Today’s tune on this Mock Draft Monday is Mine by Beyoncé featuring Drake. Originally I was going to go with Stay Schemin’ by Rick Ross featuring Drake, but hip-hop had a bit of resurgence over the weekend. For a quick rundown in case you missed Hip-Hop’s weekend…
On Saturday, Drake took off the gloves and released a diss record called Pushups. After going after nearly 20 rappers while telling Metro Boomin’ to sit down and play the drums, Rick Ross responded with a weak pre-recorded track of his own. Nobody wants to hear Ross, this has always been about Drake and Kendrick.
Last Monday’s Mock Draft had Poetic Justice on in the background and my goal was originally to be an unbiased neutral journalist. Then after what J Cole pulled, I figured I might as well admit that Week to Week Notes will be favoring Drake moving forward. Look Kendrick is excellent at what he does and makes great music, but if I gotta choose a side it’s gotta be Drizzy.
Plus people forget, so I gotta remind them, that The Boy’s father, Dennis Graham, went out of his way to give me a digital clapping emoji way back when I first started writing Mock Drafts every Monday in January of ‘23. It sounds petty, but that was pretty cool.
Anyway, glad we got that sorted. Mine by Beyoncé ft. Drake came out in December of '13. It’s kind of an under-the-radar tune that got lost in the shuffle only peaking at #82 on the US Billboard Hot 100. At the time the radios were playing Happy by Pharrell Williams, All About That Bass by Meghan Trainor, Wiggle by Jason Derulo, Fancy by Iggy Azalea, Thrift Shop by Macklemore, and Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke. Maybe I’m a bit biased, but I think it should got a bit more play.
Remember, this is in ‘13 so Beyoncé starts with a reference about not feeling the same since her baby, Blue Ivy.
I don’t know what muffled sound they used for Drake’s hook on this tune, but I’ve always thought it was a bit underrated and catchy.
Back to a Beyoncé verse. The kingdom she is alluding to here could be about Jay-Z’s ‘06 album called Kingdom Come. The couple would get married in ‘08.
Wise words to live by coming from Queen B.
Here the two artists synchronize for the chorus where we get the song title.
Verse 3 Drake goes with his R&B side. This is going to sound a bit corny, but his R&B songs those days just hit differently.
I probably could’ve just gone with Stay Schemin’, but I figured a Beyoncé tune fit more with the WNBA Draft. No big deal.
In verse 4, Drake switches up his flow for a 4th time. He would end a ton of songs back then with a slow beat like this one where he’s rapping but it’s almost R&B. It felt unique at the time. The “Thriller” reference is, of course, Michael Jackson. Not only was he trying to take elements from the King of Pop in ‘13, but there was also an episode of Degrassi from ‘02 where Jimmy (pre-wheelchair) dressed up as MJ.
This has gotta be one of the most sure-thing obvious 1st Picks ever. Caitlin Clark to Indiana is a lock. The best women’s college basketball player of all time now holds the record for most points scored in NCAA history with 3,951. In 139 career games as a Hawkeye, CC averaged 28.4 points, 8.2 assists, 7.1 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and shot 37.7% from beyond the arc. She will immediately be the face of the WNBA as soon as her name gets called. Not going to lie, my dumbass thought this would be almost like the hometown first pick thinking that Indiana and Iowa were fairly close to each other but Des Moines, Iowa is a 7-hour drive to Indianapolis, Indiana.
Cameron Brink was originally from Princeton, New Jersey before her family moved West Coast. Brink won the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year in ‘23 as well as the Lisa Leslie Award which gets presented to the nation’s best college center. Last season, the 6’4” former Cardinal averaged 3.7 blocks and 11.9 rebounds per game. Offensively, Brink improved her point totals every year, averaging a career-high 17.4 in ‘23 and shooting 30% from beyond the arc for her career. I’m taking Brink over the other bigs because she can shoot.
The Chicago Sky made the WNBA playoffs as the 8 seed behind the play of their guards Kahleah Copper (18.7 ppg) and Marina Mabrey (15 ppg). They lack height as their leading rebounder only averaged 6.6 boards per game. This is where Kamilla Cardoso and her 6’7” interior dominance come into play. The national champion averaged 14.4 points and 9.7 rebounds per game last year. Against Iowa in the National Championship, Cardoso was excellent with 15 points, 17 rebounds, and 3 shots blocked.
