Quinnen Williams is the best player in the NFL Draft. I've felt that way for a while, and the more tape I watch, and the more numbers I study, the more convinced of this I become.
Of course, that doesn't mean I have him at No. 1 in my latest mock draft, nor does it mean he's guaranteed to go in the top five. He won't in this mock draft because, when it comes to drafting players, it's not always about selecting the "best player available," no matter what a general manager or analyst tells you. Usually, "best player available" means the best player available at an important position, or a position of need.
While Quinnen Williams can get after the quarterback, he's not an edge rusher. He's an interior lineman, and as vital as they are, and as good as Williams is, odds are he won't be the first defensive lineman taken in this draft. He could be! But odds are he won't be.
Let's get to mock draftin'.
Check out all our mock drafts here.
| 1 |  |
| Kyler Murray, QB, Oklahoma Will it happen or not? We can't be sure, but at this point, I think it's going to. In our scenario, the Cardinals draft Kyler Murray after trading Josh Rosen to the Patriots for the No. 32 pick. | |
| 2 |  |
| Nick Bosa, EDGE, Ohio State Maybe it's smoke, but the prevailing feeling is that if the Cardinals take Murray, the 49ers will gladly take Bosa. | |
| 3 |  |
Mock trade with Jets Dwayne Haskins, QB, Ohio StateOur first mock trade. The Giants send the No. 6 and No. 17 (which they got in the OBJ trade) to the Jets for Nos. 3, 68 and 105. They then beat the Raiders to the punch by taking Dwayne Haskins, filling the budgets for New York newspaper editors for the next eight months. | |
| 4 |  |
| Montez Sweat, EDGE, Mississippi State With Haskins off the board, the Raiders wouldn't mind trading down, but after not finding any takers they take Sweat to be the edge rusher they need. | |
| 5 |  |
| Josh Allen, EDGE, Kentucky Most mocks don't have Allen falling this far, and I understand why. With the Giants trading up, however, it leads to Allen falling into Tampa's lap. | |
| 6 |  |
Mock trade with Giants Jonah Williams, OT, AlabamaThe Jets move down, get an extra first-round pick, and get somebody they believe can protect Sam Darnold's blindside for years to come. | |
| 7 |  |
Mock trade with Jaguars Quinnen Williams, DL, AlabamaWith Quinnen Williams falling down the board the Packers get aggressive, sending picks No. 12 and No. 30 to the Jaguars for picks No. 7 and No. 69. Williams gives Packers defensive coordinator Mike Pettine a versatile, talented piece to work with. | |
| 8 |  |
| Devin White, LB, LSU I don't think this is a deep linebacker class, but I do believe Devin White's just as good, if not better than a lot the linebackers who have gone in the first round in recent seasons. He's an immediate upgrade for the Lions. | |
| 9 |  |
| Jawaan Taylor, OT, Florida Maybe Josh Allen wouldn't spend as much time running for his life with Taylor at left tackle. Although if he doesn't have to run for his life as often, will he be as effective? | |
| 10 |  |
Mock trade with Broncos Drew Lock, QB, MissouriYet another trade! The Redskins move up five spots to take Lock. With so much uncertainty at QB in Washington, Jay Gruden takes the strong-armed gunslinger. Washington gives up the No. 15 and No. 76 picks for the right to do so. | |
| 11 |  |
| Byron Murphy, CB, Washington Ask evaluators who their favorite corner is in this draft, and you'll get a variety of answers. Personally, I'm a big fan of Murphy's, as I'm a fan of nearly everybody in the Washington Huskies secondary. Cincinnati could try to trade down if this is how things shake out, but nobody offers in this mock. | |
| 12 |  |
Mock trade with Packers Clelin Ferrell, EDGE, ClemsonThe Jaguars move down and get the best edge-rusher still available in Ferrell. He's not perfect, but he's talented enough to be a top-10 pick in most drafts, just not this one with the depth of talent available at this position. | |
| 13 |  |
| Rashan Gary, DL, Michigan Brian Flores starts his tenure at Miami with a versatile defender who has been impressive at the combine and in workouts elsewhere. Don't pay attention to his stats at Michigan. While he's not perfect, for the most part, Gary was doing what he was asked to do in Ann Arbor. It doesn't mean he isn't capable of a lot more. | |
| 14 |  |
| Ed Oliver, DL, Houston I've had Ed Oliver going to the Falcons in most of my mocks so far, and every time it happens I wonder how in the world Oliver fell this far. It's possible that it ends up being Oliver going to Miami and Gary to Atlanta. | |
| 15 |  |
Mock trade with Redskins Greg Little, OT, Ole MissIt turns out that John Elway isn't as in love with Drew Lock as many think, and is fine moving down and drafting Little here. Little is a better pass-blocker than run-blocker, but that's just because he's a terrific pass-blocker more than it's he's incapable of blocking in the run game. | |
| 16 |  |
