It's March - so it's time for... NFL mock drafts!
Newly updated mock drafts are in. Relevant Michigan / Big Ten picks are here from NFL.com, SI, CBS, and USA Today. These were all updated within the last couple of days. No espn b/c I don't subscribe. Just biding my time until tomorrow night...
Michigan Guys:
Rashan Gary is easily the top guy off the board for Michigan. NFL has him as high as 6 to NYG. SI says 11 to CIN; USA Today 14 to ATL; and CBS 16 to CAR.
Devin Bush is next off the board. USA Today has him 10 to DEN; NFL at 11 to CIN; CBS at 22 to BAL; and SI at 28 to LAC.
In the 2nd round, USA Today has Chase Winovich at 45 to ATL; CBS at 52 to PIT. These were the only two 2nd round projections I looked at.
Other Big Ten guys:
Nick Bosa is basically considered a top 2 or 3 pick. Most have him going 2 to SF, NFL at 3 to NYJ.
Haskins is 5 for USA Today; 11 for CBS; 13 for NFL; and 15 for SI.
TJ Hockenson (TE-Iowa) is surprisingly (for me) high. #7 to SI; 8 to DETROIT for CBS; 11 for NFL; and 15 for USA Today.
Noah Fant (TE-Iowa) keeps things going for the Hawkeyes with #12 for NFL; #21 for USAT; 24 for SI; and 27 for CBS.
The one hit wonders are Parris Campbell showing up at 29 for SI; and Justin Layne showing up at 24 for CBS.
Detroit Lions:
Already covered CBS - TJ Hockenson. SI and USAT both say CB - Deandre Baker (UGA) and Greedy Williams (LSU), respectively. NFL says DE with Montez Sweat out of Miss State.
March 20th, 2019 at 10:58 AM ^
All I want is Bush to the Bengals.
Someone is going to make a mistake on Haskins.
Gary is going to slide.
March 20th, 2019 at 11:14 AM ^
Bet the Bengals take Haskins if he slides
March 20th, 2019 at 11:25 AM ^
Does this mean, you don't think Haskins will be a good selection, or someone will not take him and regret it?
March 20th, 2019 at 11:42 AM ^
I think they might unfortunately. Much rather have Kyler Murray or Lock.
I just don't think Haskins will ever be anything better than average in the NFL.
March 20th, 2019 at 12:27 PM ^
Regarding Haskins, while I tend to root against all former Buckeyes (and I don't want my Giants to select him, as I will have to root for him), I actually think that Haskins is going to be a really good pro QB. He has good accuracy and, from all reports, understands / reads the game at a high level. While he is certainly not a burner, he does have plus athleticism, at least compared to many pro QB.
March 20th, 2019 at 12:53 PM ^
I'm certainly no expert but I also think he'll be relatively successful.
This does seem a strange take to me as well.
He has all the prototypical attributes for the position and did things OSU with NFL level talent that hadn't been one before. If the biggest knock is he exploited favorable match-ups at the college level to put up crazy numbers, guess what mismatches are even more important to exploit at the Pro level.
If anyone has the question marks it's Murray, although admittedly, he's a more Dynamic playmaker.
March 20th, 2019 at 11:02 AM ^
Awesome job on this roundup, oriental andrew.
March 20th, 2019 at 11:17 AM ^
Shouldn't it be Asian Andrew?
/s
March 20th, 2019 at 11:37 AM ^
Oh, it was a whole thing back in the day, lol...
My sister used to say, "Oriental is a rug; I'm Asian."
March 20th, 2019 at 11:58 AM ^
That is the second time I have heard that phrase in my life. As a small town boy in Ann Arbor for Orientation 1996, someone in a group I was with asked who Yoko Ono was and I replied something like, "She is the Oriental woman who was married to John Lennon." One of the fellow attendees responded that "rugs were Oriental and people were Asian." I didn't know that at the time as I thought the orient was a region, much like Asia, but I never referred to people as Oriental again...well except for you Andrew.
March 20th, 2019 at 11:08 AM ^
I heard Baker is falling due to combine performance. I would like Lions to take Sweat, Ferrell or Wilkins
March 20th, 2019 at 11:21 AM ^
Didn't Baker run a 4.7? I don't think his film looked a helluva lot better. This years Teez Tabor. None of these guys have great film in my opinion. Clemson's D-line wasn't as dominant as people predicted. Whomever the Lions draft, he will surely suck. It's just the SOL.
