The NFL General Managers have asked for the 2020 NFL Draft to be postponed, but barring an unexpected change, the NFL is planning to move ahead as planned. I’ll admit it’s complicated business trying to figure out what to do — many draft prospects will be hurt by the decision to move ahead, as numerous pro days were cancelled and all prospect visits have been eliminated.
Imagine being a player who wasn’t invited to the combine and whose pro day was cancelled — now teams will be forced to guess when comparing you to your rivals. Of course, I’ll be curious to see if this actually helps teams, forcing them to focus on tape rather than the ‘spandex Olympics.’
Personally, I’m grateful the draft is moving ahead on schedule. I think our world needs distractions and good news — two things the NFL has been able to provide over the past few weeks. Keeping the draft on schedule isn’t putting anyone at danger and so a welcome bit of entertainment — both in the lead up to the draft, and the production itself — is just what many of us need.
And so, we plunge ahead — today with our second edition of “Re-Mock the Mock”. The premise, in case you missed our first one, is simple: allow a draft expert to create a scenario for me to enter into as the Las Vegas Raiders general manager. Last time we used Matt Miller from Bleacher Report, and today we turn to the legend himself: Mel Kiper Jr.
Last time we went wild and traded twice, but this time we’ll stay put and make our picks. So who was on the board when the Raiders picked at 12? Here’s how the first 11 picks played out…
1) Joe Burrow
2) Chase Young
3) Jeff Okudah
4) Isaiah Simmons
5) Tua Tagovailoa
6) Justin Herbert
7) Derrick Brown
8) Tristan Wirfs
9) Javon Kinlaw
10) Mekhi Becton
11) Jedrick Wills
In many ways, this feels like a pretty predictable start to the draft. Both of the top wide receivers remain available, but the four best defensive players (by most rankings) are all gone. So what do the Raiders do?
Kiper has the Raiders picking CJ Henderson, the cornerback from Florida. Here’s his explanation:
“After the Raiders signed both Cory Littleton and Nick Kwiatkowski in free agency, you can scratch off-ball linebacker from their list of needs. That still leaves wide receiver and cornerback, though. And since Las Vegas has two first-round picks and this class of receivers is much deeper at the top than the cornerback group, let’s give Jon Gruden & Co. a potential No. 1 corner in Henderson here. He had an up-and-down 2019 season, but he cemented his standing as the second-ranked cornerback in this class at the combine, where he ran a 4.39 40. The Raiders get to grab a receiver at No. 19. Could Vegas be an option if one of the other quarterbacks — Justin Herbert or Jordan Love — make it here?”
The more I study the draft, the more I think a pick like this is possible — and not totally crazy. And yet, I’m going to zag. The Raiders need a No. 1 receiver. Yes, the draft is deep with talent, but they can’t afford to start the season with depth at receiver — they need high end talent.
And so for me, the pick is Jerry Jeudy or CeeDee Lamb. I think you could grab either, but for the sake of picking one, I’ll snag Jeudy.
13. Jerry Jeudy (who we’ll replace with Henderson)
14. Andrew Thomas
15. Henry Ruggs III
16. K’Lavon Chaisson
17. CeeDee Lamb
18. D’Andre Swift
Having passed on the top three receivers at No. 12, Kiper has the Raiders reaching for Tee Higgins, the receiver from Clemson. As you can imagine, this mock hasn’t been popular with fans — why pass on the top tier of guys only to dip in here? Tough to understand. Here’s Kiper’s thoughts:
“If the Raiders take a cornerback at No. 12, they have to address receiver here. They can’t go into the season with Tyrell Williams, Hunter Renfrow and Nelson Agholor as Derek Carr’s top wideouts. So how about Renfrow’s college teammate, Higgins, a 6-foot-3 pass-catcher with elite ball skills. Higgins isn’t a speedster — he didn’t work out at the combine, but he ran a 4.54 40 at his pro day — but he could be an instant red zone threat for Carr.”
Nothing against Higgins, but if you’re going to pass on receiver at 12, then trade back from here. You could grab someone on par with Higgins 20-30 picks from now.
So what do we do instead? Is Jordan Love the pick here? Kenneth Murray? I’m going back to the same well as last time for this pick: Alabama’s Xavier McKinney.
With the top corners off the table, grab the best safety in the draft and plug him into the back of your defense immediately. Kiper’s colleague at ESPN, Todd McShay, actually has McKinney ranked No. 14 on his board, meaning the Raiders grab value while also filling a massive need. Plus Mike Mayock and Co. get to add a second Alabama player to their roster — something we know they value.
Overall if this is how things played out, I think everyone would be thrilled. The need at receiver is settled and a need in the secondary is filled as well. It’s not the dream scenario (with one of the top three defensive players somehow dropping to No. 12 or Henderson being available at No. 19), but it’s solid.
Less than a month away, folks. Less than a month!!
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