2020 Round-1 mock draft 2.0, Cleveland Browns land franchise player
By Greg Newland
TRADE – Miami Dolphins from New England Patriots
The Miami Dolphins will have landed their franchise quarterback at pick no. 5 in Tua Tagovailoa, and now will have been able to flip the single first-round draft pick from Minka Fitzpatrick into multiple early-round picks after swapping places with the Patriots. The top four tackles are off the board and have been for a while, but now the run on second-tier guys will begin.
Isaiah Wilson from Georgia, Austin Jackson for USC, and Ezra Cleveland from Boise State will all be in play at tackle for the Dolphins, but after a strong senior bowl look for them to lean towards Josh Jones from Houston. In many drafts, Jones could have been a top tackle prospect, but at the position will push him back this year.
Jones is a step below the top four tackles but after a strong senior season, Jones proved his tremendous upside after performing well at the Senior Bowl. After a strong offseason, the Dolphins look to walk away from this draft with a starting tackle and quarterback for 2020 and look to make some noise in the AFC East after the departure of Brady from the conference.
Some predict the New Orleans Saints may finally be looking for what’s next after the Drew Brees era comes to an end. Brees is back on a two-year deal, but the Saints know the end is near as reports have already come out NBC has inked Brees to replace Cris Collinsworth on Sunday Night Football. With that, still, look for the Saints to stay in “win now” mode and take the best available linebacker at pick 24. With such a talented roster the Saints will likely lure a free agent to take over at QB when needed.
Patrick Queen from LSU may be the highest graded linebacker in the draft but does lack some of the explosive plays produced by Kenneth Murray. Queen has a high football IQ, which paired with supreme athleticism and block shedding abilities will allow him to be a three-down linebacker from week one for the Saints.
The Minnesota Vikings have a few holes to fill in this year’s draft with three veterans in Everson Griffen, Xavier Rhodes, and Stefon Diggs all off the team. However, the piece lacking the most the last few years is the offensive line. Scheme has helped, but with new offensive coordinator look for the Vikings to finally upgrade at offensive tackle.
Ezra Cleveland the tackle from Boise State would be a great fit in Minnesota with his great lateral quickness. Riley Reiff has been mediocre at left tackle but could be well equipped to perform better at guard.