[albionmoonlight]

PFF Mock:

CJ Stroud was still on the board at 1.6. It did not strike me as unrealistic that one of the big four would be there, so I let it go. Stroud is currently my favorite, so I had a real decision about whether to just take him or not. I decided to trade with Atlanta at 8 and got the 44th overall pick in exchange. Atlanta then took the QB, and DL Carter went next--who I wasn't touching this high, so I got the 44th overall pick and didn't lose any value.

1.8--Christian Gonzalez, CB Oregon (signing Gardner Johnson for one year does not make a big young outside corner less of a need)

1.18--Bijan Robinson, RB Texas (greed pick on my part. PFF gave it a D.)

2.44--Jack Campbell, LB Iowa (Resigning Anzalone does not change my vision of Campbell and Rodriguez as a great young LB core)

2.48 Felix Anudike-Uzomah, Edge Kansas State (great value here)

2.55 Sam LaPorta, TE Iowa (athletic and productive. Hope to develop into a good #3 option at some point)

Side note--having 2 firsts and 3 seconds makes mock drafting fun

3.81--Nathaniel Dell, WR Houston (another greed pick. Guys like this (undersized weapons) tend not to work out in the NFL. But when they hit, they are a lot of fun).

5.152--Aidian O'Connell, QB Purdue. (We will see if passing up on CJ Stroud was a franchise destroying decision or not. But until then, it makes sense to take a dart throw at a guy to develop.)

6-183--Brodric Martin, DL Western Kentucky. (Guy has all of the physical tools you want. Just needs to be coached up. I love him as a late round guy. At a minimum, he's 330+, so even if he never develops like I expect, he can still give you run-stuffer snaps on early downs).

6-194--Hunter Luepke, FB North Dakota State (I know nothing about him. I just wanted to give Dan Campbell an honest to goodness fullback. PFF gives this an F).

I really like this draft overall. But, as noted, if trading down to avoid picking Stroud becomes a Bowie over Jordan moment, then this whole draft is a disaster in hindsight.