17. Cincinnati Bengals: Malaki Starks, S, Georgia
The Bengals had one of the worst defenses in the NFL this past season and they brought in old friend Al Golden to come and try to fix it up. Golden is not inheriting a terrible unit in terms of the personnel the Bengals have, and you could really look at any area of this defense as upgradeable going into the offseason. Malaki Starks is arguably the best player on the board here overall.
18. Seattle Seahawks: Jalen Milroe, QB, Alabama
Let’s get weird here. The Seattle Seahawks might just have one more year of Geno Smith with the team and they need to start planning for the future. Having a player like Jalen Milroe come in and learn from Smith for a season would be massive for his development, as we know Milroe already has all of the physical traits necessary to succeed at the NFL level. This might be one of the more ideal scenarios for the former Alabama QB to land in.
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Will Johnson, CB, Michigan
Based on some of our previous NFL Mock Draft projections, this would be an absolute floor for Will Johnson. There are not a ton of outstanding cornerback prospects in this draft class, but Johnson seems to have a high floor at the position. But does he have a high enough ceiling to go in the top 10 picks overall? There has been some question about that as of late. The Buccaneers likely wouldn’t complain about him in this slot.
20. Denver Broncos: Emeka Egbuka, WR, Ohio State
I don’t know if there are many better options for the Denver Broncos in the 1st round of this year’s draft class, realistically speaking, than Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka. Broncos head coach Sean Payton values bigger receivers who don’t mind doing the dirty work, and has Egbuka not been a model of that with the Ohio State program in recent years? He’s got the size, strong hands, and toughness to be an impact player immediately for this Denver team, which desperately needs weapons for Bo Nix.