Alabama

(Trade with Bears)
Colts trade up from pick #4 to grab a starting QB. Trading up three spots won’t cost a whole lot, but Indianapolis will overpay a bit to secure the top pick. Jim Irsay seems incredibly on-edge lately, and probably wants some stability for his franchise. He wants his guy Jeff Saturday too, which probably isn’t the best choice for a positive timeline. Bryce Young and Jonathan Taylor would prove to be a potent 1-2 punch on a budding Colts offense. If the Bears stay here, they’ll pick Will Anderson.

Georgia

(Trade with Colts)
Chicago does not need a new QB right now. I surmise that the recent QB rumors are smoke. They need pieces to build around Justin Fields. Jalen Carter is the next elite defensive player to come off the board. This pick gets them a defensive lineman that can start right away, and an extra pick or two from trading down with the Colts. Personally, I would trade out of this pick again as the Bears. There is more value to be had for their specific roster needs elsewhere in the first round. Generally, I would not draft a DT in the top five picks unless I knew that they were Aaron Donald.

Alabama

Will Anderson falls into the lap of the Arizona Cardinals. I really don’t think this pick will win them a Super Bowl anytime soon. This is because Kyler Murray is such a waste of cap space. He is a terrible leader with a small frame, and will be oft-injured. Anyways, Will Anderson is a beast. He has 48 tackles for loss over the past two seasons, including 31 in his 2021 season alone. That is an insane and transferable statistic.

Ohio State

Houston ownership must want to castrate Lovie Smith. They pulled a Jets and lost the top pick after a meaningless late-season win. They’ll land Stroud here, a decent QB who has not been fully unleashed by his college coaches. Stroud is not as mobile as Bryce Young, but has a bigger frame that can absorb hits better than Young can. If the Bears stay at the #1 pick, the Texans will select Bryce Young.

Texas Tech

Tyree Wilson is physically a freak of nature. He is 6’6”, 275 lbs, and has giant reach. He had 61 tackles last season as defensive lineman - not too shabby. This pick stacks to the young crop of Seattle defensemen like Jordyn Brooks and Tariq Woolen. The Seahawks should tag Geno Smith this year; he is not worth a long contract, but the team has cap space to pay him well this and maybe next season.

Illinois

This kid is legit. He had 14 pass deflections, allowed 206 yards on 22 receptions, quarterbacks had a 24.6 rating when targeting him, and he runs a sub-4.40 40 yard dash. The Illinois cornerback unit allowed eight touchdowns (tied fewest), had 22 interceptions (most), a 49.5% completion rate (first), and 5.4 yards per pass attempt (fewest). The entire defense ran man coverage on roughly 75% of their snaps, by far the highest rate in the nation. The result was 12.3 points (first) and 263.8 yards (second) allowed per game. This points back to their star CB Witherspoon. Lions get another stud for a sizzling franchise.

Kentucky

I’m wondering if Tom Brady will come back, and where he goes if he does. The Saints blow, the Dolphins have Tua, the 49ers have a spring of QBs, the Patriots would be kinda like getting divorced parents back together, the Falcons lost horrifically to Tom in the Super Bowl, the Commanders have terrible ownership, and the Jets are the Jets. If Tom does come back, it may be with Josh McDaniels or Mike Vrabel. Both teams are kinda mid (Raiders and Titans), but would be willing to pay Tom for another year. If Brady went to Vegas, this pick could be Peter Skoronski at left tackle. If not, the Raiders need a new QB. Derek Carr is not great and is not that mentally strong. Like Jack Easterby, overly religious folks are hard to rally around. Players there to play football and earn a paycheck. This pick gives them a new quarterback. A bit more of a project than the previous two quarterbacks selected, but with better physicals. McDaniels has proven to work well with young quarterbacks. His ego contends with the egos of veterans at times. A fresh QB could help McDaniels’ tenure in Las Vegas, and keep him locked into coaching for a couple more years.