The LA Sparks have 2 picks inside the Top 4 so here we’re having them double down on bigs. Angel Reese seems to be made for LA. She and Brink would add talented frontcourt players to the mix. Reese was the SEC Player of the Year in ‘24. For her career, the LSU PF averaged 18.6 points and 12.3 rebounds per game. Had she entered the WNBA Draft last year, she may have gone #1 after her junior season where she scored 23 points and grabbed 15.4 boards per game while setting an NCAA record with 34 double-doubles in a season.
Nika Mühl is originally from Croatia. She chose to play for UConn because they are known internationally as the premier college hoops school. Mühl is a 4-year starter for the Huskies. She was named Big East Defensive Player of the Year in ‘22 and ‘23. Last year for UConn she was an All-American Honorable Mention. She holds the UConn Women’s all-time leading assist record with 686. While she isn’t a big scorer (averaged 7 points per game the last 2 seasons), Mühl shot 40% from beyond the arc and the Dallas Wings were last in 3-point shooting last season. The other element that is being weighed heavily on why she’s the 5th pick is the defense she played against CC in the Final Four. She played a great game, defending CC full-court the entire game.
We’re getting #1 right, we’ll see if any of these other picks land correctly. Again, the full 3 Rounds of the WNBA ‘24 Draft is at 7:30 PM ET on ESPN.
Today’s ‘24 NFL Mock Draft features the 3 Rounds of my friends and family’s favorite teams with an extra Round 4-7 of the New York Jets.
Patriots
- Any reports from NFL sources now are probably all smoke screen because it doesn’t seem like Washington is locked into who they’re taking at #2. I’ll stick to my Draft Board from the last year and have them going with Drake Maye. For New England, Jayden Daniels is the Heisman Trophy winner with elite upside. Whether it be Maye or Daniels, I don’t see JJ McCarthy jumping into the picture.
Chargers
- The Chargers don’t necessarily need a tackle, but taking Joe Alt would fit in line with Jim Harbaugh’s identity of dominating the line of scrimmage. Alt would be the first lineman off the board. He doesn’t miss games and played at an All-American level for the past 2 seasons at Notre Dame.
Giants
- After getting a bit of consensus among Giants fans while talking to fans at the Citi Field parking lot over the weekend, most of them want the G-Men to go WR. Malik Nabers has been cast as this year’s “me guy”, but that may have more to do with him being a pass catcher from LSU than him. After a sophomore season of 72 catches for 1,017 yards, Nabers elevated his play to 89 catches, 1,569 yards, and 14 TDs. He runs smooth routes at all 3 levels of the passing game and can make guys miss.
The Jets add the top pass catcher on the board after Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers, and Brock Bowers were taken before. The Washington star WR and Garrett Wilson would be a dynamic duo of young WRs for Aaron Rodgers.
Rome Odunze is from Las Vegas, Nevada. In ‘22 he was an All-American 3rd Team, All-Pac-12 First Team, and made the Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll. Last year playing with Michael Penix shaped Odunze’s breakout season on the college football scene. He had 75 receptions for 1,145 receiving yards and 7 TDs. Odunze led the Pac-12 in receiving yards and was 2nd in receptions per game. His 1,145 yards were the 5th most in Washington single-season history and 75 receptions were 7th most in school history. Odunze at 6’3” runs a 4.3 40-time with a freakish ability to go up and get the ball while only having 3 drops in ‘22. Last year, he was even better, as he set a Washington record for receiving yards with 1,640. While being named captain in ‘23, he had 92 catches with 13 TDs. Rome Odunze was a huge reason for Washington’s CFB Championship appearance.
Jaguars
- Trevor Sunshine Lawrence gets a speed demon at WR. Xavier Worthy adds a different dynamic aside from Christian Kirk, Gabe Davis (not related), and Zay Jones. Sunshine can sky a nice deep ball and Worthy is worthy of the pick at #17.
