After the 2020 NFL Combine, ESPN’s Todd McShay has the Baltimore Ravens taking LSU linebacker Patrick Queen to replace C.J. Mosley.
The 2020 NFL Combine has finished, which means a new wave of mock drafts are incoming. ESPN’s Todd McShay has one of those — his third of this offseason. In his last mock draft, McShay handed the Baltimore Ravens an inside linebacker to replace C.J. Mosley, who left in free agency last offseason. This time around, McShay is still mocking Baltimore an inside linebacker but a different name.
In his third mock draft, McShay has the Ravens taking LSU linebacker Patrick Queen at No. 28.
Either Queen or Oklahoma’s Kenneth Murray make sense for the Ravens here, but I give the slight edge to Queen at the moment. He has 4.50 speed and posted 85 tackles, including 12.5 for loss, last season with the national champion Tigers. A playmaking linebacker in the middle of the defense could take the unit to a whole other level in 2020 — Baltimore never really replaced C.J. Mosley in that role. Josh Bynes and Patrick Onwuasor are both free agents, so landing Queen at No. 28 would be a perfect marriage of talent, value and need for a Baltimore team that will again be contending for the Super Bowl.
Inside linebacker is one of Baltimore’s biggest glaring needs. There was hope Patrick Onwuasor was going to be able to step up into the role but it only took a few weeks before he lost his communication helmet and his starting job to midseason free-agent acquisitions.
The Ravens also need to find help at pass rusher, even if they’re able to retain outside linebacker Matthew Judon. However, names we’ve seen mocked to Baltimore in the past were already gone. Penn State’s Yetur Gross-Matos, Iowa’s A.J. Epenesa and LSU’s K’Lavon Chaisson had already been selected, leaving Alabama’s Terrell Lewis, Boise State’s Curtis Weaver and Notre Dame’s Julian Okwara as potential second-round options.
Wide receiver is another position many fans are excited about. But in McShay’s mock draft, six wide receivers were taken before Baltimore got on the clock, including some pretty big reaches. It would make more sense in that case for the Ravens to sit tight and grab someone in the second or third round rather than waste a first-round pick by taking a second-round player.
With the Combine in the rear view mirror, whose stock is rising, whose is falling and how has the board potentially changed?
Ah, mock draft season. With Indianapolis behind us, we can now start to imagine how the draft could play out given what we saw from the prospects at the 2020 Scouting Combine. Whose stock is rising, whose is falling, and how could — I repeat, how could — that impact the draft?
Here’s just one man’s shot at putting it together.
We can work our way into this mock with a selection that makes the most sense. The Bengals are moving on from Andy Dalton, and Joe Burrow’s magical season has rocketed him to the top of many draft boards. His decision-making, pocket presence and leadership abilities are perfect for what Cincinnati needs right now. Plus, the storyline of “local boy comes home” is sure to get fans excited.
Schematically, Burrow is a fit for what Bengals head coach Zac Taylor is looking to do offensively. With some weapons around him and some additions to the offensive line, Burrow could be in position to contribute early in his career.
2. Washington Redskins: Chase Young, EDGE, Ohio State
(Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sport)
There does seem to be some smoke building around the idea of Washington doing this year what the Arizona Cardinals did a season ago: Let a new regime pick their quarterback. Last year the Cardinals hired Kliff Kingsbury and let him pick the quarterback he wanted to build around. The result? Arizona moved on from Josh Rosen after a single season and drafted Kyler Murray.
Could the same thing happen to Dwayne Haskins? Rumors around Indianapolis last week seemed to indicate that it was at least a possibility. Washington reportedly met with Tua Tagovailoa and the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported that new head coach Ron Rivera told the Alabama passer that, according to a source, “[t]hey want to bring in Tua, just get it going and compete.”
My thinking here is this: This is lying season. Most people believe the draft begins at the second pick, and Washington holds a lot of cards. They could stay pat and select the best overall player in the draft, the Ohio State edge rusher. But if a team is dying to move up to draft a quarterback, they’ll entertain offers. One way to drive up the price? Float the idea that you are in the quarterback market as well.
For now, I think these are all smoke screens. Washington stays pat and takes the pass rusher.
3. Detroit Lions: Jeff Okudah, CB, Ohio State
(Joe Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports)
Here is where things could really get sporty.
