[lawrence-newsletter]
NFL Draft writer Dane Brugler of the Athletic released his 2020 NFL Mock Draft 5.0 last week and sees four former Badgers being selected during next week’s event.
The four, to no surprise, are linebacker Zack Baun, running back Jonathan Taylor, center Tyler Biadasz and wide receiver Quintez Cephus.
What is a slight surprise, though, is where Brugler slotted some of the Badger products to go.
Here is an overview of where the mock draft has the four players, an analysis of whether the selections make sense and a look at their potential fits with those teams.
Zack Baun: 28th overall (1st round) to the Baltimore Ravens
This would be the best-case scenario for both Baun and the Ravens come draft day.
I went on the Locked on Badgers podcast yesterday and discussed the potential best landing spots for the Badgers entering the draft. When the topic shifted to Baun, the Ravens were my clear choice.
Baun brings valuable versatility to the table in addition to clearly being a stellar pass rusher. This fit would see Baun land in Baltimore on a defense headlined by Earl Thomas III, Calais Campbell, Matthew Judon, Marlon Humphrey, Marcus Peters and more.
One of the Ravens’ only needs in this draft is a pass rusher, a role Baun would fill tremendously as he would join a stellar defense, outlined above, that would put both him and the team in a position to succeed right away.
Jonathan Taylor: 35th overall (2nd round) to the Detroit Lions
This one does not make as much sense to me.
First of all, the Lions have a fine backfield set for 2020 with Kerryon Johnson, Bo Scarborough and Ty Johnson. Adding Taylor to this group would definitely be an upgrade but would also come at the peril of missing an obvious opportunity to fill the holes the team has at cornerback, pass rusher, interior defensive line, safety and more.
This selection would represent a fine fit from the former Badger running back’s perspective as the Lions have a solid offensive line, a good quarterback and an above-average overall offense when key pieces are healthy, something which wasn’t the case in 2019.
In total, though, the Lions have much more significant needs than running back and I don’t see it likely that they use the 35th overall pick on Taylor.
Side note: the mock draft has Taylor as the second running back off the board after Ohio State’s J.K. Dobbins is selected at No. 26 by the Miami Dolphins.
Tyler Biadasz: 113th overall (4th round) to the Carolina Panthers
Brugler’s mock draft has the Panthers addressing their weaknesses at linebacker, cornerback and defensive line in the first three rounds before selecting Biadasz to sure-up their offensive line in round four.
I like this selection by the Panthers and like how Biadasz fits in Carolina, especially given running back Christian McCaffrey‘s new contract and how significant he is to the offense.
The former Badger would join an offensive line that ranked 18th in the NFL last season and would likely battle for the starting job with the team’s current center Matt Paradis, a guy who dropped off in 2019 after finding success in the beginning of his career and finished the season having allowed a position-high 47 quarterback pressures according to ProFootballFocus.
Quintez Cephus: 228th overall (7th round) to the Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons would be an ideal landing spot for Cephus, even if he has to wait until the seventh round to go there.
The former Badgers is from Macon, Georgia, about an hour outside of Atlanta, and would be a worthy flier for the Falcons to take with one of their late picks.
The current Falcons depth chart sees Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley at No. 1 and 2 respectively, but no sure thing after them. While a No. 3 receiver isn’t a glaring need for the team, aiming at a guy like Cephus in the late rounds would be a low-risk, high-reward plan to fill that role.
Cephus no doubt has the talent to make an NFL roster, and were it to be with the Falcons having Matt Ryan as his quarterback to begin his career would be great news for Cephus’ chances at sticking in the league.
The NFL Draft begins this upcoming Thursday night and will conclude on Saturday.