This article is part of our NFL Draft series.
ROTOWIRE FINAL 1ST ROUND MOCK DRAFT
Here's my best, certainly futile guess at how the first round will shake out in Thursday's NFL Draft kickoff. More advisable reading would be John McKechie's final mock draft, Joe Bartel's mock draft, and Joe's NFL Draft props.
TRADES
- CHI trades No. 10 and No. 41 to JAC for No. 5
- SEA trades No. 18 and No. 92 to MIA for No. 13
- KC trades No. 31 and No. 66 to PIT for No. 21
- NYG trades No. 34 and No. 99 to PHI for No. 32
- Tennessee Titans - Cam Ward, QB, Miami (FL)
Although it probably won't age that well to take Ward over Hunter, it's understandable that the Titans would be desperate for a quarterback.
- Cleveland Browns - Travis Hunter, CB/WR, Colorado
No one really disputes that Hunter is the best player in the draft.
- New York Giants - Abdul Carter, DE/OLB, Penn State
I previously thought the Giants were so desperate for a quarterback that they would trade back to take Shedeur Sanders, but apparently Sanders' stock has slipped so badly that Jaxson Dart might go ahead of him now. Either way, Sanders and Dart appear to have cool enough markets that the Giants could trade up from the second round or maybe even get one, probably Sanders, with their second-round pick.
- New England Patriots - Will Campbell, OT, LSU
Campbell's short arms seem like an issue to me, but he is extremely athletic and it reflects well on him that he was a left-tackle starter as a true freshman.
- Chicago Bears (from JAC) - Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State
If Travis Hunter isn't the best player in the draft then it's Jeanty.
- Las Vegas Raiders - Armand Membou, OT, Missouri
The Raiders should probably just pay up for Kolten Miller to keep him at left tackle while adding Membou to the right side, creating a proper strength at the position.
- New York Jets - Kelvin Banks, OT, Texas
Banks isn't as polished as Campbell or Membou and isn't as freakish of an athlete as Membou, but Banks is on a fine trajectory himself and he has rare enough athletic tools to project substantial growth.
- Carolina Panthers - Mason Graham, DT, Michigan
Perhaps their preference for an edge rusher leads them down a different path, but I don't think any of the defensive end prospects on the board project for as much impact as Graham. Although he can offer some two-gap reps, in Carolina those would go to Bobby Brown, which is to say Graham as a one-gap defensive tackle could help the Carolina pass rush as much or more than any of the end prospects in this draft aside from Abdul Carter. With that said, Mykel Williams would be an understandable selection here, just one that requires more projection than Graham.
- New Orleans Saints - Mykel Williams, DE/OLB, Georgia
It's fine if Williams needs a little development time -- the Saints aren't going anywhere, anyway.
- Jacksonville Jaguars (from CHI) - Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Arizona
Assuming Liam Coen doesn't see someone like Colston Loveland as a potential slot target, adding a credible boundary target opposite Brian Thomas would probably be the quickest way to improve the Jacksonville offense from this spot.
- San Francisco 49ers - Derrick Harmon, DT, Oregon
I continue to find it odd how little attention Harmon gets for his athleticism. He was a productive player at both Oregon and Michigan State, and his athletic testing is at a blue-chip level.
- Dallas Cowboys - Matthew Golden, WR, Texas
Golden is not Joey Galloway, but Jerry Jones might like Golden for similar reasons.
- Seattle Seahawks (from MIA) - Tyler Booker, G, Alabama
Kind of a random spin here, but the Seahawks have the surplus picks to trade up and have relatively few needs. I think guard could be read as one of their weaker spots, and the offensive line spending could get wild in the first round.
- Indianapolis Colts - Tyler Warren, TE, Penn State
I think the Colts would completely waste the abilities of Colston Loveland due to their lack of viable targets, but Warren can affect the game as a blocker in a way that Loveland likely can't.
