2020 NFL Mock Draft v. 3

NFL Mock Draft v.3

It has been over a month since I posted a mock draft, and plenty has changed not just in the NFL, but at the college level too. Since Week 6 of the CFB season, Joe Burrow has completely taken the football world by storm. I was hesitant to jump on his “#1 pick” rise in draft stock, but I am officially on the Joe Burrow hype train. 

Surprisingly the Dolphins aren’t the worst team in the NFL, and currently are two games ahead for the 1st overall pick. The Browns are still at the bottom of the NFL, the Raiders are doing better than the Bears, and the Bills (6-3) have a better record than the Chiefs (6-4).

With all that chaos being said, we are now deep enough into the season that I will start using the current draft order, thus causing a pretty big switch up from
the first two mock drafts I did ((v.1) (v.2)).

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1. Cincinnati Bengals, Joe Burrow

Rising from the 18th overall pick in our last NFL Mock Draft, Joe Burrow is now the top dog in this quarterback class, and the Bengals have benched Andy Dalton for a 4th round rookie who I personally aren’t very high on. The Bengals would be selecting a kid from Athens, Ohio who looks to be born for a role like this, and Zac Taylor will be able to try and form an offense he wants to work with.

Joe Burrow has been exceedingly accurate this year, completing almost 80% of his passes against legit SEC defenses. If the Bengals can find some way to improve the worst offensive line I have ever seen, they could be onto something here.

5. Atlanta Falcons, Isaiah Simmons

The Atlanta Falcons could go a lot of places with this pick, including trading down for more draft capital, but here they take care of their defense. I say that partially because I don’t know where they would want to use a talent like Simmons as he possibly could fill many holes for them. 

Vic Beasly is most likely not going to be a Falcon at the start of the 2020 NFL season and I believe Simmons could possibly become an upgrade at the position considering how versatile of a player he is. 

8. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jeffrey Okudah

As of Nov 13th, Veron Hargreaves III is no longer part of the Buccaneers future, and the position was already a mess before his departure too. Last year Tampa drafted three cornerbacks the past two years, but Jeffrey Okudah is too much of an upgrade at the position to pass on. The Buccaneers have the 32nd best pass defense in the NFL (yes that means last place), so until they improve that ranking they need to draft at that position.

Okudah is definitely the best defender in man coverage in this class, combining long arms with impressive speed to mask all types of receivers. Todd Bowles had to transition the defense into a man coverage heavy defense due to their struggles to execute zone defense.

12. Detroit Lions, Justin Herbert

 Matthew Stafford is still a very good quarterback don’t get me wrong, but similarly to the Cincinnati Bengals, what the Lions have been doing for 9+ years just simply isn’t working. The NFC North is going to be up for grabs very soon with Rodgers decline, the entire Bears decline, and an expiring Kirk Cousins contract, the Lions could get ahead of the curve by selecting their new quarterback here.

The Lions have a good offense to be able to play a rookie quarterback early on. Kerryon Johnon, T.J. Hockenson, and Kenny Golladay are all great weapons to take the pressure off Herbert until he has to be the focal point of the pressure.

17. Miami Dolphins (PIT), Laviska Shenault Jr.

Miami still ended up with Tua despite falling 3 spots in the draft, but he needs targets to throw still on that offense. The current state of the Dolphins receiving core is probably worse than what Tua currently has at Alabama.

DeVante Parker isn’t going to be in Miami much longer, and Mike Gesicki is still coming into his own himself. Laviska Shenault could be the most explosive wide receiver in this class, and pairing him with an emerging Preston Williams will give him solid weapons on the outside.

21. Dallas Cowboys, Xavier McKinney

Dallas made a lot of noise for Jamaal Adams during this year’s trade deadline, and also were big names in the Earl Thomas sweepstakes, so it is no secret the Cowboys could use an upgrade as safety. The Cowboys have yet to a record an interception 10 weeks into the season and that is something that has held this defense back.

McKinney is an extremely versatile defensive back and would bring a very different type of athlete to Dallas’ secondary. We have seen the impact Minkah Fitzpatrick brought to the Steelers this year, somewhat pushing a lackluster offense into some wins for the Steelers.

22. Indianapolis Colts, Jalen Reagor

I am going to be honest and say I have no idea where the Colts receivers came from besides T.Y. Hilton. They so far look like they dodged a bullet with Brissett being able to take over for Andrew Luck, but he needs better weapons than Zach Pascal or Chester Rogers.

Last year they drafted Parris Campbell who was the fastest player in the draft, but he hasn’t been able to get on the field in 2019. T.Y Hilton, Parris Campbell, and add Jalen Reagor to that mix and you immediately have the fastest receiving core in the NFL.

25. Miami Dolphins (HOU), Alex Leatherwood

Right after Wills gets selected, the Dolphins select their second player from Alabama in the 1st round. With one of the picks they got from shipping out Laremy Tunsil, it is only fitting to draft an offensive lineman here.

Alex Leatherwood has started at both guard and tackle for the Crimson Tide, and has been great at both. The Dolphins can bring in a similar offensive lineman that they sent away, at a way cheaper price, and already has a strong relationship with their new star rookie quarterback. Sounds like an ideal situation to me.

30. New Orleans Saints, Jonathan Taylor

We have seen the Saints battle through a lot, but it seems like their offense really takes a dip when Kamara cant get going. Murray has had his flashes this season, but they are still clearly missing Ingram in their rotation.

The Saints have been blessed by the Football Gods, and Jonathan Taylor just might be able to fall to them, giving them their extremely talented back field once again. Taylor might not be quite the bowling ball that Mark Ingram is, but at 219 Lbs he can definitely run between the tackles for New Orleans.