Again, depending on who you ask, some have Utah’s Jaylon Johnson as the third or fourth corner on their big board. In my draft, I have him as the fifth cornerback selected, and the reason he didn’t go higher is due to injury concerns.
Johnson is highly talented, but has been plagued by shoulder issues, including multiple surgeries for torn labrum’s while at Utah. He had a productive career with 28 pass breakups and seven interceptions in 39 games, and in Tennessee, he fills the void left by free agent Logan Ryan, who was a leader in the secondary after coming over from New England.
Sensing the end is near it’s time for the Green Bay Packers front office to get Aaron Rodgers some more help on offense, the Pack grab a dynamic weapon here at No. 30 overall. After Davante Adams, the Packers second and third leading pass catchers were running backs Aaron Jones (49) and Jamal Williams (39). That is unacceptable with a quarterback as talented as Rodgers.
In most years, Brandon Aiyuk would be ranked in the top-three among receivers, and even in this loaded class, he cracks the top five. Aiyuk is an explosive athlete, and outside of CeeDee Lamb, might be the best run after catch receiver coming out.
Veteran cornerback Richard Sherman is still playing at a high level, but age is not on his side, and the San Francisco 49ers have to plan for life after he retires. Jeff Gladney may not have the desirable size, but he has the mentality of a junkyard dog. At TCU, he was asked to play a lot of press man and he he did not disappoint.
As a four-year player his production can’t be ignored. In 42 starts he recorded 43 pass breakups and five interceptions. His style of play will fit right in with defensive coordinators Robert Saleh’s scheme, and for a team that went to the Super Bowl last season, they get better in a big way with their two first round picks in this mock.
The defending Super Bowl champs were plagued at times during last season by a porous defense. Luckily for them, they were able to string together a strong second half that helped them on their way to a Super Bowl title. In 2020, they will look to defend that title, but still have holes on defense.
Cornerback and linebacker are big needs, and with the way the board shook out, LSU’s Patrick Queen is my best player available that just so happens to fill a need for the Chiefs. Queen was instrumental in LSU’s title run, and while he only made 16 starts in 41 games, he is only now scratching the surface of what should be a long and productive career in the NFL.