There are concerns in Detroit regarding the status of quarterback Matthew Stafford. Back injuries the past few seasons have some wondering if it is time to prepare for a world without Stafford in Detroit. The issue is, Stafford’s contract is such that it makes much more sense from a salary cap perspective to move on from Stafford in 2021, rather than 2020.
Under Stafford’s contract, if he were to be traded or cut before June 1st, the Lions would be hit with $32 million in dead cap space for 2020, and would have a cap “savings” of minus $10.7 million for the 2020 league year.
However, if they decide to move on from Stafford prior to 2021, they would actually free up around $14M of cap space.
So the thinking here could be: Draft Tagovailoa, redshirt him for a season while Stafford plays through 2020, and then move on when Tagovailoa is fully healthy and it makes more sense from a cap perspective.
So it is a possibility that the Lions could go with a quarterback here.
At the same time, Matt Patricia must be feeling the urge to win now, and the idea of drafting a quarterback to simply redshirt him while the flames are fanned under your seat cannot feel too pleasant. In the end Detroit entertains the idea of Tagovailoa, but goes with the potential shutdown corner in Okudah.
4. Los Angeles Chargers (via trade with New York Giants): Tua Tagovailoa, QB, Alabama
(Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Now we have our first trade.
A running theme of this mock draft so far has been the Alabama quarterback. In the mix to Washington with the second pick. A potential option for Detroit with the third pick. Now this draft enters a stretch where quarterback is a possibility for a number of teams, including the Chargers at six and the Carolina Panthers at seven.
Tagovailoa has been linked to the Dolphins for a long time now, and the Chargers can read the tea leaves as well as anyone else. If they decide that Tagovailoa is their quarterback of the future, they’ll need to get in front of Miami to ensure that he is wearing the powder blues next season.
Conceptually, while there might be better fits for Tagovailoa’s skill-set, such as the Panthers as we argued yesterday, the Chargers will have the time to build around Tagovailoa and construct an offense around his strengths: His accuracy in the short area, his processing speed, and his familiarity with run/pass option designs.
5. Miami Dolphins: Justin Herbert, QB, Oregon
(Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports)
Interestingly enough, Miami might be just fine with the Chargers leap-frogging them, as they end up with the passer that some in the building have been targeting for over a year. It was just a year ago when reports out of Miami were that Dolphins’ owner Stephen Ross was interested in two quarterbacks: Tagovailoa and Herbert.
Now, with both an option for the Dolphins in this year’s draft, many have linked Miami to Tagovailoa. But the decision to hire Chan Gailey as their offensive coordinator does give them a potential schematic fit with both quarterbacks. As we argued yesterday, the Dolphins are a great fit for Herbert’s skill-set, given his background in Oregon’s spread system. That would ease his transition to the pro game, and with both Rosen and Ryan Fitzpatrick in place, they could potentially move one of those players late in training camp, depending on Herbert’s progress as a rookie this summer.
6. New York Giants (via trade with Los Angeles Chargers): Andrew Thomas, OT, Georgia
(AP Photo/Butch Dill)
New York Giants general manager Dave Gettleman said a number of things during his media session in Indianapolis that stuck with me. Two in particular. One I will take to heart, and the other I will ignore with this move to trade down and select the Georgia offensive tackle.
When addressing the media, Gettleman indicated that trading down does carry a bit of risk. What if you trade down, he theorized, from four to eight with four players that you like on your board? You might miss out on all of them is the fear he expressed.
But given how Gettleman could play the board, and still select one of the four impressive offensive tackles in this draft, gives him an option to pick up some additional selections in this draft and continue to build around Daniel Jones.
So while I dismissed the idea of Gettleman’s trade down fear, I will take to heart something else he said. He was asked about the most important position to help a young quarterback and he instantly delivered an incredible response: “Offensive line. I’ve found that it is hard to complete a pass when lying on your back.” And in, perhaps, a shot at all the discussion over Gettleman’s thoughts on analytics he added: “I’ve done that study.”
Here, the Giants trade back and get an NFL ready offensive tackle with experience on both the right and the left sides of the line. Given his SEC pedigree, Thomas has faced some imposing pass rushers during his time in Athens, and he’ll be ready to go up against some of what the NFL has to offer. The combine might have vaulted Tristan Wirfs and Mekhi Becton up many boards, but something tells me that Gettleman will value what Thomas put on tape.
