Now that free agency is winding down, we have a much better idea of what each team’s needs will look like once the draft kicks off in late April. Positions that may have been considered needs a few weeks ago have been filled with expensive free agents, so our mock drafts will be more realistic and hopefully, more accurate. So let’s get into our first post-free agency mock draft of the season.
1. Tennessee Titans – Miami QB Cam Ward
There are only two real starters left on the free agent market in Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers, and it seems as though they’ll end up in Pittsburgh and New York. That would likely lock the Titans into taking a QB, and Ward is the clear top choice. Even if they do sign a veteran at the last minute, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they took Ward with the intention of him sitting on the bench for the first year.
2. Cleveland Browns – Penn State ED Abdul Carter
The Browns have done very little to address the quarterback position so far this offseason, but taking Shedeur Sanders at number two would be a little rich for my blood. Instead, the Browns add another impact pass rusher opposite of the new highest paid non-QB in NFL history. There’s slight concern over Carter’s foot injury, but don’t expect that to stop a team from taking him at the top of the draft.
3. New York Giants – Colorado CB/WR Travis Hunter
The Giants will be thrilled to see Hunter fall to them at three. Of course quarterback is still a massive need, but I believe they’ll sign a veteran then take a swing on day two of the draft. They need help at both receiver and cornerback, making Hunter an easy pick.
4. New England Patriots – Missouri OT Armand Membou
The Patriots focused heavily on the defensive side of the ball in free agency, but they still desperately need to surround Drake Maye with more talent. Membou had an outstanding combine, and is the best tackle option on the board with Will Campbell likely destined for a move inside.
5. Jacksonville Jaguars – Michigan DL Mason Graham
This pick could be any number of players, with the Jaguars likely taking the best player available approach, and in the eyes of many, Mason Graham is exactly that. Graham offers a ton of pass rush upside from the inside, and if he can prove to be useful on all three downs, you could end up with a serious difference maker.
6. Las Vegas Raiders – Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty
Before free agency even began, Las Vegas was making headlines with their trade for Geno Smith. They still have a number of holes on the roster, but Chip Kelly will be banging the table to get his hands on a player like Jeanty. The Raiders had the worst run game in the NFL last season, so you have to think this new regime’s number one goal will be to turn that around.
7. New York Jets – Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders
Even though the Jets signed Justin Fields to a starter level contract, that won’t stop them from taking another chance at the position they’ve continuously gotten wrong. Shedeur’s play style would be a great fit to take advantage of what Garrett Wilson does best, which is separating over the middle of the field, and making plays after the catch. Offensive line and receiver are still needed for New York, but those can be addressed in later rounds.
8. Carolina Panthers – Texas A&M ED Shemar Stewart
Carolina needs every bit of help they can get on the defensive side of the ball and haven’t made any notable additions to their pass rush this offseason. Shemar Stewart could make a team look very silly if he doesn’t work out, but he has tremendous upside. That’s a risk that a young rebuilding team like the Panthers should be willing to make.
9. New Orleans Saints – Arizona WR Tetairoa McMillan
As usual, the Saints have needed to fight their way underneath the cap with contract reconstruction, leaving them very little room to make additions in free agency. Their wide receiver room certainly has talent, but it has just as many question marks, mostly related to health. Chris Olave has dealt with numerous concussions and Rashid Shaheed is coming off a major knee injury. Even with those two, they are in need of a big bodied receiver who can make plays in tight coverage like McMillan.
10. Chicago Bears – Georgia ED Mykel Williams
The Bears have done a good job this offseason filling the holes of their roster, particularly on the offensive line, but they’re still missing a true impact player up front. Mykel Williams is a great athlete and would be an excellent running mate with Montez Sweat on the other side if he can hone his pass rush skills.
The 49ers lost guard Aaron Banks in free agency, and have holes all over the offensive line. That makes them the perfect spot for Will Campbell, who can be a plug and play starter at left guard and could potentially replace Trent Williams at left tackle if Campbell’s short arms prove to not be an issue.
12. Dallas Cowboys – Texas CB Jahdae Barron
Cornerback isn’t the Cowboys biggest need, but they do have plenty of questions at the position. Trevon Diggs looked like a shell of himself after returning from injury last season, and they lost their main slot defender Jourdan Lewis in free agency. Barron would give them inside/outside flexibility and might be the best player left on the board. Typically the NFL avoids slot corners in the first round, but that could change soon with offenses always trying to get their best players into the slot.
13. Miami Dolphins – Texas OT Kelvin Banks Jr.
Miami has been trying to figure out their offensive line for a while, and Banks could pair with Terron Armstead to give them two excellent tackles. They probably need more help on the interior, but their best option is to take the best offensive lineman on the board and figure the rest out later.
14. Indianapolis Colts – Penn State TE Tyler Warren
For a team that hasn’t made the playoffs in five years, the Colts roster is actually in a great spot, allowing them to take the best player available, who also happens to fill their biggest need. They have taken tight ends in the mid to late rounds year after year with none of them emerging as difference makers. Tyler Warren can put an end to that search and give them another weapon in the passing game. He’s also an excellent inline blocker, making him an excellent addition to a run heavy offense with Anthony Richardson (or Daniel Jones) under center.
Atlanta is beyond desperate for some defensive juice up front. The rest of their defense has talent, but the pass rush is such a non factor, it holds the rest of the unit back. The brought in Leonard Floyd, but not going to carry a pass rush unit on his own. Ezeiruaku gives them speed off the edge that they’ve been missing for quite some time.
16. Arizona Cardinals – Michigan CB Will Johnson
This would be arguably the best value pick of the draft if Johnson falls this far. In my opinion, he has a case for being a top 5 player in the class but has fallen down boards because of speed concerns and a slightly down season in 2024. Arizona made some great additions to their front seven in free agency, headlined by Josh Sweat. Adding a true shutdown cornerback would really take this defense to another level.
