Tag: Jake Andrews

The NFL’s ‘dress rehearsal’ mock draft is wild

The NFL sent teams the “dress rehearsal” mock draft list and the players and picks are nothing like how Thursday night will play out

As you might expect, the NFL carefully practices and prepares for its live events off the playing field. The NFL draft, the league’s most prominent off-field event, is no exception.

The league runs through a “dress rehearsal” edition of the draft ahead of Thursday night’s first round in Kansas City. Leaving nothing to chance, the league scripts out the picks for all 32 teams and strips away the trades that moved picks around for Tuesday’s scheduled rehearsal.

The results are wild!

Dianna Russini of ESPN tweeted out the scripted mock draft picks the NFL submitted to all teams for the dress rehearsal. Instead of the usual names crowding the first round, the players on the fake list are primarily Day 3 prospects or guys who project as priority undrafted free agents. The No. 1 pick is Troy OL Jake Andrews, who looked like the first pick of the seventh round during Senior Bowl week.

The full first round, courtesy Russini:

That could very well be the way the sixth round plays out.

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Vikings 2023 7 round mock draft 11.0: Build the offense

In the latest Minnesota Vikings seven-round mock draft, we explored what it might look like if they only took players to help the offense.

The Minnesota Vikings have a lot of different ways they can go in the NFL draft. There will be some discussion on what needs are most important but the Vikings can address most of them through both free agency and the NFL draft.

I have now done ten mock drafts for the Vikings this offseason and they all have taken a slightly different turn each time. This one has the Vikings focusing only on the offensive side of the football.

Mock draft 1.0
Mock draft 2.0
Mock draft 3.0
Mock draft 4.0
Mock draft 5.0
Mock draft 6.0
Mock draft 7.0
Mock draft 8.0
Mock draft 9.0
Mock draft 10.0

2023 NFL draft: Seahawks hosting Troy C Jake Andrews

Jake Andrews from Troy is a durable player who started 37 games for the Trojans in his career.

The Seattle Seahawks are in the business of trying to improve at center for the 2023 season. Last year, center Austin Blythe was the clear weak link in an otherwise vastly improved offensive line – thanks to the additions of rookie tackles Charles Cross and Abe Lucas.

Well, the Seahawks won’t have to worry about Blythe since he retired after his lone season in Seattle. The Seahawks did make a move in free agency to replace and upgrade by signing former Detroit Lions center Evan Brown. While this was a good transaction, it appears Seattle is not quite finished with the position.

Center Jake Andrews from Troy is a durable player who started 37 games for the Trojans in his career. Selecting this young man in the draft would seemingly do wonders to help with much-needed depth at a crucial position. Andrews’ NFL draft profile has this to say about him:

“His inability to trigger his feet quickly and make fluid redirections in space show up in run blocking and pass protection, but his ability to square up and hold his own against a true nose tackle over the top of him is a valuable talent. Players with Andrews’ thickness and drive-blocking talent tend to find their way onto rosters and often end up sticking around.”

Whatever direction the Seahawks go in, it’s clear they will likely still need to find a center in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Jaguars 7-round mock draft: 9 potential targets after free agency

What position should the Jaguars target early in the 2023 NFL Draft?

The first two weeks of NFL free agency were more about subtraction than addition for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

While the team reportedly aimed to keep offensive tackle Jawaan Taylor and pass rusher Arden Key, both players signed elsewhere last week. Taylor signed a massive deal with the Kansas City Chiefs and Key joined the Jaguars’ division rival, the Tennessee Titans.

Jacksonville signed running back D’Ernest Johnson and reportedly agreed to terms with a couple defensive lineman, but none of those additions will change the team’s draft plans much.

With the 2023 NFL Draft now less than a month away, here are nine prospects who could make sense for the Jaguars:

Vikings 2023 7 Round NFL Mock Draft 3.0: Man coverage cornerback

The Vikings stay home at all five picks in the latest seven-round Vikings mock draft

The Minnesota Vikings have a lot of different ways they can go in the NFL draft. There will be some discussion on what needs are most important but the Vikings can address most of them through both free agency and the NFL draft.

In the first mock draft that we did, the Vikings took a cornerback at 23rd overall and took a wide receiver in the second with a trade down. This one, we stayed at each pick and took good players that filled needs.