The Panthers could go in a number of directions with this pick. Quarterback is in play, depending on what new head coach Matt Rhule decides to do with Cam Newton and how he handles Kyle Allen and last year’s draft pick Will Grier. Rhule has said all the right things about Newton, he likes Grier dating back to their games against each other in the Big 12, and Allen showed promise at times last year. So it is likely that Rhule keeps all three in Carolina and looks to address other needs.
Offensive line is also an area they could address, and given what we saw from Tristan Wirfs, Mekhi Becton at the combine as well as what we saw on film all season from Jedrick Wills Jr., any one of those players could be in play if the board falls this way.
They also have needs on the defensive side of the football. They could use help up front, they could use some help at linebacker in the wake of Luke Kuechly’s retirement, and they could also use some help in the secondary.
In Simmons, they could get help at all three levels of their defense. They would get a player who has lined up on the defensive line, in the slot, as a box safety and even as a boundary cornerback. They would also get an explosive athlete who posted a 4.39 40-yard dash at the combine, to go with a vertical leap of 39” and a broad jump of 11’. All while measuring in at 6’3 and ½” and weighing 238 pounds. He is an absolute freak of nature, and would revamp their defense in an instant.
In a draft that is talent-laden at the wide receiver position, we have yet to hear one WR called. That streak continues, as the Cardinals pass on every wide receiver on the board to address another glaring need: Offensive line. The Cardinals desperately need to protect Murray next season, and Becton can help in that effort.
Murray was sacked 48 times last season, tied with Russell Wilson and Matt Ryan for the most times sacked in the league. Now yes, sacks are not an offensive line statistic and the quarterback contributes to those sack totals, but the Cardinals do need to give him more time in the pocket. Murray was hurried 63 times last season, fifth-most in the league. With D.J. Humphries and Justin Murray as their starting tackles last season, this position could use a boost.
They get that in Becton. The massive left tackle showed some power and explosiveness both on film and during his combine workout. He has very fluid footwork for a man of his size, and his length will be an asset in Kingsbury’s offense. He could be the guy to protect Murray’s blindside for the next decade.
Raiders grab LSU LB Patrick Queen at No. 19 in latest PFF mock draft
Pro Football Focus released their first post-combine mock draft this week and there was a familiar face at No. 12. The site gave the Raiders wide receiver Jerry Jeudy as they passed on CeeDee Lamb, who went at pick No. 13 to the Colts.
But the more interesting selection for the Raiders came at pick No. 19 as the Raiders had a choice of several top-tier defenders. However, the pick was LSU linebacker Patrick Queen, who put on a show at the NFL Combine last week.
Take a look at why Pro Football Focus believes Queen could be the pick for the Raiders:
The Raiders can’t throw out Tahir Whitehead and Nicholas Morrow again at linebacker and expect to see a big turnaround defensively in 2020. With a 4.5 40, 35-inch vertical and 10-foot-5 broad jump, Queen proved to be one of the most explosive linebackers in the class.
Both Queen and fellow linebacker Kenneth Murray had monster days at the NFL Combine, but we already knew these two players were highly athletic. But it’s Queen who offers the most long-term upside as he is only 20-years old and played at an All-American level in the second half of the college football season.
Queen may need some time to adjust to the physicality of the NFL, but his athleticism is off the charts. He should be able to make plays with his speed and effort alone and that’s something the Raiders’ defense has sorely lacked over the last decade.
If the Raiders can grab their future No. 1 receiver at pick No. 12, look for Queen to be their target at No. 19. It’s a perfect match of talent and need.
These eight players did enough at the 2020 NFL Combine to put themselves in the running for the Baltimore Ravens 1st-round pick in the draft
The 2020 NFL Combine has come and gone, leaving only free agency remaining before the 2020 NFL Draft. The Baltimore Ravens, like the rest of the league, will likely begin finetuning their draft boards with all the main measurements figured out. But which players impressed at the 2020 NFL Combine enough to have Baltimore potentially fall in love with them in the first round?
There really wasn’t a consensus top running back in this draft class, meaning the 2020 NFL Combine could be the deciding factor. Taylor apparently understood that and showed up in a big way.
