YKP 2020 NFL MOCK DRAFT

Happy Draft Day! 5 of our YKP writers teamed up to deliver our own 1st round mock draft. Blake Deresienski, Jake Wolf, Josh Kurzer, Josh Liepper, and Jared Lynch share their thoughts on what NFL teams will do tonight.  

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Picks:

Blake Deresienski- 1,6,11,16,18,26,31

Jake Wolf- 2,7,12,17,22,32

Josh Kurzer- 3,8,10,13,23,27,28

Josh Liepper- 4,9,14,19,24,29

Jared Lynch- 5,15,20,21,25,30

1. Cincinnati Bengals, QB Joe Burrow 

The Bengals are on the clock….and their pick is already in! Burrow earned the first pick with a historic championship season at LSU, and now he will get his chance to be a franchise quarterback in Cincinnati. No need to get cute here, Burrow will be taken at 1. 

2. Washington Redskins, DE Chase Young
The Redskins are far away from contention so they may consider trading down from #2, but Chase Young is a can’t-miss defensive prospect that would go first overall in most other drafts. Ron Rivera will convince unpredictable owner Dan Snyder to take the generational pass rusher who has the upside to be even better than the Bosa brothers.

3. Detroit Lions, CB Jeffery Okudah
Keeping it simple here, Okudah is the best player on the board that fits the Lions in a position of need after the departure of Darius Slay. There are rumors about Detroit trading out of this pick but ultimately I do not see a scenario in which they find a deal good enough for them to pass on Okudah. With the Ohio State cornerback the Lions will have a plug and play outside corner that can lock down prime time receivers for the next ten years. 

4. New York Giants, OL Jedrick Wills
Instead of taking Isaiah Simmons, the Giants will need to finish building the offensive line and pick the tackle from Alabama. Wills plays on the right side and fills one of the New York’s biggest holes.

5.  Miami Dolphins, QB Justin Herbert

Dolphins find their franchise quarterback by picking the healthier Herbert out of Oregon. After looking at taking a tackle, they decide to grab Herbert over Tua because of injury concerns.

6. Los Angeles Chargers, QB Tua Tagavolia

It makes sense the Chargers choose Tua as they start their legacy as a Los Angeles team. The injury concerns on Tua are overrated, and he may have been the first pick if he hadn’t fractured his hip. Chargers get a good deal here at number six. 

7.  Carolina Panthers, DE Derrick Brown

After the retirement of Luke Kuechly, the Panthers desperately need a playmaker to step up in the middle of their defense. New coach Matt Rhule will start off Carolina’s rebuild by adding an explosive DT in Derrick Brown. The Panthers will consider Isaiah Simmons here, but ultimately Brown will require double teams and give the Panthers the ability to collapse the pocket from inside.

8. Arizona Cardinals, LB Isaiah Simmons
Arizona's biggest need is an offensive lineman to protect their franchise quarterback, but the monster potential of Isaiah Simmons is too much to pass up on. With the selection of Simmons the Cardinals get themselves a dynamic playmaker to build an identity on the defensive side of the ball.

9. Jacksonville Jaguars, CB C.J Henderson
The Jaguars need to stock up on defense. This starts in the secondary.
Jacksonville traded All-Pro Cornerback Jalen Ramsey to the Rams last season. With Simmons and Brown off the board, Henderson is the pick.

10. **TRADE** (From Browns): Miami Dolphins, OT Tristan Wirfs
There is a lot of smoke signaling that Miami wants to trade up to the third pick to select the tackle of their choosing, but I believe that to be posturing from the front office. However the Dolphins do need a tackle, and here they will use some of their draft capital to move up from 18 to 10 to secure their left tackle of the future in Tristan Wirfs. Wirfs has the best raw athletic ability of any lineman in the draft and Miami will have plenty of time to mold him into a reliable protector for Justin Herbert.

11. New York Jets, OT Andrew Thomas

The Jets need to protect Sam Darnold, and although Ceedee Lamb would be a great addition to the offense, the smart move is to take an elite offensive lineman prospect and pick a receiver later in a deep draft. Thomas is a great fit for the Jets, and I hope he is still available for him to grab at 11. If he is not, look for the Jets to get another one of the top OL prospects. 

12. Las Vegas Raiders, WR CeeDee Lamb

Derek Carr desperately needs an outside receiver to complement deep threat Tyrell Williams, and Lamb has the potential to be the best player in the draft. Gruden will love Lamb’s passion for the game and ability to make contested catches. Lamb has been compared to DeAndre Hopkins as a classic X receiver who can play all over the field. His ability to run after the catch and break tackles will provide a sorely needed playmaker for the Raiders to build around as they move to Las Vegas.

13. San Francisco 49ers, WR Jerry Jeudy
This would be a dream scenario for the 49ers. After trading Emmanuel Sanders to the Saints, San Francisco needs another weapon to make life easier for Jimmy Garoppolo. Jerry Jeudy does just that, in my view his ability to create separation with his route running makes him the best receiver in this draft and the Niners should consider themselves lucky he was still on the board for the thirteenth pick.

14. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, OL Mekhi Becton
With the signing of Quarterback Tom Brady, Tampa Bay needs to protect the 42-year-old hall of famer. Becton has explosive upper body skills and is very athletic with a 7-foot wingspan may possess the highest upside of any lineman in the draft.

15. Denver Broncos, WR Henry Ruggs III

The speedy, explosive Ruggs finds a new home in Denver. After trading away Sanders last year to the Niners, the Broncos are in need of a dynamic WR to pair with Courtland Sutton and Drew Lock. Ruggs will be a great fit in this offense.

