Harris 100 | Mock Draft 1.0

The Harris 100 Mock Draft version 1.0 is ALWAYS a fun exercise and a maddening one at that. At least this year, I could make some picks for the Texans, which hasn't been the case the past few years, obviously. I made some picks this year for the Texans but not at spots #3 and #13. I'm not scared to trade down if I find that partner…and I did. Here's my Harris 100 Mock Draft, featuring a trade at number three.

1. Jacksonville Jaguars - OT Evan Neal, Alabama - Current LT Cam Robinson is franchised for one more year and Jawaan Taylor is in the last year of his rookie deal. The Jaguars did draft Walker Little last year, but Neal is on a different planet. Like Texans LT Laremy Tunsil, he can jump in at guard if Robinson and Taylor are locks as starters and then bump back out to tackle when a spot opens in 2023 and beyond. Those two WITH NEAL is a major upgrade and should help head coach Doug Pederson get the OL like he had in Philadelphia in the Super Bowl 2017 winning season.
2. Detroit Lions - DE Aidan Hutchinson, Michigan - The Lions don't have anyone on the roster that strikes fear in the heart of opposing offensive linemen. Hutchinson is a local homeboy who should step into the role of Face of the Franchise easily.
3. Atlanta Falcons (trade with Houston) - QB Malik Willis, Liberty - Let me be very clear, I HAVE NO INSIDE INFORMATION AT ALL but this is what I'd LIKE to do. The Falcons just signed former number two overall Marcus Mariota and may not want to give up the draft capital to move up to number three, especially with an outstanding QB draft market in 2023. But, that's next year and to get to Willis, an Atlanta native, I think they'll have to get above the Panthers who are also eyeing a QB and made a deal I couldn't refuse. The Texans receive Atlanta's eighth, 43rd and 82nd overall, in addition to a third in 2023.
4. New York Jets - CB Derek Stingley Jr., LSU - The battle for the top spot at CB is a fascinating one. In one corner is Sauce Gardner, the most productive CB in college football in 2021. In the other is the uber-talented Stingley who hasn't played but seven games in the past two seasons. That said, Stingley is a special talent and he's healthy for his Pro Day, more than ready to become a superstar CB in the Jersey Apple.
5. New York Giants - OT/OG Ikem Ekwonu, NC State - There's Andrew Thomas and not much else on the offensive line. Ekwonu will move to RT in this scenario, but he'll fit hand in glove for new head coach Brian Daboll and new GM Joe Schoen.
6. Carolina Panthers - QB Kenny Pickett, Pitt - The Panthers have to win now, at the same time develop a young, face of the franchise type QB. They're not alone in that pursuit, as seen by the Falcons aggressive move up the board to draft Willis. Pickett was almost a Matt Rhule signee at Temple, but Rhule moved to Baylor which sent Pickett to Pitt. They're reunited in Carolina.
7. New York Giants - DE Travon Walker, Georgia - I had a couple of different names in this spot before I looked up and saw new DC Wink Martindale's name. Martindale is a former Raven DC and Walker is the closest thing to a Raven that I could see up on the board. He can play a number of roles for the Giants in their multiple schemes. But, Martindale knows football violence, twitch and athleticism are hugely important so he should bang the table for Walker.
8. Houston Texans - S Kyle Hamilton, Notre Dame - He's the Harris 100's top football player in this draft class but he'll get dinged by some for his slow Pro Day 40-yard dash. I'm not going to let that get in the way of a future Pro Bowl career. The Texans have had brief glimpses of excellent safety play, but never a player of this caliber for an extended period of time at the position. Now, they do and picked up additional draft assets from Atlanta in the process.
9. Seattle Seahawks - OT Charles Cross, Mississippi State - LT Duane Brown is an unrestricted free agent and Cross is the best replacement on the board. Now, who Cross actually protects on a play in, play out basis is definitely a question. Cross isn't. He'll get challenged early in his career in that division, but his skills have improved greatly year over year and he'll be up to it in due time.
10. New York Jets - IDL Jordan Davis, Georgia - When Jets head coach Robert Saleh was in San Francisco, the 49ers drafted one defensive lineman after the other. There's no better one left than Davis and he could be a star in this Jets defense next to Quinnen Williams and John Franklin-Myers.