At 5-foot-10 and 226 pounds, Taylor put up the fastest 40-yard dash among the running backs, finishing in just 4.39 seconds. Taylor also posted the fourth-fastest 3-cone drill and sixth-fastest 20-yard shuttle from the running backs. He also put up a respectable 36-inch vertical jump and 123-inch broad jump as well.
Taylor has frequently been mocked to Baltimore in the first round and after his 2020 NFL Combine results, the Ravens could very well be swayed to make him their pick.
The Packers met with both the LSU linebacker and Alamaba defensive lineman at the combine in Indianapolis.
LSU linebacker Patrick Queen and Alabama defensive lineman Raekwon Davis are among the potential first-round prospects to meet with the Green Bay Packers at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Both could be potential options for the Packers at No. 30 overall, and both could fill positions of need for Mike Pettine’s defense.
Queen is one of the top-rated inside linebackers in the class and could add a massive infusion of speed and range to the middle of the Packers defense. He’s been compared to both former LSU teammate Devin White and former Panthers great Thomas Davis. The Packers desperately need a playmaker at linebacker.
Davis is a giant human being who could provide length and power next to Kenny Clark along the Packers defensive line. He has the frame and strength to be a dominant run defender, with top-end upside if he develops as a rusher. The Packers didn’t get enough from any down lineman besides Clark and were often pushed around in the run game in 2019.
As always, keep in mind that teams meet with many players from all positions during the combine. It’s an information-gathering operation, and teams take advantage of any and all opportunities to stockpile intel and better inform their own draft processes.
That said, the Packers have met with many of the top off-ball linebackers and defensive linemen in Indianapolis, likely hinting at Brian Gutekunst’s desire to upgrade both positions at some point in the draft.
Note: the Packers also met with Oklahoma linebacker Kenneth Murray, as reported by Matt Schneidman of The Athletic earlier Thursday.
The Bengals have met with two prominent 2020 linebackers.
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The Cincinnati Bengals figure to address linebacker at least once in a high-profile fashion this offseason.
On the drat side of things, Bengals personnel used the 2020 NFL combine to meet with both LSU’s Patrick Queen and Oregon’s Troy Dye.
The Queen meet, reported by Jordan Reid of The Draft Network, is a big ordeal given the LSU star’s stock. Queen is a probable first-round pick and would probably be the best player available on many boards if he made it to the top of Round 2 thanks to his three-down capabilities, including his ability to match up well in coverage.
As for Dye, noted by Malik Wright, he’s a veteran Oregon star with versatility who could have some value as a potential starter in time.
This is merely the tip of the proverbial iceberg as far as the Bengals meeting players goes. But the emphasis on big linebacker names is noteworthy.
He’s already had formal meetings with the #Bengals and #Chiefs
With workouts scheduled to begin tomorrow, here are 6 defensive prospects for Jaguars’ fans to watch at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Starting Thursday, this 2020’s crop of draft hopefuls will be poked, prodded, and interviewed by NFL teams. Whilst the most important aspects of the NFL Scouting Combine for teams are all conducted off the pitch, the spectacle of public workouts has drawn fans’ attention to Indianapolis for years.
With an additional first-round selection thanks to Jalen Ramsey, Jags fans will have a wide variety of early round selections to watch, making the 2020 Combine the most interesting in years.
The Jaguars’ defense is somewhat undergoing an overhaul at the moment. Ramsey’s subtraction left a hole, as did the release of Marcell Dareus (at least temporarily). Meanwhile, Calais Campbell isn’t getting any younger or cheaper.
Oh yeah, add to this the looming uncertainty surrounding pending free-agent Yannick Ngakoue, too.
Clearly, it would be wise for the Jaguars to use some of their draft capital on reshaping what was once a dominant force. With that in mind, here are some defensive prospects for fans of the team to watch this week:
(AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)
Jeff Okudah, CB, Ohio State
With his teammate and fellow top-five talent Chase Young opting to sit out of workouts this week, many feared that Jeff Okudah would do the same. Thankfully for fans, the 6-foot-1, 200-pound corner is set to tear up the variety of defensive back drills that the 2020 Combine has to offer.
Many are calling Okudah the best cornerback prospect since Ramsey left Florida State, so Jaguars fans should be hoping that an early run on quarterbacks allows another blue-chip corner fall straight to them.
