Tag: Todd McShay

Todd McShay predicts Saints to pick Clemson DE Myles Murphy in final 2023 mock draft

ESPN’s Todd McShay predicted the Saints will pick Clemson defensive end Myles Murphy in his final 2023 first-round mock draft:

There’s a lot of buzz connecting the New Orleans Saints to Clemson Tigers defensive end Myles Murphy, with several prominent draft analysts projecting Murphy to end up in black and gold by the end of Thursday night’s first round.

One of those experts is ESPN’s Todd McShay, who linked the Saints to Murphy in his final mock draft. Here’s his justification for the pick at No. 29:

The Saints were last in pass rush win rate in 2022 (28.5%) and lost Marcus Davenport in free agency. Cameron Jordan had 8.5 sacks last season, but he’s turning 34 years old in July. So it’s definitely time to restock the pass rush. Murphy is a big, long force off the edge who wins with his great take-off quickness.

Murphy is an impressive prospect at 6-foot-4 and 271 pounds with long 33.7-inch arms (plus a 9.71 Relative Athletic Score), but more important than his measurables is his play on the field: he started 27 of his 38 career games at Clemson, racking up 37 tackles for loss and 17.5 sacks, with 6 forced fumbles and pass breakups. He’s a reliable, starting-quality player who can continue to improve as he develops a wider array of pass-rush techniques to shed blockers and get after quarterbacks.

He’s also a better prospect than both Payton Turner and Marcus Davenport were when the Saints picked them coming out of school, arriving with less of an injury history and more proven production. With that said, he’s not perfect, and he left a lot of meat on the bone in college. He should have had a bigger impact on passing downs given his talent. Hopefully the Saints (or whichever team he ends up with) can better tap into that in the NFL.

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Here’s who the Eagles are getting in Todd McShay’s final mock draft of 2023

The Philadelphia Eagles land two All-SEC defenders in Todd McShay’s final 2023 ESPN NFL mock draft

We’re a little over eight hours from the start of Round 1 in the 2023 NFL draft, and ESPN’s Todd McShay just released his final mock draft.

After weeks of discussing potential fits for Bijan Robinson, McShay has Philadelphia landing two All-SEC athletes with versatility and a winning mindset.

With the Panthers set to be on the clock, here’s McShay’s final mock draft for 2023.

Bills land WR in final 2023 NFL draft mock from Todd McShay

Todd McShay’s final mock draft sends the #Bills an exciting playmaker:

ESPN NFL draft insider Todd McShay has stayed on the playmaker-to-the-Buffalo Bills train for most of the spring.

He did not deter from that route in his final 2023 NFL draft mock.

In that prediction, McShay sees the Bills land one of the draft’s top receiver prospects, Quentin Johnston from TCU. 

According to some who endlessly study the draft each year, Johnston is the top receiver prospect this year. However, McShay has Johnston being the fourth wideout off the board in this mock.

A 6-foot-4 playmaker, Johnston played a pivotal role during TCU’s excellent season in 2022. He had 60 catches for 1,069 yards and six touchdowns. The combination of size and explosiveness in Johnston’s game makes him an exciting prospect.

Buffalo does have Stefon Diggs at the top of their receiving chart. In 2022, Gabe Davis was inconsistent as a No. 2 and thrived more when he was third in the pecking order in previous years.

Bare minimum, it could turn out to be a situation where all three players push each other which brings out the best in the trio.

Here’s McShay’s breakdown on Johnston to the Bills:

Maybe Alabama running back Jahmyr Gibbs comes to Buffalo? Perhaps the Bills reach to fill the void at linebacker? Maybe there’s a trade down the board that would make sense? I could see any of those options, but to maximize Josh Allen and take some pressure off Stefon Diggs, Buffalo could use another top-tier receiver — especially with Gabe Davis entering a contract year. Johnston is the biggest of the Day 1 receivers at 6-foot-3 and 208 pounds, but he also has downfield speed.

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Texas RB Bijan Robinson ranks No. 2 on Todd McShay’s draft board

Todd McShay ranks Bijan Robinson the No. 2 player in the 2023 draft class. Here’s a look at his top 10 players.

Texas running back Bijan Robinson is viewed as an elite prospect heading into Thursday’s NFL draft. According to ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay he is the No. 2 player in the draft regardless of position.

McShay shared his ranking of the top 350 players in the draft on social media ahead of the first round on Thursday. The ranking saw Robinson sandwiched between Alabama quarterback Bryce Young and edge rusher Will Anderson.

Now NFL general managers are posed with a dilemma: Draft the second-best player in the class or avoid drafting him because of the position he plays.

Presently, Robinson stands as one of the best skill players in the draft. His ability to catch and win matchups as a receiver silences much of the positional value concerns.

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Here’s a complete look at McShay’s top 10 players.

POLL: Grade Mel Kiper, Todd McShay’s new mock draft for Cardinals

They have the Cardinals taking defensive players in the first two rounds and offensive players in third round.

A new collaborative mock draft from ESPN’s Mel Kiper and Todd McShay goes three rounds.

In four picks, the Cardinals go with defensive players with the first two picks and two offensive players in the third round.

They land these players:

  • Alabama EDGE Will Anderson Jr.
  • Michigan CB DJ Turner
  • Tennessee Cedric Tillman
  • Texas RB Roschon Johnson

All fill positional needs. All have good athletic traits.

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What do you think of this mock draft from the ESPN draft gurus?

Vote in the poll and give your thoughts.

