9. New Orleans Saints: Tyler Warren, TE, Penn State
As tempting as it may be for the Saints to take a quarterback here given Derek Carr’s injury status, but I don’t know if they need to take the risk at this juncture here. The Saints are one of a handful of teams being rumored to love Tyler Shough, so maybe we watch out for that later. For the time being, the Saints upgrade their offense anyway and get one of the biggest difference makers in Tyler Warren, who can pair up with Juwan Johnson and give this team a unique weapon with tremendous versatility.
10. Chicago Bears: Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State
At one point, Chicago Bears fans were getting sick of the idea of Ashton Jeanty landing in this spot. They were getting mock draft fatigue. Another mock draft with Jeanty to the Bears, smh…
Now, the Bears would be wildly lucky to be in this position. Jeanty is arguably the best player in this draft and would instantly be the favorite to win NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year if he slips all the way to Chicago’s pick. For whatever it’s worth, Jeanty himself said he felt his pick range was 6th to the Raiders down to 12th with the Cowboys, so maybe this isn’t out of the realm of possibility…
11. San Francisco 49ers: Mason Graham, DL, Michigan
The San Francisco 49ers won’t have to think too much about this one. As much as Kyle Shanahan might be tempted to take a fellow former Longhorn here (and many of them would make sense), the Niners just need to add potential building blocks to a defense that has been absolutely gutted in recent years. Mason Graham may not have ideal arm length, but he’s going to cause havoc in Robert Saleh’s defense and help open things up for the other pass rushers around him.
12. Dallas Cowboys: Matthew Golden, WR, Texas
I think the Cowboys are going to be motivated in this draft to upgrade the talent around quarterback Dak Prescott, and adding a player like Matthew Golden kills two birds with one stone. They not only upgrade the weapons for Prescott, but they also make life a lot easier on CeeDee Lamb, because Golden is a receiver who will actually command a good bit of attention. At Texas, Golden was frequently used out of the slot and could be Brian Schottenheimer’s version of Tyler Lockett in Dallas, a player who really emerged in Schottenheimer’s offense once upon a time in Seattle.