Mock Draft Monday 3/4 '24
Moment 4 Life
Moment 4 Life | NFL Draft ‘24 | College Hoops | YouTube Rabbithole
Alright @YouTheReader,
*Many people are wondering*
“What’s the story? He’s going on about some mouse and peanut butter? Jeezus.”
I have nothing to report on that front. At 10 AM on Sunday, he (or she) and I had a standoff where we met eyes. My landlord was here soon after and it must’ve scampered into a hole under the tub like a coward. There is construction going on in the apartment building directly next to me so it must’ve found its way into my humble abode. I had not seen the rodent prior and there were no droppings before the incident that took place at 9:14 PM ET Saturday night. They patched up a hole with steel wool and there are about 37 mouse traps set up in 8’ by 4’ prescient. My kitchen and bathroom are fit for a bachelor sports blogger, but I swear the rest of the joint cleans up well. Hopefully, that bit is done with. I promise not to send you guys a picture of it dead (even though if it bleeds it leads is a real thing that works in media), but will provide updates accordingly.
No Irish tunes on the Mock Draft Mondays, we’re on a tight schedule with Drake features but I’ll make up for it tomorrow. Today’s tune is Moment 4 Life by Nicki Minaj featuring Drake. It made it up to #13 on the US Billboard Hot 100, #37 in Ireland, and #22 in the UK. I remember it dominated the New York radiowaves on Hot 97.1 and Power 105.1, which makes sense because it was the #1 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop/Rap song.
YAS Nicki, we out here trying to thrive.
Woah Nicki, I coulda used your help with the mouse prior.
Okay, I’ll stop while I’m ahead, don’t have anything that goes with bling.
There are no “I’s and Me’s” in Week to Week Notes, but there is a “We”…. twice. I really couldn’t do this without readers like yourself reading this.
#GuinnessChallengeSeason has not yet had any pints of Guinness on Baisley Boulevard in Jamaica, Queens. Only Sunnyside and Astoria at the moment but we’ll explore all over the borough one day on my quest to find proper pints.
Technically Week to Week Notes is a syndication, but of course Moment 4 Life was published back in December of ‘10.
Everybody already knows the G-g-g that I’d toast with, I bring it up every 8th sentence.
With Week to Week Notes, I’m always thinking about what’s next. This tune is rather nice because it’s about stopping to smell the roses.
I’m not sure who “y’all” is here but I was not CC’d either. Thank goodness my personal email is currently at 9,334. I still check it, but too much spam to delete.
I’m no King, just a wee leprechaun trying to find me pot of gold!
I know, I know, I’m no threat for the Pres of the Common Man, For the Common Man. He’s out adopting a very cute doggo and getting his tan on at his gazillionth well-earned mansion while I’m sitting here typing about if you give a mouse some peanut butter.
Funny is funny! Getting dragged out of the Super Bowl was hilarious. I know Portnoy doesn’t have to do Mock Drafts anymore. He grew up with Todd McShay in the 90s so his group of friends know ball. You guys and girls do too, so as always feel free to chime in on your teams, you know them better than I do.
Yes, we’re having a few pints here or there. It’s March and the Guinness taps are flowing. I can’t believe Week to Week Notes will be on its 3rd NFL Draft this April. I sometimes think about what if I never posted that first link. I remember being very nervous and even after being a month into it I almost stopped because I didn’t think anybody cared. I’m glad I stuck with it. Pretty wild.
I was conflicted about whether I should use these lines for the 15-second Story and Reel on social media. Usually, the internet responds more to lyrics like this, but then again what the hell do I know?
Forgot Nicki’s closing-out chorus mentioned sunsets. I’m still waiting for some Sunrises.
Great tune! Nicki Minaj and Drake during this era had some amazing collaborations with this one being one of them.
Let’s talk ball…
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
- I’m going back to the well that Drake Maye falls to the Patriots. Sounds like Caleb Willaims and Da Bears are becoming a certainty. While Maye was looked at as a lock to go to heading into this college football season, Jayden Daniels was simply terrific and may have more upside so Washington might go there. Let’s hope the Pats screw this up.
