Welcome to Draft Week! As teams finalize their draft boards and call about potential trades over the next couple of days, I take one final stab at what I think the NFL Draft could look like come Thursday Night. I will be your MUT.GG reporter on the scene watching as teams make their selections and dreams come true. (You can check out my mock draft 1 and mock draft 2 by clicking the hyperlinks.)
This time around, I tried to predict all the trades; 5 of them in fact. 2021 saw 3 draft day trades while 2022 saw 9. 5 felt like a safe number to me. I also tried to give what some trade packages might look like. That's mostly where my focus will be in my explanations for this week's mock draft. As always, give me your thoughts below and let me know what you think your team will do Thursday night!
- Tennessee has been linked to QB for a while now, and with the rumors that Houston may wait for the QB class next year, CJ Stroud happens to be waiting there at 3. Arizona will trade down, but the question was how far they would be willing to fall. With Anderson off the board, they are fine with moving down 8 spots and letting the Titans jump their division rival for arguably the best QB in the class.
- The slide of Anthony Richardson may be surprising to some. Most mock drafts seem to think it will be Levis who slides but I just think Jim Irsay loves that arm talent too much to let him go by Indy at 4. Could the Texans take Richardson at 12? I could see it, and that would make sense, but in this mock I have the Bucs trading up with NE to grab him at 14.
- Imagine the Kansas City crowd if Brett Veach trades up on night 1 to draft a receiver. Union Station would go ballistic. This is definitely a homer move on my part, but with only 1 WR going before pick 24 (and Quentin Johnston working out with Patrick Mahomes pre-draft), the Chiefs move up to get a true #1 receiver. I will be honest, I am not exactly sure what KC will do, but I will be shocked to see them stand pat and draft at 31. I think a move up or down the board is likely, and this specific mock, it's a move up.
- Welcome back Houston! The Bills seem to be looking for more draft capital, so a move out of the first round seems to make sense. Houston has a package to offer and is able to bolster their secondary with Forbes.
- Finally, the stunner of the night. It wouldn't come as a surprise to see Philly trade that #30 pick, but to trade it for a Austin Ekeler would surely be a shock. The Chargers drafted their HB of the future in Robinson earlier in the night, and now get to add a WR with Mike Williams and Keenan Allen both being potential cap savers for the 2024 season. As for the Eagles, they take their luxury pick and turn it into the a proven running back who is looking to change scenery. A true win/win for both teams.
- One more note: I again have 5 QBs going in round 1. Originally I had the Ravens taking Hendon Hooker at 22, but with the OBJ signing, I think they know something we don't about Lamar. I'm starting to lean towards Lamar being a Raven at the start of next season. But that doesn't mean Hendon Hooker still won't be a 1st round QB. A lot of experts have him going to Minnesota and it makes a ton of sense. Kirk Cousins is on the last year of his deal, and resigning him may be too costly for the Vikings. Hooker sitting behind him for a year and learning the offense and learning the style of the NFL offense would be big for his development. The Vikings taking a stab at QB and going the Mahomes route is my official prediction, but no matter what, I think we see 5 QBs in round 1.