March 20th, 2019 at 11:09 PM ^
I want devin white, Ed Oliver, or greedy Williams for the lions
March 20th, 2019 at 11:09 AM ^
Lions fans are split on Gary it seems. Plenty of bitter Michigan fans that he didn't get 20 sacks a year and Sparty fans being...well Sparty fans.
I, for one, would welcome it. He's not my first choice but he's a freak athlete and versatile (A Patricia must). That being said, the Michigan guy I want the most by far is David Long and we can get him in the 2nd-3rd most likely. I'm convinced that kid is gonna be at worst a serviceable starter in this league and at best an all pro. Fits in beautifully with Slay and Coleman.
As a lions fan I’m not in favor of drafting Gary at 8 for both the team and the player.
For the lions I don’t think it makes sense to draft a him at that spot since I don’t think he would be an immediate starter. It’s not as much of a need as other positions at this point so the value isn’t really there, it seems, for what you would expect at that draft slot. Same goes for Ed Oliver.
However, drafting a cheaper option to play Trey Flowers’ spot would make sense if you want insurance for the position. If Flowers isn’t worth his salary in a season or two you can move on and already have his replacement on the team. That’s where I see the value.
For Gary, I think he needs to go get a ton of snaps early in order to develop for the pro game and reach his potential and I don’t think the lions are the best fit in that regard.
Now, the lions could fall in love or already consider him better than what’s on the roster and then it makes sense but it’s still not bringing the value of a starting linebacker or corner that’s a starter on a cheap contract
Because he’s a project. He has one move. He’s gonna take a long time to pan out if he does. He’s high character which is an added bonus. His testing is off the charts but it never translates to stats.
March 20th, 2019 at 11:17 AM ^
I feel like Chase to the Steelers would be a good fit.
Haskins, I don't know. He has the arm talent but accuracy falls noticeably when pressured and not mobile at all. I feel like NFL defenses could eat him alive.
March 20th, 2019 at 11:19 AM ^
I personally would love to see him go to Kansas City. The opportunity for instant snaps on a contending team is there. Even though I'm a Lions fan, lot of my friends are Chiefs fans and will offer me up some tickets sometimes. Can wear my 15 Michigan jersey.
March 20th, 2019 at 12:35 PM ^
To be fair, who's accuracy besides Tom Brady doesn't fall off when under pressure? And while he's not overly mobile, he's mobile enough to at least buy some time in the pocket. That's all most NFL GMs really care about.
I think he could be pretty good in the league, but he would be best suited to go to a team that doesn't need him right away. Go somewhere to sit behind a veteran, learn the ropes and hold a clipboard for a year or two, and then take over.
The only knock I have against him at this point is how well will he able to grasp an NFL playbook? Meyer's scheme is very simplified, but NFL concepts and playbooks are incredibly vast and complex. Will he be able to translate it? Not sure. But I also said the same thing about Cam Newton and his career has turned out alright.
really? look, I'm all for rooting against them but saying stuff that isn't true makes no sense. It has been widely reported that Meyer let Day run the O for them and Day's playbook was as detailed an NFL style playbook could be. Every team that has met with Haskins thus far has said he is extremely impressive and he's whiteboarded and playbooked better than anyone at the combine. Haskins as prototypical as it comes for QB's that have dominated and had a ton of success in the league.
March 20th, 2019 at 12:54 PM ^
Haskins will be fine unless he goes to a dumpster fire like the Giants or Bengals. Same for Gary - in the right system, he will thrive. Both would be better off to drop a little in the first round and go to teams that fit them.
March 20th, 2019 at 11:38 AM ^
Wish our Wolverines much success and hoping they are not unfortunate enough to get drafted by the lie-downs.
For those who get drafted by our local semi-pro team, well, hope you enjoyed college as the early part of your pro career will SUCK!!!
March 20th, 2019 at 11:51 AM ^
Devin will fall no further than the Steelers. I could really see the Pats taking Chase with the last pick in the first round, they need a pass rusher. As for Rashan, I’m sure this is unpopular (and people will be quick to bash me) but if I’m an NFL GM with a top 10 pick, I’d pass on him. Sure he’s a physical specimen, but so is like 85% of the NFL. His lack of production would make me wary, and I don’t really buy the whole out of position argument because I saw him plenty of times just bull rush up the field and lose contain.
