Ah, the NFL Draft.
If you have a favorite NFL team, enjoy the NFL or play fantasy football, then this time should pique your interest.
For me, it’s the most engaging time of the year, trumping every other sport. For the national media, it’s when oodles of NFL mock drafts litter the Internet, with some doing as many as six mock drafts. For the prospects, it’s become a months-long, real-life draft process that will culminate during the seven rounds of drafting on April 24-26 in Green Bay, Wis.
For those on the outside — the so-called draft experts — the mocks are ever-changing as the media follow the clues, such as new information from pro days, off-field concerns or leaks of health issues.
Everyone, it seems, can be an expert on the first round, just by doing some research.
That notion was validated just a few weeks ago when I was a guest speaker at colleague Dave Reardon’s JOUR 323 Sports Media class at the University of Hawaii.
While I’ve been a speaker at Dave’s class for the past few years, talking mainly about the NFL Draft, this time Dave made it a class assignment for his students to become engaged. He told his class that each student would be randomly selected to make a team’s pick in the first round.
I’ve got to say, the students were impressive. One student even used draft jargon such as “running the card up” to the podium because a certain player — it was Penn State TE Tyler Warren — fell to his spot. There was also this refrain, “Am I a draft expert now?”
Each student announced the pick immediately, unlike in 2003 when the Vikings took too long to make their pick that they were passed over twice in the first round.
Maybe it was because most of the class — nine men and six women on that day — have played fantasy football before and knew about drafting.
Regardless, the students completed their assignments and definitely sounded like experts for a day.
Here are the results of the UH students’ mock draft. (Note: Because there were fewer students then the 32 picks in the first round, everyone picked twice, with a few picking three times.):
Dave’s students:
1. Titans — Cam Ward, QB, Miami
2. Browns — Travis Hunter, CB/WR, Colorado
3. Giants — Shedeur Sanders, QB, Colorado
4. Patriots — Will Campbell, OT, LSU
5. Jaguars — Mason Graham, DT, Michigan
6. Raiders — Abdul Carter, Edge, Penn State
7. Jets — Tetairoa McMillian, WR, Arizona
8. Panthers — Jalon Walker, LB/Edge, Georgia
9. Saints — Tyler Booker, G, Alabama
10. Bears — TreVeyon Henderson, RB, Ohio State
11. 49ers — Derrick Harmon, DT, Oregon
12. Cowboys — Walter Nolen, DT, Ole Miss
13. Dolphins — Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State
14. Colts — Mykel Williams, DE, Georgia
15. Falcons — James Pearce, Edge, Tennessee
16. Cardinals — Kelvin Banks, OT, Texas
17. Bengals — Jadhe Barron, CB, Texas
18. Seahawks — Armand Membou, OT, Missouri
19. Bucs — Mike Green, DE, Marshall
20. Broncos — Matthew Golden, WR, Texas
21. Steelers —Jaxson Dart, QB, Ole Miss
22. Chargers — Colston Loveland, TE, Michigan
23. Packers — Will Johnson, CB, Michigan
24. Vikings — Azareye’h Thomas, CB, Florida State
25. Texans — Tyler Warren, TE, Penn State
26. Rams — Josh Simmons, OT, Ohio State
27. Ravens — Nic Scourton, DE, Texas A&M
28. Lions — Jonah Savaiinaea, OL, Arizona
29. Commanders — Tre Harris, WR, Ole Miss
30. Bills — Shemar Stewart, DE, Texas A&M
31. Chiefs — Luther Burden III, WR, Missouri
32. Eagles — Malakai Starks, S, Georgia
Here’s how I graded each pick:
1. Titans/Ward: No-brainer. Titans should get an F if they don’t select Ward. Student’s grade: A
2. Browns/Hunter: Best player in the draft. Grade: A
3. Giants/Sanders: This could possibly happen, though I don’t like this QB being picked this high, especially since he’s not close to being the third-best player in the draft. Grade: B
4. Patriots/Campbell: Solid pick, despite the OT having short arms. Grade: A
5. Jaguars/Graham: Considered the top DT. Grade: A
6. Raiders/Carter: The Raiders will be overjoyed if this happens. Grade: A
7. Jets/McMillan: Another weapon that this wobbly franchise will waste. Grade: B
8. Panthers/Walker: Terrific football player who could be a stack LB on early downs and an edge rusher on passing downs. Grade: A
9. Saints/Booker: This guard is a one-man tush push. Grade: A
10. Bears/Henderson: This picker admitted later that Jeanty was rated higher. It was the right position, just the wrong player. Grade: B
11. 49ers/Harmon: Here’s where my loyalties of being an Oregon grad and a 49er fan DON’T come into play. Harmon has great pass-rush metrics but poor run-stopping metrics. Grade: B
12. Cowboys/Nolen: Outstanding player but I feel Cowboys are salivating for Jeanty. Grade: B
13. Dolphins/Jeanty: Not a need, but just best player available. Grade: A
14. Colts/Williams: Another Georgia standout DE, but I think the Colts prefer a TE. Grade: B
15. Falcons/Pearce: Super fast (4.47 in 40) but can he hold up vs. the run at 245 pounds?. Grade: B
16. Cardinals/Banks: Mixed reviews so far on this young but talented OT. Grade: B
17. Bengals/Barron: Could use an edge but this CB is elite. Grade: A
18. Seahawks/Membou: It’s impossible to me how this pro-ready lineman could fall this far. Grade: A
19. Bucs/Green: Possibly the best pure edge but has off-field concerns. Grade: A
20. Broncos/Golden: Super fast (4.29) with sure hands and crisp routes. Grade: A
21. Steelers/Dart: A need pick but not BPA. Still, this student could have nailed this pick. Grade: A
22. Chargers/Loveland: Jim Harbaugh gets a TE he’s familiar with. Grade: A
23. Packers/Johnson: Some rate this guy as CB1. Grade: A
24. Vikings/Thomas: Recently ran a pedestrian 40 (4.56). Grade: B
25. Texans/Warren: I can’t see this elite TE falling this far. Grade: A
26. Rams/Simmons: Once was OT1 before injury. Could become all-pro. Grade: A
27. Ravens/Scourton: Solid, not spectacular, with better edges available. Grade: B
28. Lions/Savaiinaea: Former Saint Louis star played guard and both tackle spots and had a great combine, running 4.95 in the 40, with one of the best short shuttle times among O-linemen. Still, there were higher-ranked linemen such as Grey Zabel or Donovan Jackson available. I see him as second-rounder to the Seahawks. Grade: B
29. Commanders/Harris: Big at 6-2 but runs 40 only in 4.56. I’d prefer Luther Burden III or Emeka Egbuka, or even Jayden Daniels’ former TE teammate, Mason Taylor. Grade: B
30. Bills/Stewart: Could strike mother lode with this talented DE who has measurables — but not production — comparable to Myles Garrett. Grade: A
31. Chiefs/Burden III: Play-maker and game-breaker that Pat Mahomes would enjoy targeting. Grade: A
32. Eagles/Starks: Another Georgia player falling to the Eagles? Queue up next year’s victory parade. Grade: A
Congratulations to the students for embracing the assignment. Even though Reardon will give out the final grades, I feel you all passed with high grades on this day.
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Reach Curtis Murayama at cmurayama@staradvertiser.com.
