John McMullen's 1.0 and Only NFL Mock Draft
PHILADELPHIA - There might be more dart-throwing than at any time in history when it comes to the meaningless but necessary evil of mock drafts.
Less information for the teams themselves means less information than ever for reporters trying to make educated guesses, but who cares about the context?
Let's light this candle and throw those darts for my annual and one-and-only first-round mock draft, one in which I will guarantee only one thing - that it'll start 2-for-2.
From there it's about 80 percent comfortable on No. 3 before the wheels are likely to fall off.
Without further adieu, let have some fun:
1. Jacksonville Jaguars —Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson
Turn Duval into Duh-val. Urban Meyer wasn't coming back to coaching and trying the NFL with just any quarterback. Depending on the talent evaluator, Trevor Lawrence is the cleanest QB prospect since Andrew Luck and some will take you all the way back to John Elway.
2. New York Jets — Zach Wilson, QB, Brigham Young
Broadway Zach replaces Broadway Sam in an effort to finally get another Broadway Joe.
Got all that?
Zach Wilson has the kind of off-platform throwing ability that is all the rave right now and why he rose above Justin Fields and Trey Lance when all was said and done. As an aside, when the Eagles felt they were firewalled from Wilson, that's when the decision was made to trade back from No. 6 to 12.
3. San Francisco 49ers (from Miami via Houston) — Mac Jones, QB, Alabama
You don't give up what the 49ers did to move up without a target in mind so forgot all the wavering nonsense in the final hours, Mac Jones is Kyle Shanahan's guy - an accurate, facilitator who can make Shanahan's top-of-the-line scheming skills hum.
4. Atlanta Falcons — Kyle Pitts, TE, Florida
I'm hearing that the haul that the Dolphins for from the 49ers for No. 3 is skewing things and making it difficult for the other QB-needy teams to pull the trigger on coming up for Justin Fields or Trey Lance. The Falcons and new GM Terry Fontenot are still riding Matt Ryan and will decide to get him help over the heir apparent, taking Philly-area native Kyle Pitts, someone who has been described as a Unicorn in regard to his skill set.
5. Cincinnati Bengals — Ja’Marr Chase, WR, LSU
The Bengals should take Oregon LT Penei Sewell here but will default to making Joe Burrow happy and reuniting the second-year QB with former LSU teammate Ja'Marr Chase, the top pass-catcher in the draft. The Bengals will then go OT at the top of the second round because it's a pretty solid group in that range - think Texas' Samuel Cosmi or Notre Dame's Liam Eichenberg.
6. Miami Dolphins (from Philadelphia) — Jaylen Waddle, WR, Alabama
The Dolphins came up to No. 6 to get Ja'Marr Chase but will settle for the consolation prize in Jaylen Waddle, a former Tua Tagovailoa teammate at Alabama and the one WR I think would be in play for Philadelphia at No. 12 if the board broke right.
7. Detroit Lions — Penei Sewell, LT, Oregon
Lions rookie GM Brad Holmes has a history with Jared Goff from Los Angeles and understands the former No. 1 overall pick can be very effective if kept clean. Penei Sewell slipping a bit works out well because the Lions could simply move Tyler Decker over to the right side.
8. TRADE - New England Patriots (from Carolina) - Trey Lance, QB, North Dakota State
-New England would likely have to give up No. 15 overall, a third-round compensatory pick, and a fourth-round compensatory pick to get this done.
With Denver and the next QB taken off the board looming, the Pats come up from No. 15 and select Trey Lance over Justin Fields.
9. Denver Broncos — Justin Fields, QB, Ohio State
The Broncos are probably working hard to move up to get the QB but rookie GM George Paton will win by staying patient. Justin Fields is left on the board and will be set to take over the face of the franchise duties from the disappointing Drew Lock.
10. Dallas Cowboys — Patrick Surtain II, CB, Alabama
The Cowboys get their pick of the cornerbacks and the first defensive player finally comes off the board at No. 10 in legacy Patrick Surtain.
11. New York Giants - Kwity Paye, Edge, Michigan
The Giants desperately need an edge rusher and they might even shock the world by taking Jaelan Phillips, but Kwity Paye is the safer choice.
