The 2020 NFL Draft is almost here! It’s the only thing us sports fans have to look forward to with corona going on. That’s okay because I have PLENTY to talk about. I have a rant about D’Andre Swift and I want to talk our site wide mock draft. Let’s get right to it. Here’s the 8th edition of Daubert’s 2020 NFL Draft Mailbag.
Two questions this week:
Between those two choices, I think Patrick Queen is the better bet for the Ravens. Neither have lengthy track records for success but I think Yetur Gross-Matos is more of a volatile prospect. I seen flashes of greatness and then he will disappear for a quarter. I think Queen fills a huge area of need. Baltimore doesn’t have a dependable linebacker on the roster. I think Queen is a pretty safe bet that he won’t bust. He’s too good in coverage to totally flame out. LSU has a great tack record for producing linebackers too.
Question number two from Gavin via Slack:
“I’m not a big follower of NFL Draft but one thing I’ve noticed from NHL is every year there is one player who moves up a lot that no one show coming and one that drops lower than anyone thought. Any ideas who that might be in this draft?”
Really good question and something I don’t quite understand but it happens in every sport. These narratives get pushed out and players rise or slide up draft boards when nothing is happening. I think there are two big examples of this. Often times they’re nonsense but teams take them and run with them. Remember when teams passed on Aaron Rodgers because they thought it was a red flag the 49ers didn’t draft him? That’s the NFL Draft for you.
Grant Delpit seems to be sliding down draft boards and I don’t get it. This was a top ten pick six months ago. Now he’s being talked about as a middle or late 2nd round pick. I get he’s not the best at tackling but he’s too good in coverage. I don’t get what’s happening.
Jordan Love is the other. I don’t understand how anybody could watch the combine and think that guy should rise up draft boards. It’s the ugliest footwork I’ve seen from a high profile prospect since DeShone Kizer and Mitch Trubisky in 2017. Both of them suck. Maybe teams are so desparate to find the next Patrick Mahomes they’re willing to draft whoever looks like him. Who knows.
I think D’Andre Swift is starting to become disrespected. I’ve seen a lot of mock drafts that don’t have any running backs taken in the first round. The class this year is WAY better than last year. D’Andre Swift is a better prospect than Josh Jacobs across the board.
Swift had better college production:
D’Andre Swift: 2,885 yards, 6.6 YPC, 20 touchdowns
Josh Jacobs: 1,491 yards, 5.9 YPC, 16 touchdowns
Swift is the better pass catcher. I’m not even going to bother posting the stats for that one. Look it up.
Swift has better tools and testing numbers.
D’Andre Swift: 4.48 – 40 time
Josh Jacobs: 4.60 – 40 time (AT PRO DAY)
Here’s a crazy thought! Maybe D’Andre Swift is better! I’ll take my chances that JK Dobbins is too. Josh Jacobs had a great rookie year. One I didn’t see coming but there’s no denying Swift is a better college prospect coming in the draft.
I want to go over some takeaways I had from our site mock draft. I’ll try to keep my personal picks to a minimum since you already know I won this draft (insert proper emoji here). I’m going to do it in rapid-fire style.
- If Tua Tagovailoa is on the board when the New York Giants pick they HAVE to take him. I don’t think it’s even debatable that’s the right move. It’s not like Chase Young is on the board where you can roll with Haskins because Young is too good to pass on. They can get a first rounder back for Daniel Jones?
- The Chargers defense with Derwin James and Isaiah Simmons on the same field together will be really fun.
- If the Cardinals get a franchise left tackle I guarantee they’re better than the Rams next year. Only thing holding them back would be if there’s a massive gap between Sean McVay and Kliff Kingsbury (there might be).
- Credit to Adam Ramirez for creating a trade I’ve already talked myself into that is 100 percent happening. San Fran moves up a few spots to secure Jerry Jeudy. That’s happening.
- Still Curious to see what Denver does. 72 gotta go but they need more dangerous wide receiver too. Tough call.
- What’s the excuse going to be for Baker Mayfield if the Browns take Henry Ruggs III to pair with OBJ and Jarvis Landry? How many toys does this guy need?
- I’d love to know the fan reaction in Miami if this scenario plays out where they pick Jordan Love at 18. Miami is the most fascinating team in the draft.
- Alex Chick III will find a way to complain about the Raiders’ draft even if they pick exactly what he picked.
- Chad Bauman will have a heart attack if Philadelphia doesn’t pick a minimum of 2 linebackers.
- Least favorite pick has to be Brandon Aiyuk. Trading Stefon Diggs for Aiyuk is a tough pill to swallow. Better not miss with that pick.
