It is time to run some final mock drafts using the First Pick simulator while cross checking it against the CHTV draft guide and a few consensus draft boards (Mock Draft Database and Jack Lichtenstein’s collection). I am not doing trades for a variety of reasons, including implementing the adage that this year the Packers should let the draft come to them.
Gone means that those were the players selected by other teams. They are in their draft order. POS lists the top two or three players at each position per CHTV’s draft guide. CON is the consensus draft board by Mock Data Base, also in order by the ranking assigned by MDB. I have used Jack Lichtenstein’s consensus board to look at the rankings by The Athletic (ATH), The Draft Network (TDN), NFL.com and Walter Football (WF) as additional big boards. Due to space limitations, this will be a three round mock.
First Pick | Picks 1 to 21 |
Gone: | DE Hutchison, DE Thibodeaux, OT Neal, CB Gardner, DE Walker, OT Ekwonu, QB Willis, OT Cross, QB Ridder, ED Jermaine Johnson, QB Corral, ED Jermaine Jackson, WR Olave, WR London, WR Wilson, S Hamilton, OG Green, DT Davis, ED Karlaftis, CB Stingley, ED Enagbare |
POS | WR Watson/Williams; OT Penning/Smith; IOL Strange/Salyer; DL Wyatt/Leal; ED Ebiketie/Bonitto; ILB Devin Lloyd/Harris/Dean; CB McDuffie/Booth; S Hill/Cine/Brisker |
CON |
WR Williams, LB Lloyd, CB McDuffie, OT Penning, WR Burks, CB Booth, OC Linderbaum, DL Wyatt, LB Dean |
ATH | LB Lloyd, CB McDuffie, WR Jameson Williams, Penning, Linderbaum, Hill |
TDN | CB Booth, WR Williams, OC Linderbaum, DL Wyatt, Lloyd, Hill |
NFL | CB McDuffie, OC Linderbaum, WR Burks/Williams, LB Dean, OT Penning |
WF | WR Williams, CB McDuffie, WR Burks, Watson, ED Ojabo, OC Linderbaum, |
PICK 22:
Let’s look at the players the simulator selected for other teams. For the most part, those selections seem reasonably probable to me. I would question the selections of the quarterbacks, Ridder and Corral, that high, but teams have been over-drafting quarterbacks for some time now and I see no reason to believe that behavior will change this year. The other pick I question is Kingsley Enagbare at pick 21, which seems rather too high for him. Enagbare is huge, but that seems like a reach.
There is plenty of talent left, indeed enough to trade back. [I have the same general feeling at each pick: there is plenty of talent from which to choose, if not exactly at the positions desired.] Not every site likes Wyatt, and he may have dropped down or been removed from any number of boards, plus he just turned 24. For purposes of this exercise, I am assuming he is either off the Packers’ board entirely or severely downgraded. Devin Lloyd is well-liked option, though he turns 24 in September. Trevor Penning (turns 23 in May) would be a solid choice. McDuffie might be the most talented. He is tall enough though he does not have classic size. It is not a position of need but one can never have too many corner backs. Most sites like Jameson Williams and McDuffie (22 in September). Williams is probably a top-ten talent, but he is injured and likely will miss some or all of 2022. Still, he checks the talent, fit, need and age (just turned 21) boxes. Those are the five prospects I am seriously considering. Since I only questioned three of the selections the simulator made for the other teams, two of them should be there. It is time to make myself popular.
The pick is Jameson Williams. Gute probably takes Penning or Wyatt if he is still on their board. I would take McDuffie.
Picks 23 To 27 | |
Gone | CB Booth, CB McDuffie, QB Pickett, CB Elam, CB Jaylen Watson |
POS | WR Watson/Pickens; OT Penning/Smith; IOL Strange/Salyer; DL Wyatt/Leal; ED Ebiketie/Bonitto; ILB Lloyd/Harris/Dean; CB Kyler Gordon/Roger McCreary; S Hill/Cine/Brisker |
CON | LB Lloyd, OT Penning, WR Burks, OC Linderbaum, DL Wyatt, LB Dean, S Hill, WR Dotson, S Cine |
ATH | LB Lloyd, OT Penning, OC… |
Read More: Mock Draft Monday – The Picks