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Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

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McShay: ‘Dallas is obsessed’ with drafting RB; trading up for Bijan Robinson ‘wouldn’t shock me’

From @ToddBrock24f7 | If the Texas RB falls past Philadelphia at No. 10, ESPN’s draft expert believes the Cowboys may elect to make “a splash” and go get him.

ESPN’s draft guru Todd McShay has Texas running back Bijan Robinson ranked as the second-best player in the upcoming NFL draft. He says “probably close to a dozen teams” he’s spoken to have Robinson in the top five, grade-wise.

But that doesn’t mean he’ll be selected that high. And if he starts to slip into the middle of the first round, he just might tantalize some RB-needy club into trading up to get him.

McShay believes the Cowboys could be that team.

Appearing on The Dan Patrick Show this week, McShay gushed over Robinson’s skill set, imagining him as being able to fill a Christian McCaffrey-esque role as both a powerful runner and a legitimate receiving threat. And he says the Dallas front office may not be able to resist, should Robinson make it past, say, the Eagles with the 10th overall pick.

“Dallas is obsessed with getting a running back that can be their guy, be a complement to Tony Pollard, like they had with Zeke when Zeke was closer to his prime,” McShay said. “Mike McCarthy is dying for a big power back like that, wants to run the football. They want to be a run-based team, and they would love to bring the Texas star into Dallas and make him the star of their offense.”

Robinson would change the look of the Cowboys offense, for sure, giving them a serious one-two punch out of the backfield and preventing defenses from doing much double-teaming of receivers like CeeDee Lamb, Brandin Cooks, and Michael Gallup.

But trading up to get Robinson would cost Dallas in the later rounds. The question will be whether the war room feels it’s better to amass more players at more positions… or sacrifice the backup linebacker or project edge rusher they’d get in the third round in order to grab a transcendent talent who could touch the ball 20 times a game.

The deafening buzz such a move would create around the league- and in the Lone Star State especially- may be just too much for the Jones Boys to pass up.

“Dallas is sitting at 26,” McShay continued. “It wouldn’t shock me if they made a splash, jumped up into the teens, ahead of teams like Detroit and the Chargers and went and got Bijan, maybe around 14, 15, 16.”

The Cowboys aren’t historically averse to trading up per se, but improving 10 to 12 spots is an awfully big leap. In 2011, they climbed eight spots to take cornerback Morris Claiborne. In 2010, they traded up to get wide receiver Dez Bryant, but they moved just three spots to get him. They traded into the first round- using later-round picks- in 2007 to select linebacker Anthony Spencer.

To get themselves into the mid-teens this year, as McShay is suggesting, it would certainly cost them enough to qualify as a splash.

The Cowboys would then have to hope that Robinson makes an even bigger splash come fall.

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Broncos select OLB and RB in Mel Kiper and Todd McShay’s mock draft

The Broncos select OLB Byron Young and RB Tyjae Spears in Mel Kiper and Todd McShay’s three-round NFL mock draft.

With the 2023 NFL draft just over one week away, Mel Kiper and Todd McShay have released an updated three-round mock draft (subscription required for link).

The Broncos do not hold picks in the first or second rounds following the Russell Wilson trade, but they do hold back-to-back selections (Nos. 67 and 68 overall) early in the third round.

With the first of those two picks, Kiper has the team selecting Tennessee pass rusher Byron Young (6-2, 250 pounds). After totaling 12.5 sacks in two seasons (23 games) with the Volunteers, Young had a pre-draft visit to Denver’s UCHealth Training Center earlier this month.

With the Broncos’ second pick in ESPN’s mock draft, McShay has the team adding Tulane running back Tyjae Spears (5-10, 201 pounds). Spears rushed for 1,581 yards and 19 touchdowns in 14 games with the Green Wave last fall.

Landing a promising pass rusher and a high-upside running back with their first two picks would be a big win for Denver on Day 2 of the draft.

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Commanders add OT, CB and TE in Kiper-McShay 3-round mock draft

Washington gets an instant starter with its first pick and upside with its following two selections.

You know it’s close to draft time when ESPN’s Mel Kiper and Todd McShay have their combined three-round mock draft.

The ESPN draft analysts released their latest mock draft Tuesday and gave the Washington Commanders help at two key positions. In addition, the duo took advantage of the tight end depth in the 2023 NFL draft, giving the Commanders a tight end with an intriguing upside.

Here’s a look at Washington’s first three picks in the Kiper-McShay mock draft.

Bijan Robinson is a top-10 pick in Mel Kiper, Todd McShay’s latest NFL mock draft

Todd McShay and Mel Kiper combined for a three-round NFL mock draft on Tuesday.

The 2023 NFL Draft is a little over a week away and we still don’t quite know where Texas running back Bijan Robinson will land in the first round. Continue reading “Bijan Robinson is a top-10 pick in Mel Kiper, Todd McShay’s latest NFL mock draft”

Eagles land Bijan Robinson in Mel Kiper, Todd McShay’s three-round 2023 NFL mock draft

The Philadelphia Eagles land Bijan Robinson and then stack the trenches in Mel Kiper, Todd McShay’s joint three-round 2023 NFL mock draft.

The Eagles are set to have Jalen Hurts under contract through 2028, and they’ll now work to surround the All-Pro quarterback with elite talent.

Hurts will sign a team-friendly, five-year, $255 million deal, and the cap hits in the first four years suggest that Philadelphia will remain in win-now mode.

Mel Kiper and Todd McShay just released their latest three-round NFL mock draft for ESPN, and one of the draft experts sticks to his projections that Texas All-American running back Bijan Robinson should be the pick.