Rivals national columnist Mike Farrell is here with an NFL Draft version of Three-Point Stance. He addresses some players who could turn out to be great second-round values, dreams up five monster trades he'd love to see and five teams that are most likely to screw things up during this year's draft.
*****
MORE NFL DRAFT: Farrell's Mock Draft
CLASS OF 2022 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
CLASS OF 2023 RANKINGS: Rivals100
RIVALS TRANSFER TRACKER: Stories/coverage | Message board
RIVALS CAMP SERIES: Info/coverage on 2021 camp series
*****
1. SECOND-ROUND VALUES
Second-round values are extremely important and often overlooked in the NFL Draft. Need proof? Drew Brees, Rob Gronkowski, Thurman Thomas, Brett Favre, Larry Allen, Brian Dawkins, Isaac Bruce, Michael Strahan, Mike Singletary, Howie Long are all great examples. There could be a future Hall of Famer or two in this draft in round two as well. Here are my best values:
DE Ronnie Perkins, Oklahoma - Perkins is a high-motor guy who is scheme-versatile and a great value for a team that wants a potential depth guy who will emerge as a long-term starter.
*****
LB Nicholas Bolton, Missouri - Bolton is a downhill linebacker and has a ton of heart and will be a team leader for someone.
*****
WR Terrace Marshall, LSU - Marshall is a big body who has a great catch radius and will make quarterbacks look good at times.
*****
TE Pat Freiermuth, Penn State - Freiermuth is a great value in the second round as a big tight end who can also block.
*****
WR Elijah Moore, Ole Miss - Moore is an elite and elusive slot who is great after the catch.
*****
WR Tylan Wallace, Oklahoma State - Wallace is sneaky strong for his size and very smooth and has the potential to be an outside or inside guy.
*****
DE Carlos Basham Jr., Wake Forest - Basham isn't as sexy as some of the edge rushers in the draft, but he's good against the run and he can hurry the passer consistently.
*****
LB Jamin Davis, Kentucky - Davis is one of the sleepers of the draft with his quick-twitch ability, ball skills and ability in coverage.
*****
2. LET'S MAKE A DEAL - INTERESTING TRADES
Let’s play trade. It’s a game where I make up deals between NFL teams for the draft and how they would impact the league for years to come. Kinda like that little trade up the Kansas City Chiefs did for Patrick Mahomes. Here are five monster ones I’d love to see.
Patriots trade up to No. 4 with Falcons: Wouldn’t it be fun to see Bill Belichick trade up and land Justin Fields as the Falcons slide down to 15 to address the defense and add a second-rounder? This would change the AFC once again and perhaps bring the Pats back to life.
*****
LA Chargers trade up to No. 6 with Dolphins: The Chargers wait until they see what Cincinnati does and if the Bengals take a WR or Kyle Pitts they jump in here and steal OT Penei Sewell as the Dolphins add more draft capital and still land an offensive weapon at 13. The Chargers continue to build one of the best young rosters in football.
*****
Eagles trade up to No. 7 with Lions: The Eagles really need a wide receiver and in my scenario either Ja’Marr Chase or Pitts would be available and the Lions could use the draft capital and still land defensive help at No. 12. The Eagles give Jalen Hurts an actual weapon which is his only shot at being successful there.
*****
Vikings trade up to No. 8 with Panthers: Why would the Vikings trade up and the Panthers trade back? The Panthers want a corner first and foremost and the Vikings are interested in Rashawn Slater now that the Chargers have moved up to steal Sewell. They know Sewell won’t be around at No. 14 and Carolina can get an extra pick or two and still land Jaycee Horn or Caleb Farley or Greg Newsome. The Vikings now have an elite tackle and a road grader who can open up the offense especially for Dalvin Cook.
*****
Washington trades up to 14 with Panthers: From 19 to 14 isn’t a big deal, but the Redskins see Mac Jones sliding and they panic a bit and push up before someone else does to grab him at 14. Meanwhile, the Panthers add more picks and still get a solid corner at 19. Washington gets a quarterback to go with that elite defense and that could be the missing piece.
*****
3. TEAMS THAT WILL SCREW IT UP
And finally, we all know some teams will screw up the first round. Here are my likely candidates.
NY Jets: The Jets have two first-round picks and are already set on QB Zach Wilson, which is a risk already at No. 2. They should add some offensive line help like a center or another tackle to go with Mekhi Becton, but watch them reach at wide receiver or something crazy.
*****
Dallas Cowboys: The Cowboys need defense, so what will Jerry Jones do? Probably take a wide receiver or take a risky rush edge. If Patrick Surtain is there, take him. If he’s not, take Jaycee Horn. Watch them do neither.
*****
NY Giants: G.M. Dave Gettleman isn’t a genius and Daniel Jones could be a bust and last year they reached on OL3 in my book in taking Andrew Thomas. At No. 11 Gettleman should trade back, as edge rusher and wide receiver are two needs and the top edge group isn’t great and wide receiver is deep. But he won’t. And he’ll likely make the wrong pick.
*****
Tennessee Titans: The Titans are a solid football team, but last year Isaiah Wilson was the worst pick in years, and Marcus Mariota and Corey Evans weren’t great picks, either. They need defensive help and Azeez Ojulari could be sitting there, but watch them pass him up for a risky linebacker.
*****
Arizona Cardinals: The Cardinals aren’t good at this draft thing. The jury is still out on Isaiah Simmons, but Kyler Murray replacing another first-round quarterback in Josh Rosen was weird, and they took Robert Nkemdiche one year, if you remember. They pick No. 16 and you know they’ll blow it.