Dolphins
- Miami signed Aaron Brewer from Tennessee to play Center. According to PFF, Brewer is a much better run blocker than a pass protector. He may be better suited at OG, which he played a bit of for the Titans as well. Jackson Powers-Johnson is the first interior prospect off the board. JPJ won the Rimington Trophy as the nation’s top center in ‘23, but also has experience at OG too. Miami could either flip-flop Brewer or JPJ for who snaps the ball, but either way, these 2 additions would help with their interior line situation.
Eagles
- Jared Verse started his collegiate career at the University at Albany. They have some grey winters up there along with what was the largest cement structure ever built for a campus so he must’ve enjoyed the offseason more down in Florida State. After transferring to FSU in ‘22, Verse totaled 18 sacks with 29.5 tackles for loss. He would be a great addition to the Philly pass rush and scary to pair with Bryce Huff on the opposite end.
Cowboys
- Dallas won’t be penciling in Tyron Smith at the top of their OT depth chart for the 1st time since ‘10. JC Latham last season had 41 knockdown blocks while allowing only 2 sacks. He was named 2nd Team All-American and 1st Team All-SEC at ‘Bama in ‘23.
Patriots
- Patrick Paul at 6’7” and 315 lbs. would have the size to be Jayden Daniels’ bodyguard for the next decade. He wasn’t always a giant though, as he started his high school freshman season at 5’6” until he had a growth spurt of 9 inches. Last season he was named one of Houston’s captains and was First-Team All-Big 12. PFF College gave him the highest pass-block grade (91.5) amongst all tackles.
Chargers
- Jim Harbaugh goes with a pass rusher in the 2nd Round. Chris Braswell was behind a loaded depth chart at ‘Bama his first 2 seasons, but last year he broke out for 8 sacks and 3 forced fumbles opposite of Dallas Turner. Another identity pick for the Chargers, who will want to dominate the line of scrimmage with Harbaugh at the helm.
Giants
- Graham Barton can play all 5 offensive line positions at a high level as he proved at Duke. The Giants need all the help they can get to plug in holes at the offensive line. I’m sure Barton could slot in somewhere for the G-Men.
Jaguars
- Jacksonville would be getting a gritty playmaking CB with Mike Sainristil. After starting his career as a 3-star WR, he moved over to the defensive side of the ball and took his pass-catching hands with him. In ‘23, Saintistil had 6 INTs and was named 1st Team All-American. His size at 5’10 and age (23) may have him slip to the 2nd Round, but he was a key contributor to the best defense in College Football last season so he can play.
Eagles
- While Philly could use another WR or CB, they feel like a team that loves them some interior pass rush. In the past 2 seasons, Ruke Orhorhoro totaled 9 sacks with 16 tackles for loss. At 6’4” and 294 lbs, Orhorhoro would actually be the smallest among Philly’s big guys in Jordan Davis (not related) and Jalen Carter. The Eagles seem to go with the philosophy that you can never have too many guys that can get to the QB, it’s how they have gotten to the Super Bowls in the past.
Eagles
- While OG Christian Haynes won’t make up for the Eagles’ loss of Jason Kelce, he could help Cam Jurgens try to replace him. The UConn product was named 3rd Team All-American the past 2 seasons, was a 4-year starter, and team captain for the Huskies.
Dolphins
- After taking the top interior lineman in the 1st, Miami here doubles down on O-Line. One anonymous AFC exec said, “Fisher is the more naturally talented of the Notre Dame tackles, but (Joe) Alt is much more consistent and technically sound.” He could be Tua’s long-term tackle on either side of the line.
Cowboys
- Going with the theme much like Miami, Dallas doubles down and drafts 2 linemen with their first 2 picks. The Cowboys currently have Brock Hoffman as their starting hiker and he graded out as below-average in the handful of starts he made last year. Zach Frazier is a Mountaineer who comes from West Virginia and looks the part of a Mountain Man.
Patriots
- Pats new head coach and former linebacker, Jared Mayo, gets a linebacker to mold with Payon Wilson. The NC State star won the Dick Butkus Award in ‘23, which goes to the nation’s top linebacker. A QB, LT, and LB would provide a bit of future foundation for the New England Patriots as they enter their post-Dark Hoodie era. Wilson ran a 4.4 40-time and was 5th in all of the land with 138 tackles in ‘23 to go with 6 sacks and 3 INTs.
