Hey folks, it’s just about time for my Mock Draft 2.0 – the second of three full first-round mock drafts that I do every year as an NFL Draft analyst. Be sure to click on the players’ names for complete scouting reports on the players that your favorite team drafts. You can look at the complete list of grades that I have completed here:
If you missed it, you can check out my first two mock drafts at the links below to view the progression of the off-season timeline.
Mock Draft 0.5 (The first 18) | Mock Draft 1.0 (Pre-Combine)
Before the start of the draft, let’s set the timeline.
- The New York Jets acquired Aaron Rodgers from the Green Bay Packers and surrendered their first-round pick (13th overall) to the Packers and other draft capital.
- For now, the Lamar Jackson situation remains unresolved.
1. Carolina Panthers (from Bears) – QB CJ Stroud, Ohio State
Frank Reich is the new head coach in Carolina, and it makes a lot of sense for him to be paired with a player like CJ Stroud. His entire staff has traditionally coached taller, prototypical quarterbacks. Reich, over the last several seasons, going back to his stint with the Philadelphia Eagles, had Carson Wentz, Nick Foles, Matt Ryan, Jacoby Brissett, and Philip Rivers. His offensive coordinator, Thomas Brown, came from the Rams and was assistant head coach there with Sean McVay, working with Matthew Stafford and Jared Goff. His quarterbacks’ coach, Josh McCown, was on the Eagles roster with Reich and is a taller quarterback.
McCown didn’t have a football job this season outside of coaching at a local high school, so he took to YouTube and broke down quarterback play with Underdog Fantasy. His favorite quarterback in the class? CJ Stroud.
The Panthers will probably sign a veteran to bridge over to Stroud, but there’s no doubt that the best fit for this team in the draft is CJ Stroud. I think that the trade was made with him in mind, and they’re going to take him.
2. Houston Texans – QB Will Levis, Kentucky
It appears that the future of the Houston Texans organization is in the hands of a rookie quarterback. That said, the quarterback making the most sense for the Texans to hand the reins to in this class is Will Levis from Kentucky.
Levis finds himself as one of the more polarizing quarterbacks in this process. He’s a wild man, already having been the subject of viral videos, including putting mayo in his coffee and eating a banana without peeling it first. Levis turned down an invitation to play at the 2023 Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, electing to give his body time to heal from injuries sustained in 2022.
Levis was very beaten up in 2022, playing behind an abhorrent offensive line and struggling to get time to make throws while taking a beating. Levis played through several injuries when he was able, but overall the loss of offensive coordinator Liam Coen in 2021 proved too much for the Wildcats to overcome.
3. Las Vegas Raiders (from Cardinals) – QB Bryce Young, Alabama
The Las Vegas Raiders are desperate for a quarterback, especially after moving on from Derek Carr in the way they did. They are forced to make this move up and get their guy. Josh McDaniels worked with Bill Belichick (famously) for several years and certainly has adopted some of the thought processes of the all-time great coach. Enter Alabama quarterback Bryce Young.
Young slides to three here, mostly because of his size. With his lack of size, an offense has to be built around him, which makes teams warier to invest their future in him. Especially with the durability concerns raised with smaller quarterbacks, between Kyler Murray and Tua Tagovailoa, Bryce Young dangerously fits into that category.
You’re wrong if you don’t think that the Raiders’ receivers won’t be happy with this pick. Davante Adams is one of the best in the league at the scramble drill, as we saw with his years with Aaron Rodgers. Young is a great improviser with an arsenal of weapons to get the Raiders’ offense rolling if Jimmy Garoppolo struggles.
4. Indianapolis Colts – QB Anthony Richardson, Florida
The Indianapolis Colts ended up being the odd team out – which sucks for them, as their luck with quarterbacks hasn’t been great. They’ve been through several veteran quarterbacks over the last few years, and every single time it just hasn’t worked out for the Colts. Enter Anthony Richardson, the last remaining “top” quarterback prospect on the board.
The Colts are in a very difficult situation. I think the desired outcome in this scenario would be to trade down, but who will trade down in this spot? What is Shane Steichen’s plan at the quarterback position? We know he can work some magic, especially considering the last couple of years and what he built with Jalen Hurts, so Richardson isn’t a complete stranger to the situation.
5. Seattle Seahawks (from Broncos) – EDGE Will Anderson Jr, Alabama
All the quarterback hype pushed the great defensive prospects down the board, and the Seahawks couldn’t be more excited. Rumors are floating around that the Seahawks “love” Anthony Richardson, I’m sure they love him so much because if Richardson goes top 4, they can secure Will Anderson Jr.
Anderson set an NCAA record in 2021 with his 31 tackles for loss in a single season. While his production didn’t continue into 2022 at the level that it was prior (just 17 tackles for loss), a lot of that was because of the attention that he drew as the star defender on the Bama defense.
He will be a monster in Seattle – which is a good thing because his value could propell Seattle back to a Super Bowl contender.
6. Detroit Lions (from Rams) – DT Jalen Carter, Georgia
The Detroit Lions get themselves an absolute stud here as part of their deal to move Matthew Stafford to the Rams. There were concerns around the Combine revolving around Jalen Carter and his arrest involving racing and reckless driving, but nothing that will drop him very far in the draft. In fact, the only reason he’s here is because of the run on quarterbacks.
Carter is a true monster at the position and was dominant at the highest level of college football. He’s a stout run defender and has the athleticism to be a factor as a pass rusher inside as well. The Lions have a solid defensive front, but Carter pushes it over the top and truly helps this unit become special. I think the Lions love where they are post-Stafford trade.
