WAB Mock Draft

[wab]

I know, I usually do a 7 round mock, but no one really cares about other picks besides the Bears, so it's too much for too little payout.

Anyway, I didn't want the year to go by without doing one, so here.

1. Chicago f/CAR : Caleb Williams - QB - USC
As expected. Hopefully Williams ends whatever curse has been bestowed upon the Bears.

2. Washington : Jayden Daniels - QB - LSU
Daniels gets the call because he’s a really good QB, but he also fits what Kingsbury wants.

3. New England : Joe Alt - OT - Notre Dame
The Pats won’t pick a QB and send him out there to die…right? I mean they literally have zero starting offensive tackles.

4. Arizona : Marvin Harrison Jr. - WR - Ohio State
They will take calls, but I think they are going to price themselves out of the trade market. So they sit tight and pick the guy everyone expects them to pick.

5. TRADE Minnesota f/LAC : Drake Maye - QB - North Carolina
With Alt and MHJ off the board, the Chargers move down so that Minny can grab a QB. Josh McCown coached the kid in high school. It costs them two first round picks this year and a first round pick next year, but this just makes too much sense.

6. NY Giants : Rome Odunze - WR - Washington
Odunze over Nabers? Just a hunch, but with Daniel Jones throwing the ball, they will need someone who can make miracles happen on contested catches.

7. Tennessee : Dallas Turner - EDGE - Alabama
Teams could start calling about McCarthy, but after taking Z E R O defenders in the last draft, they take the top edge rusher on the board.

8. TRADE NY Jets f/ATL : Malik Nabers - WR - LSU
This pisses off Bears fans to no end, but I’m not sure the Bears would have taken him anyway. The Jets don’t have a ton of needs, but scooping up arguably the top WR at #8 may be hard to pass on.

9. Chicago : Jared Verse - EDGE - Florida State
I’m slowly falling in Love with Verse, and I think the Bears brass will too. He gives me all kinds of DeMarcus Ware vibes.

10. TRADE Atlanta f/NYJ : Byron Murphy II - DL - Texas
Murphy is quietly getting come buzz as a top 10 pick. The Falcons seems to be the team showing the most interest, and in this scenario they drop to 10 and still get him.

11. TRADE LA Chargers f/MIN : Taliese Fuaga - OT - Oregon State
Trey Pipkins has been pretty bad at RT, so here comes Fuaga who is an absolute animal in the run game.

12. Denver : J.J. McCarthy - QB - Michigan
I think Denver would be more than happy to trade up, and they might call Tennessee in this scenario, but luck finally shines on the Broncos, and they stay patient and land their QB of the future.

13. TRADE Cincinnati f/LV : Brock Bowers - TE - Georgia
With Bowers falling out of the top 10, Cincy makes a move up to get him. It costs them a 2nd round pick and a 2025 3rd to do so.

14. New Orleans : Olumuyiwa Fashanu - OT - Penn State
Ryan Ramczyk may never play again, and the Trevor Penning thing hasn’t quite worked yet. Fashanu was once considered a top 2 pick and should be able to man the LT for several years.

15. Indianapolis : Quinyon Mitchell - CB - Toledo
After missing out on the L’Jarius Sneed, the Colts look to the top corner in the draft instead.

16. Seattle : Troy Fautanu - OT - Washington
Seattle needs help in the front seven, but they don’t have a starting left guard as of this moment. Fautanu is a perfect fit for the Seahawks.

17. Jacksonville : Brian Thomas Jr. - WR - LSU
They have some WRs, so it would not surprise me if they went with a corner, but Thomas Jr helps Trevor Lawrence more right now.

18. TRADE Las Vegas f/CIN : Terrion Arnold - CB - Alabama
They really need a RT, and I think that’s who they would target in a trade down, but they find themselves picking corner 1b instead.

