NFL Mock Draft beat writer selections: Favorite picks, biggest questions

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NFL Mock Draft beat writer selections: Favorite picks, biggest questions

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As expected, quarterbacks set the direction for our latest Beat Writer Mock Draft — four QBs came off the board in the top seven picks, including C.J. Stroud and Bryce Young at 1 and 2, respectively. There were plenty of surprises along the way, though (including which team took that fourth quarterback).Which of our beat-writer GMs had the most successful drafts? What questions lingered as it all played out? Draft expert Nick Baumgardner and NFL Draft editor Chris Burke put the mock under the microscope:

(Note: Picks highlighted in blue were traded during the mock draft.)

Picks 1-6

PICK	TEAM	PLAYER	POSITION	SCHOOL
1	Carolina (via CHI)	C.J. Stroud	QB	Ohio State
2	Houston	Bryce Young	QB	Alabama
3	Arizona	Will Anderson Jr.	Edge	Alabama
4	Indianapolis	Anthony Richardson	QB	Florida
5	Seattle (via DEN)	Jalen Carter	DT	Georgia
6	Detroit (via LA Rams)	Tyree Wilson	Edge	Texas Tech

Favorite pick: I’m already cheating and calling it a tie: picks 1 (C.J. Stroud to Carolina) and 4 (Anthony Richardson to the Colts).

Stroud has been so impressive throughout the draft process. Add that to how he finished last season in the playoff, the fact he’s still very young, and that the Panthers hired Frank Reich, and it’s impossible not to like the result. Carolina is not in a disaster situation — it’s not Houston. Stroud is going to be allowed to grow and learn under a coach who will properly teach him how to be an NFL starting quarterback.

And the more I think about Richardson and the Colts, the more I like it, especially after Indianapolis signed Gardner Minshew and hired Shane Steichen as its coach. This could be an ideal learning environment for a quarterback. The Colts don’t have to be in a rush, and their head coach understands development and has proven he can work with (and get the most out of) young quarterbacks — like he did with Justin Herbert and Jalen Hurts.

Biggest question: The Jalen Carter question is the ultimate one, right now, inside the top 10 of this draft. Carter’s involvement in a fatal car-racing accident at Georgia will have to be vetted thoroughly by every NFL team that considers him. Seattle has taken chances on players before, though, so the Seahawks front office understands this concept.

The other thing to point out here: Carter did not look good, by any stretch, at his pro day. Clearly, he has been impacted by everything he’s going through off the field, but it’s hard to see all of that just going away magically if his name is called in the top 10. These are all things to consider with Carter, who still just happens to be the most dominant defender in this draft. — Nick Baumgardner

Picks 7-12

PICK	TEAM	PLAYER	POSITION	SCHOOL
7	Minnesota (via LV)	Will Levis	QB	Kentucky
8	Atlanta	Myles Murphy	Edge	Clemson
9	Chicago (via CAR)	Peter Skoronski	OT/G	Northwestern
10	Philadelphia (via NO)	Christian Gonzalez	CB	Oregon
11	Tennessee	Paris Johnson Jr.	OT	Ohio State
12	Houston (via CLE)	Jordan Addison	WR	USC

(Trade details: Vikings trade Nos. 23 and 87 and a 2024 first-round pick to the Raiders for Nos. 7 and 204)

Favorite pick: Peter Skoronski to the Bears. For Chicago to get the type of haul it did in trading No. 1 and still come away with arguably a top-five prospect in this class — and at a position of need, no less — should help the Bears turn things around. Skoronski isn’t a flashy pick with quarterbacks flying off the board, but he might be among the safer high-profile options in this draft.

Philadelphia landed in a good spot, too, standing pat and having its pick of the cornerback class at No. 10. The best way to prevent a fall-off at a position is to address it a year or two before you have to. The Eagles did that with Gonzalez here.