As for the Lions, I’d trade back and grab Fant or Hockenson later in the first and get some extra picks.
You're not alone in seeing flaws in his game.
March 20th, 2019 at 12:15 PM ^
*massive eye roll*
March 20th, 2019 at 12:41 PM ^
Words cant describe how thrilled I am to not give two shits about the draft this year. As a Browns fan this used to be our Super Bowl and the level of excitement around here regarding the draft was amazing cause that's all we ever had.
Now we have Baker, Ward, Chubb, Garrett, Landry, Hunt and with the 17th pick the Cleveland Browns take Odell Beckham Jr. (sort of). Yes we still need somebody to replace Peppers and yes we need an additional DT to pair with Richardson but damn things are looking bright here.
So this is how the other half lives during the run-up to the draft. These are uncharted waters for a Browns fan. And FWIW a couple of the guys I follow down here on twitter are hoping Justin Layne from MSU falls so we can get him in the 2nd round and pair him with Ward on the corner.
One of the NFL network guys has the Lions taking Gary. Or least did on Sunday while I had the AAF on.
I know some Redskins sites have them taking Chase in the 2nd round fwiw
These days, NFL Mock Drafts often seem to me like NCAA Basketball Bracketology projections before March 15 – plenty of speculation and occasional wild guesses.
NFL - (Bucky Brooks - March 19): Rashan Gary to the Giants (6), Devin Bush to the Bengals (11); (Charles Davis - March 15): Rashan Gary to the Lions (8), Devin Bush to the Bengals (11)
LINK
Sports Illustrated (Conor Orr - March 19): Rashan Gary to the Bengals (11), Devin Bush to the Chargers (28) LINK
CBS - (Ryan Wilson - March 17): Rashan Gary to the Panthers (16), Devin Bush to the Ravens (22); (Chris Trapasso - March 17): Rashan Gary to the Jaguars (7), Devin Bush to the Steelers (20); (R. J. White - March 13): Rashan Gary to the Falcons (14), Devin Bush to the Steelers (20)
LINK
ESPN - (Todd McShay - March 6 - Post-Combine): Rashan Gary to the Lions (8), Devin Bush to the Steelers (20) LINK
ESPN - (Mel Kiper, Jr. - February 18 - Pre-Combine): Rashan Gary to the Raiders (8), Devin Bush to the Packers (30) LINK
There’s a four-round mock draft from DraftWire (Luke Easterling - March 19) that has Devin Bush to the Broncos (10), Rashan Gary to the Falcons (14), Chase Winovich to the Falcons (45) and Karan Higdon to the Lions (186). LINK
For anyone interested, there also are some NFL Mock Drafts that are starting to guess at all seven rounds. One from DraftTek has Rashan Gary to the Redskins (15), Devin Bush to the Giants (17), Chase Winovich to the Giants (95) and Karan Higdon to the Lions (184). LINK
One from Rotoworld for NBC Sports Digital (Mark Lindquist - March 18) has Rashan Gary to the Buccaneers (5), Devin Bush to the Steelers (20), Chase Winovich to the Patriots (64), David Long to the Chargers (91), Zach Gentry to the Broncos (148) and Karan Higdon to the Lions (252; just two picks before he’d become “Mr. Irrelevant”). LINK
It would be very Bengals to trade up to pick a guy that would be available at their original slot. Here’s to hoping they take Bush or Haskins, at 11. No trades. We need the 2nd and 3rd round picks...
Scroll down at this link for links to many mock drafts:
https://www.patriots.com/news/2019-patriots-mock-draft-tracker
Very few mocks still have Rashan Gary going high in the 1st. Most don't anymore. A couple have him down low in the 1st.
PFF rates Chase Winovich higher than Rashan Gary:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2qUYeu6elM&t=1s
Here's a video of how PFF graded him out. Spoiler: it's not as good as many others graded him. They think he's a risk:
The most recent mock draft I read, from a guy that usually is pretty spot on, has Rashan Gary going to the Lions. Patricia and the GM believe in building the lines. Pair him with Flowers and they can be multiple between 3-4 and 4-3. He would be a great fit with Flowers.