Mock Draft Monday 3/11 '24
Poppin' Bottles
Poppin’ Bottles | NFL Draft ‘24 | College Hoops | YouTube Rabbithole
Alright @YouTheReader,
Today’s tune is Poppin’ Bottles by T.I. featuring Drake. This song was released in December of ‘10. This track was on TI’s No Mercy album, which also featured That’s All She Wrote with Eminem.
Thank goodness I was not at this shindig. I would have been the dork asking for a proper pint of Guinness instead of this overrated expensive champagne. #GetDrakeOnGuinness
The main gist of this song is Poppin’ Bottles as the rappers describe their lavish lifestyles. Drake does make an NBA Jam Boom Shakalaka reference.
The beat is cool and it’s Saint Patrick’s Day week so might as well connect a song with a bit of debauchery on this March Monday. Look I’m not in the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice, so have fun, enjoy yourself, but please drink responsibly.
On to the Sports…
This week’s Mock Draft features the first 3 rounds of the Jets, Giants, Dolphins, Chargers, Jaguars, Patriots, Eagles, and Cowboys. I picked these teams because they are my friends & family's teams they root for. It’s also a quarter of the NFL so it’ll feature plenty of potential NFL stars of tomorrow.
1st Round
Patriots
- In this scenario, Caleb Williams and Drake Maye are the first 2 QBs taken 1&2. The Patriots decided to take a chance on Jayden Daniels, the Heisman Trophy winner who scored 40 passing TDs along with 10 rushing TDs. Let’s hope it doesn’t work out for the Jets sake.
Chargers
- After Marvin Harrison Jr. goes #4 to Arizona, the San Diego Chargers can’t pass up trying to keep their franchise QB upright. While their LT Rashawn Slater hasn’t been the problem and RT Trey Pipkins is still under contract, they could stick Joe Alt at G for this upcoming season. While every offensive line in the NFL constantly has to use different combinations in the lineup due to injuries and underperformance, Justin Herbert has dealt with having at least 4 different O-Line combinations every season throughout his career. Alt didn’t miss a game at Notre Dame.
Giants
- While the G-Men could certainly use an upgrade of their O-Line, here I’m having them get a certified #1 WR for Danny Dimes. Malik Nabers is a bit more of a complete WR compared to Jalin Hyatt. This young WR combo could do damage because Nabers could force double teams giving Hyatt 1 vs 1 coverage over the top, or Hyatt could force Safeties to keep an eye out for him deep while Nabers works the rest of the route tree.
Jets
- Brock Bowers falling to #10 to the Jets would be fantastic. New York cut their TE CJ Uzomah after he had one of the most non-descript onfield 2-year careers with the team in recent memory. Bowers would show up every Sunday. When asked about the possibility of catching passes from Aaron Rodgers, the 21-year-old from Napa Valley said, “It’d be pretty sweet.”
Jaguars
- Oregon’s Troy Franklin would be an excellent replacement for Calvin Ridley as Sunshine’s #1 WR. After a breakout sophomore season where he scored 9 TDs, Franklin scored 14 TDs and racked up 1,383 receiving yards this past season. This WR class has a ton of depth to it, much like the depth of the routes that Franklin ran last season while averaging 17.1 yards per catch.
Dolphins
- Miami needs an interior offensive lineman as both their guards and center are free agents. Jackson Powers-Johnson has experience at all 3 and was ranked highly by PFF College at the Center position this past season. (84.1 overall grade, 86.2 passing-blocking grade, 84.7 run-blocking grade. I would think that would average out to an 85.5 overall grade, but who knows how PFF cooks their books.)
Eagles
- Quinyon Mitchell ran a 4.33 40-time, the 2nd best amongst CBs this draft season at the NFL Combine. Mitchell also has great ball skills, picking off 5 passes the past 2 seasons along with 18 pass breakups this past year. While Toledo is a smaller school football program, there are always a few gems and he looks like one who can play at the next level. The Eagles currently employ 2 CBs on the wrong side of 30 as their starters.
