Welcome to Friday's installment of the With the First Pick newsletter. Here, your ability to have a successful weekend will not be concretely determined by a standardized cognition test. I promise. Did we not learn anything about the Wonderlic and why it has essentially drifted into obscurity?
We're still chugging along with the rebrand of the Pick Six newsletter through the end of April. And I, CBS Sports NFL Draft analyst Chris Trapasso, will be with you every step of the way. This daily newsletter's sole purpose is to track everything transpiring in the NFL and spin it into a draft angle.
Before I begin, here's your daily reminder to tell all your buddies and that one uncle who's always texting you mock draft links to sign up for the With the First Pick newsletter. All you have to do is click here and then share this link with them.
Today's NFL mock draft 🔮: Stroud AND Richardson sink?!
In Will Brinson's penultimate mock before the draft begins, two quarterbacks fall out of the top 10 -- Ohio State's C.J. Stroud and Florida's Anthony Richardson. After weeks of those two as fixtures inside at least the top seven, that would come as a major surprise. But you know what? We need to collectively brace ourselves for major surprises regarding the NFL Draft. Exactly when we all think we have a general sense of how the first round will be mapped out, Round 1 actually starts and it goes completely off course. Happens every year. That's Part 1 of why I love this mock.
Part 2 is the completely on-brand Seahawks selection of Jahmyr Gibbs at No. 20 overall. No organization brazenly makes picks with zero regard for public/media reaction than the Pete Carroll and John Schneider Seahawks. And, regardless of how that pick would be received, Gibbs is a damn good, super-explosive, pass-catching specialist! Serious Thunder and Lightning duo with him and Kenneth Walker if Brinson nails that prediction.
Other notable prospect-team pairings:
14. New England Patriots - Darnell Wright, OT, Tennessee
21. Los Angeles Chargers - Quentin Johnston, WR, TCU
22. Baltimore Ravens - Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Ohio State
27. Buffalo Bills - Josh Downs, WR, North Carolina
31. Kansas City Chiefs - Cedric Tillman, WR, Tennessee
'With the First Pick' podcast 🎧: what teams SHOULD do
This is my favorite episode yet because I love this exercise way more than all of our feeble attempts at predicting how the first round with unfold. Ryan Wilson, Rick Spielman provide Emory Hunt with their takeaways from his "what they should do" mock draft. As is always the case with Emory, many of his selections go against mainstream draft groupthink, and I respect him so much for that. He puts in the homework and certainly knows the game exceptionally well, so there's confidence behind his genuinely unique viewpoints.
Prospect of the day 📈: Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, Alabama
- Notable combine results: 4.36 in the 40-yard dash
- Combine measurements: 5-foot-9 1/8 inches, 199 pounds
- Current CBS Sports prospect ranking: No. 14 overall
Let's piggyback off Brinson mocking Gibbs to the Seahawks at 20 in his latest mock and dive a little deeper into Gibbs' prospect profile. A former Georgia Tech star, Gibbs transferred to Alabama in 2022 and was an absolute rockstar in Tuscaloosa. He averaged a hefty 6.1 yards per tote on 151 carries and chipped in with 44 receptions and 444 yards as a receiver. Gibbs' game is predicated on effortless burst, subtle juking skill, and serious long speed in the open field. He's comfortable catching the football too. Read his full, football-jargon loaded scouting report right here.
Perfect Cowboys draft 👀
Staffer Cody Benjamin provided the most optimal plan of attack for the Cowboys in this draft and paired it with a litany of prospect possibilities. He broke it down into two main subsections, the first being "prioritize the trenches (and weapons) at the top" followed by "target RB, LB, CB depth" for the later rounds. What do you think Dallas needs to do next weekend to take the next step in the watered-down NFC?
News & Notes 📝
- Jameson Williams and others suspended for betting on games. The Lions' first-round pick in 2022 will be suspended the first six games of the 2023 season for gambling, the league announced. Another Detroit wideout, Quintez Cephus, is suspended the entire season and was subsequently released by the team. Five total players were named in the report, four of which were Lions.
- Tyler Huntley to sign restricted free agent tender. The Ravens' backup to Lamar Jackson the past few seasons will reportedly be signing his tender on Monday. He's only 25 and has been with the team since going undrafted in 2020. OK, that settles it. Ravens quarterback saga over and done with.
- Dolphins GM has received calls about teams wanting to trade down. Chris Grier, without a selection in this draft until No. 51 overall, recently stated he's had other clubs contact him about Miami's willingness to move up into the back half of Round 1. Will the Dolphins continue their aggressive ways?
- Tom Fornelli mock draft sees C.J. Stroud at No. 1 overall. Because we're maximizing our mock draft intake this week before a May detox. In Tom's mock draft 6.0, he explains why he still believes the Ohio State passer will be picked at No. 1 overall.
