Colorado

Look at TEN's depth chart. Drop Cam Ward into that mess, and he's guaranteed to fail. He's not Peyton Manning. He may not even be Bo Nix. We all feel it. I fully understand the NFL Draft QB tax, but c'mon.

The NFL Draft is all about value. TEN has next-to-nothing at WR and CB. (Premium positions.) Hunter is easily WR1 and CB1 in this draft, and I believe he has the endurance and intelligence to play both full-time in the NFL. (The pace of the NFL will be a jog for Hunter compared to the pace of the Big 12, and he's a two-time Academic All-American - including THE 2024 Academic All-American of the Year.)

Imagine if Hunter becomes an AFC Pro Bowl WR AND CB. We're talking about an ACTUAL generational superstar...Jim Thorpe, Babe Ruth, Bo Jackson-type stuff perfect for putting butts in the seats of TEN's new stadium in '27.

So what about TEN's void at QB? Let Kirk Cousins or Aaron Rodgers run point guard in Callahan's system for a year. Or maybe Jaxson Dart at 2.35. Whatever. Travis Hunter first, everything else later.

Colorado

I think this could be MIN/JJ McCarthy all over again; a heavily-analytical and QB-desperate front office reaching 15 picks too early for a system-fit game manager in hopes of stabilizing the QB spot and attaining the team-building financial flexibility that only comes with a QB on a rookie contract.

Michigan

Schoen and Daboll are on the hot seat and need a safe, high-floor prospect with this pick. With Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux at 3-4 OLB, the Giants pass on Abdul Carter (and his injury red flags) and grab Graham, a knifing interior disruptor to perfectly complement Dexter Lawrence.

Penn State

The Pats shouldn't let the addition of Harold Landry and his 7.6% edge pressure rate (ranked 100 out of 106 qualified rushers) prevent them from drafting Abdul Carter. NE still has $64M in cap space and could easily sign Tyron Smith as LT spackling. (Overpaying injured/older FAs seems to be their MO this offseason anyway.)

Boise State

Priority One in JAX is getting Trevor Lawrence's career back on track. It's why Liam Coen was hired. I'm not buying the idea that a "potential guard" prospect like Will Campbell or Armand Membou would be more valuable in that capacity than a Tomlinson-level RB like Jeanty.

Miami

TRADE! LV gets 1.14, 2.45 and WR Alec Pierce, IND gets 1.06 and TE Michael Mayer

The LV depth chart features tumbleweeds at RB, outside WR, LB and CB, and help is still needed along the OL and DL. The Raiders need more draft picks.

I don't believe the Colts brought in Daniel Jones to compete with Anthony Richardson. I believe the Colts are already done with Anthony Richardson. You can hear it in Chris Ballard's voice when he speaks about Richardson. Ballard is on thin ice, and relying on Richardson to blossom would be career suicide. With relatively few pressing needs along the IND depth chart, Ballard moves up for Cam Ward.

As trade sweetener, the Raiders and Colts exchange recent 2nd RD disappointments. LV gets Pierce - made expendable with '24 2nd-rounder Adonai Mitchell - as a potential deep-threat complement to Bowers and Meyers. IND addresses their desperate need at TE with Mayer -still only 23 with upside. A trade for Dallas Goedert (Steichen connection) is another possibility.

Texas A&M

The Jets need to extend Sauce Gardner, Breece Hall, Garrett Wilson, Alijah Vera-Tucker and Jermaine Johnson II in the near future. One or two of those guys isn't going to get the bag, and JJII - fresh off a torn Achilles - seems an obvious candidate.

Also: Will McDonald IV (236 lbs) will likely function as a Haason Reddick-type SLB in Aaron Glenn's scheme. The need at 4-3 DE is much greater than it appears for the Jets.

Recent expert mocks have Shemar Stewart as low as 25-to-32. Nope. No matter how raw or unproductive, toolsy pterodactyls like Stewart pop off early. (i.e, Tyree Wilson...or Ziggy Ansah if you like your examples aged a bit.) There's always that team that bites on the upside. I know my Jets.

Georgia

We know Walker is going to pop off somewhere in the top-10, and CAR makes the most sense given their desperate need for pass-rush juice and Walker's tidy fit in Ejiro Evero's blitz-heavy 3-4 scheme.

Missouri

The Saints should be the team to trade up for Cam Ward, but they won't. The goal in Big Easy is to maintain perfect mediocrity at any cost. So let's swap out former RAS-fueled late-rising RT prospect Trevor Penning with another in Membou.

Texas

Braxton Jones is oft-injured, thoroughly mediocre and going into his contract season. Drafting Banks - a clean LT prospect that I believe is being underrated throughout the pre-draft process - would emphatically complete Ryan Poles' O-line rebuild and provide Caleb Williams airtight protection.

