5. Cleveland Browns - Mason Graham, DT, Michigan
The Cleveland Browns have an aging roster and need a little bit of everything if you ask me. This team made a huge gamble when they kicked Baker Mayfield to the curb and decided that Deshaun Watson was the QB for them. Well, that trade is turning out to be the worst transaction in the history of sports. It's been a total disaster for the Browns, but they did manage to make the playoffs last year.
Watson began the year as QB1 and tore his Achilles a while back. That put Jameis Winston into the lineup, and the Browns were frisky for a bit, but with no obvious QB fit with the fifth overall pick in this NFL mock draft, the Browns go for the next-best thing and bolster the trenches.
In the NFL, the QB and the trenches have to be good for a team to be a consistent winner. Mason Graham may be the best defensive prospect in this coming class, and he can be a foundational piece for this team for years to come. It may not be the sexy pick, but it's the right one. A bigger question to ask here is whether or not GM Andrew Berry will be back in his same role with the Browns in 2025.
Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski may have one more crack at it.
6. New England Patriots (via LV) - Will Johnson, CB, Michigan
Moving down four slots, the New England Patriots take Will Johnson, the top CB in the country from Michigan. Maybe not the best position to target here for the Patriots, they bolster their secondary. I would like to think that this franchise sees just how special Drake Maye is and invests around him next offseason.
This team needs a handful of new starters at OL and WR. They have to totally redo their offensive line and make multiple free agency splashes. They should also look to come away with one of Tee Higgins or Chris Godwin. Heck, why not both? The Pats' offense is horrifically untalented and will need some serious house-cleaning in 2025.
Can de-facto GM Eliot Wolf make it happen? If he can, it does give him some flexibility in the 2025 NFL Draft, which is why they went with Will Johnson here.