The magnitude of my feelings on Draft Day are a bunch of memes wrapped into one -- Mel Gibson leading his soldiers in "Braveheart," that college basketball player screaming "let's goooo" for like five full seconds in the locker room, and Nicholas Cage's character in "Con Air," flowing locks and all, closing his eyes and breathing in the fresh air with a smile.
Those three together perfectly describe the level of amperage flowing through my veins today and all the way through the weekend.
I've been honored that you -- yes, you -- have taken the time to read this NFL Draft newsletter every day over the last month. It's been a pleasure writing. Seriously, I love it.
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 🔮: Pete Prisco's final mock
We have no clue on God's green earth what will happen after the first two picks, particularly when it comes to quarterback, so Pete sorts it all out for us in his final mock of the 2024 draft cycle.
1. Chicago Bears: Caleb Williams, QB, USC
2. Washington Commanders: Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU
3. New York Giants (via mock trade with Patriots): Drake Maye, QB, North Carolina
4. Arizona Cardinals: Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Ohio State
5. Los Angeles Chargers: JC Latham, OT, Alabama
9. Chicago Bears: Malik Nabers, WR, LSU
16. Seattle Seahawks: Byron Murphy II, DT, Texas
25. Green Bay Packers: Cooper DeJean, CB, Alabama
27. Arizona Cardinals: Tyler Guyton, OT, Oklahoma
29: Detroit Lions: Jaden Hicks, S, Washington State
No, I'm not going to spoil where Pete has J.J. McCarthy going. Instead, I'll start with this: Malik Nabers to Chicago with Caleb Williams, Keenan Allen, D.J. Moore and Cole Kmet would be hot fire flames. Chicago could legitimately go from offensively inept to one of the more unfun offenses to face every week.
Murphy to the Seahawks would be a sound pick for the start of the Mike Macdonald era, and Kool-Aid to the Packers would be another prudent, high-floor pick.
I didn't feature it here, but Pete also has the Chiefs picking Kingsley Suamataia, the offensive tackle from BYU who just so happens to be Penei Sewell's cousin.
2. 'With the First Pick' podcast 🎧: Final mock of 'what teams should do'
On Wednesday, I was wrong that Mock Draft 15.0 was the final one before the draft begins for Rick Spielman and Ryan Wilson. They just love mocks so much, they had to squeeze one more in before Roger Goodell steps to the lectern on Thursday night. For this episode, the guys called upon my dude Emory Hunt for another "what we would do" mock. In it features the Patriots picking... Spencer Rattler?! No, not at No. 3 overall. But that selection is in there.
3. Prospect of the day 📈: Caleb Williams, QB, USC
Even though we all know Williams is going No. 1 overall, when the draft starts, the 95 analysts on set will all give their thoughts on Williams for almost the entire duration of the Bears being on the clock, so I'm providing my thoughts as well.
Williams, stylistically, is the closest we've seen to Patrick Mahomes as a prospect. He tries -- and typically succeeds -- some absolutely ridiculous things on the football field, mostly with his arm in weird angles, from obscure platforms, after running around for five seconds before finding anyone.
What's vital too though -- Williams is a nasty pocket passer. The spatial awareness is through the roof and he has a high-caliber arm with plus accuracy. At times, he maybe tries to be Mahomes too much, goes a little overboard, and that's when things can get wonky. But he's a passionate competitor with serious -- and I mean SERIOUS -- physical capabilities that seemingly align with what makes quarterbacks great today.
- Notable combine results: N/A
- Combine measurements: 6-foot-1, 214 pounds with 9 3/5 inch hands
- Current CBS Sports prospect ranking: No. 1
4. Five bold predictions for Round 1 👀
CBS Sports staffer Cody Benjamin is awesome at these bold prediction pieces, and he brought the heat with this marquee article before Round 1 begins Thursday night. I can't give away too much here, obviously. But I will say, this Michael Penix Jr. to the Seahawks prediction was a doozy: "A year after doing extensive work on top quarterback prospects despite extending veteran Geno Smith, the Seahawks are in a prime position at No. 16 overall to either stop a potential first-round slide by Penix, or make a slight move up."
5. News & Notes 📝
- Ryan Wilson's final mock. You thought the mocks were done? Ha! Nope. Ryan worked so hard on these mocks over the past six months, so heck yeah, I'm going to feature his final one of this draft cycle.
- Marvin Harrison Jr. explains why he skipped all pre-draft timed/measured workouts. Instead, the former Ohio State receiver said he simply wanted to train to play football. Can't blame him, although I would've loved to see what he would've run in the 40-yard dash.
- Josh Edwards' final mock. I like how mock drafts have gotten so prevalent, we don't even have to use "draft" when describing them anymore. Edwards did enough mocks to fill the entire Internet since September, so he gets his featured, too.