Biggest question: I get that Minnesota needs to find its post-Kirk Cousins plan sooner rather than later, so I can’t fault poking around on the 2023 quarterbacks. But a first, a third and a 2024 first to go up for QB4? That’s drifting from aggressive toward reckless, especially for a team that figures to be back in playoff contention again next season. The Vikings would have to be beyond sold on Will Levis — I’m talking, like, “We had him as the clear QB1 or QB2 and everyone else screwed up big-time” — or else this would risk setting the franchise back for several seasons.

To be honest, I don’t love the Raiders’ side of this either (although they made a decent move back up later in Round 1 of this mock). It’s a big fall from 7 to 23, and that 2024 first-rounder probably would land in the teens or 20s. The 87th pick helps, and it’s not an egregious return overall, but it does feel like Las Vegas sold a little low here. — Chris Burke

Picks 13-18

PICK	TEAM	PLAYER	POSITION	SCHOOL
13	New York Jets	Broderick Jones	OT	Georgia
14	New England	Joey Porter Jr.	CB	Penn State
15	Green Bay	Dalton Kincaid	TE	Utah
16	Las Vegas (via WAS)	Devon Witherspoon	CB	Illinois
17	Pittsburgh	Calijah Kancey	DT	Pitt
18	Detroit	Deonte Banks	CB	Maryland

(Trade details: Raiders trade Nos. 23, 70 and 174 to the Commanders for Nos. 16 and 193)

Favorite pick: Broderick Jones to the Jets at 13. Some teams liked Jones better than Skoronski and Paris Johnson Jr. this past winter, and I’m not going to rule out the idea that someone trades up to get him (or takes him in the top 10). Jones is a really good athlete and a physical offensive lineman. He adds value in pass pro and — perhaps more important for the Jets — he’s going to be a very good run blocker.

Fingers are still crossed that things work out for Mekhi Becton. If they do, he and Jones would make for an outstanding pairing.

I also love the Packers investing in whichever one of these freaky tight ends they like best, with or without their quarterback situation settled.

Biggest question: Patriots beat writer Chad Graff said it best: Bill Belichick typically uses premium spots to either strengthen his trenches or fix them. Joey Porter Jr. would be good value at 14, and it wouldn’t be shocking at all to see him still on the board there. He’d certainly fit and would certainly feel a need. Is Bill Belichick going to do something different, though?

New England also — gasp! — needs a wide receiver. Are things changing in Foxboro? — Baumgardner

Picks 19-24

PICK	TEAM	PLAYER	POSITION	SCHOOL
19	Tampa Bay	Darnell Wright	OT	Tennessee
20	Seattle	Jaxon Smith-Njigba	WR	Ohio State
	Miami	Pick forfeited
21	Los Angeles Chargers	Michael Mayer	TE	Notre Dame
22	Baltimore	Zay Flowers	WR	Boston College
23	New Orleans (via WAS)	Lukas Van Ness	Edge	Iowa
24	Jacksonville	Nolan Smith	Edge	Georgia

(Trade details: Saints trade Nos. 29 and 71 to the Commanders for No. 23)

Favorite pick: Probably Michael Mayer to the Chargers. That’s been a popular match during these mock-draft exercises, which makes sense given Mayer’s skill set and how Los Angeles wants to build its offense around Kellen Moore. There always will be people critical of taking a first-round tight end — the draft history isn’t great — but Mayer, even without size or testing numbers that jump off the page, comes with an NFL-ready game. His ability to reliably move the chains should help him flatten the tight end learning curve, and the upside is enormous.

Biggest question: Is Bijan Robinson falling too far? As with tight ends, there is ample evidence to suggest taking a Round 1 running back might not be the best use of resources. From a best-player-available standpoint, though, we’re already about 15-20 picks below where Robinson stacks up relative to this draft class. Rebuilding clubs don’t need to use a high pick on a running back, but the league is about to hand a potentially dominant, three-down game changer to a 2022 playoff team.

