9. Jacksonville Jaguars: Javon Kinlaw, DL, South Carolina
Imagine for a moment that you were writing up a mock draft, and were nearing the end, when suddenly word came down that the Jacksonville Jaguars were trading cornerback A.J. Bouye, and that you’d need to rework a few things… but enough about my Tuesday.
Times are tough down in Jacksonville. Last year it was Jalen Ramsey leaving town, and in recent days it has become apparent that the Yannick Ngakoue situation is reaching a boiling point. The defensive end indicated that he does not want to re-sign with the Jaguars, and while the team might use the franchise tag on him, likely as the first step of reaching a trade deal with another organization. Now with the Bouye trade to Denver, there is a hole in the secondary as well.
Jacksonville could respond by going cornerback here, but two great interior linemen are on the board as well, with Auburn’s Derrick Brown and Kinlaw from South Carolina. Both players are enticing options, but Kinlaw has such an explosive and powerful first step that he will be a problem for NFL offensive lines immediately upon entering the league.
Honestly, just put on his film against Alabama and watch the first defensive snap. Kinlaw fires out of his stance like a rocket, and his explosiveness commands double-teams. But he also has the upper-body strength to serve as a two-gap defender if tasked with such an assignment, and has the length to play at a variety of spots along the defensive front.
10. Cleveland Browns: Tristan Wirfs, OL, Iowa
Similar to the Giants and the Cardinals before them, the Cleveland Browns also need to address the offensive line. Last year was a step back for the Browns and quarterback Baker Mayfield, and they need to come out of this draft with a potential anchor at offensive tackle.
According to Tony Pauline of Pro Football Network, the Browns have been in love with Wirfs throughout the process, but now fear that his elite workout in Indianapolis might put him out of reach for the Browns at ten. But in this scenario, the board falls favorably for them and they are able to draft the Iowa tackle.
What will they be getting in Wirfs? A tackle who can be a big factor in their offense. Iowa runs a mixture of gap/power and zone designs, but his footwork and explosiveness makes him a very good fit for the wide zone scheme we can expect new head coach Kevin Stefanski to implement in Cleveland.
11. New York Jets: Jedrick Wills Jr, OT, Alabama
And with that, we see four offensive tackles off the board in the top eleven picks.
I wrote back on Sunday that one of the winners of the 2020 Scouting Combine was “teams that need something besides an OT/QB.” Why? Because of this exact scenario. Here, three quarterbacks and four tackles come off the board in the first 11 selections, pushing some great talent (including every single wide receiver) down the board. If the draft falls this way in a few months, some teams picking in the teens are going to be very pleased.
In Wills the Jets get an offensive tackle with elite footwork. Kyle Crabbs, the knowledge senior analyst from The Draft Network, described his feet like this: “Haven’t seen him get crossed up with his feet once. He’s got top shelf feet all around and shows a terrific understanding of how to maintain his platform as a blocker.” If Wills has a weakness, it does not show up consistently on film. Perhaps he gets a bit too chippy after the whistle? But teams need an identity up front, and Wills brings that to the Jets on Day One.
12. Las Vegas Raiders: Jerry Jeudy, WR, Alabama
We finally have our first wide receiver off the board.
Last week in Indianapolis, Raiders’ general manager Mike Mayock stressed the need weapons, specifically a wide receiver, for the offense. Now they have addressed that necessity.
I strongly believe that CeeDee Lamb, Henry Ruggs and Jeudy are all incredible talents at the wide receiver position, and it becomes a matter of picking what works best for your offensive system and pairing those needs with the skill-sets that each of these talents brings to the table. In Jon Gruden’s offense, route-running is an emphasis, and Jeudy is a very good route runner. He is good at getting into and out of his cuts, and sets up his breaks beautifully while not losing speed.
That set of traits is a perfect fit in a West Coast system.
In addition, a huge part of such an offense is ability after the catch. Jeudy brings the potential for big-time YAC to the Raiders’ offense.
