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2020 NFL Mock Draft: Raiders strike gold with A.J. Epenesa, Giants nab Chase Young

By Cody Williams

AMES, IA - SEPTEMBER 14: Defensive end A.J. Epenesa #94, and defensive lineman Austin Schulte #74 of the Iowa Hawkeyes tackle quarterback Brock Purdy #15 of the Iowa State Cyclones as he scrambled for yards in the first half of play at Jack Trice Stadium on September 14, 2019 in Ames, Iowa. (Photo by David Purdy/Getty Images)
AMES, IA - SEPTEMBER 14: Defensive end A.J. Epenesa #94, and defensive lineman Austin Schulte #74 of the Iowa Hawkeyes tackle quarterback Brock Purdy #15 of the Iowa State Cyclones as he scrambled for yards in the first half of play at Jack Trice Stadium on September 14, 2019 in Ames, Iowa. (Photo by David Purdy/Getty Images) /
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The Raiders strike defensive gold with A.J. Epenesa and again later while the Giants get a stud in Chase Young in this 2020 NFL Mock Draft at Week 3.

The Miami Dolphins were already the talk of every 2020 NFL Mock Draft prior to the buildup to Week 3. So they only made that more so the case when the traded Minkah Fitzpatrick to the Pittsburgh Steelers. That now gives Chris Grier and the Dolphins three first-round picks int he 2020 NFL Draft.

Interestingly enough, the Steelers-Dolphins trade transpired after news broke that Pittsburgh would be without Ben Roethlisberger for the remainder of the 2019 NFL season. That likely means that Miami will be getting another highly valuable draft pick to go with the one they’ll earn by almost surely being the worst team in the league.

While things in South Beach are dominating NFL Draft headlines and are the focus of many an NFL Mock Draft, they aren’t the only team in need of rebuilding. When you look at teams like the Oakland Raiders and New York Giants, it’s clear that they have a long way to go before they’re truly competing.

In the case of the Raiders, they selected Clelin Ferrell in the 2019 NFL Draft along with Josh Jacobs and Johnathan Abram. And yet, they still need work on their defense to be a consistent team.

Similarly, the Giants are now starting the Daniel Jones era, benching Eli Manning for Week 3. They now have a quarterback-running back combo for the future (or so they hope) but they are depleted of talent elsewhere throughout the roster.

Luckily for Big Blue, they’ll have a high pick in the 2020 NFL Draft given that they’re 0-2 and not looking great moving forward. As for the Raiders, not only will they have a high pick of their own but they also get the Bears pick by way of the Khalil Mack trade, which is looking like it could be more valuable than expected.

Taking all this into account, the draft is going to be huge for teams like the Dolphins, Raiders, Giants and many more in terms of taking the next step forward. So let’s see what those next steps could look like with a new 2020 NFL Mock Draft as we enter Week 3 of the regular season.

Note: The draft order was determined by our NFL Power Rankings for Week 3. 

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