB get their shutdown CB.
- K’Lavon Chaisson EDGE LSU
TRADE – DAL gets this pick to jump ahead of ATL who also needs an EDGE rusher.
- Yetur Gross-Matos EDGE Penn St.
ATL takes the next best thing in Matos. Reminds me of Chandler Jones
- Justin Jefferson WR LSU
DEN moves back a couple of slots and still gets their WR
- Tua Tagovailoa QB Alabama
MIA was concerned enough not to take him at #4. Value is too great here. They also received calls to trade this pick.
- Jordan Love QB Utah St
LV feels the Love. Not sold on Carr.
- Javon Kinlaw DT South Carolina
JAX get an anchor for the DL this time. Knee concerns dropped him in the 1’st round
- AJ Terrell CB Clemson
PHI need at CB prompted than to take Terrell
- Ezra Cleveland OT Boise St.
Big surprise here. MIN felt his big move up the draft board justified taking Cleveland here.
- Kenneth Murray LB Oklahoma
TRADE – NE makes trade with one of their regular trade partners BAL who covets Murray.
- Josh Jones OT Houston
NO can’t get their QB here so switches gears and takes Best OT available
- Brandon Ayiuk WR Arizona St.
MIN grabs their replacement for Diggs. Aiyuk reminds me of Pats Harry.
- Isaiah Wilson OT Georgia
MIA takes another OT in the 1st. Bookends for years to come
- AJ Epenesa EDGE Iowa
SEA takes the player many Pats fans hoped they would select
- Xavier McKinney S Alabama
NE recognizes they have aging S and get younger. Trade gets them 2nd rd #60 while giving up 3rd #87 and 5th #172 to make the trade work.
- Kristian Fulton CB LSU
TEN cut Logan Ryan and Malcolm Butler is not the answer.
- Michael Pittman WR USC
GB takes a shot at the big receiver I wished we had taken. 6’ 4” and runs under 4.5
- Patrick Queen LB LSU
SF has addressed the WR with the 1st pick now goes for the speedy LB.
- D’Andre Swift RB Georgia
KC offense gets the top RB in the draft. He can catch and pass block too!
This is going to be one of the wildest drafts dating back to the days of the old AFL and a telephone draft. In one of those drafts, the Patriots drafted the wrong player with the same or similar name. The player they drafted was actually dead.
– Sorry to read about the passing of former New Orleans Kicker Tom Dempsey. He held the record for the longest FG in the league for quite awhile. Dempsey had a shod foot and kicked straight on with a specially designed squared off boot. What many people didn’t know was that Dempsey played locally for the then Lowell Giants minor league football team. He lived across the street from my wife in Lowell.
– The pressure is on Bill Belichick and the scouting staff to have a good draft. The team desperately needs to find some good young talent. Outside of the secondary, the team is woefully weak at all the skill positions. They haven’t developed a drafted Pro Bowl caliber player in the last six drafts.
– Look for Joe Thuney to get dealt during the draft. Mike Reiss reported the team has made no progress in signing Thuney to a long term deal. I read a tweet from Armando Salquero the Dolphins beat writer for the Miami Herald. He stated the Dolphins have been interested in Thuney since he was a Unrestricted Free Agent. When the Patriots Franchised Thuney, Miami was still interested in trading for Thuney in March. They were prepared to pay him back then and would now. They have the cap room. The Pats franchised Thuney as much to keep him from AFC east foes Jets and Dolphins.
– Miami owns the first round. latest rumor is they want to trade up and guarantee they get one of the top OT’s. Appears they aren’t thrilled with either Tua Tagovailoa or Justin Herbert. The medical reports on Tagovailoa must not give the Phins a warm and fuzzy feeling.
– LSU Saadhig Charles, a late round OT prospect tested positive for marijuana at the combine. Charles had several positive tests that resulted in a 6 game suspension by LSU last year.
– Something that snuck past the transactions is the Patriots have hired Eliot Wolf as a personnel consultant. This is a role that Mike Lombardi held for awhile. Wolf is the son of long time Green Bay Packers GM Ron Wolf. I am sure Wolf will be one of those connected to Belichick in his lair.
– Have you seen the setup SF GM John Lynch tweeted out? He has 7 monitors laid out in front of him in a crescent shape. Three multiple phone line phones (land lines) and computer keyboards, switches, and multiple power strips. Beyond that he has the league issued tripod, phone and lighting system. Further in front he has three 50″ TV/Monitors and one larger 70″ TV mounted on the wall. If I didn’t know any better I would have sworn it was Crystal Palace inside Cheyenne Mountain! I thought I was bad last year, I had a 60″ TV showing the draft, computer monitor showing the Bruins game, and a 50″ computer monitor and laptop on a separate table. I sat in my lounge chair with my wireless keyboard and took it all in.
– On a sad note, this corona virus has touched all our lives and changed the way we are living. A friend and long time Patriots fan passed away last night. We attended the last Patriots game in San Diego with our wives and other friends. He fought the good fight right up until the end. Keep his family in your prayers for he is now in a better place.
Posted Under: 2020 Patriots Draft
Tags: 2020 NFL Draft 2020 Patriots Draft