11. Washington Commanders - WR Chris Olave, Ohio State - Star WR, and former Olave teammate, Terry McLaurin is heading into the last year of his rookie contract. He might have outplayed his ability to stay in Washington in the near future. Even if T-Mac is around, though, the Commanders need to find some offensive weapon types to add to McLaurin and company. Olave is more than a solid starting point. This receiver selection could honestly be any receiver in this class, but Olave is near the top of my board at the position.
12. Minnesota Vikings - CB Ahmad Gardner, Cincinnati - The Vikings have to be off their rocker excited to see Gardner at this spot. Patrick Peterson is LOOOONG in the tooth and there's not much else to get excited about in Minnesota's secondary, minus Harrison Smith. Gardner's chutzpah will be a welcome sight in the Twin Cities.
13. Houston Texans - Edge Kayvon Thibodeaux, Oregon - Although…A. I don't think Thibodeaux will fall this far. B. Not sure that he's the greatest fit here in Houston, there's just too much talent to not jump all over the former Duck edge rusher on draft night. So, the Texans parlayed picks number three and 13 into Kyle Hamilton, Thibodeaux, 43rd overall, 82nd overall and a third next year. That would be a draft night W for sure!! Thing is, there are a ton of options at this spot that I would love - Edge (Johnson, Karlaftis), WR (Burks, Wilson), ILB (Dean, Walker, Lloyd) and CB (McDuffie, Booth Jr.) but, again, Thibodeaux is too good to pass up.
14. Baltimore Ravens - OLB Jermaine Johnson, Florida State - Best player available sort of thing? For sure. I thought about center Tyler Linderbaum here, but Johnson might be a better fit alongside Odafe Oweh on the edge than Linderbaum might be in the middle. Johnson is a dynamic rusher in the mold of former Ravens on the edge and the fact that Za'Darius Smith snubbed the Ravens, it makes Johnson's selection that much more important.
15. Philadelphia Eagles - LB Devin Lloyd, Utah - With now just two picks in the first round, Philadelphia gets first crack at an off the ball linebacker and Lloyd is the best in this draft. There's a significant void at this position in Philly and Lloyd will step into that void early in his career. I like the marriage here between the Eagles and Lloyd.
16. New Orleans Saints (trade with Philadelphia 4/4/2022) - QB Desmond Ridder, Cincinnati - Originally, I had the Steelers moving up above New Orleans to draft Ridder, but the Saints actually made the move to ensure that it didn't happen. That or, OR, they're going to package these two first rounders and move up higher to take Malik Willis, potentially. The more I've thought about Ridder, though, the better I feel about snatching him up in the first round. He's got some things to work on, but New Orleans is a great landing spot and marriage partner.
17. Los Angeles Chargers - DT Devonte Wyatt, Georgia - Did you see the Chargers defense last year? Yeah. Did you see the Georgia defense last year? Yeah. So, this makes all kinds of sense.
18. Philadelphia Eagles - Edge George Karlaftis, Purdue - The Eagles edge rushers are getting up in years, especially Brandon Graham. The new Brandon Graham is coming in the form of the Greek Freak 2.0. Karlaftis is relentless in his approach to everything and his hard working, relentless nature will resonate in Philly.
19. New Orleans Saints - LT Trevor Penning, Northern Iowa - The Saints went and got Ridder at No. 16 but there are some holes outside of the QB position, in particular at LT because Terron Armstead took his talents to South Beach. Penning is an athletic, agile marvel who has to channel his WWE tendencies into smart, physical and productive play. When he does, he's going to be a stud.
20. Pittsburgh Steelers - WR Jameson Williams, Alabama - There may not be a clear cut QB1 in Pittsburgh, but throw Williams into the mix with Chase Claypool and Diontae Johnson and this becomes a dangerous outfit. I don't love the OT or edge options at this point so the Steelers take a bit of a calculated risk drafting Williams who is still rehabbing a torn ACL.
21. New England Patriots - CB Andrew Booth Jr, Clemson - Booth Jr. just feels like a Patriot - smart, physical, with length and ability to play in any defensive scheme. Unfortunately, Booth has an injury that'll keep him from testing and could create some question marks. All indications are that he'll be ready for Training camp. The Patriots lost both J.C. Jackson and Stephon Gilmore in recent years so reinforcements are needed.
