It’s just over a week until the 2021 NFL draft, so it’s time for both ESPN experts — Todd McShay and Mel Kiper Jr., who has a weird way of eating pizza — to weigh in with a giant three-round mock.
Because they’re allowing trades in their mock drafts for the first time, we’ve been highlighting the deals each of them has made in recent mocks, and in this one, there’s a deal that — I think — will make New England Patriots and Detroit Lions fans happy.
In this mock, Kiper has the San Francisco 49ers at No. 3 taking QB Justin Fields out of Ohio State. Eventually, with the Lions coming up at No. 7, Kiper then has the rebuilding Detroit franchise trading down with Bill Belichick and getting the Pats’ second-rounder plus “maybe even their first-rounder in next year’s draft.”
And who do they take? Mac Jones! Here’s Kiper:
I have Jones slightly ahead of Trey Lance, and I think he’s more ready to play as a rookie, particularly for a team that made several win-now moves this offseason. Plus, Josh McDaniels has already proved that he can game-plan for a pocket passer with tremendous accuracy.
OK. For what it’s worth, Kiper ends up taking Lance for the Denver Broncos. We’ll see next Friday if this is how this all plays out.