Texas

The Falcons can turn it around, but they do need a new coach. You objectively get more doors open for you in life if your father founded Federal Express. The Falcons subjectively reach for Bijan Robinson; the best running back prospect in a very long time. I do not think it is a reach to grab a highly valued skill player in the top 10 picks. You can say running backs are short-lived, but wouldn’t you pick someone like Alvin Kamara, Derrick Henry, or Jonathan Taylor with a top 10 pick? On this offense, you could plug in a veteran QB like Garropolo. It's not worth taking a risk on Ridder right now with the division wide open. Then you’d have a decent offensive line led by Chris Lindstrom, Kyle Pitts at tight end, Drake London at receiver, and a couple other decent backs to run with Bijan. Dark horse pick here is Florida’s Anthony Richardson.

Clemson

The Panthers will wait another year to draft a QB after missing out on the first crop in this draft. I do not think Anthony Richardson will be picked here. Instead, Carolina will jack up their defensive line that already has Brian Burns and Derrick Brown. Panthers need a bit of everything, but get the best player available to them. Richardson could end up here as a project QB.

Oregon

Eagles fans rejoice! Saints are idiots, and the Eagles get a free top 10 pick. They’ll use this to re-stock their CB room with either Christian Gonzalez or Joey Porter Jr. Gonzalez is a speedier option. The Eagles could definitely trade out here and get more value with more picks. I could see someone like the Patriots going up a few picks to select the skilled Quentin Johnston. If Bijan Robinson is still here, the Eagles could go for an OP offense.

Northwestern

The Titans need a new tackle if they want to win in the next few years. Taylor Lewan hurt his knee, is in his 30s, and has a big cap hit - and will possibly be a casualty next year. Skoronski gives the Titans the best offensive lineman prospect in the draft. He only let up one sack last season, but has undersized arms for a tackle. Either way, he should be a decent starter for Tennessee.

TCU

A blunder by the Cleveland front office enables the Texans to select the best receiver in the draft to develop with their new quarterback. Quentin Johnston looks to be the most NFL-ready receiver in this class, with good size and skill. The Texans need new management. I like Caserio there, but geriatric ownership isn’t the best in today’s fast-paced business environment. The Texans need a re-brand to be financially competitive in the NFL.

Ohio State

Like Quinnen Williams said, the Jets need offense. Here, we’ll go with an offensive tackle to attempt to protect whoever is playing QB for the Jets next season. I think Aaron Rodgers has a good chance to land here, it’s out of the NFC and has a team that’s ready to roll if it can get some leadership and experience.

Ohio State

My Patriots are hurting. Wallowing in lower-mediocrity for the past three seasons after our beloved Tommy left us. I went to the Dolphins game on New Years day, and people seemed more interested in drinking and talking than watching football. That is a far cry from the atmosphere that expected greatness for the last twenty seasons. The Patriots need a skill player (WR) if they are to develop Mac any further. I don’t think he’s truly the answer, but could definitely get us to the playoffs. There are some good value picks on defense left here, like Brian Branch/Bresee and Joey Porter Jr. But, the Pats need offense and they’ll go with an OT or WR. If the Patriots do not trade back, they could select Jaxon Smith-Njigba out of Ohio State. He may not be a true #1 WR like Quentin Johnston, but he does not need to be. In the 2021 season while playing with Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson, he still managed to catch 94 passes for 1,606 yards and nine touchdowns.

Alabama

It’s unlikely that Aaron Rodgers will be back. Unless he and Packers management have an intimate psychedelic trip together, Rodgers will finish out his career elsewhere. Either way, the Packers will need someone to help block for Jordan Love if they want to still compete. Honestly though, the Packers should blow it up. I know it’s hard to hear as a historic winning franchise, but Green Bay is headed to the gutters for a few seasons. They’ll get Alabama’s starting left tackle to start across from Bakhtiari, possibly taking the left tackle spot in the future.

Alabama

I love Brian Branch’s stats and think he’d be a great Patriot to take over for Devin McCourty. He missed four tackles during his entire college career! He could be a spark like Sean Taylor for a budding Commanders defense. Pretty funny that the owners want to get rid of Daniel Snyder (which they should), but fear that he could spill the beans on internal workings of the league or will out them for bad deeds. Just the personality type that ends up in those positions I guess.