5. Jacksonville Jaguars - Mason Graham, DT, Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars opt to beef-up the trenches by taking Mason Graham in this NFL mock draft. Graham is the best defensive prospect in the NFL Draft class if you ask me and can help the Jags re-tool their roster the right way. Jacksonville has a very talented roster, as GM Trent Baalke has not done a bad job at drafting during his Jags’ tenure.
The team needs to hire a new head coach and also needs to shore up their offensive line a bit better. The one thing you’d have to give Baalke credit for is that he is not afraid to spend in free agency, so he may try to shore up any weakness when FA opens in March.
6. Las Vegas Raiders - Travis Hunter, CB/WR, Colorado
The Las Vegas Raiders try their hand at Travis Hunter and his dual-threat NFL ability. I do truly believe that Hunter wants to play both cornerback and wide receiver at the NFL level, and the Raiders do have a need for both positions. This franchise is a disaster - they have again fired their GM and HC and will again reset.
Both Tom Telesco and Antonio Pierce got the boot after the 2024 NFL Season, and it seems like the Raiders want to bring in a new pair at HC and GM who can work together and who have a shared vision. That seemed to be the main reason why the veteran GM Telesco got the boot after having a very strong initial draft class.
Travis Hunter won the Heisman Trophy this season and could have a very productive NFL career.
7. New York Jets - Quinn Ewers, QB, Texas
The New York Jets make a bold move and draft Quinn Ewers at pick seven in this mock draft. Ewers seemed to be a slam-dunk first-round pick a few months ago, but that doesn’t seem to be the case now. The Jets make the move to get their guy and don’t risk anything with a trade down. This QB class is not projected to be all that deep, so some may see this as the Jets overdrafting the Texas QB.
However, with the future of Aaron Rodgers unknown, the Jets have to put in a long-term solution at QB, so they take a gamble on Ewers.
8. New England Patriots (via CAR) - Will Campbell, OT, LSU
The New England Patriots moved down in this mock draft and are still able to nab one of the best offensive linemen in this class. Will Campbell could be the Patriots' franchise left tackle, and this is a huge need for the franchise. Rookie QB Drake Maye was playing behind an awful offensive line in 2024, so de-facto GM Eliot Wolf and the new head coach (probably Mike Vrabel) have to get the OL fixed.
After that, they can work on bringing in some new weapons for Maye to use in the passing game.