I get the "Braxton Jones is serviceable - the Bears have bigger fish to fry" argument, but this pick isn't just about upgrading LT. It's about making a statement. It's about Poles and Ben Johnson sending a loud-and-clear message to the rest of the NFC North that the Bears will now be playing bully ball, too.

Michigan

I considered Will Campbell here. Trent Williams will return in '25, and it seems that the 'Niners are good with thoroughly replaceable RT Colton McKivitz for another season, but OT could easily be a pressing need by '26. Williams is approaching 37 and the injuries are snowballing on him. He may be the GOAT, but he has one foot in retirement and the other on a banana peel.

Drafting a future LT to apprentice by William's side at LG would fit SF's forward-thinking Draft Day MO, and had Banks been available he would be the pick here. I just can't get there with Will Campbell. I'm confident Banks has the traits to kick out to LT, but with Campbell there's a decent chance that his NFL ceiling is Ezra Cleveland. Pass.

Instead, the focus becomes D-line, where it's just Nick Bosa and tumbleweeds.

Like Banks, Kenneth Grant is another prospect that is currently popping off in the very late 1st RD of many expert mock drafts for reasons unknown. I don't get it. 8-to-15 range value, IMO. Did his surprisingly-low 22 bench reps turned some evaluators off? I dunno - last I checked, NTs don't engage interior O-lineman while flat on their back. Grant draws his power from his bubble butt/tree trunk base. Not everybody can be a Vita Vea/41-reps freakazoid.

Grant - like Vea - is a one-man gang vs. the run. The 49ers get the foundation to their D-line rebuild. Look for SF to target a rangy EDGE complement to Bosa on Day Two like Nic Scourton, J.T. Tuimoloau, Landon Jackson or Jordan Burch.

Texas

The DAL secondary may be on the verge of a rebuild. There is currently no viable NCB on the depth chart. Daron Bland is in a contract year. Trevon Diggs has regressed since '21 and is a trade candidate. Dan Quinn schematic holdover safeties Donovan Wilson and Malik Hooker both turn 30 during the season and have voidable contracts in '26.

Jahdae Barron is my '25 Draft Crush. (Not the same crush level that I reached with Chop Robinson last year, but close.) Barron is a Devon Witherspoon-type junkyard dog. A plug-n-play NCB with the versatility to take on any role in the secondary.

Tet McMillan and Matthew Golden were strongly considered here, but they'll remain on the back burner until I'm confident that Jerrah won't make a move for Tyreek Hill, George Pickens, Romeo Doubs or Quentin Johnston.

Michigan

Don't look now, but Jalen Ramsey turns 31 this season and ranked 101st in passer rating allowed (93.5) last season. Decline may be creeping in, and his contract has an out after this season.

The boundary CB opposite Ramsey is currently "Storm Duck". God knows how badly I'd like "Storm Duck" to be a thing, but the mundane reality is that he won't.

Will Johnson is the easy, plug-n-play choice here...but probably not for long. Should Johnson ease concerns over his health/speed during his April 14th workout for NFL scouts, his stock could rebound right back into the top-10.

Marshall

TRADE!

The LV EDGE depth chart is Maxx Crosby, then Malcolm Koonce (ideally a rotational piece) and Tyree Wilson - a bust drafted by the former regime. More Mahomes-hunters are needed.

Mike Green was regularly found in the 8-to-10 range of mocks early in the pre-draft process. Sexual assault allegations have dinged his stock, but I'm not aware of any substantive evidence as of today, and Green seemed forthcoming when addressing the allegations during his Combine presser. Unless I'm given new information, I'm comfortable slotting him as high as 1.14. Green's pressure/sack and run defense metrics at Marshall were elite. His Pro Day workout numbers (insane 6.85-second three cone and 4.25-second 20-yard shuttle) were elite.

Production. Traits. Premium position. Green is a top-16 prospect.

South Carolina

Youth and versatility are needed at ATL's last line of defense. Emmanwori's skill set would nicely complement veteran centerfielder Jessie Bates III.

Full disclosure: I know that it's unlikely that a prospect with the superhuman athletic profile of Emmanwori gets out of the top-20, but I smell a bust. For his size/speed, he is not the tone-setting hell-raiser you would think. A bit mechanical, and upright/high-hipped DBs like Emmanwori always scare me. The bust factor was baked into my decision here because ATL has drafted a lot of prospects I didn't like over the last five years or so.

Texas

Michael Wilson and Greg Dortch are WR4s masquerading as WR2 and WR3. Golden would instantly start for ARI and provide a twitchy, big-play complement to MHJ and Trey McBride.

While I don't like the idea of burning a 1st-rounder on what would be Kyler Murray's third target option, maximizing Murray's potential is still top priority for ARI. (It feels like we'll still be talking about Murray's "potential" when he's 33.)