Chargers
- Since the ‘17 NFL Draft, the Chargers have sunk a ton of resources into WRs in the past with Mike Williams and Quentin Johnston as 1st Rounders. Would they pass up on Marvin Harrison Jr. if the Cardinals went Joe Alt? Tough call but in this hypothetical they take Brock Bowers to give Justin Herbert since own version of Travis Kelce.
Giants
- This would be a dream scenario for the New York Giants with Marvin Harrison Jr. falling to #6. They wouldn’t be able to pass up on him.
Jets
- If the Jets could get Aaron Rodgers throwing to Garrett Wilson and Malik Nabers you gotta do it. In most drafts, Nabers would probably be the consensus top WR. This WR draft class is loaded with talent. The LSU star can win over the top and make guys miss after the catch. Defenses wouldn’t be able to double both he and Wilson. I know they need O-Line, but it would be fun.
Jaguars
- Jackonsville’s current starting center is Luke Fortner. I don’t know much about him and I know PFF ain’t an exact science but they gave him a 44.3 Grade. Fortner has been their starting Center since he was drafted in the 3rd Round of the ‘22 NFL Draft and is under contract until after ‘25. The Jaguars starting LG, Ezra Cleveland, is set to become a free agent. Maybe Jackson Powers-Johnson will start his career as a Guard before moving to Center when Fortner’s deal is done.
Dolphins
- Miami will be letting go of Xavier Howard. Cooper DeJean can be his replacement. Different players and DeJean isn’t quite at the same level as Jalen Ramsey, but when the former Seminole was coming out of school there were questions about if he would be a CB or Safety in the pros.
Eagles
- Philadelphia’s starting CBs are both veterans Darius Slay and James Bradberry. Slay turned 33 on New Year’s Day and Bradberry will be 31 by the time training camp starts. Kool-Aid could come running through a wall providing some youth to the position group.
Cowboys
- Reports are that Dallas will part ways with Tyron Smith. Tyler Guyton will have big shoes to fill, but he’s 6’7” and 328 lbs. so he might fit.
2nd Round
Patriots
- Drake Maye is going to need some help at the WR position. I hope for the Jets’ sake that Ladd McConkey doesn’t end up in New England.
Chargers
- Bralen Trice led all of College Football in pressures in ‘22. Last season he had 7 sacks and PFF College gave him an 87.2 grade. He would get the chance to learn under Khalil Mack while playing alongside Joey Bosa (when healthy).
Giants
- I think it’s okay for me to say the New York Football Giants are a fairly proud organization that doesn’t like to admit when they are wrong. Taking Bo Nix even in the 2nd Round would be a sign that they made a mistake with Daniel Jones. If they do go QB in the 2nd, they could sit the kid for a year and get out of Danny Dimes’ contract after this year. They’d eat some money, but Nix could be a possible replacement. If Hoboken’s own rebounds this season, it’s never a bad thing to have a good backup QB, especially after a year like last year when half the league was starting backups. Personally, I think it was always Tommy DeVito’s team, but this is a hypothetical to throw out.
Giants
- Kris Jenkins and Dexter Lawrence would be a fierce combo. The Michigan Man’s name is “The Mutant” because of his size and ability to sometimes look like his former All-Pro father.
Jaguars
- With Calvin Ridley becoming a free agent, I’m not sure the Jags will want to pay him too much as he will be turning 30 this season. If you recall, he came into the NFL a bit older at 24 years old out of ‘Bama and then he missed an entire season gambling on DraftKings. Keon Coleman made some insane acrobatic catches this past season. He could become Sunshine Lawrence’s new go-to and they might even grab pints together at Lynch’s.
Eagles
- Xavier Worthy is a 1st Round talent who would be an absolute steal for the Eagles in the mid-2nd Round. Sticking Worthy between AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith would be a worthy move indeed. With Julio Jones and Quez Watkins set to become free agents, Philly may want to add the star from the Lone Star state.
Eagles
- I’m doubling down with the Eagles going CB again in the 2nd Round. While Philly would need to address their O-Line in free agency, I can’t see a forward-thinking organization going into next season with 2 older starting CBs. Kalen King and Kool-Aid would allow them to move on from one of the 2 vets.
Dolphins
- The Dolphins need an interior lineman and Zach Frazier played Center and Guard at West Virginia. In high school, Frazier was a 4-time heavyweight wrestling state champion and he only lost 2 matches in his entire career. He holds the highest winning % of any high school wrestler in the history of Marion County, West Virginia. Good football player too.