I thought someone might jump to 23 or 24 for Robinson. (Cards on the table: I suggested such a move to Colton Pouncey, our Lions beat writer, before he traded up for Darnell Washington.) That the Saints instead flipped 29 and 71 to Washington for Lukas Van Nessis interesting. As Larry Holder noted in making the move, Van Ness’ value at that spot would be quite high. — Burke

Picks 25-30

PICK	TEAM	PLAYER	POSITION	SCHOOL
25	New York Giants	Drew Sanders	LB	Arkansas
26	Dallas	Bijan Robinson	RB	Texas
27	Detroit (via BUF)	Darnell Washington	TE	Georgia
28	Cincinnati	Dawand Jones	OT	Ohio State
29	Washington (via NO)	O'Cyrus Torrence	G	Florida
30	Philadelphia	Bryan Bresee	DT	Clemson

(Trade details: Lions trade Nos. 48, 55, 183 and 194 to the Bills for Nos. 27 and 137)

Favorite pick: Robinson to the Cowboys. When we look back on it, Dallas got seven seasons and better than 10,000 yards of total offense from Ezekiel Elliott before moving on. We can argue whether he was worth it with the fourth pick back in 2016, but we cannot argue that he was worth it in the first round. The conversation about drafting running backs early is complicated, especially when a running back is truly elite.

These are not long-term marriages. The odds a back is going to finish his career with the team he’s drafted by aren’t great. But if you promised me seven years of Bijan Robinson — including a four-year window in which he’s elite — I’d be tripping over myself to turn the card in.

I also love that Washington was able to trade down and still get a great player who fits and can help immediately in O’Cyrus Torrence. Torrence’s value as a guard-only prospect sort of complicates his draft projection, but make no mistake: He’s absolutely a first-round talent.

Biggest question: I love the fit of Darnell Washington and Dan Campbell so much that I’m not going to question the decision to trade up and get the behemoth from Georgia (even if I should). When Lions general manager Brad Holmes saw Jameson Williams slip last year, he pounced. If Holmes has a player stacked somewhere in, say, the top 15, and he slides all the way down to this range, it would not be a shock to see him trade up. — Baumgardner

Picks 31 + Teams without Round 1 pick

PICK	TEAM	PLAYER	POSITION	SCHOOL
31	Kansas City	Jalin Hyatt	WR	Tennessee
43 (Rd. 2)	Cleveland	Felix Anudike-Uzomah	Edge	Kansas State
48 (Rd. 2)	Buffalo (via DET)	Jack Campbell	LB	Iowa
51 (Rd. 2)	Miami	Steve Avila	G/C	TCU
67 (Rd. 3)	Denver (via IND)	Luke Wypler	C	Ohio State
99 (Rd. 3)	San Francisco	Blake Freeland	OT	BYU

Favorite pick: Jalin Hyatt to the Chiefs is about as clean a team-prospect fit as we have in Round 1. Andy Reid loves having vertical threats in his passing attack, Patrick Mahomescan sling it wherever he wants and Hyatt is borderline un-coverable at top speed. That’d be a nightmare for opposing defenses.

Of the Round 2 and 3 picks, I’m very on board with the selections at 48 (Jack Campbell to Buffalo) and 51 (Steve Avila to Miami). In this scenario, the Bills also would have Detroit’s pick at No. 55, so they’d have to be thrilled to land a potential plug-and-play linebacker. They could have stayed put and added an impact defender in Round 1 (Bryan Bresee?), but this class has more than enough depth to justify bailing out.

Avila, meanwhile, is going to show up on day one ready to roll. He’s a tough, experienced, savvy blocker and probably will start as a rookie. Two-for-two for the AFC East on those Round 2 selections.

Biggest question: How good can Emmanuel Forbes be? He was the fifth cornerback off the board here (after four went in the top 18 selections and without picks 32-35 included), but this could be a position at which there isn’t much to separate the supposed Tier 1 and 2 prospects. Forbes could have some very big shoes to fill on a Rams roster that’s now down Jalen Ramsey, but there’s a realistic path to him being the best NFL playmaker in this cornerback class.