The former Buckeye has elite man coverage skills, good length, and the quickness to thrive in Todd Wash’s scheme. Scouts expect Okudah’s vertical and broad jumps to be impressive, but they will likely be matched with a low 4.4 in the 40-yard dash.
Workout at the 2020 NFL Combine will begin on Thursday, and here’s a quick look at 12 players the New York Giants should watch carefully.
The 20202 NFL Combine is being held this week in Indianapolis and the New York Giants, holders of the No. 4 overall pick in April’s NFL Draft, will be seeking their next class of presumptive stars.
What will they be looking for and what the rest of the football world believes they should be looking for are two distinct and separate things.
If I ran the Giants, I’d be looking specifically for two types of players first: ones that can make plays on defense and ones that can protect my young quarterback.
What is going through general manager Dave Gettleman’s mind is anyone’s guess. Like most, I’m under the assumption he knows what his team in lacking, but you can never tell with him. He falls in love with players and ends up reaching.
Here’s some players the Giants should be interested in this week.
You can take them in any order you’d like. They all should be there at No. 4 when the Giants select. The favorite here is Becton, who is just so massive and imposing he’s hard to pass up. The question is can you trade down a few spots and still get one of these guys?
The answer is yes. Gettleman should trade back from No. 4 with a team looking for a quarterback, grab some draft capital and maybe take one of the above and perhaps one from the below list in Round 1:
Isaiah Simmons, Clemson (rJR, 6’4″, 225 pounds)
Kenneth Murray, Oklahoma (JR, 6’2″, 234 pounds)
Patrick Queen, LSU (JR, 6’1″, 227 pounds)
Zack Baun, Wisconsin (rSR, 6’3″, 240 pounds)
A.J. Epenesa, Iowa (JR, 6’6″, 280 pounds)
K’Lavon Chaisson, LSU (JR, 6’4″, 250 pounds)
Yetur Gross-Matos, Penn State (JR, 6’5″, 264 pounds)
Terrell Lewis, Alabama (rJR, 6’5″, 258 pounds)
Any one of the above players would walk right onto the practice field in East Rutherford and take someone’s job Day 1. Simmons would be the optimal choice, but the Giants might have to stay at No. 4 to get him, pending his Combine performance.
I love Epenesa and Baun, but they aren’t Top 5 worthy. The rest could be mid-late first rounders or even second rounders, but I’m putting Becton, Simmons, Baun and Epenesa on my dance card. I’ll also be interested to see how Chaisson fares as well.
For those who are into the best available player theory, Alabama wideout Jerry Jeudy and Ohio State defensive back Jeffrey Okudah are two players to watch.
Is LSU LB Patrick Queen a perfect fit for the Raiders at pick No. 19?
Entering the offseason, you can make a case that linebacker is the biggest position of need for the Raiders. The unit has lacked speed and athleticism for years and has cycled through several aging veterans to find quality play.
However, the team very well may get the chance to upgrade that position this year in the draft as there are a few first-round caliber linebackers that could be available at pick No. 19.
The player that is gaining the most steam in the first round is LSU’s Patrick Queen. After starting just 15 games in his college career, Queen was a full-time starter in 2019, tallying 85 tackles for the Tigers.
Queen had a huge playoff run for LSU, totaling 16 tackles and four tackles for a loss against Oklahoma and Clemson. Take a look at a few of Queen’s best plays against the Sooners from the semifinal round:
In a recent article by Dane Brugler of The Athletic, he ranked Queen as the No. 2 linebacker in the class, only behind potential top-five pick Isaiah Simmons. Take a look at Brugler’s thoughts on Queen and his fit in the NFL.
Overall, Queen doesn’t have an extensive resume, but he is an explosive run-and-hit linebacker with excellent mirror skills and the fluidity to turn and run in coverage, projecting as a high-upside NFL starter with every-down ability.
Queen is the perfect fit for the Raiders defense has he thrives running from sideline to sideline. While he may still need some seasoning, he is clearly an ascending player whose best football is still ahead of him. If Queen is available at pick No. 19, it would be a slam-dunk pick for the Raiders. Don’t be surprised if he even gets some buzz at pick No. 12 after the NFL Combine.