- Atlanta Falcons - Jalon Walker, LB, Georgia
I'm not convinced the Falcons need an edge defender more than a corner, but Walker would just be a nice all-around value this late.
- Arizona Cardinals - Will Johnson, CB, Michigan
If Johnson doesn't fall this far then I'd project offensive line here.
- Los Angeles Chargers (from CIN) - Colston Loveland, TE, Michigan
Cross your fingers for this one. We need Loveland to end up with Justin Herbert, not whatever the Colts get themselves into in the next four years.
- Miami Dolphins (from SEA) - Maxwell Hairston, CB, Kentucky
If teams aren't bothered by the off-field chatter about Hairston then I think it follows that a team like Miami would be interested, if only because of how badly they've cornered themselves into spending their first-round pick on boundary coverage.
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Jihaad Campbell, LB, Alabama
I can't get a solid read at all where Campbell will actually go, but linebacker is probably one of Tampa's few weak spots.
- Denver Broncos - TreVeyon Henderson, RB, Ohio State
I honestly don't see why Henderson is valued to this extent, but if he's raising the market for running backs then we must support it.
- Kansas City Chiefs (from PIT) - Josh Conerly, OT, Oregon
The Jayon Moore signing should probably be understood as a bandaid signing in case the Chiefs can't get a viable long-term left tackle prospect in the draft. Conerly or Josh Simmons would qualify.
- Cincinnati Bengals (from LAC) - Jahdae Barron, CB/S, Texas
Barron would probably be a three-down slot defender like Devon Witherspoon for Cincinnati before maybe moving to safety later in his career.
- Green Bay Packers - Donovan Ezeiruaku, DE/OLB, Boston College
Ezeiruaku would probably be a dream pick for Green Bay.
- Minnesota Vikings - Donovan Jackson, G, Ohio State
Jackson would take care of the left guard spot to give Minnesota a strong rep at all five offensive line spots. - Houston Texans - Grey Zabel, OL, North Dakota State
Zabel might be a little too tall to play center and might lack the reach for tackle, but at worst he should be a very good guard in the NFL and might be able to play center or/and right tackle.
- Los Angeles Rams - Nick Emmanwori, S, South Carolina
Emmanwori is one of the most outrageously athletic players in NFL history, so he could be entertaining if it works out.
- Baltimore Ravens - Malaki Starks, S, Georgia
Ar'Darius Washington may well be a viable starter-level contributor for the Ravens, but they have no bench depth at safety and a 5-foot-8, 177-pound safety probably won't be the most durable safety in the league. It's gotta be Starks or Kenneth Grant in this scenario.
- Detroit Lions - Kenneth Grant, DT, Michigan
Alim McNeill is working his way back from a Week 15 ACL tear and D.J. Reader is on the last year of his deal. The Lions show a persistent focus on keeping their base defensive tackles as plus two-gap reps, and Grant is one of the most interesting two-gap prospects in recent years.
- Washington Commanders - Luther Burden, WR, Missouri
Sort of just doubling down on the same premise that led Washington to trade for Deebo Samuel. One of the two can probably line up in the slot in three-wide looks, and Burden would take over a bigger role in general when Samuel definitively declines.
- Buffalo Bills - Shavon Revel, CB, East Carolina
Revel is a boundary-only corner but the Bills really need that and in that particular capacity he could be quite good.
- Pittsburgh Steelers (from KC) - Jaxson Dart, QB, Mississippi
Even if Dart's critics are right to doubt him, he almost has to be better than Mason Rudolph.
- New York Giants (from PHI) - Shedeur Sanders, QB, Colorado
It would be a classic Joe Schoen tale of folly to end up getting fleeced by the Eagles in some misguided last-ditch attempt to fix the quarterback situation that Schoen has handled so poorly to this point. Schoen overpaying the Eagles for the privilege of taking a quarterback who probably isn't good seems like the sort of thing that ends up in the script.
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