Cowboys
- Graham Barton out of Duke has experience at all 5 O-Line positions. Not only are the Cowboys set to lose Tyron Smith at Tackle, but their starting C Tyler Biadasz is also set to be a free agent. Barton could play C and along with Tyler Guyton would revamp their O-Line group.
3rd Round
Patriots
- Blake Fisher entering his collegiate career at Notre Dame was set to be the team’s starting LT before getting injured in ‘21. Joe Alt would take the job and never look back, which forced Fisher to move to RT. Fisher has an elite pedigree as he was a 5-star recruit and was certainly able to hold up his own on the right side of the offensive line. Let’s hope he doesn’t fall to the Patriots in the 3rd Round.
Chargers
- Austin Ekeler is set to become a free agent. The Chargers for sure got their money’s worth in him as he received an absurd 587 touches between ‘21 and ‘22. Last year he only averaged 3.5 yards per carry. Jim Harbaugh knows all about Blake Corum. The Michigan Man RB would rejuvenate San Diego’s running game. @Dougherty I’m giving you Bowers and Corum, that’s a fun pairing. Herbert’s got enough WRs.
Giants
- The Giants may be moving on from Saquon Barkley so taking a RB in the 3rd Round makes a ton of sense. Braelon Allen is out of Wisconsin and although he may have some slippage in ‘23, he joined Jonathan Taylor as the only 2 Big Ten RBs to record 3 seasons of 150+ carries, 10+ TDs, and 5.25 yards per carry in the last decade. Barkley would have been in that category but he only had 7 rushing TDs as a freshman at Penn State. Allen is not the same pass catcher that Barkley is but at 6’2” and a downhill runner he could maybe be a mini Brandon Jacobs.
Jets
- Michael Pratt for some reason just feels like a kid who will be great will NFL talent around him. I remember seeing things about him during the fall of ‘22 while looking up Tyjae Spears at Tulane. Jets fan insider likes his tape too so I’m not seeing things. I’m sure at this point he is most NFL Mock Draft analysts’ “later round steal” at QB, but hopefully, he is there in the 3rd Round so the Jets can have him sit behind Rodgers for a few seasons.
Cowboys
- The Dallas D will be a bit different as Mike Zimmer is now their defensive coordinator. Former DC Dan Quinn and DB Coach Joe Whit Jr. are off to Washington DC after doing a great job developing ballhawk corners with Trevon Diggs & DaRon Bland. Their starting SS, Jayron Kearse, is set to be a free agent so the USC hard hitter, Calen Bullock, could be his replacement. USC was a rough watch on defense last year, but Bullock still produced some solid numbers the past seasons with 19 pass deflections, 7 INTs, and 2 Pick-6s.
Jaguars
- I hadn’t Mock Drafted a CB to the Jaguars yet this go around so I had to get my fix. Max Melton is a Rutgers product. At 6’, he can play outside and try to model his career after fellow Rutgers products in the McCourty twins. In the past 3 seasons, Melton combined for 8 INTs and 30 pass deflections. He also blocked 4 punts while donning the Scarlet Red.
Eagles
- Jeremiah Trotter Jr., like his father, is a middle linebacker. It would be pretty cool if the team that drafted his dad in the 3rd Round took his son. Trotter Jr. had a very nice collegiate career at Clemson. In the past two seasons, he combined for 177 tackles, 12 sacks, 28.5 TFLs, 3 forced fumbles, 4 INTs, and he even scored 2 defensive TDs. With one of their starting LBs, Zach Cunningham, set to become a free agent, this may be possible storyline.
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.
Before diving into the men, just want to say congratulations to Caitlin Clark on becoming the all-time NCAA leading scorer. Over the weekend, Clark surpassed “Pistol” Pete Maravich’s record of 3,667 points, which stood since 1970. She is incredible and deserves all the praise. The coolest part is there are so many young girls playing basketball today who will grow up idolizing her and maybe one of them will shoot for her record.