Green has some serious off-field allegations that will need to be cleared up for him to go this high, but his burst off the edge will be tough to pass up, especially for a team with absolutely no pass rush outside of Trey Hendrickson, who requested a trade. If they grant that request, it’s hard to see the Bengals taking any other position, it’s just a question of which flavor they prefer.
18. Seattle Seahawks – Georgia ED Jalon Walker
You might see Walker listed as a linebacker in various mock drafts, but I would be completely stunned if a team drafted him in the first round with the intention of using him that way. He was really only used there out of necessity at Georgia, and by far the better of his tape came as an edge rusher. He’s certainly undersized at the position, but he’s an excellent pass rusher considering how little experience he has.
Tampa Bay is bringing back 35 year old Lavonte David for another year, and signed free agent Anthony Walker from Miami, but that is far from enough to fix this linebacker room. The play they got from this position in 2024 so clearly held this defense back, it would be hard to imagine that they let a player like Campbell get past them. He’s a perfect fit for Todd Bowles’ blitz heavy scheme and can do a little bit of everything.
20. Denver Broncos – Texas WR Matthew Golden
Before free agency, this had been a very popular spot for a tight end, but Denver just signed Evan Engram to a two year deal. While that shouldn’t completely rule out a tight end, it definitely shifts their focus to other needs. Golden can play on the inside or outside and could give them the big play threat they were likely looking for when they drafted Troy Franklin last year.
21. Pittsburgh Steelers – North Carolina RB Omarion Hampton
The quarterback position is still an unknown for Pittsburgh at this point, but I’d like to believe they avoid the mistake they made in 2022 when they reached for a quarterback in a weak class. Instead, they take their replacement for Najee Harris and get a player capable of being a true bellcow in Arthur Smith’s run-heavy offense.
22. Los Angeles Chargers – Michigan TE Colston Loveland
This pick almost seems too easy, but the Chargers don’t overthink here and take another former Michigan player, filling a big need in the process. Loveland is more of a true slot receiver than inline tight end, but they could get really creative and do some fun stuff with him and Ladd McConkey as the top two targets for Justin Herbert.
23. Green Bay Packers – Tennessee ED James Pearce Jr.
There are reportedly some serious concerns about James Pearce’s work ethic and passion for football, which has caused him to slide down boards. But if he can convince a team that he’s fully committed, it will be hard to pass up on his combination of athleticism and production. Edge rusher seemed like the Packers biggest need coming into the offseason, and they’ve done nothing to address it so far. This might be a bit of an un-Packers pick, but they need to swing for a true impact player here.
24. Minnesota Vikings – Georgia S Malachi Starks
Starks has fallen down boards because of a less than stellar combine, but his tape is as good as just about anyone in this class. The Vikings have addressed most of their needs in free agency, so go with a long term replacement for team legend Harrison Smith, who recently turned 36. In the short term, this gives Brian Flores yet another chess piece to play with.
25. Houston Texans – Alabama OG Tyler Booker
It’s been a very strange free agency for Houston. Their offensive line was an abject disaster last year, and they decided to trade away the only positive part of it, Laremy Tunsil. The Texans have now essentially boxed themselves into taking whichever offensive lineman falls to them here, and they opt to help the interior with Tyler Booker. He could play tackle or center, but the important thing is that Houston gets their five best linemen on the field together.
26. Los Angeles Rams – Ole Miss CB Trey Amos
The Rams have built a great young defensive line through the draft, and now it’s time to add some more talent to the back end of their defense. Trey Amos had a solid combine and that should be enough for him to be in consideration in the first round. Los Angeles has been looking for a new CB1 ever since they traded Jalen Ramsey, and Amos has a chance to fill that void.
27. Baltimore Ravens – Ohio State OT Josh Simmons
Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry covered up the Raven’s shortcomings up front last year, but their inability to protect came back to bite them in big moments. They resigned Ronnie Stanley to a three year deal, but they still have holes on the offensive line. Simmons can replace last years second round pick Roger Rosengarten, or he can kick inside and start at guard right away.
28. Detroit Lions – Texas A&M ED Nic Scourton
One of the Lions main priorities has to be finding a long term running mate for Aidan Hutchinson. Nic Scourton would be an excellent fit in Detroit, and some evaluators believe his drop in production last year was due to his role rather than his play.
29. Washington Commanders – South Carolina S Nick Emmanwori
The Commanders have filled most of their holes with mid to low end free agent pickups, allowing them to focus on adding the best player available in the draft. Emmanwori might have a low floor, but his sky high ceiling was on display at the combine when he had one of the best performances of all time.
30. Buffalo Bills – Ole Miss DL Walter Nolen
Buffalo added Joey Bosa to their pass rush, but still need more juice up the middle. Walter Nolen’s pass rush upside will be hard to turn down this late in the draft, even with concerns about his maturity being reported. Nolen’s speed off the ball fits the profile that Buffalo tends to look for, making this a perfect match.
31. Kansas City Chiefs – North Dakota State OL Grey Zabel
Zabel has been a draft season riser due to his performance at the senior bowl, dispelling concerns about his competition in the FCS. Kansas City needs to rebuild their offensive line after the unit’s disasterous Super Bowl performance and subsequent trade of all pro guard Joe Thuney. Zabel could play either position on the inside and has experience at tackle as well.
32. Philadelphia Eagles – Ole Miss ED Princely Umanmielen
When in doubt, give the eagles an SEC pass rusher. The Eagles roster is loaded from top to bottom, but they will have to replace two major contributors on the defensive line in Josh Sweat and Milton Williams. Umanmielen should at least be a high level pass rush specalist with the upside of turning into a true three down edge.
