The scouting combine begins in earnest early next week, and for the coaches and executives who go, it’s just as much about discussing potential trades and free agency signings over shrimp cocktails at St. Elmo’s as it is about watching the draft prospects on hand to show their talents at Lucas Oil Stadium.
For the prospects themselves, it’s all on the line. Not only in the workouts (for those who are working out), but also in the round-robin 15-minute meetings with those coaches and executives. Basically, this is where you might secure your next domain as a player.
With all that in mind, here’s one first-round projection just before the scouting combine rolls around. This is the last mock draft of the year that’s based primarily on tape, as the rumor mill starts hard and heavy once boots are on the ground in Indianapolis.
A couple notes:
— The Chicago Bears stick with Justin Fields, and start to surround him with much more credible weapons.
— The Denver Broncos trade with the New England Patriots to move up from the 12th overall pick to the third overall pick to take their next franchise quarterback, hoping that works better for them than it did for the San Francisco 49ers and Trey Lance a few years back.
— We also have thumbnail scouting reports for a lot of these prospects; that library will grow and be added to this mock over the next few days.
Now, let’s get to the pre-combine mock!
1. Chicago Bears (from Carolina Panthers): Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Ohio State
2. Washington Commanders: Caleb Williams, QB, USC
3. Denver Broncos (from New England Patriots): Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU
4. Arizona Cardinals: Malik Nabers, WR, LSU
5. Los Angeles Chargers: Rome Odunze, WR, Washington
6. New York Giants: Drake Maye, QB, North Carolina
7. Tennessee Titans: Joe Alt, OT, Notre Dame
8. Atlanta Falcons: Terrion Arnold, CB, Alabama
9. Chicago Bears: Cooper DeJean, CB, Iowa
10. New York Jets: Olumuyiwa Fashanu, OT, Penn State
11. Minnesota Vikings: Nate Wiggins, CB, Clemson
12. New England Patriots (from Denver Broncos): Bo Nix, QB, Oregon
13. Las Vegas Raiders: Taliese Fuaga, OT, Oregon State
14. New Orleans Saints: Dallas Turner, EDGE, Alabama
15. Indianapolis Colts: Laiatu Latu, EDGE, UCLA
16. Seattle Seahawks: Johnny (Jer'Zhan) Newton, DL, Illinois
17. Jacksonville Jaguars: Quinyon Mitchell, CB, Toledo
18. Cincinnati Bengals: Brock Bowers, TE. Georgia
19. Los Angeles Rams: Jackson Powers-Johnson, C, Oregon
20. Pittsburgh Steelers: JC Latham, OT, Alabama
21. Miami Dolphins: Jared Verse, EDGE, Florida State
22. Philadelphia Eagles: Kool-Aid McKinstry, CB, Alabama
23. Houston Texans (from Cleveland Browns): Byron Murphy, DL, Texas
24. Dallas Cowboys: Troy Franklin, WR, Oregon
25. Green Bay Packers: Amarius Mims, OT, Georgia
26. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Ennis Rakestraw Jr., CB, Missouri
27. Arizona Cardinals (from Houston Texans): Troy Fautanu, OT, Washington
28. Buffalo Bills: Brian Thomas Jr., WR, LSU
29. Detroit Lions: Tyler Nubin, S, Minnesota
30. Baltimore Ravens: Kris Jenkins, DL, Michigan
31. San Francisco 49ers: Tyler Guyton, OT, Oklahoma
32. Kansas City Chiefs: Ladd McConkey, WR, Georgia
