Post-week 5 mock draft

Here is my very first NFL mock draft of the season. It will be interesting to see the quarterbacks changing teams. If the Giants/Jets get No. 1, who will trade for Sam Darnold or Daniel Jones? Who will take a chance of Dwayne Haskins? Anyway, here it is:

1. New York Giants: Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson

2. Atlanta Falcons: Penei Sewell, OT, Oregon

3. New York Jets: Justin Fields, QB, Ohio State

4. Los Angeles Chargers: Patrick Surtain, Jr., CB, Alabama

5. Washington Snyders: Trey Lance, QB, North Dakota State

6. Jacksonville Jaguars: Micah Parsons, LB, Penn State

7. Minnesota Vikings: Wyatt Davis, IOL, Ohio State

8. Miami Dolphins (from Houston): Ja'Marr Chase, WR, LSU

9. Detroit Lions: Gregory Rousseau, DE, Miami

10. Denver Broncos: Caleb Farley, CB, Virginia Tech

11. Philadelphia Eagles: Dylan Moses, LB, Alabama

12. Cincinnati Bengals: Alex Leatherwood, OT, Alabama

13. Miami Dolphins: Quincy Roche, EDGE, Miami

14. San Francisco 49ers: Shaun Wade, CB, Ohio State

15. New England Patriots: Devonta Smith, WR, Alabama

16. Carolina Panthers: Dillon Radanz, OT, North Dakota State

17. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Marvin Wilson, DL, Florida State

18. Indianapolis Colts: Hamilcar Rasheed, Jr., LB, Oregon State

19. Dallas Cowboys: Derian Kendrick, CB, Clemson

20. New Orleans Saints: Jaylen Waddle, WR, Alabama

21. Las Vegas Raiders: Christian Barmore, DL, Alabama

22. Arizona Cardinals: Kyle Pitts, TE, Florida

23. Kansas City Chiefs: Creed Humphrey, IOL, Oklahoma

24. Baltimore Ravens: Rashod Bateman, WR, Minnesota

25. Chicago Bears: Jevon Holland, S, Oregon

26. Cleveland Browns: Carlos Basham, Jr., EDGE, Wake Forest

27. Jacksonville Jaguars (from LA Rams): Paris Ford, S, Pittsburgh

28. Buffalo Bills: Chaz Surrett, LB, North Carolina

29. Green Bay Packers: Jaylen Twyman, DT, Pittsburgh

30. Pittsburgh Steelers: Pat Freiermuth, TE, Penn State

31. Tennessee Titans: Asante Samuel, Jr., CB, Florida State

32. New York Jets (from Seattle): Rondale Moore, WR, Purdue

Early Packers Mock Draft

The Packers are off to a fast start during the 2020 NFL season, winning the first four with three by double digits. The offense has racked up 152 points in the four games (38 points per game). However, it is never too early to look at the 2021 NFL Draft. Green Bay will likely receive three compensatory selections, as they lost Blake Martinez, Bryan Bulaga and Kyler Fackrell. Green Bay has re-signed Kenny Clark, but still has a number of other potential free agents to try to sign, namely All-Pro offensive tackle David Bakhtiari, running back Aaron Jones and cornerback Kevin King. Here is my first Packers mock draft:

1. Jaylen Twyman, DT, Pittsburgh

In my eyes, the Packers have one glaring weakness: the defensive line. Green Bay smartly re-signed Kenny Clark this offseason, but while Kingsley Keke has made a jump, Tyler Lancaster and Dean Lowry are not starting caliber players. They are good enough to have on the roster, but I don’t want them receiving a majority of the snaps. Twyman hails from the same university that gave us Aaron Donald. As a sophomore, he tallied 41 tackles, a team-high 12 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks. Those numbers actually resemble the ones Donald put up during his sophomore season with the Panthers. He would fit right in with the Packers, along side Clark and Keke and possibly turn a weakness into a strength.

2. Terrace Marshall, WR, LSU

The Packers have wanted to upgrade the position, but they have their price. Last season, they tried to trade for Robbie Anderson. During the 2020 draft, they tried to trade up in the second for a receiver, but did not have a fourth round pick due to the Jordan Love trade. Once their target was drafted, they stopped trying. I still am guessing their target was Chase Claypool. Finally, they tried to sign Emmanuel Sanders as a free agent this past offseason. He would rather play in a big city in warmer weather, so he signed with the Saints. So the Packers have tried to upgrade the wide receiver position. If the Packers take a receiver, it would probably be early because I just don’t see late round guys coming in and beating out MVS or EQ for significant playing time. Marshall could be that guy, though. Marshall is a touchdown machine for the Tigers. Since the start of the 2019 season, he has caught 67 passes, with a whopping 20 going for touchdowns. Even without top overall pick Joe Burrow and other great LSU receivers Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase taking pressure off him, he still has caught 21 passes for 424 yards and seven scores. He would come right in and form a tremendous trio at receiver with Davante Adams and Allen Lazard. Just what the rest of the NFL needs: an even more deadly Aaron Rodgers.

3. Cole Van Lanen, OT, Wisconsin

I mentioned above that All-Pro offensive tackle David Bakhtiari is a free agent. While I do think the Packers will re-sign 69 to a long-term deal, the green & gold has a stop-gap at right tackle right now with Rick Wagner and Billy Turner. Van Lanen could be the future at right tackle for Green Bay. Wisconsin has put in some good offensive linemen the past 10 years with Travis Frederick, Ryan Ramczyk, Kevin Zeitler, among others. The Badgers lineman led college football with a 90.4 grade from Pro Football Focus last season. He is a member of the Outland Trophy watch list and could be a finalist when all is said and done. The Badgers begin next Friday, so it will be interesting to see in CVL can improve his stock with a successful senior campaign.

4. Tariq Castro-Fields, CB, Penn State

I mentioned earlier that Kevin King is a free agent, and with all the money being thrown at extensions for cornerbacks this offseason, it makes it less and less likely King is brought back, especially since they will need to re-sign Jaire Alexander to a monster deal in a few years. They could take one earlier than the fourth, but I have them waiting because I think they like the development of Josh Jackson and Ka’dar Hollman, not to mention they have Chandon Sullivan in the slot, who is a very solid corner. You can never have too many good corners, though. This should be a deep draft at cornerback and Castro-Fields needs to be more consistent. If he can find more consistency, he could be a steal in the draft.

5. Isaiahh Loudermilk, DE, Wisconsin

The Packers very easily could take multiple defensive linemen in this draft class. Loudermilk is extremely talented, but one of his major problems has been staying healthy. As a sophomore, he missed the first few games and was not 100 percent the rest of the season. When healthy as a junior in 2019, he recorded three sacks, five passes defensed and two forced fumbles en route to being named Honorable Mention All-Big Ten. He hasn’t developed into a great pass rusher, but he has to become a good one. He has a knack for batting down passes due to his 6-7 frame.

6. Kobie Whiteside, DT, Missouri

One way to try to fix your most glaring need is to draft multiple bodies at the position. I think Dean Lowry is a candidate to be let go, so the Packers could go with three defensive linemen to help both the the starting line and reserves. Whiteside tallied a nice 78.8 pass-rush grade in 2019, which was 18th out of 182 Power 5 interior defensive linemen. He is a terrific nose tackle, who could be a steal at this spot.

7. David Anenih, EDGE, Houston

Anenih has improved each year for the Cougars. He sacked opposing quarterbacks twice as a freshman, four times as a sophomore, five as a junior and already has two in two games as a senior. You can never have enough edge rushers and a seventh round pick is worth it as a lottery ticket to use on a pass rusher.