Cowboys
- With Tyron Smith gone, for Dallas to expect to land a Day 1 blindside tackle for Dak at #24 might seem a bit unreasonable. Troy Fautanu is 6’4” and 317 lbs, which may sound wild but is a bit undersized for a starting tackle in the NFL. He may be best suited to play inside, especially at the start of his NFL career. If Dallas fails to sign an LT and doesn’t trade up for one in the 1st Round, they could consider moving former All-Pro G Zack Martin over there and sliding Fautanu at LG next to him.
2nd Round
Patriots
- The Patriots landing Jayden Daniels and Keon Coleman of Florida State would be terrifying. Keon Coleman’s highlight tape is unreal, but his production isn’t otherworldly. He may not be a #1 possession WR type that QBs pepper with targets, but more an explosive-go-up-and-get-it kind of player that can be just as effective. Let’s hope Daniels and Coleman don’t end up in New England for the Jets’ sake.
Chargers
- Jim Harbaugh knows how to build winning programs and winning programs know that it starts in the trenches. After grabbing the top O-Lineman in the 1st, I got Harbaugh selecting the top D-Line prospect still there in the 2nd Round. In the past 2 seasons, Jer’Zhan “Johnny” Newton has combined for 22.5 tackles for loss to go with 13 sacks. The Illinois DT was the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year in ‘23. He may slip to the 2nd Round because of his size at 6’2” and 295 lbs., but the low man in football tends to win.
Giants
- After going with a fun WR pick in the 1st Round for the New York Football Giants, I decided the G-Men would wisen up in the 2nd Round. Graham Barton out of Duke has experience at all 5 O-Line positions so I’m sure he’d find a starting role on the Giants’ porous offensive front.
Giants
- Jordan Morgan out of Arizona is an OT. He has plenty of LT experience as he was the Wildcats’ blindside since the middle of ‘21. While the Giants are already set with Andrew Thomas, their former 1st Rounder is coming off a season where he couldn’t stay healthy. There RT, another former 1st Rounder, Evan Neal, also has struggled. An offensive line combination of LT Andrew Thomas, LG Graham Barton, C John Schmitz, RG Evan Neal, and RT Jordan Morgan, would be very inexperienced but could have a ton of upside if they grew together.
Jaguars
- The Jaguars were great at creating turnovers on defense but could really use better CB play. Mike Sainristil entered Michigan as a decent WR and ended his career there as a playmaking CB. Sainristil would fit right in at getting takeaways and could be a better cover guy than they already have.
Eagles
- Chris Braswell would replenish the Eagles pass rush. The Eagles will be bringing back Brandon Graham on a 1-year deal. Braswell could learn under his wing.
Eagles
- T’Vondre Sweat could be the pick to replace Fletcher Cox, who just retired this week. Fletcher Cox was a mainstay on the Philly line since ‘12. While the team already has some big fellas in Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter, as a franchise they seem to value interior pressure. T’Vondre Sweat at 6’4” and 362 lbs. could add to their young fierce front.
Dolphins
- Blake Fisher played the opposite OT of Joe Alt. When he first entered South Bend, Fisher was the starter at the Notre Dame blindside before getting injured. While Miami will want to replace their interior linemen, Fisher could be the Phins’ long-term LT since Terron Armstead considered retiring, but chose to work out a new deal for the ‘24 season.
Cowboys
- Not that Dallas really needs an RB, but Blake Corum and Deuce Vaughn would be a fun combo of smaller backs that can really move.
3rd Round
Patriots
- At the top of the 3rd Round New England replaces Trent Brown at LT. The Yale tackle also has experience at RG, which the Pats need to replace if they don’t retain Mike Onwenu as well.