7. Arizona Cardinals (from Raiders) – CB Christian Gonzalez, Oregon
The Arizona Cardinals need some athleticism in the back end, and moving down 4 spots allows them to still grab their guy because of the run on quarterbacks. That guy happens to be Christian Gonzalez, the cornerback from Oregon.
With Arizona, the Jonathan Gannon defense is typically running a lot of shell coverages, something Gonzalez does really well. They want him to esentially become a ball hawk and try to create turnovers. In that case, I think Gonzalez works there very well. If they have to go against heavy run teams (like San Francisco), his liabilities will show up more often than not.
8. Atlanta Falcons – EDGE Tyree Wilson, Texas Tech
In the NFC South next year, the team that can pressure the quarterback the very best will be the best in the division. There isn’t a lot of quarterback talent there right now, so the strength is in defense. Atlanta likes what they have in Desmond Ridder and are willing to play him this season – which says a lot about what Ridder has done in practice over the last year.
Adding Tyree Wilson from Texas Tech helps the Falcons generate the pass rush that they want to generate. Wilson has some crazy length, 35-5/8th arms are near the top percentile in length at any position group. He’s got strength too and still presents some upside to his game, which means he can grow into a star. The Falcons will be able to put pressure with their defensive front on Derek Carr, Baker Mayfield, and CJ Stroud religiously and make this a difficult team to play against in the NFC South.
9. Chicago Bears (from Panthers) – EDGE Isaiah Foskey, Notre Dame
When you look at what the Chicago Bears would have after adding a guy like Isaiah Foskey, that defensive front looks improved. Foskey is one of the more underrated players in this class, buried in the depth of this class by the media.
Foskey mostly plays standing up as a pass rusher but can drop into coverage. That tells me he can be the “dog,” the Haasan Redick-role player taking the league by storm. The Bears just added TJ Edwards to shore up the inside; now Foskey is the additional bonus who can become a star.
10. Philadelphia Eagles (from Saints) – CB Joey Porter Jr, Penn State
The Philadelphia Eagles are losing cornerback James Bradberry, presumably, to free agency. That means they will need someone to play on the other side of Darius Slay and eventually replace Slay. Enter in-state talent Joey Porter Jr.
With so many positions to fill on the defensive side and the inability to keep key guys, the Eagles have to draft the most pro-ready guy right here. Joey Porter Jr makes a ton of sense for them, fitting well into their defensive scheme as well as
11. Tennessee Titans – OT Broderick Jones, Georgia
The Tennessee Titans have let a bunch of key pieces walk as they “re-tool” the team and get ready to compete in 2023. One of those key pieces was Taylor Lewan, who had a stellar career with the Titans over the last decade. Broderick Jones is the perfect replacement for Lewan and makes all of the sense in the world.
Jones, to me, is by far the best tackle in this class. He’s a stud run blocker, a powerful pass protector, and can play left tackle for the next decade at a very high level. Most of his highlight plays come when he’s running in space, and he opens a crease for a running back 10-15 yards downfield. It’s exactly what the Titans want in a left tackle.
12. Houston Texans (from Browns) – EDGE Lukas Van Ness, Iowa
Houston has addressed their future at the quarterback position, now it’s time to address the defensive line. Lukas Van Ness is a powerful monster who makes all of the sense in the world for Houston to get. He’s a very similar prospect to JJ Watt, who the Texans drafted in this range in 2011. Watt wasn’t considered a finished prospect coming out but was more of a power guy who flashed finesse. Oh, just like Van Ness!
The Houston Texans want to build up their defensive front to the days it used to be, especially in a division with no real dominant quarterbacks (yet) other than potentially Trevor Lawrence. Pass rushing units will be the key, and Houston is trying to build that back up.
13. Green Bay Packers (from Jets) – EDGE Myles Murphy, Clemson
Green Bay takes the first bit of their prize from the Aaron Rodgers trade and takes Myles Murphy, the explosive, high upside pass rusher from Clemson. Murphy has a ton of upside and fits the rotation Green Bay wants to build very well, replacing Justin Hollin’s spot and even at times moving inside to a 3-tech defender.
Green Bay has a lot of questions to answer about their defensive front, expecially with both Jarran Reed and Dean Lowry up as free agents. They still have a lot of strength, and getting someone like Murphy who can slide around the defensive line in a pinch helps them rebuild their defense back.
14. New England Patriots – WR Zay Flowers, Boston College
If we understand one thing about Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots, they don’t care where you project players getting drafted. They will take their guy whenever they want.
Most draft analysts would tell you that this is too early to take Zay Flowers, and point to his lack of size as an issue. Most analysts think that Flowers will be limited to the slot at the next level because of this size. Not the Patriots (nor I, in this case). Flowers is another level of athlete. He’s insane after the catch, handles contact, and can create huge plays when he’s in space. I love this guy.
15. Green Bay Packers – TE Michael Mayer, Notre Dame
The second pick from the Packers in this draft became a luxury pick, where the Packers can bolster their lineup. Moving into 2023 with Jordan Love as their quarterback is huge, so getting him a security blanket is probably among the smarter things that they can do.
In that case, Michael Mayer is a no-brainer. He was remarkably consistent as a receiver at Notre Dame, becoming a valued target in high-pressure situations. If you want to talk about getting a strong check-down option, or security blanket for a young quarterback, Mayer makes all the sense in the world.
Click on the picture below for picks 16-31:
Thanks for the auspicious writeup. It in truth was once a entertainment account it. Look complicated to more introduced agreeable from you! By the way, how can we be in contact?