16. Atlanta Falcons, DT Javon Kinlaw 

The Falcons want to be aggressive and trade up in this draft, however the way this board shapes up they do not end up doing so. It would be nice for Atlanta to get a CB but having Kinlaw available is a nice grab. They take the best available player to slide into their defensive front. 

17. Dallas Cowboys, EDGE K'Lavon Chaisson 

Dak Prescott and the Cowboys are ready to win now and need a playmaker on defense to get after the quarterback. Chaisson gives Dallas a replacement for the departed Robert Quinn. The LSU edge rusher will be able to terrorize NFC East quarterbacks and has the potential to be an elite defender with tempting upside. With Kinlaw off the board one pick earlier, Chaisson is the easy pick for Jerry Jones.

18. **TRADE** (From Browns): Philadelphia Eagles, WR Justin Jefferson 

The Eagles miss out on the top three receivers, causing them to panic and feel forced to trade up. With the 18th pick Philly selects Jefferson as the slot receiver to pair with Wentz for the future. The Browns are fine with trading down once more and piling picks, because their target should be available later.

19. Las Vegas Raiders, CB Trevon Diggs
The Raiders got their receiver at #12 and now they need to fill their second most significant hole. Diggs is a great fit with his elite size and strength and fills a major gap in this secondary.

20. Jacksonville Jaguars, EDGE Yetur Gross-Matos

The Jaguars address a clear need on defense as they manage the trade demands from Yannick Ngakoue. After missing out on top-ranked Chaisson, they land the explosive Gross-Matos to help replace Ngakoue.

21. Cleveland Browns, OT Ezra Cleveland

After trading back twice, the Browns finally land their target. These two have been linked for a while now, not only for their name, but for the hole this fills for the Browns. Cleveland’s speed and quickness will allow him to play right away.

22. Minnesota Vikings, WR Denzel Mims 

Denzel Mims can slot into the Vikings receiving core from Day 1 to replace Stefon Diggs. Mims showed off his athleticism at Baylor while making acrobatic catches on his way to 28 career touchdowns. Mims fits best as an outside receiver with good vertical speed and size. Mims needs to improve his focus in order to limit his drops in the NFL, but he has the physical tools to be better than any receiver in the draft.

23. New England Patriots, DE A.J. Epenesa
Many people expect the Patriots to take a quarterback with their first pick, I just do not see it happening. Of course this is their biggest position of need, but I just do not think Belicheck is interested in any of these quarterbacks. He would rather ride with Hoyer and Stidham than use his first round pick on a poor investment under center. Quarterback or not, the Patriots are going to have to lean on their defense again this season and with A.J. Epenesa they find another explosive edge rusher to make life miserable for opposing quarterbacks.

24. New Orleans Saints, LB Patrick Queen
While the Saints may look to take a possible Quarterback of the future in Jordan Love, instead they’ll be addressing the defensive side of the ball. New Orleans needs a pair to Demario David and Queen fits great. He’s quick and forceful.

25. Minnesota Vikings, CB A.J. Terrell

The Vikings have two clear needs heading into the draft: WR and CB, due to the departures of Stefon Diggs and Xavier Rhodes. The Vikings gamble on Terrell, who at 6’1 utilizes his combination of size and speed to shut down receivers

26. Miami Dolphins, S Xavier McKinney 

- A tremendous first round for the Dolphins ends with them taking a DB to help on defense. They traded away stud Minkah Fitzpatrick last season, and signed CB Bryon Jones this offseason. Adding the young McKinney to the Dolphins DBs gives them a very bright future with a young, explosive defense. 

27. **TRADE** (From Seahawks): New York Giants, CB Kristian Fulton
Here the Giants use their second and fourth round picks to move up and take cornerback Kristian Fulton. The Giants need secondary help miserably, and with the selection of Fulton from the renowned Defensive Back University gives Dave Gettleman an aggressive speedster that will help rebuild their defense.

28. Baltimore Ravens, LB Kenneth Murray
This could be one of the steals of the draft. Murray is a complete sideline-to-sideline linebacker that can play in either a 3-4 or a 4-3. Murray flies across the field both in pass coverage and to stop the run. Behind MVP Lamar Jackson the Ravens enter the 2020 season as one of the super bowl favorites, and the pick of Kenneth Murray will shore up that front seven and anchor an already solid defensive unit.

29. Tennessee Titans, OT Joshua Jones
Yetur-Gross Matos would be the Titans ideal pick, however, he’s off the board. That leaves the Titans down to two choices: offensive or defensive line? With this pick Tennessee will sure up the offensive line and take Jones. The 319-pound left guard out of Houston is quick out of his stance and very athletic.

30. Green Bay Packers, WR Jalen Reagor

Reagor serves as a needed addition to the Packers offensive attack under Aaron Rodgers. His big-play ability will greatly complement Davante Adams and help improve last year’s 17th best passing team.

31. **TRADE** (From 49ers): Indianapolis Colts, QB Jordan Love 

A bit of a late 1st round shocker, the Colts decide they do not want to wait until day 2 to get their future QB. Jordan Love will get a season learning the offense while having Philip Rivers as an excellent mentor. You could make the argument that the Colts would wait until their pick #34 to grab Love, but there becomes a point where GMs are tired of waiting. They trade up into the 1st round to grab their QB of the future. 

32. **TRADE** (From Chiefs): Los Angeles Chargers, OT Austin Jackson 

After grabbing their franchise QB earlier in the night, the Chargers trade back into Round 1 to pick up their OT of the future. Austin Jackson has the potential to be a star LT with impressive movement for a 330 pound lineman. Jackson's solid frame and long arms give him a higher ceiling than any of the second tier OT prospects. He made blocking look easy at USC after recovering from a bone marrow transplant over the summer. Jackson is a boom-or-bust prospect who can help protect Chargers QB's for the next decade if he can improve his flexibility and strength.