LJ Cryer, Guard, Houston
LJ Cryer is from Katy, Texas, which is only about a half-hour west of Houston. He played his high school basketball there at Ranch Morton High where he scored 3,488 points - the 5th most ever by any player in Texas public high school. Out of high school, Cryer originally went to Baylor University. In his sophomore season at Baylor, he averaged 13.5 points per game while coming off the bench. Last year for the Bears, Cryer was a starter who averaged 15 points per game while shooting 41.5% from deep. This past season Cryer transferred to Houston and is the team-leading scorer on the #1 team in the Nation. Cryer is averaging 15.5 points per game and in Houston’s last 2 wins has amassed 45 points while hitting on 9 of 19 from deep. One of those triples came on the halftime buzzer-beater GIF’d above. This week the Houston Cougars are set to face off against UCF before a big Saturday night matchup with Kansas to end their regular season.
Kyle Filipowski, Center, Duke
Kyle Filipowski is from Westtown, Orange County, NY, which is about an hour North West from Rockland County, NY, or better yet an hour & half Upstate from The City. Kyle has a twin brother who plays for Harvard, so he might not be the smartest in the family. This Filipowski is a sophomore 7’ Center who can do a bit of everything. As a freshman last year, the Upstate New Yorker averaged 15.1 points and 8.9 rebounds per game, which led the Blue Devils in both categories of the stat sheet. He can keep a defense honest as he shot 28% from behind the arc. Filipowski was named ACC Rookie of the Year, ACC Tournament MVP, and the Kyle Macy National Freshman of the Year. He became just the 2nd Duke Blue Devil to be awarded ACC Rookie of the Year and ACC Tournament MVP, joining Zion Williamson. A few weeks ago, Filipowski was in the news when Wake Forest students stormed the court in an upset win. Now the upstate New York native is back throwing down windmill dunks. Flipowski leads Duke in scoring and rebounding with 16.8 points to go with 8.3 rebounds per game.
Baylor Scheierman, Guard, Creighton
Baylor Scheierman is from Aurora, Nebraska. As a senior in high school, he averaged 22.1 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 6.5 assists per game. He also played QB, throwing for 4,000 passing yards with 59 passing TDs. Out of high school, Baylor Scheierman first played college hoops for South Dakota State. After starting his collegiate career off the bench, Scheierman made 23 starts as a sophomore while averaging 15.4 points and 9.2 rebounds to go with 4 assists. At 6’7”, this big guard uses all of his height on the boards. In ‘21-’22, SDSU made the NCAA Tournament and Scheierman had a double-double on the national stage with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Last year, Scheierman transferred to Creighton and his game seamlessly transitioned against better Big East competition. This season, Scheierman leads Creighton in scoring and boards with 18.5 points to go with 8.9 rebounds per game. In their big weekend win over Marquette, the Nebraskan had a monster double-double with 26 points and 16 rebounds.
Jaylen Wells, Forward, Washington State
Jaylen Wells is from Sacramento, California, where at Folsom High School he was awarded the SFL League MVP. He wasn’t highly recruited so he first played for Sonoma State, a DII school. As a freshman in ‘21-’22, Wells led Seawolves in scoring (12.6 ppg) and rebounding (5.8 per game). During his sophomore season at Sonoma State, he took an even larger leap, becoming the CCAA Player of the Year while leading the team in points (22.4), rebounds (8.7), assists, and steals. This past season he transferred to Washington State and he has really come on to his own of late. Wells has scored 27 points twice in his last 4 games. One of those games was against UCLA on Saturday down the stretch he made some clutch buckets like the one GIF’d above.
Chris Youngblood, Guard, South Florida
Chris Youngblood is from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, but he played high school hoops at East Coweta in Georgia. A 4-star recruit out and 9th rank player from Georgia, Youngblood started his collegiate career at Kennesaw State University. As a freshman, he averaged 12.3 points per game and made the ASUN All-Freshman Team. In his sophomore season, he put up 13.9 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Last year at Kennesaw, Youngblood was named First Team All-ASUN while being named to the Lou Henson Mid-Major Player of the Year list for his 14.7 points and 42% 3-point shooting percentage. He transferred to South Florida this year and the senior guard immediately became the leading scorer for the Bulls. Youngblood averages a clean 15 points per game while shooting 42.4% from deep. The South Flordia Bulls are 22-5 and winners of 14 straight.
**Bonus**
Indiana State Sycamores
Ryan Conwell, Guard, Indiana State
