Good afternoon on this marvelous Tuesday, and because I know you're following along with my new tradition of wearing college football jerseys in the days leading up to the NFL Draft, I went with a white Villanova Christian Benford uniform this morning, the newest in my collection. Damn good sixth-round pick by the Bills in 2022 after they swung and missed on cornerback Kaiir Elam in Round 1.
And those miss-early, hit-late developments happen almost every year with a bunch of teams. Had to pay homage to that draft phenomenon. Never thought I'd own a Villanova football jersey, but I am a proud and grateful owner now.
By the way, with the depth of the receiver, offensive tackle, cornerback, and interior offensive line class, don't be surprised if some clubs miss on an early pick at one of those positions but ultimately find a gem at the same position when they double-dip later in this draft.
You probably know by now, but if you don't, we've rebranded the Pick Six newsletter through the end of April. I, CBS Sports NFL Draft analyst Chris Trapasso, will be with you every step of the way. Honored.
Before I begin with today's newsletter, this paragraph will be your daily reminder to tell all your buddies and that one friend who's adamant your team better add to the offensive line in the middle rounds 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.
1. Today's NFL mock draft 🔮: What Pete Prisco thinks teams 'should' do
Yesterday, I featured a mock draft from Ryan Wilson that was framed as "what Ryan would do." That's how Ryan sent it into editors. Today, it's the same idea from Pete Prisco but framed in the most exquisitely Prisco way possible. Instead of "here's what I would do," it's Pete directly telling teams "here's what you should do." Pete is a damn gem.
1. Chicago Bears: Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU
2. Washington Commanders: Caleb Williams, QB, USC
3. New England Patriots: Drake Maye, QB, North Carolina
4. Arizona Cardinals: Malik Nabers, WR, LSU
5. Los Angeles Chargers: Marvin Harrison, WR, Ohio State
9. Chicago Bears: Chop Robinson, EDGE, Penn State
15. Indianapolis Colts: Jared Verse, EDGE, Florida State
21. Miami Dolphins: Johnny Newton, DL, Illinois
20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Brian Thomas Jr., WR, LSU
24. Buffalo Bills: Troy Franklin, WR, Oregon
Pete, off the top rope to start this mock, with Daniels over Williams, which, quite frankly could work for everyone. Williams would land with his USC coordinator Kliff Kingsbury in the nation's capital. I'm totally in agreeance with Pete on Nabers over Harrison Jr. and Robinson as EDGE1. As a kicker, Pete has Jaden Hicks, my No. 1 safety, in the first round! Maybe it's our shared Italian heritage.
I won't totally spoil everything here, but Pete also has a certain quarterback ahead of J.J. McCarthy as the fourth passer off the board and an offensive tackle you probably have seen in zero Round 1 mock drafts as the last pick in his first round.
2. 'With the First Pick' podcast 🎧: Favorite prospects in the class
Rick and Ryan came together in this episode to gush. Gush about their absolute favorite prospects in the 2024 draft class. Picking prospects apart is a hard truth of being a draft analyst but it's 50x more fun raving about prospects you actually really like and are excited about at the next level.
That is this episode for Rick and Ryan. Featured here -- just a few names -- Keon Coleman, Rome Odunze, Jared Verse, and Joe Atl.
3. Prospect of the day 📈: Darius Robinson, EDGE/DL, Missouri
Featuring Robinson today because, he feels like that prospect teetering on the edge of Round 1, and he's someone who experienced an up-and-down pre-draft process that swelled around the Senior Bowl and dipped after the combine.
He's a towering, sculpted defensive lineman who rushed from every alignment imaginable up front during his time in the SEC. Now, in 2023, Robinson mostly played end on three-man fronts, not exactly a sexy position where pass-rush ability is typically accentuated. But he fared well there.
Even at his size, Robinson's combine workout as a pure edge rusher was not good. Now, if you want to utilize him inside? Much better chance he succeeds in the NFL. With him, think strength, heavy hands, and as an interior rusher, plus athletic traits. Whichever club drafts him absolutely needs to deploy him at end on "running downs," then kick him to defensive tackle on second and long and third down.
- Notable combine results: 4.95 in the 40-yard dash, 35-inch vertical
- Combine measurements: 6-foot-5 1/8", 285 pounds with 34 4/8" arms
- Current CBS Sports prospect ranking: No. 28
4. Buying or selling draft's biggest rumors 👀
Jordan Dajani opined on some of the largest, juiciest, most compelling draft rumors in a buy-or-sell format. Some buzz-worthy rumors include -- six quarterbacks in the first round, J.J. McCarthy as a top-three pick, and the first defensive player will be picked historically late.
McCarthy feels like a prospect who's either going to be like the No. 2 or No. 3 overall selection or go like significantly later than expected. Kind of like the Will Levis of this class. So polarizing but playing the game's most vital position.
5. News & Notes 📝
- Chiefs extend Andy Reid, GM Brett Veach. After back-to-back Super Bowls that came following the Tyreek Hill trade, yeah, doing this feels like a good idea.
- Ranking the QB prospects based on unique formula. This one-off piece comes from none other than Tom Fornelli, the creator of this proprietary formula based on collegiate stats that does a decent job predicting NFL success. Of course, Tom ran this year's highly touted quarterback class through the formula he pieced together in 2012.
- Steelers GM says it's not realistic for team to pick Round 1. BUT, Omar Khan did mention they have to be open to the idea, if the board falls a specific way.
- 49ers to potentially target one of these five prospects on Day 2 or 3? GM John Lynch mentioned during his pre-draft presser that he really believes in NFL bloodlines during the evaluation process. OK then. From Kris Jenkins to Brenden Rice, Jerry Rice's son, John Breech (who also has NFL bloodlines) pinpoints the five prospects AFTER Marvin Harrison Jr. whose dad or sibling has played or is currently playing in the NFL.