13. Indianapolis Colts: CeeDee Lamb, WR, Oklahoma
Receiver run!
Many have the belief that the Colts draft a quarterback at this spot, whether Jordan Love from Utah State or Jacob Eason from Washington. But they also need help on the outside. T.Y. Hilton is still a great receiver but he had to deal with some injuries last season, and beyond Hilton there are some question marks. Zach Pascal showed some promise in an increased role with Hilton’s injury, and would be a nice third option in an offense with a healthy Hilton and a talented rookie to run with.
In Lamb, the Colts get that talented rookie. Again, Lamb, Ruggs and Jeudy are all great talents at the position, and in Lamb the Colts have a receiver who can take the top off the defense, win at the catch point and create after the catch.
Now they just need to figure out who is throwing them the football next season…
14. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Jacob Eason, QB, Washington
There is certainly the possibility that Tampa Bay decides to roll with Jameis Winston for another season, giving him a sort of “prove it” contract while he learns life in Bruce Arians’ offense.
There is also the possibility that Arians has seen enough and decides to move in another direction at quarterback. His comments about Winston this off-season have been lukewarm at best. Arians began the off-season highlighting how the team could win without Winston, and last week in Indianapolis Arians told the media that while the team has decided on a quarterback plan for 2020, they have not told Winston yet.
That does not exactly give one the “warm and fuzzies.”
If they pull the trigger on a QB in the first round, Eason seems to fit what Arians is looking for in a quarterback. A big arm, some athleticism, willingness to attack the middle of the field and some experience working under center and in running play-action off of a deep drop and turning his back to the defense. Perhaps Arians pairs Eason with a veteran quarterback in free agency, such as a Philip Rivers, to ease the transition. But Eason in this offense would be a good fit, as we argued yesterday.
I also pointed out yesterday that I have yet to get an Arians/QB pairing right, so maybe take this selection – as with all of them – with a grain of salt.
15. Denver Broncos: Henry Ruggs III, WR, Alabama
The recipe the past few years for developing a young quarterback is to get him on the field as a rookie, and then use the “rookie quarterback contract window” to get help around him. That has led to some year two bumps for players like Jared Goff and Carson Wentz.
Denver is in a nice position given how they handled their draft board a year ago. They moved around and selected three players (Noah Fant, Dalton Risner and Drew Lock) that many had as potential first round players, but they got Risner and Lock with successive picks in the second round. With Courtland Sutton in place, Fant emerging as a weapon at tight end, Risner settled in on the offensive line and Lock showing promise, adding another offensive weapon would give that side of the ball a boost.
They get rocket boosters with Ruggs, the Alabama wideout. As expected he flashed impressive speed at the combine, posting a 4.27 40-yard dash. Putting him on the outside opposite Sutton, with Fant working the middle of the field, certainly stresses a defense from sideline-to-sideline and deep down the field.
16. Atlanta Falcons: Derrick Brown, DL, Auburn
Brown was impressive on film, which led many to consider him a first round lock heading into the combine. But out in Indianapolis he tested worse than expected, and that has seen his value take a bit of a dip. Teams should not overthink him, and trust in their film evaluation of the Auburn defensive tackle. But he slides down the boards to Atlanta, who is more than happy to grab him outside the top 15.
Why? They can pair him on the interior with Grady Jarrett and let those two just wreck havoc on the interior of offensive lines. Atlanta needs help in the secondary and at edge, but the selection of Brown here helps both those spots and the value is too great to pass up. How does a defensive tackle help the secondary? Jarrett and Brown working in tandem are going to eat up a lot of attention and resources on the interior, freeing up their edge players for some one-on-ones. That is going to lead to pressure on the opposing passer, and as Bill Belichick has told us, pass rush and coverage need to work together:
A reading from the gospel according to Belichick: pic.twitter.com/7uvyiktsPc
— Mark Schofield (@MarkSchofield) May 9, 2019
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