19. LA Rams : Jer'Zhan Newton - DL - Illinois
Kobe Turner is slated to be Aaron Donald’s replacement, but someone then has to replace Turner. Newton has a foot issue that drops him this far, but he’d be too good to pass on here. Don’t rule out an OT either.

20. Pittsburgh : Graham Barton - OT - Duke
Barton probably plays center in the NFL, and the Steelers don’t currently have one on the roster (unless they think that light has finally come on for James Daniels). Either way, Barton gives the team a lot of flexibility.

21. Miami : Laiatu Latu - EDGE - UCLA
The Dolphins aren’t a team with a lot of needs, and this is a bit of a risk, but if not for his neck concerns Latu would be a top 5 pick (IMO).

22. Philadelphia : J.C. Latham - OT - Alabama
Everyone has them picking a defensive back, but when a possible top 12 pick is staring you in the face at #22, you don’t pass. Latham can play one of the guard spots until eventually taking over for Lane Johnson in 2025.

23. TRADE LA Chargers f/MIN : Roman Wilson - WR - Michigan
The Chargers need for a WR is pretty well documented, and this isn’t a homer pick for Harbaugh in it’s entirety because Wilson would probably be the #1 WR prospect in any other year.

24. Dallas : Jackson Powers-Johnson - C - Oregon
The Cowboys need a center. JPJ is the best pure center in the draft. It works.

25. Green Bay : Cooper DeJean - S - Iowa
DeJean is a fringe round 1 guy, but the Packers love for Iowa guys puts him there.

26. Tampa Bay : Amarius Mims - OT - Georgia
They are going to have a hard time choosing between Mims and Chop Robinson, and even though Luke Goedeke played pretty well at RT, his home is inside. Mims only started 8 games, so he is pure projection and potential. But man he’s impressive.

27. Arizona f/HOU : Chop Robinson - EDGE - Penn State
I think it will come down to edge or corner, and they’ll look at a corner in R2. They could even surprise everyone and take Bo Nix.

28. Buffalo : Xavier Legette - WR - South Carolina
In a bit of a surprise, Buffalo take a guy many have ranked in the 2nd (or even 3rd). I’m not a huge fan of Legette, but he’s a big, physical boundary WR with speed. And that fits Josh Allen’s style like an old pair of boots.

29. TRADE New England f/DET : Michael Penix Jr. - QB - Washington
NE passes on the 3rd best QB for the first best OT, but hops back into R1 for Penix, who some say is the best deep thrower in the draft. He won’t necessarily have to play right away, but might be the most NFL ready QB regardless.

30. Baltimore : Tyler Guyton - OT - Oklahoma
Ronnie Stanley hasn’t been a picture of health, and the Ravens lost Morgan Moses. Guyton is a massive tackle prospect who moves really really well.

31. San Francisco : Kris Jenkins - DL - Michigan
Another minor surprise in R1, is the Niners taking Jenkins. After losing two of their top 3 interior guys, they need to restock.

32. Kansas City : Jordan Morgan - OT - Arizona
This pick completely depends on how they feel about Wanya Morris at OT. Morris looked better at guard when called upon, and Morgan is a top 15 pick in any other OT class.


Bears R3 #75 Cade Stover - TE - Ohio State
More offense for the Bears. They need a 3rd TE and Stover is a great value at 75.

Bears R4 #122 Luke McCaffrey - WR - Rice
I’ve had a hard time hiding my love for McCaffrey. He’s still learning to play the position after starting out as a QB, but personally I’d be fine taking him a round earlier.

I know…no offensive linemen, but I think they have decent depth and can fill those needs after the draft.

[crueltyabc]

I think Verse will be fine and fills a need but I am really turned off by the lack of improvement between 2022 and 2023. He just seems like a 6-8 sack a year DE2 to me and that's not what I want from my #9 pick. In this scenario, assuming nobody wants to trade back, I think I'd rather get Murphy because he seems like a more unique prospect. Maybe even Brock Bowers. I think the Bears could make do at EDGE in 2024 and get a Verse-quality guy next year in the draft when drafting in the teens (EDGE4 or whatever).