22. Green Bay Packers - WR Garrett Wilson, Ohio State - Flip a coin at this spot, honestly. A decent number of receivers are all clumped together around this spot but Wilson is a shade ahead of the others. I love Drake London, Treylon Burks or London in this spot but I'm going with Wilson who is a dynamic threat all over the field. MVP QB Aaron Rodgers will love throwing into his vicinity, but the young receiver must earn the OG's confidence like former star WR Davante Adams did.
23. Arizona Cardinals - OG Kenyon Green, Texas A&M - Watching the Cardinals up close last year, there seemed to be one fatal flaw - the offensive line, especially on the interior. QB Kyler Murray ran for his life throughout the day against the Texans and many other teams, including the Rams in the Cards' playoff loss. As such, Green is added to the interior mix with newcomer Will Hernandez and former big money free agent signee Justin Pugh. If the Aggie stays healthy, though, he'll step into one of those starting guard spots.
24. Dallas Cowboys - OC Tyler Linderbaum, Iowa - Incumbent center Tyler Biadasz is a bit of a placeholder until the Cowboys could find a permanent replacement for former Pro Bowl center Travis Frederick. That player is Linderbaum, also the best player available at this spot as well.
25. Buffalo Bills - CB Trent McDuffie, Washington - The Bills lost Levi Wallace to free agency, opening up a spot opposite Tre'Davious White at a perimeter cornerback position. McDuffie reminds me a lot of White and I think McDuffie could really flourish in Leslie Frazier's defense opposite White, the Bills' Pro Bowl cornerback.
26. Tennessee Titans - OG Zion Johnson, Boston College - As much as I'd really like for Johnson to "fall" to #37, it won't happen. Johnson was a superstar at the Senior Bowl and played alongside Mike Vrabel's son Tyler at Boston College. Inside information, much?? Former starter Rodger Saffold was a cap casualty and Johnson will step right into that starting guard role next to Taylor Lewan and Ben Jones.
27. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - DE Logan Hall, Houston - Other than Vita Vea, the Buccaneers don't have a ton of depth or top rate ability on the defensive line. Hall is a freak of nature at 6-6+ and 285 lb, running 4.88 in the 40-yard dash. I think he's best served playing a 4i-5 technique on run downs and then squaring up on guards on passing downs.
28. Green Bay Packers - LB Nakobe Dean, Georgia - I honestly didn't like any of the options at other positions better than Dean right here. He was the superstar on the national championship team and on a team with a (bleep) ton of alphas, Dean was THE alpha for the Dawgs. His lack of size is a bit of a detriment but the Packers see Roquan Smith twice a year and could have their own version of him in Green Bay.
29. Kansas City Chiefs - CB Kaair Elam, Florida - Elam can be a superstar at the cornerback position. He has every single trait necessary, but he has to show up every single down. That said, the Chiefs have nothing at cornerback, outside of L'Jarius Sneed, that's in the same athletic ballpark as Elam. The rookie will get his comeuppance in this division but he'll also compete his guts out against the best in the league too.
30. Kansas City Chiefs - WR Treylon Burks, Arkansas - The Chiefs need a young, playmaking receiver alongside All-Pro TE Travis Kelce. Juju Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling are fine complementary pieces. Burks can be a big-time piece and what a find for the Chiefs this late in the draft.
31. Cincinnati Bengals - CB Kyler Gordon, Washington - There was no question that the Bengals were going OL when the season ended. When free agency started, though, they attacked the OL in a hurry, which opened up the opportunity to address the cornerback spot opposite Chidobe Awuzie. Honestly, I don't trust Eli Apple and I don't think the Bengals do either. Gordon is a whale of an athlete - smooth, transitionally quick and a willing tackler. He can play in the slot or on the perimeter equally well. I could see a few different options here for the Bengals, including Tulsa OT Tyler Smith or Georgia LB Quay Walker, but Gordon seems to fit a more pressing need that should be addressed.
32. Detroit Lions - QB Matt Corral, Ole Miss - This whole draft process seems like an unfortunate slap in the face to Corral, who was brilliant in 2021. The injury he suffered in the Sugar Bowl set him back in a few different ways and the media seemed to forget he existed. He's got some flaws, but he'll have some time to work through those hiccups until Jared Goff is ready to step aside.

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