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Charlie Campbell, Senior Draft Analyst
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2021 NFL MOCK DRAFT - WALT'S | CHARLIE'S ROUND: 1

2020 NFL Draft Week - Thursday Rumors

Updated April 23, 2020
By Charlie Campbell. Follow Charlie on Twitter @draftcampbell.

The 2020 NFL Draft is tonight! Here are some rumors that I have heard from sources with the draft nearly upon us.

Last night, I reported that the Raiders and Jaguars were discussing a trade of a first-round pick for defensive end Yannick Ngakoue. Jacksonville wanted the 12th-overall pick for Ngakoue, while Las Vegas was offering the 19th-overall pick. The two sides appear to be dug in and perhaps a deal falls apart.

Sources from other teams think Jacksonville would be foolish to turn down the 19th pick. By not trading Ngakoue a year ago, the Jaguars lost some leverage, and they feel Jacksonville has to get Ngakoue out of the locker room. Players will generally side with their teammates over ownership and head coach Doug Marrone is already widely disliked. The public feuding with Marrone, Tom Coughlin, Jalen Ramsey, Ngakoue and Leonard Fournette is evident of the issues within the organization. Other teams feel Ngakoue also painted the Jaguars into a corner with his refusal to sign a long-term extension and getting into a twitter fight with co-owner Tony Khan. Other teams feel Jacksonville has to get Ngakoue out of town urgently to help bring change in the locker room.

A few days ago, we discussed how Tampa Bay would like to trade up for an offensive tackle, but the Buccaneers did not want to give up their second-round pick. It is widely known that the Bucs are targeting a running back in Round 2, where there should be some good ones available. Given what I'm hearing from sources, it sounds like the Buccaneers' preferred backs are Wisconsin's Jonathan Taylor and LSU's Clyde Edwards-Helaire. Tampa Bay believes Georgia's D'Andre Swift will be gone. By the sounds of it, the Bucs like Taylor and Edwards-Helaire more than Ohio State's J.K. Dobbins or Florida State's Cam Akers.

However, Bucs general manager Jason Licht has gone out of the box on some second-round picks, with a track record that includes Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Noah Spence, Roberto Aquayo, Justin Evans and Ronald Jones. Therefore, all bets are off and take this with a grain of doubt because Licht is unpredictable in the second round.

It would be a surprise around the league to hear a tight end called later tonight. Teams across the league are very down on the tight ends, and the majority do not have one with a first-round grade. Some have Dayton's Adam Trautman as the top tight end, while others prefer Notre Dame's Cole Kmet. Both Kmet and Trautman could be in store for a wait on the second night of the 2020 NFL Draft as well. Some sources say they don't think a tight end will be selected until late in Round 2. Others think that there might be one who gets selected in the early to mid-portion of the second round, but feel that would be a reach for any of these tight end prospects.

There has been a lot of buzz about the Carolina Panthers being high on Florida cornerback C.J. Henderson, as reported by my good friend Cecil Lammey. From what I'm hearing, it sounds like Henderson is the Plan B for Carolina if Auburn defensive tackle Derrick Brown is off the board. If Brown gets taken before the Panthers, I believe Henderson will be their pick at No. 7. If they were to trade down, which I believe to be less likely but not impossible, I think the Panthers would consider taking South Carolina defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw or Oklahoma linebacker Kenneth Murray.

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