| Garrett Bradbury, C, NC State This is the first time I've had Bradbury in one of my mocks, but a lot of smart people think this is precisely what's going to happen, and I'm going to trust them. | |
| 17 | |
| Greedy Williams, CB, LSU With their second pick of the first round the Jets address an area of need, taking LSU's Williams. As I said earlier, tastes vary when it comes to this CB class, but Williams' pass coverage skills and instincts are strong enough that you live with his deficiencies in the run game. | |
| 18 |  |
| Andre Dillard, OT, Washington State The Vikings need help on the offensive line, and some think Dillard could prove to be the best left tackle in this draft class. | |
| 19 |  |
| T.J. Hockenson, TE, Iowa The Titans need to surround Marcus Mariota with as many weapons as possible because they need to decide on him soon. Hockenson is the best tight end in this class by far, and he will also work in the run game, which will be important for an offense that wants to establish Derrick Henry. With Hockenson around, they won't need to as much. | |
| 20 |  |
| Devin Bush, LB, Michigan The Steelers need an upgrade at linebacker, and I believe Bush is a good a bet as any to be one. I like Devin White more, but Bush is going to be a leader of any defense he ends up on. I also love his attitude, and he's proven to be an effective blitzer as well, something I'm sure the Steelers will appreciate. | |
| 21 |  |
| Taylor Rapp, S, Washington I told you I love Washington defensive backs, and when I was watching tape on Byron Murphy, Rapp just kept catching my eye. I think he's the best safety in this draft and is a great choice to replace Earl Thomas in Seattle. | |
| 22 |  |
| N'Keal Harry, WR, Arizona State If Lamar Jackson is going to improve as a passer in the NFL, you need to give him weapons. Maybe the Ravens will prefer a different receiver and go that direction, but if it were up to me, I'd go with Harry. | |
| 23 |  |
| Cody Ford, OL, Oklahoma The No. 1 priority in Houston should be to protect Deshaun Watson at all costs. Some are skeptical that Ford can stay at tackle and could need to be moved to guard. That's fine. The Texans can use help across the line. | |
| 24 | |
| From Chicago Deandre Baker, CB, Georgia Baker is the third corner off the board in this mock, and if you think he should be the first, I don't blame you. He has excellent ball skills and terrific closing speed, but I think he needs that closing speed because at times his instincts lead him astray. | |
| 25 |  |
| Mack Wilson, LB, Alabama If the draft goes this way I'm not sure what the Eagles will want to do. I originally had them pegged as the team that would take the first running back off the board in Josh Jacobs, but after trading for Jordan Howard, I'm not sure that'll be the case. They still might, or they could look to trade down. I have them taking Wilson because linebacker's a need, and he's the best left on the board. | |
| 26 |  |
| Brian Burns, EDGE, Florida State The Colts defense was very good last season, but as far as its pass rush was concerned, it was average at best. So if Brian Burns falls this far, I expect the Colts will try to address that by taking him. | |
| 27 | |
| From Dallas DK Metcalf, WR, Ole Miss I swear it wasn't intentional to have the fast guy who runs the nine route going to the Raiders for all the Al Davis jokes, it's just how this mock works out. Metcalf's a freak athlete, but he's also a bit of a project. At this point of the first round, however, he's tremendous value for an offense that can pair him with Antonio Brown. | |
| 28 |  |
| Dexter Lawrence, DT, Clemson I'm a big fan of Lawrence and think he makes a lot of sense for the Chargers here. He can plug gaps to help stop the run, but he's also athletic enough for his size to wreak havoc in the backfield too. | |
| 29 |  |
| Deionte Thompson, S, Alabama The Chiefs could go a lot of directions here, but I think they'll address their defense before anything. Thompson is a talented player that could replace Eric Berry and give them a solid piece for the future of the defense. | |
| 30 | |
Mock trade with Packers Noah Fant, TE, IowaThe Jaguars use the second pick they received from the Packers to take Fant, who isn't the complete tight end his teammate at Iowa is in Hockenson but is a very enticing prospect as a target in the passing game. | |
| 31 |  |
| Christian Wilkins, DT, Clemson He's a different kind of player than Ndamukong Suh, but Wilkins is a terrific defensive tackle all the same. Putting him in the middle of the defensive line next to Aaron Donald could help ensure that the Rams don't see a drop-off on that side of the ball next season. | |
| 32 | |
From Patriots Jaylon Ferguson, EDGE, Louisiana TechFerguson's inconsistent, and I'm not convinced he can become a three-down player at the next level, but he could prove to be a tremendous asset on third downs. He knows how to get after the QB. Well, OK, maybe he couldn't catch Arizona's new QB Kyler Murray, but he can get most everybody else. | |
