Last year, everyone was surprised when guys like Derwin James and Minkah Fitzpatrick fell in the first round and Harold Landry fell all the way to the second. But it shouldn’t be surprising – guys fall every year… but not quite like this.
Here’s the shocking results of Mock 28:
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Round 1
Quinnen Williams (DL) Are you kidding me? Quinnen WIlliams. There’s not much to say about him other than he is the only guy in the conversation with Nick Bosa for best player in the draft. Fast, powerful, disruptive, polished, he’s everything you want in a havoc-wreaking, play-wrecker. He shouldn’t go any later than #2 overall, but in this mock… he fell. I think this would actually be a more surprising fall than Aaron Rodgers. When Rodgers fell, it was easy to ay “Well, those teams didn’t need quarterbacks” but every team needs dominant, game-changing lineman – multiple ones. This would be nothing short of amazing.
TJ Hockenson (TE) I’ve written at length about how I don’t like taking Tight Ends in the first round… but Hock is exactly the guy to fit a LaFleur offense. Big, powerful blocker, good receiver, polished, he is the top Tight End in the class and really has it all. The only question is if you want to use a first round pick on a Tight End.
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Round 2
Nassir Adderly (FS) Ok, this draft is getting crazy. I know I haven’t addressed Edge yet, but I now have the best Safety in the draft, the best Tight End in the draft, and possibly the best player in the draft. Adderly is fast, plays with hustle, and can cover like a corner. There were questions about the level of competition he faced in college, but Senior Bowl practice, where he earned the title of captain, should have erased any doubts.
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Round 3
Zach Allen (Edge) Finally addressing Edge with Zach Allen. He doesn’t have the top-end flexibility and athleticism of the guys at the head of the class, but he have very polished moves, a lightning first step, and all the hustle to apply pressure. He also sets a strong edge in the run game. A very well-rounded prospect and great value in the third.
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Round 4
Chuma Edoga (G / RT) I know we have holes on the offensive line, but I keep banging the same drum: there are going to be good zone blocking guards available in the 4th. Chuma Edoga has great size at 6’4 300 and is a proven mover. He needs a little work on his balance and lean, but he has good feet to work from and speed rushers were walked past their peak all through Senior Bowl practise. There are some rumors of legal issues, which may push him down, but until something breaks, I’m thrilled to grab him in the 4th,
Darnell Savage (FS) If we come out of this draft with Savage as our top Safety, I’d be happy, but the opportunity to double it with Adderly is some next level stuff. Savage has good size at 5’11, 200, but still runs in the 4.3’s and may have the best time at the Combine. He even has the coverage chops to play corner, giving the defense a lot of flexibility,
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Round 5
Jalen Jelks (Edge) I like Zach Allen, but I feel even better about Edge picking up another guys who slipped in Jalen Jelks. At 6’5 250, he’s a lean athletic rusher. He’s fast and gets good penetration off the snap and he can get still low and bull rush. He doesn’t have the preferred flexibility, but makes up for it with hustle and speed. He’s good at diagnosing plays and very heady in waving down balls. There’s a lot to work with, including a wide tackling radius, but he needs to develop his moves at the next level.
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Round 6
Nate Davis (G / RT) More help for the line with 6’3 311 Nate Davis, who plays with power as well as athleticism needed for zone blocking. HE didn’t always handle the top edge rushers very well, but he’s good in space, can drop an anchor, and has strong hand punch. He’ll make a great swing man on a brittle line.
Mark Fields (CB) With the second 6th round pick, I took Mark Fields, a developmental corner. He really shined in the post season, which earned him a Senior Bowl invite, where he also shined. He has impressive cover skills and seems to be peaking at the right time.
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Round 7
Bryce Love (RB) With a pick that could pay dividends later, I took Bryce Love. Love won the Doak Walker award and finished 2nd in Heisman in 2017, then had ankle injuries and tore his ACL last year, leading to concerns on availability and durability. When healthy, he was super fast (4.3’s) and elusive. He didn’t have a lot of power, and he wasn’t much of a receiver, but he was a blur as a runner. He might not be available until midseason, or could need a redshirt year, but there’s a lot of talent for the future.
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Analysis
Holy cow.
Quinnen Williams is the kind of guy who can turn around a defense single-handedly. Add in Zach Allen and Jalen Jelks and your front seven can go from meh to macho overnight. Putting a safety combo like Nassir Adderly and Darnell Savage behind it in the same draft just doesn’t seem fair. Oh, and throw in late-rising cornerback Mark Fields for good measure.
With all that help on defense, you might think the offense was left out of the party.
Nope.
TJ Hockenson is top 15 talent and will be perfect for whatever LaFleur wants to do on offense. Edoga and Davis have the potential to fix everything that ails the offensive line, and Bryce Love is a huge win for the future.
This really is about as good as it gets.
Boards are tightening up, but guys still fall through the cracks. If something like this actually happens, you might not see any of my pst draft analysis because I could actually die.
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Of Note
- 3 QBs, 3 Edge, 2 CBs, 1 DL, and 1 OL were taken to allow Quinnen Williams to drop – I cannot fathom this happening, but I love it
- Corey Ballentine and Jimmy Moreland, two of my favorite ate-round cornerbacks went in the 4th and 5th round this draft
- Dax Raymond, Alize Mack, and Foster Moreau were all on the board at the end of the draft and would be prime UDFA targets to get multiple TE sets going
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Check out our PFTW 2019 Mock Draft Archive to see how other scenarios played out!
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