NFL Mock Draft v.4
Another month has passed, and it is time for my latest update to my 2020 NFL Mock Draft. Since Week 12 of the CFB season; Tua suffered a season ending hip dislocation, the playoffs have been set, and Jordan Love declared early for the NFL Draft. We now await LSU and Oklahoma to face off in the Peach Bowl and Ohio State and Clemson to face off in the Fiesta Bowl.
Most notably in the NFL would have to be the Tampa Bay Buccaneers jumping nine spots from the 8th pick in my v.3 update. As a Ravens fan, you love to see the Browns lose to the Arizona Cardinals, but they have also climbed eight spots to 15th overall. The Lions, Jaguars, and Falcons all moved around to find the perfect prospects for their defenses at their new draft positions, and a total of seven wide receivers taken in the 1st round.
Check out v.1, v.2, and v.3 here as well as my latest NFL Big Board here.
8. Jacksonville Jaguars, Isaiah Simmons
Most of the Top 5 picks are relatively the same, so we are actually going to talk about the last three picks in the Top 10. At the 8th pick the Jaguars are able to steal Isaiah Simmons to fill a great need in Jacksonville.
As many mention, Telvin Smith might be done with football for good, let alone be done in Jacksonville. They really struggled without his presence, and could use the Tiger in a boat load of ways. Isaiah Simmons, Myles Jack, and Josh Allen would give the Jags an extremely talented linebacking group for years to come.
9. Los Angeles Chargers, Justin Herbert
The Chargers are probably hoping for Tua to fall to them here at the 9th pick, but I still think the Dolphins pull the trigger when they can. That doesn’t change the fact that LA needs to look past Rivers and get ready for a new signal caller of the future.
Phillip Rivers can probably still play one more season, allowing some cushion for a prospect like Herbert to learn some NFL tendencies before getting thrown into the fire. While there are still a few things Herbert needs to work on, I do like the fit with the Chargers. Staying in the west coast, Herbert will have plenty of weapons from the jump and a strong defense to help support his young mistakes that will come.
10. Denver Broncos, CeeDee Lamb
The Broncos have had many issues this season, thus giving them plenty of position needs to draft at. Derrick Brown would be a great fit here, but with an emerging Drew Lock I would also love to see Denver surround him with lethal weapons.
Courtland Sutton is proving to become a go to threat in the NFL, and Noah Fant is starting to develop a relationship with Lock as well. If you add an explosive play maker like Lamb into this offense it would give Lock no excuses. Lamb would also be a great addition in the running game being able to block for Phillip Lindsey.
13. Las Vegas Raiders, Kristian Fulton Jr
Mike Mayock’s first draft with the Raiders went a totally different direction than most were expecting, lead by Clelien Ferrell going 4th overall. This year I think they will target the draft in a similar way, looking for the best player available with great leadership and football I.Q. Jon Gruden would love to bring in someone like Fulton to this defense.
The Raiders are extremely thin at cornerback, and have yet to have anyone stand out for them. I wouldn’t be surprised if they doubled down at cornerback later in the draft in not in free agency. Fulton will not just stand out, he would unquestionably be the Raiders best corner by Week 1.
17. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, A.J. Epenesa
I feel like every year the Jets and the Buccaneers tend to be some of the luckiest teams in the first round for the past four to five seasons now. They haven’t managed to get many wins, but once again the Buccaneers have one of the top prospects of one of their top positions of need fall to them.
Though I am not as high as many are on Epenesa, I do think he fits well with the Buccaneer’s defense and what they have now. Tampa Bay can slide him in for Ndamukong Suh’s role and rotate him through Beau Allen, William Gholston, maybe another free agent veteran. Watching his tape at Iowa I saw a giant defensive end that tends to be the strongest man on the field, so bringing in someone to help him develop pass rushing moves would be amazing for him.
19. Tennessee Titans, Curtis Weaver
The Titans selected Harold Landry out of Boston College in 2018, and Curtis Weaver would be a great linebacker to pair with him. Cameron Wake is on his last leg in the NFL, and Curtis Weaver would be a great replacement for him in this defense. Jeffrey Simmons, Jurrell Casey, Harold Landry and Curtis Weaver would give Mike Vrabel a lot of different pass rushers in his front seven.
If the Titans decide to go with Ryan Tannehill at least for one more season they won’t really have many major holes to fill. With Fulton Jr off the board, I think Curtis Weaver gives Tennessee their biggest upgrade at pick 19.
23. Miami Dolphins, Henry Ruggs III
Last time it was Laviska Shenault Jr, and this time I still have Miami selecting a wide receiver but now the Dolphins are dipping back into the Alabama draft pool. Pairing Tua with his college teammate and helping him become as comfortable as possible in Miami.
Henry Ruggs III is going to be one of, if not the fastest, players running at the NFL Combine this year, and that pairs perfectly with Preston Williams and DeVante Parker who the Dolphins already have. Williams and Parker are both 6’3+ who are great red zone threats but are going to take the top off a defense. Ruggs’ ability to keep the secondary honest will not just open up the passing game even more, but keep defenders away from the running game too.
29. New England Patriots, Tyler Johnson
Tyler Johnson is a player that has truly jumped onto the screen for me, and I didn’t believe would be a 1st round pick until there I was…slotting him into the 29th pick. Johnson is a very well rounded receiver, and reminds me a lot of Stefon Diggs in many ways.
There have been many times this year where Tom Brady has been upset about the amount of chemistry he has with his receivers, and he has expressed that on and off the field. Of course giving Brady a rookie receiver isn’t necessarily going to help the chemistry aspect right away, it gives the offense much needed help.
32. Baltimore Ravens, Kenneth Murray Jr.
Lamar Jackson and this explosive offense has helped take some of the attention away from a very thin front 7. They could use help all across the defensive line, and could use an upgrade at almost every linebacker position as well. Kenneth Murray is exactly what Baltimore could use
I like Murray as an inside linebacker, but he can line up inside or out. His speed doesn’t just make him a threat coming off the edge (9.5 career sacks) but allows him to cover sideline to sideline.