- Four quarterbacks will be drafted in the top five, and at least five will go in the first round.
(ESPN’s Adam Schefter and NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero have both forecasted it’ll be six.)
I can’t ever remember the league being this QB needy.
Correspondingly, this is a loaded quarterback class.
As appears to have become widely accepted, I expect Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, and J.J. McCarthy – not necessarily in that order – to all go top five. I think Michael Penix lands at No. 13 to the Raiders and can’t imagine him slipping past Seattle at No. 16. Bo Nix’s draft range begins at No. 12 (Broncos), extends to No. 19 (Rams) and No. 23 (Vikings), and obviously involves the back end of Round One driven by QB-needy teams wanting to trade back in.
- The Chargers will trade back.
Jim Harbaugh inherited a roster with a lengthy list of needs, and the Bolts presently hold only three picks inside the top 104. They sit one spot ahead of a Giants club that did extensive pre-draft work on this year’s quarterbacks. The G-Men (No. 6), Vikings (Nos. 11 and 23), Broncos (No. 12), and Raiders (No. 13) represent potential trade-up partners for a Chargers team desperate for youthful talent injections.
I could envision run-first offensive minds Harbaugh and OC Greg Roman falling in love with J.C. Latham (Alabama) or Taliese Fuaga (Oregon State) should the Bolts find a trade-back partner.
- Drake Maye will be the fifth overall pick.
Caleb Williams goes 1. Jayden Daniels goes 2. Influenced by Patriots ownership (and possibly Tom Brady), J.J. McCarthy goes 3. The Cardinals stick and pick Marvin Harrison Jr. at 4. Some how, some way, Maye is left to No. 5 with the Giants and Vikings most credibly in the mix.
- Texas DT Byron Murphy will be a top-ten pick.
The defensive tackle market exploded in 2024 free agency; Chris Jones (five years, $159 million), Christian Wilkins (four years, $110 million), Justin Madubuike (four years, $98 million), and Leonard Williams (three years, $64.5 million) especially cashed in. That raised Murphy’s positional value.
This year’s top interior pocket disruptor, I think Murphy goes either to Atlanta at No. 8 or Chicago at No. 9.
- LSU WR Brian Thomas is a huge Day One wildcard.
Thomas is dealing with a shoulder injury that may require eventual surgery, while some in the league question the ex-basketball player’s compete level. Yet the Colts at No. 15, Jaguars at 17, Bengals at 18, Rams at 19, Steelers at 20, and Cowboys at 24 are all in the wide receiver market. Due to the question marks, I nevertheless had Thomas slipping to Buffalo at No. 28 in my final mock.
- BYU OT Kingsley Suamataia will be a first-round pick.
At 6-foot-5, 326, Suamataia boasts vine-line 34 ½-inch arms and gargantuan 10 5/8-inch hands. He allowed two career sacks as a two-year starter at BYU. Experienced at both right (2022) and left (2023) tackle, Suamataia tested as an elite athlete before the draft. I think his range begins at No. 20 to the Steelers and extends to the Eagles (22), Cowboys (24), Packers (25), and Chiefs (32).
I’ve heard fellow BYU product Andy Reid, in particular, loves Suamataia.
7. A whopping TEN offensive linemen will be drafted in Round One.
(And it might be more than that.)
Joe Alt (Notre Dame). Taliese Fuaga (Oregon State). J.C. Latham (Alabama). Troy Fautanu (Washington). Olu Fashanu (Penn State). Graham Barton (Duke). Amarius Mims (Georgia). Jackson Powers-Johnson (Oregon). Tyler Guyton (Oklahoma). Kingsley Suamataia (BYU).
There’s ten.
Zach Frazier (West Virginia). Jordan Morgan (Arizona). Roger Rosengarten (Washington). Patrick Paul (Houston). Christian Haynes (UConn).
That’s five more offensive linemen with legitimate first-round buzz.
