Ohio State’s Chase Young, Jeff Okudah drop in latest NFL.com mock draft

Most NFL mock drafts have Ohio State players Chase Young and Jeff Okudah going No. 2 and 3. Not NFL.com. Both are further down.

There’s a slew of NFL mock drafts out there for 2020 — seeing how it’s quickly approaching and all — but it’s time to check in on NFL.com’s latest version just released Thursday.

While most mocks have Chase Young and Jeff Okudah going back-to-back at No. 2 and No. 3 respectively, that’s not the case with what Chad Reuter has put together. He sees a lot of trades occurring, some wheeling and dealing, and some resulting shuffling of what’s assumed on other sites.

So where exactly does he have Young and Okudah going? Don’t worry, they are both still slated very early in the first round, but not as early. Instead of Young going to the Redskins, he now has him dropping one spot to the Detroit Lions at No. 3 overall.

The reason for the difference according to Reuter is the selection of Tua Tagovailoa by the Redskins at No. 2. That would make things very interesting for Dwayne Haskins should that shake out, but there is a growing sentiment that Washington is unsettled at the quarterback position with new head coach Ron Rivera taking over.

That means Okduah too has been shifted down. The thought by most draft analysts is that the All-American cornerback will go to the Lions, but Reuter has him falling to the Carolina Panthers at No. 7 overall.

[lawrence-related id=25526]

[lawrence-related id=25370]

Here’s what Reuter has to say about both Young and Okudah.

Chase Young – No. 3 to the Detroit Lions

I wonder how many trade calls the Lions have already taken for this pick? Young’s talent is just too much to pass by unless there’s a trade offer that Detroit absolutely cannot ignore.

Jeff Okudah – No. 7 to the Carolina Panthers

The Panthers select the draft’s top cornerback to replace James Bradberry, who departed in free agency.

It must also be noted that J.K. Dobbins is not projected late in the first round like some other mock drafts. He’s not even pegged for the second round. In fact, Dobbins doesn’t come off the board until round three to the Arizona Cardinals with the No. 72 overall pick. That is by far the biggest outlier we’ve seen with some of the more reputable NFL draft types out there.

But hey. A lot of this is pure speculation. It’ll all go down way different than anything we’ve seen getting space on the internet. It always does.