Who should be on the clock when the Chicago Bears make their first pick?
After the first round of free agent signings, we broke down how the top eight may shake out to see who would be available for the Chicago Bears at pick number eight. It even featured a trade into the top three by a team. However, now the New York Jets actually did trade into the top three. With the big shakeup created by Gang Green, how does is the board going to look now?
In the last mock draft, Sam Darnold was the pick. This one comes with even more confidence. Sam Darnold came out early when a lot of people did not think he would. He did not throw at the combine. Jimmy Haslam, the Browns owner sat with the family of Darnold for his Pro Day. That was the famous Pro Day that Darnold decided to throw in the rain. Why did he decide to throw in the rain? He wanted to play for Cleveland.
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The writing has been on the wall since the day he declared for the NFL Draft. There are reports that Josh Allen is gaining ground. However, at this moment in time, expect Sam Darnold to be the pick at number one overall.
Last mock, we had the New York Giants trading out of the second pick to the Buffalo Bills. This draft, nothing has changed. A lot of people have been connecting dots to the Giants staying at this pick, and debating between a player such as Quenton Nelson, Bradley Chubb or Saquon Barkley. That definitely is possible.
However, when the Jets traded up to the third pick in the draft, reports came out that the team did not even contact the Giants about the second pick. Why would they not? It could easily be that the Giants know who the Browns want and are set in their ways.
Or, it is because the team already struck a deal with the Buffalo Bills, and the Jets just did their rivalry duty of bumping up the price. Let’s not forget, Brandon Beane, the Bills General Manager was an Assistant General Manager to David Gettleman, the current New York Giants General Manager. The Bills and the Giants are now franchises linked all the way down their front offices.
The Jets know this. They also likely know who the Bills want. So, the Jets struck first to up the price for the Bills and put the friends in an awkward spot. The Browns and Jets taking a quarterback at one and three is pretty set in stone. Many see this as a class with a top four. There are now only two spots in the top four to move into, and the Denver Broncos at pick five are still in play to go quarterback. The supply went down and the demand remained the same. The friends will work it out, but the Bills will likely lose an extra second-round pick thanks to the Jets.
The Jets had their eyes on one of these quarterbacks, which is why they traded into the top three. As mentioned, it likely was not too hard for them to put the pieces together and understand who could be on the board for them at pick three. They had enough faith in Allen to pull the trigger, and with a quarterback room that features Josh McCown and Teddy Bridgewater, he will not be thrown into the fire. If there is a spot for Josh Allen, this is it.
The Browns fielded traded offers until the very last second from quarterback-starved teams. However, they are going to stand pat and take the top pass rusher in the draft. After quarterback, pass rusher is the next important position. Adding Chubb to Myles Garrett is creating a pass rush that can rival the Super Bowl winning teams of the New York Giants. Emmanuel Ogbah is no slouch opposite of Garrett, but moving him into a hybrid pass rusher role only increases his overall value. Adding in Caleb Brantley and Larry Ogunjobi and this pass rush is going to be tough to deal with.
Despite signing Case Keenum, the Broncos are not spoken for at the quarterback position for the long term. In fact, who better for a quarterback like Baker Mayfield to sit back and learn from than Case Keenum. The two are a bit undersized and play more of a freelancing style of football. The two can compete in practice, and Mayfield can grow into a player who ascends over Keenum for the long term.
The Colts are in a nice position where they can debate Saquon Barkley or Quenton Nelson. While it would be tough on them to pass on the dynamic running back, it seems as though General Manager Chris Ballard has a good understanding of the value of running backs in the NFL. Guard is a much more valuable position, and it could be argued that grade of grade, Nelson is the safer prospect. Many Bears fans would like Nelson to fall to pick number eight, but even with four high quarterbacks, it is tough to see arguably the top player in the class fall that far.
This seems to be the lowest that Barkley can possibly fall. Barkley is a pass catching nightmare in space. The Buccaneers are looking for a pass catcher back. They have Mike Evans, Desean Jackson and Chris Godwin to clear the underneath for Barkley. The fit is absolutely perfect and would be tough to pass on.
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8. Chicago Bears
Even with the trade, it is fair to say that the same players will be on the board. The top four quarterbacks will almost certainly be gone. As mentioned, the lowest Saquon Barkley will fall almost has to be seventh, and Chubb will not fall below six.
Quenton Nelson could be around, but logic says that he is in that tier with Barkley and Chubb as the can’t miss top tier. Denzel Ward, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Tremaine Edmunds, Roquan Smith and Derwin James are close, but all seem to sit in the tier below. This is likely the pool that the team will be picking from. So which one from this group intrigues the most?