1. Tennessee Titans – Cam Ward, QB, Miami
As the consensus top quarterback in the draft, this is an easy pick for the Titans.
2. Cleveland Browns – Travis Hunter, WR/CB, Colorado
Assuming the Browns are more than happy to play Hunter on both sides of the ball, they may be able to strike gold at two positions of major need.
3. New York Giants – Abdul Carter, EDGE, Penn State
The Giants find themselves in a spot where they have to take the best player available even with good pass rushers already on the roster. Carter is my number one player in the draft, and at three, you just can’t pass on him.
4. New England Patriots – Will Campbell, OL, LSU
I hate making this pick. I’ll tell you straight up, I want Ashton Jeanty. Unfortunately, it feels like too risky of a pick for the Patriots when they need so much help on the offensive line, so we land on Will Campbell.
5. Jacksonville Jaguars – Mason Graham, DL, Michigan
The Jaguars are starting a new era under head coach Liam Coen and they need to add as much defensive help as they can. By grabbing Graham to pair with Travon Walker and Josh Hines-Allen, they begin to build a solid defensive front.
6. Las Vegas Raiders – Armand Membou, OT, Missouri
If the Raiders hope to have any success with veteran quarterback Geno Smith under center, they need to protect him. And with Kolton Miller unhappy with his current contract, Membou feels like the right direction for new head coach Pete Carroll.
7. New York Jets – Tyler Warren, TE, Penn State
The Jets are not happy about missing out on Membou, so they pivot to give new quarterback Justin Fields more options than just Garrett Wilson, and Tyler Warren is a do-it-all type of player.
8. Carolina Panthers – Jalon Walker, EDGE, Georgia
The Panthers need pass rush help, and Jalon Walker is the best pass rusher in the draft after Abdul Carter.
9. New Orleans Saints – Shedeur Sanders, QB, Colorado
Son of Primetime, meet the Big Easy. Following the injury to Derek Carr, it has become a necessity to add a promising young quarterback to the roster, because no one wants to watch Spencer Rattler and Jake Haener again.
10. Chicago Bears – Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State
Ben Johnson dreams of adding a running back like Jeanty into this offense, and that dream has now become a reality.
11. San Francisco 49ers – Kelvin Banks, OL, Texas
The 49ers need to lock down a front line for Brock Purdy and Christian McCaffrey to have success in what will certainly be a new look 49ers team.
12. Dallas Cowboys – Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Arizona
Jerry Jones will not pass up the chance to pair the best receiver in this draft with CeeDee Lamb, and with Dak Prescott coming back from injury, watch out for the surefire explosion of the Dallas offense.
13. Miami Dolphins – Will Johnson, CB, Michigan
Miami needs help at a few different positions but with Jalen Ramsey likely getting traded, Will Johnson is the best player for the Dolphins.
14. Indianapolis Colts – Malaki Starks, S, Georgia
Everyone seems to think the Colts will go offense in this draft, but they really need to worry about their secondary and helping out a front seven that was good last season.
15. Atlanta Falcons – Mike Green, EDGE, Marshall
The Falcons’ pass rush was horrendous last season and nearly nonexistent. They desperately need help and Mike Green could be a huge difference maker for them off the edge.
16. Arizona Cardinals – Mykel Williams, EDGE, Georgia
The Cardinals need to focus on defense in this draft and getting a pass rusher is the first step to figuring things out.
17. Cincinnati Bengals – Kenneth Grant, DL, Michigan
The Bengals just paid $69 million for Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase. Anything but defense in the first round would be negligence.
18. Seattle Seahawks – Grey Zabel, IOL, North Dakota State
Hopefully the Seahawks saw how effective Darnold was when he was protected in Minnesota and they try to replicate that protection by beefing up the interior offensive line.
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Jihaad Campbell, LB, Alabama
Head coach Todd Bowles is known for his defense, and he will want to beef it up even more with an explosive player like Jihaad Campbell.
20. Denver Broncos – Omarion Hampton, RB, UNC
Ashton Jeanty is the dream, but Omarion Hampton is a great consolation prize. Sean Payton wants to help his young(ish) quarterback Bo Nix as much as he can, and establishing a strong rushing attack will be the best way to do that.
21. Pittsburgh Steelers – Jalen Milroe, QB, Alabama
The biggest shock of the draft. Milroe was invited to the NFL Draft in Green Bay so SOMEBODY has to want him… right? The best fit I can find is the Steelers, who only have Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson on their roster.
22. Los Angeles Chargers – Matthew Golden, WR, Texas
I am aware this isn’t Colston Loveland, but the Chargers need overall team speed and Ladd McConkey needs somebody else on the offense to help him out. Time for Jim Harbaugh to grab the 4.29 40-yard dasher in Matthew Golden.
23. Green Bay Packers – Jahdae Barron, CB, Texas
The Packers need a cornerback and Barron has fallen right into their laps. The hometown fans should love this pick.
24. Minnesota Vikings – Derrick Harmon, DL, Oregon
Minnesota’s offense is relatively loaded. So, let’s help defensive coordinator Brian Flores by giving him even more front options with a menace like Derrick Harmon.
25. Houston Texans – Josh Simmons, OT, Ohio State
The Texans currently have Trent Brown and Cam Robinson at tackle, which is fine, but if last season taught them anything, protecting CJ Stroud should be their number one priority.
26. Los Angeles Rams – Colston Loveland, TE, Michigan
I considered the chance that Sean McVay wants to grab a young quarterback here to learn behind Matthew Stafford, but ultimately, it feels like he would rather maximize Stafford’s time left by trying to add a replacement weapon to the Cooper Kupp hole in the offense.
WE HAVE A TRADE! The New York Giants trade the 34th overall pick (2nd round) and 99th overall pick (3rd round) to the Baltimore Ravens for the 27th overall pick (1st round).
27. New York Giants (TRADE) – Jaxson Dart, QB, Ole Miss
The Giants may not have gotten Cam Ward, but they’ve now got the best player in the draft in Abdul Carter and a quarterback they hope can be the future of their organization.
28. Detroit Lions – Shemar Stewart, EDGE, Texas A&M
After the injury to Aidan Hutchinson last season, the Lions defense struggled to sack the quarterback, so the best course of action is to draft the biggest athletic freak from the combine in Stewart.
29. Washington Commanders – TreVeyon Henderson, RB, Ohio State
Jayden Daniels was amazing in his rookie season. Now, let’s help him stay amazing by taking some of the rushing off his plate with a big play machine in TreVeyon Henderson.
30. Buffalo Bills – Walter Nolen, DL, Ole Miss
The Bills added Joey Bosa to their pass rush, but they also want to be able to create pressure in the interior, and Walter Nolen hopes to do just that.
31. Kansas City Chiefs – Tyler Booker, IOL, Alabama
The Chiefs got dominated by the Eagles pass rush in the Super Bowl, so drafting anything but offensive line seems like a mistake.
32. Philadelphia Eagles – Donovan Ezeiruaku, EDGE, Boston College
The Eagles are not going to stop adding effective pass rushers to their roster, especially after it helped them bring home a Lombardi Trophy.