12. Philadelphia Eagles (from Miami, via San Francisco) — Rashawn Slater, OL, Northwestern
Everyone is defaulting to CB or WR with Jaycee Horn the favorite to land in Philly but circumstance has Rashawn Slater falling further than expected and Howie Roseman can't resist.
13. Los Angeles Chargers — Devonta Smith, WR, Alabama
The Chargers get an explosive weapon for Justin Herbert as the Eagles fans boil.
14. Minnesota Vikings — Alijah Vera-Tucker, OL, USC
The Vikings must be the worst team in football at the OG position coming into the draft. Alijah Vera-Tucker is among the safest picks in the draft.
15. Carolina Panthers — Jaycee Horn, CB, South Carolina
The Panthers drop down and get additional draft capital while keeping Jaycee Horn in the Carolinas.
16. Arizona Cardinals — Caleb Farley, CB, Virginia Tech
Caleb Farley would have likely been the CB1 in this draft had it not been for back surgery. He could be medically red-flagged by a number of teams but this would be a tremendous value pick at a position of need for the Cardinals.
17. Las Vegas Raiders — Micah Parsons, LB, Penn State
Maturity issues will send Micah Parsons down the board a bit to the Raiders who need a sideline-to-sideline presence at LB.
18. Miami Dolphins — Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Notre Dame
My guess is Brian Flores will see a movable chess piece on the back seven with JOK.
19. Washington Football Team — Christian Darrisaw, OT, Virginia Tech
Post-Trent Williams hasn't been great for the WFT and the LT position was a turnstile last season. Christian Darrisaw is too good a fit.
20. Chicago Bears — Greg Newsome II, cornerback, Northwestern
The Bears need help at CB so why not keep former Northwestern star Greg Newsome in the vicinity?
21. Indianapolis Colts — Jaelan Phillips, Edge , Miami-Florida
The Colts need an OT and an edge and Jaelan Phillips would be a top-10 pick if not for his injuries and clashing with Chip Kelly at UCLA meaning he is tremendous value here.
22. Tennessee Titans — Azeez Ojulari, Edge, Georgia
The Titans also need an edge rusher. Azeez Ojulari is a bit undersized but his ceiling might be second to Jaelan Phillips in the class.
23. New York Jets (from Seattle) — Gregory Rousseau, Edge, Miami-Florida
The run of edge players continues with Rousseau, a boom or bust type who opted out last season and didn't have the best pro day. He's straight out of central casting as a rush end, however.
24. Pittsburgh Steelers — Najee Harris, RB, Alabama
Mike Tomlin loves Najee Harris and the Steelers have an obvious need at RB. Sometimes life is simple.
25. Jacksonville Jaguars (from L.A. Rams) — Jayson Oweh, Edge, Penn State
Tea-leaf tip. Jayson Oweh was heavily recruited by Urban Meyer out of high school. This time Meyer gets his man.
26. Cleveland Browns — Eric Stokes, CB, Georgia
The run on cornerbacks continues with the first of two highly-regarded Georgia Bulldogs. Eric Stokes is scheme-versatile, lengthy, and can run.
27. Baltimore Ravens — Teven Jenkins, OT, Oklahoma State
Tevon Jenkins will slot in nicely as the replacement at RT for the traded Orlando Brown.
28. New Orleans Saints — Tyson Campbell, CB, Georgia
The Saints are in the market for another corner and Tyson Campbell is getting a lot of buzz as a surprise first-rounder
29. Green Bay Packers — Rondale Moore, WR, Purdue
It's a year late but the Packers finally get Aaron Rodgers another WR and a unique one in the explosive but undersized Rondale Moore. Adding Moore's motion abilities to slot to Devante Adams on the outside might be lethal.
30. Buffalo Bills — Travis Etienne, RB, Clemson
The last piece to the Bills offensive puzzle is a RB like Travis Etienne, who can stress defenses in both phases.
31. Baltimore Ravens — Trevon Moehrig, S, TCU
The Ravens are able to add one of the better hybrid players on the back end.
32. Tampa Bay Buccaneers — Christian Barmore, DT, Alabama
The rich get richer as the Bucs had the only top-tier interior option on the defensive line in this draft in Christian Barmore.
John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's EagleMaven and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on both PhillyVoice.com and YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s EagleMaven and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
