NFL Draft Week 18: The Risers, The Fallers, and The Mock

The NFL regular season has wrapped up and a new National Champion has been crowned. This could only mean one thing…it’s draft season! And another edition of The Risers, The Fallers, and The Mock! 

While some NFL teams are preparing for their playoff run, many have their draft preparations in full swing and draft candidates are getting prepped and ready to showcase themselves in hopes to get drafted. So now it’s time to take a look at who is trending up, who is trending down, and a fresh 2 round mock draft for you to feast on!

The Risers:📈📈📈📈📈

• I have touched on the rise of the offensive lineman, but with QBs seemingly slipping more and more, these offensive linemen continue to creep up boards. In my mock, I have a whopping 15 offensive linemen within the first two rounds. In a passing league, and with many young QBs trying to get their footing, it has become as important as ever for teams to get their protection right. We see it first off the board. With many impressive defensive players available, the Jags SHOULD choose to protect their franchise QB with a beast of a lineman. We will see how it actually plays out, but don’t be shocked to see linemen start to crowd the top 10. 
• Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner is starting to fly up draft boards. He was impressive all season long and capped it off with a nice game against Bama. During the regular season, QBs who targeted Gardner finished with a 26.1 passer rating. During the year, Gardner started towards the end of the first and even outside the first. Now? It wouldn’t shock me to see him off the board in the top 10-15 range. 

The Fallers: 📉📉📉📉📉

• There seem to be mixed opinions about the eligible wide receivers. Many mocks have far fewer receivers off the board in the first than we have seen over the past few years. I will admit, this class seems a bit top-heavy. I think this leads to a severe lack of talent when you get to the midway point of the 2nd round. There is a strong chance that teams take their shot on receiver early in order to secure a top guy and we see far less being taken on day 2 than normal. 

The Mock:

-Round 1-

1. Jacksonville Jaguars- Evan Neal, OT, Alabama
2. Detroit Lions- Kayvon Thibodeaux, EDGE, Oregon
3. Houston Texans- Aidan Hutchinson, EDGE, Michigan
4. New York Jets- Derek Stingley Jr, CB, LSU
5. New York Giants- Ikem Ekwonu, OL, NC State
6. Carolina Panthers- Matt Corral, QB, Ole Miss
7. New York Giants(via CHI)- George Karlaftis, EDGE, Purdue
8. Atlanta Falcons- Kyle Hamilton, S, Notre Dame
9. Denver Broncos- Sam Howell, QB, North Carolina
10. New York Jets(via SEA)- Garrett Wilson, WR, Ohio St
11. Washington FT- Tyler Linderbau, OL, Iowa
12. Minnesota Vikings- Andrew Booth, CB, Clemson
13. Cleveland Browns- Jameson Williams, WR, Alabama
14. Baltimore Ravens- Charles Cross, OL, Mississippi St
15. Philadelphia Eagles(via MIA)- Nakobe Dean, LB, Georgia
16. Philadelphia Eagles(via IND)- Ahmad Gardner, CB, Cincinnati
17. Los Angeles Chargers- DeMarvin Leal, DT, Texas A&M
18. New Orleans Saints- Kenny Pickett, QB, Pittsburgh
19. Philadelphia Eagles- David Ojabo, EDGE, Michigan
20. Pittsburgh Steelers- Malik Willis, QB, Liberty
21. New England Patriots- Kaair Elam, CB, Florida
22. Miami Dolphins(via SF)- Kenyon Green, OL, Texas A&M 
23. Las Vegas Raiders- Chris Olave, WR, Ohio St
24. Arizona Cardinals- Sean Rhyan, OL, UCLA
25. Cincinnati Bengals- Trevor Penning, OL, Northern Iowa
26. Buffalo Bills- Trent McDuffie, CB, Washington
27. Detroit Lions(via LAR)- Carson Strong, QB, Nevada
28. Dallas Cowboys- Devin Lloyd, LB, Utah
29. Kansas City Chiefs- Jahan Dotson, WR, Penn St
30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Jordan Davis, DL, Georgia
31. Tennessee Titans- Darian Kinnard, OL, Kentucky
32. Green Bay Packers- Treylon Burks, WR, Arkansas

-Round 2-

1. Jacksonville Jaguars- Travon Walker, DT, Georgia
2. Detroit Lions- Drake London, WR, USC
3. New York Jets- Daxton Hill, S, Michigan
4. New York Giants- Brandon Smith, LB, Penn St
5. Houston Texans- Jaxon Kirkland, OL, Washington
6. New York Jets(via CAR)- Jaxon Kirkland, OL, Washington
7. Chicago Bears- Nicholas Petit-Frere, OL, Ohio St 
8. Denver Broncos- Drake Jackson, EDGE, USC
9. Seattle Seahawks- Derion Kendrick, CB, Georgia
10. Washington FT- Desmond Ridder, QB, Cincinnati
11. Atlanta Falcons- Breece Hall, RB, Iowa St
12. Cleveland Browns- Christian Harris, LB, Alabama
13. Baltimore Ravens- Myjai Sanders, EDGE, Cincinnati
14. Minnesota Vikings- Zion Johnson, OL, Boston College
15. Indianapolis Colts- Roger McCreary, CB, Auburn
16. Los Angeles Chargers- Bernhard Raimann, OL, Central Michigan
17. New Orleans Saints- David Bell, WR, Purdue
18. Miami Dolphins- Isaiah Spiller, RB, Texas A&M
19. Philadelphia Eagles- Jaquan Brisker, S, Penn St
20. Pittsburgh Steelers- Daniel Faalele, OT, Minnesota
21. San Francisco 49ers- Jordan Battle, S, Alabama
22. Las Vegas Raiders- Perrion Winfrey, DT, Oklahoma
23. New England Patriots- John Metchie, WR, Alabama 
24. Arizona Cardinals- Kingsley Enagbare, EDGE, South Carolina
25. Cincinnati Bengals- Abraham Lucas, OT, Washington St
26. Buffalo Bills- Kenneth Walker, RB, Michigan St
27. Dallas Cowboys- Cameron Thomas, EDGE, San Diego St
28. Denver Broncos(via LAR)- Henry To’oTo’o, LB, Alabama
29. Kansas City Chiefs- Martin Emerson Jr, CB, Mississippi St
30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Kyler Gordon, CB, Washington
31. Atlanta Falcons(via TEN)- George Pickens, WR, Georgia
32. Green Bay Packers- Jalen Wydermyer, TE, Texas A&M