Chargers
- Reports are that the Chargers are open to trading both Keenan Allen and Mike Williams. Ricky Pearsall is coming off a big senior year where he caught 65 passes for 965 yards and 4 scores. In ‘22, Pearsall was used more as a deep threat, averaging 20 yards per catch on 33 passes. Whether the Chargers want him to replace Keenan Allen as a possession WR or Mike Williams as a big play threat, Pearsall could be a viable option at either in the 3rd Round.
Giants
- Maybe I’m going a bit overload with the Giants taking a 3rd offensive lineman, but Christian Haynes out of UConn has experience at both C and Guard. He also has never missed a game in his collegiate career, so he is reliable. Injuries are unpredictable, but the New York Football Giants have dealt with plenty of their big fellas going down.
Jets
- Johnny Wilson out of Florida State is a freak athlete at 6’7”. At times in college, he flashed a bit like Mike Evans. While Wilson is taller than the future Hall of Famer, he didn’t dominate statically as Evans did with Johnny Football. That said, Brock Bowers and Johnny Wilson would be two very different adds to Aaron Rodgers’ pass catchers.
Cowboys
- Dallas may lose their starting C in Tyler Biadasz to free agency. Sedrick Van Pran was hiking the ball for Georgia during their 2 NCAA Championships and captained the team in ‘23. He is exceptional in both the pass-blocking and run-blocking game. The only reason he may get overlooked and fall to the 3rd Round is that he played with an elite core of Georgia offensive linemen, but he was the one pointing out the blocking assignments so there should be something to that.
Jaguars
- After taking Troy Franklin at WR in the 1st Round, I have Jags double-dipping in the 3rd. Jermaine Burton is not a flashy WR but may be more like a Hines Ward type. This past season he averaged 20.5 yards per catch. He played for Kirby Smart at Georgia and Nick Saban at ‘Bama, he knows how to run block. Burton could be an upgrade over Zay Jones. Franklin, Burton, Christian Kirk, and Evan Engram could ascend Sunshine to another level.
Eagles
- For the 2nd week in a row I have Philly replacing both of their over 30 starting CBs. Josh Newton out of TCU is the biggest CB at 6’, but has the ability to play both outside and inside. Him and Quinyon Mitchell would add a ton of talented youth to the Philly secondary.
Unfortunately, these College Basketball Top 25 will become outdated by tomorrow morning because the Associated Press won’t make century-long changes to their scheduling at the behest of Week to Week Notes’ Mock Draft Monday. That said, we can still learn a bit about future hoopers.
Zach Edey, Center, Purdue
Zach Edey is from Toronto, Canada. Edey is one of the more well-known college hoopers in the sport because of his 7’4” size. I’m here to confirm to you that Zach Edey is still out here doing Zach Edey things. In ‘22-'23, Edey came off one of the most statistically dominating seasons in college basketball history as he averaged 22.3 points, 12.9 rebounds, 2.1 blocks, and 1.5 assists per game. This year, Edey upped his points to 24.1 points per game with 11.7 rebounds, 2.2 blocks, and 1.9 assists. He shoots 62.3% from the floor and an efficient 72% from the free-throw line so you can’t just hack him or he'll make opponents pay. This past Sunday, Edey just celebrated his Senior Night at Purdue. His mother told a funny story about when he was visiting Purdue, a student noticed him on campus because of his size and asked him for an autograph. Edey said he wasn’t on the team, but the student insisted. After giving his John Hancock, he turned to his mom and said, “That kid just got an autograph from a nobody.” 4 years later, Zach Edey is climbing up the ranks of Purdue greatness as he is just 41 points away from the Purdue record of 2,323 career points and he already is the school’s all-time leading rebounder.
