McShay’s newest mock draft features Kyler Murray going first to the Arizona Cardinals.
ESPN’s NFL Draft analyst Todd McShay released a brand new mock draft that’s a bit different from the one he posted in early February. Like every year, the athletic testing and rumors at the NFL Combine influenced what could potentially happen in the draft — that is reflected in McShay’s newest mock draft.
McShay has the same four players going in the top four as our latest mock draft. Both mock drafts have Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray going first overall. In his last mock draft McShay had the Cardinals taking Nick Bosa first overall and Kyler Murray sliding to the Dolphins with the 13th pick in the draft.
Here are a few observations from McShay’s mock draft.
Three quarterbacks and three tight ends in the first round
One of the more surprising notes about McShay’s draft class is that he has the same amount of tight ends and quarterbacks going in the first round. The quarterback picks kicked off with Kyler Murray going first overall to the Arizona Cardinals. Dwayne Haskins went sixth overall to the Giants and the Dolphins wound up picking Drew Lock with the 13th pick.
The first tight end came off the board with 12th pick in the draft as the Packers snatched up Iowa’s T.J. Hockenson to pair with Aaron Rodgers. Noah Fant, Hockenson’s teammate at Iowa, ended up being picked by the Los Angeles Rams with the 31st pick in the draft.
With the last pick in the first round, the Patriots drafted Alabama tight end Irv Smith Jr. With Rob Gronkowski pondering retirement over the last few offseasons, adding a talented tight end to develop next to Gronkowski makes a ton of sense. Smith Jr. helped his case towards being a first-round prospect by running a 4.63-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine.
San Francisco continues to draft trench talent
The 49ers have spent their last four first round picks on linemen with Arik Armstead, DeForest Buckner, Solomon Thomas, and Mike McGlinchey. With the Cardinals taking Kyler Murray first overall, the 49ers had a chance to take arguably the best player in the draft in Ohio State defensive end Nick Bosa.
Bosa would immediately form a disruptive duo with DeForest Buckner, who has already established himself as one of the premier defensive tackles in the league. Buckner led the 49ers with 12 sacks and 17 tackles for loss last season.
Selecting Bosa would also give the 49ers some insurance in the case that Solomon Thomas doesn’t pan out. Thomas was the third pick in the 2017 draft, but has just four sacks and 13 career tackles for loss in 30 career games.
The Jaguars pass on a quarterback
For better or worse, it appears the the Jacksonville Jaguars are locked in on signing former Eagles quarterback Nick Foles at the start of free agency. That signing would make it less likely for the team to draft a quarterback at the top of the draft.
To make the transition easier for Foles, McShay gave the Jaguars Florida offensive tackle Jawaan Taylor. Taylor played right tackle last season for the Gators and would likely assume the same role with Jacksonville, considering that Cam Robinson will man the left tackle spot when he returns from injury.
That pick would give the Jaguars two young tackles who would hopefully grow into an elite duo. It would also give them the flexibility to cut Jermey Parnell and designate him as a post-June 1st release.
D.K. Metcalf jumps into the top 10
It’s not surprising that D.K. Metcalf soared from the 22nd pick in McShay’s first mock into the top 10 in this mock draft. Metcalf blew up the NFL Combine, running a 4.33 40-yard dash and jumping out of the building.
McShay now has Metcalf being drafted by the Buffalo Bills with the ninth pick in the draft. The Bills desperately need to add playmakers around Josh Allen to give him a better chance at success as the Bills’ franchise quarterback.
The skillset match between Allen and Metcalf would be extremely fun to watch too. Allen loves to throw deep and Metcalf excels at catching passes deep down the field.
A pair of Devins go in the top 20
This year’s NFL Draft features two linebackers who can really fly on the football field — LSU’s Devin White and Michigan’s Devin Bush. McShay has White going 11th overall to the Bengals and Bush going 20th to the Steelers.
Both of these picks make a ton of sense. The Bengals had one of the worst defenses in the league this past season, giving up 6.1 yards per play — good for 30th in the league. They’ve been lacking speed in the middle of the defense for a long, long time. White and his 4.42 40-yard dash would be a welcome addition for the Bengals.
Pittsburgh has struggled at inside linebacker since Ryan Shazier suffered a likely career-ending neck injury towards the end of the 2017 season. Bush may not be as good as Shazier right out the gate, but he would bring some speed and toughness to the Steelers’ defense. Bush also blazed in the 40-yard dash, running an official 4.44.