Chargers
- Cade Stover fits the Jim Harbaugh narrative I’m going with in his first draft class in San Diego. While Stover did play for Ohio State, Harbaugh will like the grittiness that he has to offer. As a Buckeye, Stover was willing to play whatever part that got him on the field. He started his career on special teams and as a LB, before moving over full-time at TE in ‘22. Last season he was the Big Ten Conference TE of the Year as he had 41 catches for 576 yards and 5 TDs.
Giants
- Cooper Beebe and Graham Barton would provide the Giants with 2 young offensive linemen with a ton of collegiate experience. The Kansas State OG was named a 1st Team All-American the past 2 seasons and won the Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year in ‘22-’23. Barton and Beebe has a nice ring to it.
- Back-to-back weeks of Tyler Nubin to the New York Jets. Since last week, the Jets re-signed Ashytn Davis (not related) to add to their combination of Tony Adams and Chuck Clark. Tyler Nubin is Minnesota’s all-time career leader in interceptions. He is more of the mold of a CF safety and would be an excellent 3rd Round pick to have to patrol behind Sauce Gardner.
Cowboys
- After adding O-Line with their 1st 2 picks, Dallas takes a RB. Blake Corum of Michigan was named an All-American the past 2 seasons. The 5’8” RB is the football school’s 7th all-time leading rusher with 3,737 rushing yards, but he can find the endzone, that’s for sure. He broke the Wolverine records for career TDs (58) and TDs in a single season (27). The elusive back also used his NIL Deal $ to buy turkeys for the Michigan area. Corum bought over 600 turkeys for Thanksgiving in ‘23.
Jaguars
- Sedrick Van Pren would provide Sunshine with a long-term hiker of the football. An NFC scout said, “Kirby Smart preaches toughness and finishing, so he’s been around a certain kind of mindset that will have his mind right for the pros.” Van Pren started for Smart for the past 3 seasons and was named 2nd Team All-American by the AP.
In the 4th Round, New York goes with a QB that can sit behind Aaron Rodgers for a few years. The Jets haven’t been able to develop a QB correctly since Chad Pennington. When Pennington joined the Jets, he sat behind Vinny Testeverde for 2 seasons.
Sidenote bio: Michael Pratt is from Boca Raton, Florida. As a freshman in ‘20, Pratt burst onto the College Football scene as one of the top QB newcomers when he made 9 starts and had 1,806 passing yards with 20 TDs. The 20 TDs were the most of any true freshman that year. Pratt also showed he could run as he rushed for 8 more TDs on the ground. In ‘21, Pratt backed up his strong freshman year with 2,544 all-purpose yards and 26 TDs, not too shabby. Last year with Tulane, Pratt had RB Tyjae Spears (who now plays for the Titans) so I remember reading about this kid last fall as Tulane was making its unprecedented way up the AP Top 25. In ‘22, Tulane went 12-2 with an upset win over USC in the Cotton Bowl and as a result, the Green Wave ranked #9 in the nation. Spears was a great RB for Tulane, but Pratt was also just as important to their success as he threw a 64% completion percentage for 3,009 passing yards, and 27 passing TDs while rushing for 478 yards & 10 scores on the ground. Pratt currently has the lowest interception rate in Tulane history at 2.28 TD to INT. He will have the opportunity to set all the QB records at Tulane with a strong finish this year. Due to COVID, Pratt also has at least another year of eligibility under his belt if he decides that he can improve his draft stock in the ‘25 QB class. If Michael Pratt decides to enter the NFL Draft in ‘24, this is a very deep QB class that could make him overlooked. I like the fact that he plays for a smaller school, puts up good stats, makes winning plays, and seems to make the players around him better against tougher competition. Pratt to me seems to fit the Brock Purdy type of overlooked college QB who falls in the NFL Draft to Day 2 or 3 and excels in the right situation in the pros.
Adding Audric Estime to the backfield of Breece Hall would give the Jets two big workhorse backs that possess a set of wheels. While Estime may not have been used much in the Notre Dame passing game, he would help out the ground game.