Chop to the Cards is a bit of a hot take! Interesting.

Also the Raiders trade up to get CB is fun. What do you think they do about QB?

[wab]

I think Verse will be fine and fills a need but I am really turned off by the lack of improvement between 2022 and 2023. He just seems like a 6-8 sack a year DE2 to me and that's not what I want from my #9 pick. In this scenario, assuming nobody wants to trade back, I think I'd rather get Murphy because he seems like a more unique prospect. Maybe even Brock Bowers. I think the Bears could make do at EDGE in 2024 and get a Verse-quality guy next year in the draft when drafting in the teens (EDGE4 or whatever).

Chop to the Cards is a bit of a hot take! Interesting.

Also the Raiders trade up to get CB is fun. What do you think they do about QB?

I think the Raiders go after Nix in R2 if they can, or possibly over-draft Jordan Travis.

[wab]

I think Verse will be fine and fills a need but I am really turned off by the lack of improvement between 2022 and 2023. He just seems like a 6-8 sack a year DE2 to me and that's not what I want from my #9 pick. In this scenario, assuming nobody wants to trade back, I think I'd rather get Murphy because he seems like a more unique prospect. Maybe even Brock Bowers. I think the Bears could make do at EDGE in 2024 and get a Verse-quality guy next year in the draft when drafting in the teens (EDGE4 or whatever).

Chop to the Cards is a bit of a hot take! Interesting.

Also the Raiders trade up to get CB is fun. What do you think they do about QB?

I think the Raiders go after Nix in R2 if they can, or possibly over-draft Jordan Travis. But for the most part will be fine with Minshew for the year.

[Bears Whiskey Nut]

If we're not trading back, I'm going to assume either Fashanu or Turner are still there. They would be hard to pass up. You also have 8 OT's going in the first round, which would be an NFL Draft record. Not saying it's not possible. So much talent at that position this year. Overall though, if we could get Williams and Verse in the 1st round, I would be ecstatic.

[crueltyabc]

The analysist I follow see to think that Fashanu is basically a finesse pass blocker. It doesn't make sense to me in terms of how much the bears want to run the ball and the fact that we already have an LT that struggles to anchor against the bull rush. Why get another one?

[wab]

If we're not trading back, I'm going to assume either Fashanu or Turner are still there. They would be hard to pass up. You also have 8 OT's going in the first round, which would be an NFL Draft record. Not saying it's not possible. So much talent at that position this year. Overall though, if we could get Williams and Verse in the 1st round, I would be ecstatic.

Well, technically one (possibly two) of those OTs is going to be a guard, and one is likely going to be a center. But yes, I believe there is going to be a historic run on offensive linemen in R1 this year.

Three WRs in the top 10 would be a record too.

[Bears Whiskey Nut]

If we're not trading back, I'm going to assume either Fashanu or Turner are still there. They would be hard to pass up. You also have 8 OT's going in the first round, which would be an NFL Draft record. Not saying it's not possible. So much talent at that position this year. Overall though, if we could get Williams and Verse in the 1st round, I would be ecstatic.

Well, technically one (possibly two) of those OTs is going to be a guard, and one is likely going to be a center. But yes, I believe there is going to be a historic run on offensive linemen in R1 this year.

Three WRs in the top 10 would be a record too.

If there are three WR's in the to 10, that would be amazing for the Bears. You know there will be four QB's taken. Which means we pretty much have our pick of OT's and DE's.

[alexwilkins]

Verse may not have had a “breakout” year so-to-speak, but he is consistent. He had 9.5 sacks as a freshman at Albany, 9 sacks as a sophomore, and 9 sacks as a junior at FSU.

His opposite at FSU, Patrick Payton, will be getting drafted next year for sure, but playing opposite Tez Sweat should make life a lot easier for him.