Cormac Ryan, SG, North Carolina
Cormac Ryan grew up in SoHo in The City. As a high schooler, he played his freshman year at Collegiate Prep in NYC before attending Milton Acadaemy in Milton, Massachuessets and dominating Boston hoops. He holds the school record for points at Milton and was the New England Prep School Player of the Year as a junior and senior. Ryan’s first school out of the Northeast was Stanford. As a freshman in ‘18-’19, the 6’5” shooting guard made 17 starts for the Cardinals and averaged 8.7 points per game. Following that season, Ryan would transfer and redshirt for Notre Dame in ‘19-’20. As a sophomore at Notre Dame, Rayn averaged 9.9 points per game, making a 3-pointer in 21 of the 25 games he played in. He played great against Duke in ‘21, scoring 21 first half points in Camden Arena. Cormac Ryan would spend the last 3 years captaining the Fightin’ Irish as he averaged 10.5 points on 36% shooting from beyond the arc while grabbing 4.4 rebounds per game. This past season, Cormac Ryan became a grad student athlete for UNC. The 6th year guard is 4th on the team in scoring at 11.5 points per game. He came up clutch against Duke this week, scoring a career-high 31 points in Cameron Indoor. That. is the most points a UNC player has scored at Duke since Hubert Davis’ (not related in case you’re wondering) 35 points he had in 1992.
Johni Broome, PF, Auburn
Johni Broome is from Plant City, Florida, where he was the Hillsborough County Player of the Year as a senior in high school. His first stop in college was at Morehead State where as a freshman he immediately made an impact becoming the OVC Freshman of the Year as he averaged 13.7 points and 9 rebounds per game. During his sophomore year at Morehead State, he put more emphasis on defense as he averaged an absurd 3.9 blocks per game while winning the conference defensive player of the year. That year he also averaged a career-high 16.8 points and 10.5 rebounds. Following his 2 successful seasons as an Eagle, Broome decided to transfer to Auburn to become a War Eagle. Last year Broome again was an elite shot-blocker, as he finished inside the top 10 in the nation with 2.4 blocks per game. This season Broome leads Auburn in points (16.3), rebounds (8.5), and blocks (2.3) per game. Auburn is able to run a good chunk of their offense through Broome on the block. Not only does he have good lowpost footwork and crafty finishing ability around the rim, but he can also make the right read when to pass. Broome has had 5 or more assists in 3 games this season. He’ll be an exciting player to watch in the March Madness Tournament.
Collin Murray-Boyles, PF, South Carolina
Collin Murray-Boyles is a freshman from Columbia, South Carolina, but he played his high school hoops at an academy in Mt. Pleasant, Utah, last season. Coming into this year, Murray-Boyles was a 4-star recruit of South Carolina and was named the Player of the Year out of SC in ‘22. ESPN had Murray-Boyles as the #64 ranked player of his recruiting class, which may have given the 6’7” forward a bit of a chip on his shoulder. CMB as a freshman for the Gamecocks is 3rd on the team in scoring (10.3) while leading the team in rebounding (5.7) and blocks (1) per game. Since February this season, the freshman has really taken off, averaging 16 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game in his last 10. CMB had a highlight reel swat against Mississippi State this past Saturday in their OT win and is certainly an ascending freshman to look out for in the March Madness Tourney.
DaRon Holmes II, PF, Dayton
DaRon Holmes is from Goodyear, Arizona. He was a four-star prospect and top 50 recruit from high school, the highest-ranked high school recruit to ever sign with Dayton. Holmes immediately started for the Flyers as a freshman as he averaged 12.8 points per game and set the school’s single-season block record of 81. As a sophomore last season, the 6’10” forward was the A-10 tournament’s Most Outstanding Player as he averaged 21.7 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 4 blocks in the A-10 Tourney. He reset the record for blocks with 89 last year. Holmes also had 89 dunks as a sophomore, the most in College Basketball during the regular season last year. This year might just be Holmes’ best year yet as he is averaging 20.2 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game while shooting 39% from beyond the arc. Holmes is a human highlight reel, a fun player to watch. In his last 8 games, he has scored 20 or more points in 7 of them. He’ll be fun to watch later in March.
**Bonus**
Indiana State Sycamores
Isaiah Swope, PG, Indiana State
