A week til the real thing, time to mock draft!
Here is last week's edition.
With only five picks to work with in the roster reformation Adofo-Mensah has quite a boulder to try and roll. The lower value of the 23rd pick diminishes the opportunity to trade down while simultaneously getting high value in return and maintaining a presence in the first round for the fifth-year-option. The best chance to stay above this year's 32nd would be to bamboozle another GM the way he was bamboozled during Thursday & Friday last year, that's not a given though. It also makes trying to project selections more of a pickle than usual, which is also adds intrigue.
Enough pretense though, it's time to get on with it!
The first pick came with three potential trades. "Buffalo" wanted 23 & 119 for 27 & 59, "Dallas" went with 26 & 90 for 23 and it was 46, 76 & 2024's second from "New England." 58 & 87 were included in a counter with the "Stars" and that package was deemed viable so the wait to see which defender would be left lasted a few more picks.
The first choice at 23 slipped through and with no good trades on the table this time, DT Bryan Bresee (Clemson) was taken.
"Jacksonville" came for 58 & next year's fourth in exchange for 67 & 88. A tempting offer but a player that is coveted remained on the screen but likely would not until the 67th so the decision to strike was made - LB Drew Sanders (Arkansas).
"Philly" & "San Fran" each came on at pick 90 but the better of the two offers - 99 & a fourth next year from SF - couldn't be sweetened so instead another swing at improving the defense was taken. Jaylon Jones (TAMU), Kyu Blu Kelly (Stanford) & Jartavius Martin (Illinois) were the top three corners on the board. It's just a hunch, which is how the whole draft process unfolds if people are honest about it, but Blu Kelly will be the best from that group so he was the choice.
The defense could use another body at 119 but can't completely neglect the offense. With Garrett Bradbury having signed a three-year deal center could be set for the next few years or center & right guard could both be a liability again this Fall. One fourth round pick can't completely cover for that possibility but Michigan's Olusegun Oluwatimi could be an option at either spot should one of the incumbents need to be replaced.
At 158 "Arizona" offered 168 & 213. With no clear choice at the time, the chance to drop a little and get another roll of the dice seemed like a winning option.
When the new pick came up Purdue corner Cory Trice was favorably considered but with the wait until 211 coming, being proactive took precedent and that landed DT-R!
A lot of the talk this offseason has been about wide receiver beyond Jefferson. With Hockenson as the second option and Osborn a solid WR2 addressing pass-catcher before the fifth round would ring of luxury. If after that point they find their way to three guys to start training camp with, great! One such option that's consistently been available in round six and seems to have upside beyond that point in the proceeding is BYU's Puka Nacua so when he was still there the choice was easy.
The last pick is a swing and DE Viliami Fehoko (San Jose St.) could be a moon-shot. As a rotational piece with his ceiling being a poor-man's Danielle Hunter it would be a great way to try and set Brian Flores up for immediate success!
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