Sidenote bio: Audric Estime is from Nyack, New York, and played high school ball for St. Joe’s in Montvale, New Jersey. He was named New Jersey Football Player of the Year in ‘20 as he had a monster senior season with 1,857 rushing yards and 22 TDs. After a freshman season in ‘21 where he was depth behind RB Kyren Williams (now on the LA Rams), Estime broke out last year with 920 rushing yards and 11 TDs. He ran for an impressive average of 5.9 yards per carry. This past season, Estime has picked up right where he left off as the workhorse RB for the Fightin’ Irish. The Rockland County product was an AP 2nd Team All-American rushing for 1,341 yards and setting a new Notre Dame record with 18 rushing TDs. At 6’1” and 215 lbs., Estime has the size to be a workhorse RB in the NFL.
Iowa’s Erick All has had major injuries throughout his collegiate career, which could have him fall in the NFL Draft. If the Jets want to take a flier on a player in hopes that he can stay healthy in the pros, adding All to Conklin and Ruckert would make sense here. There is an upside to his speed.
Sidenote bio: Erick All is from Fairfield, Ohio, which of course was bought by the Continental Congress in the Miami Purchase of 1788. Judge John Cleves Symmes of Morristown, New Jersey, swindled 311,682 acres at a $1 per acre. Out of high school, Erick All decided to play for Jim Harbaugh and the Michigan Wolverines. During his 1st 2 seasons at Michigan, All was a reserve TE who didn’t get a real opportunity to see touches until his junior season. In ‘21, All made 13 starts as he had a career-high 38 catches for 437 yards and 2 TDs. Last year was his last year with Michigan as he got injured 3 games into the season and would not return to the program as he decided to transfer to Iowa. All’s Iowa career this past season got off to a nice start as he made 21 catches for 299 yards and 3 TDs in 7 games. Unfortunately, All injured his knee making a catch over the middle, which ended his collegiate career. Despite the injury, All was still named an honorable mention on this year’s Big Ten Team. While his college career may have not gone exactly how he’d planned, All still has a ton of potential and should be a late-round steal in the NFL Draft if he can recover from his injury. He’s a 6’5” TE with speed.
Gottlieb Ayedze would be a late-round developmental prospect who could learn the veteran left tackle Tyron Smith.
Sidenote bio: Gottlieb Ayedze is from Germantown, Maryland. Before playing for the Maryland Terps, he had a 4-year career with Frostburg State. Ayedze in some ways is still learning some of the nuances of football, as he just picked it up late in high school in ‘18. Previously he was a soccer player, but the football coach noticed 6’5” & 320 lbs. At Frostburg State, Ayedze was a 3-year starter. In ‘20, Gottlieb was named All-MEC 1st team. He won the recognition again in ‘21 as a junior and followed up his senior year with another All-MEC 1st team as well as AFCA 1st Team All-American. Frostburg had the 2nd best-rushing offense in his conference running behind Ayedze. This season, Gottlieb Ayedze raised the stakes as he transferred to Maryland, playing in 10 of the Terps' 12 games. His blocking helped Taulia Tagovailoa break several passing records for the Big 10 and Maryland. Ayedze was named honorable mention All-Big 10, just 6 years after first putting on the helmet and pads.
The Jets go with a small school HBCU prospect in Willie Drew. The tall CB was a playmaker for the Virginia State Trojans, coming down with 11 interceptions in the past 2 seasons to go with 34 pass deflections. The last player the Jets drafted out of Virginia State was RB Trenton Cannon.
Willie Drew is from Smithfield, Virginia. In high school, he played QB but was recruited as a defensive back. His first college was James Madison University where he redshirted in ‘18. In ‘19, Willie Drew was behind on the depth chart that featured NFL CB Jimmy Moreland. Drew would earn some playing time before tearing his ACL, MCL, and meniscus while having his GPA sink as well. By ‘20, Drew had lost his scholarship at JMU and was rehabbing his knee injuries. Virginia State University gave him another opportunity to play football and we slowly got back on the field in ‘21. Then he broke out in ‘22, with 5 INTs and 12 pass deflections only to one-up himself in ‘23 with 6 INTs to go with 22 pass deflections. He is a long and rangy CB with great ball skills. While he may not have elite speed, he could fit well in a zone-schemed defense. Willie Drew hopes to become the first HBCU player drafted in ‘24 and be the first Virginia State player to get drafted since Trenton Canon in the 6th Round of the ‘18 NFL Draft.