6. If Montez Sweat starts to slide tonight, and gets past the Commanders at 15 and the Panthers at 16, and the Seahawks at 21, who stops his fall? I’d pay attention to the Rams at the bottom of the first round, who’ve quietly done the homework on pass-rushers, as the assumption grown they’ll look for an interior lineman at 31. I’ve heard they’re O.K. with Sweat medically.
7. Duke’s
Daniel Jones remains as polarizing as they come. I had two execs call him in the best quarterback in the class today. I’ve had others say he is nothing more than a backup. But word is he’s in play for both the Commanders and the Giants. I wouldn’t rule out Josh Rosen for the Giants either, if he becomes available.
8. We’ve discussed the Falcons potentially coming up to No. 8 for a defensive player (Oliver, Christian Wilkins, Devin Bush), with Detroit happy to trade down. I’d keep an eye on 13 as another hot spot for a trade down – if two of the three top tackles (Jonah Williams, Andre Dillard, Jawaan Taylor) are gone, Miami could have action on the pick, with the Panthers, Vikings and Texans carrying needs at the position. If those teams can’t get in position to get one of the top tackles, Carolina could pivot to a pass-rusher (Sweat and Brian Burns have been linked to them), Minnesota to an interior lineman (they’ve been connected of late to NC State center Garrett Bradbury), and Houston could either look for an interior lineman as well, or trade down to get in better position to pluck from the next tier of tackles (Kaleb McGary, Tytus Howard, Greg Little).
9. We’ve mentioned Devin White repeatedly as a potential cultural fit for what new Raiders GM Mike Mayock wants. Here’s another one that other teams have their eyes on for Oakland: Clemson DE Clelin Ferrell. I actually talked to Mayock about this a couple of months ago, and he confirmed that finding the right people, as well as players, was important to him. “I think the second, more difficult piece of the puzzle is what makes a kid tick,” Mayock says. “What are you looking for in an Oakland Raider? And I think the teams that consistently win are most consistent in that philosophy. Pick a team. You look at the way the Ravens have drafted over the years with Ozzie [Newsome], or Kevin Colbert and the Pittsburgh Steelers. You look at that, you go, ‘O.K., those guys know what a Pittsburgh Steeler looks like and smells like. Doesn't matter who the head coach is, the type of kid is very similar.’ And from draft to draft to draft, they get their kind of kid. And I think that’s what [Gruden] and I are striving for. He’s probably a little bit more aggressive and I’m probably more conservative. And I think we’re going to end up somewhere in the middle.”
10. And I’ve linked Vanderbilt’s
Joejuan Williams to the Patriots for a while now. Two other names that came up today for them, as fits, maybe tonight, maybe on Day 2: South Carolina WR Deebo Samuel and Kansas State OL Dalton Risner.