Ty's 2020 Not Mock NFL Draft

Seeing as how they are doing a NFL draft tomorrow, via the internet, and it is still blowing my mind that they are doing it this way and not just waiting a month or so, I do want to do my style of a draft guide. I don't like doing a pick by pick thing. Last year I picked 10 players I thought were going to be very good and 5 busts. This year I want to go position by position, putting interior offensive and defensive line as a whole group, as in, I won't go nose guard, tackle, defensive end, or guard, tackle center, I will pick players for the whole interior. I will pick one player I think will hit, and explain, one that will bust, and explain, and a mild to deep sleeper. This seems like a fun way to approach this very odd, very complex draft.

Real quick though, even though I think there will be tons and tons of mess ups, I am stoked that there is going to be a draft. It gives us sports people a fix. And, I will get to the Gronk trade tomorrow. Believe me I have a ton to say about that whole thing. Lets get to the draft now.

Quarterback

I'm going to start where every NFL team starts, and that is with the QB position. I'm not as sold on this class as other writers and people on TV, but I do still have some thoughts. As for my prospect that will, or should hit, I have Joe Burrow, just like everyone else. You don't have a season like he did and then just flame out. He is agile, has arm strength and is wildly accurate. The only downside I see from him is the Bengals. They will need to find a way to protect him. Even still, he will be a solid rookie, and I think he will have, at the very least, a solid NFL career.

As for the bust, I have already written about him, but I just don't trust Tua. The injury scares the hell out of me. The kid is an incredible talent, but that injury ended Bo Jackson's career. And no one has seen him go through a real workout. I hope I am wrong because I like him, but I am just so scared of that injury.

As for my sleeper, I am going with Jalen Hurts. He is the new era QB. He already had the mobility, and last year at Oklahoma proved he can throw. He is going to be, at the very least, a weapon for whatever team takes him in the third or fourth round. He is also a good dude with a great attitude.

Running Back

So running backs are a dying breed, but there are still a few in this draft that could work as later round picks. I wouldn't take one in the first round, but late round two or early third, I would jump at some of these guys. My prospect that will hit is Johnathan Taylor. He is big, fast, durable and destroyed great defenses in college. He is on a long list of Wisconsin running backs that tore up college, but I feel like he will be the first to really, truly succeed.

My bust is Cam Akers. I loved this kid his freshman year at FSU, but it was all downhill from there. He never really got better over the next 2 years. He is also small, fumbles a bit and can easily get hurt. I had high hopes in college, and those weren't met. I don't think he will translate well to the NFL.

My sleeper, and it's not that deep, is JK Dobbins. This kid destroyed the Big Ten for two years, he put up similarly huge numbers like Taylor and he is a ball of strength. He is a bigger, stronger Doug Martin, except he will be better.

Wide Receiver

Shifting to receiver, this class is absolutely loaded. It is as deep as any group in a very, very long time. I had a good amount of trouble finding guys to pick for my prospect that will hit. I finally settled on Jerry Jeudy, but honestly, I could've picked any Alabama receiver. But Jeudy looks to be the biggest, second fastest, runs the best routes and has tremendous hands. I am hoping he falls to Green Bay, but I don't think he lasts outside of the top 10. He has a good mixture of Amari Cooper and Julio Jones. Jeudy is great.

As for my bust, and this hurts so much for me personally, I have Donovan Peoples-Jones. I rooted so hard for this kid for three years, and had such high hopes. He had tons of moments at Michigan, but he was more injured than not. He also was nowhere to be found in big games. He also drops the ball at a Braylon Edwards rate, especially when going over the middle. I hope he proves me wrong, really hope, but he just tailed off too much last season at Michigan.

As for my sleeper, I'm going with Jalen Reagor from TCU. This may not be a sleeper to you, but he played in a run option offense, yet put up stellar numbers. This is a guy that could actually land in Green Bay, and while he isn't Jerry Jeudy, he will do just fine.

Tight End

At tight end, and this is not the same level as wideout, I just don't really know. As for my top prospect, I guess I will go with Hunter Bryant from Washington. He is a big target with good hands and can block some. He will be fine.

For my bust, again I have no idea, I will go with Cole Kmet from Notre Dame because other people seem to love him, and since I am a Michigan fan, I am just going full on hater here.

My sleeper is Thaddeus Moss. He was so crucial in LSU's explosive offense, he is big and he will score TD after TD. Moss isn't his dad, but he will be a solid pro.

Offensive Line

As for the interior O line, my top prospect is Tristan Wirfs frim Iowa. He is huge, he is a roadblock and he can be a cornerstone for 10 plus years. O lineman are boring picks, but also the safest, and Wirfs is top of the list this year.

As for my bust, and again this is hard because O line is so easy to hit, I am going with Meckhi Becton from Louisville. I know people love him, but Louisville was so average, and he played in a very heavy read option offense. I don't see what others do in him.

My sleeper, and I am fanning out here, is Caesar Ruiz. He was the captain of the Michigan O line, he was the most important guy and he was the most improved on a very improved O line last season. I was sad to see him leave early, but I get it. He is going to be a day one starter in the NFL and he will be around for a very long time. He is a prototype modern offensive lineman.

Now lets shift to defense. I fully believe the cliche that defense wins titles, and there are some solid defensive players to load your team around in this draft.

Safety

At safety my prospect that will hit is Grant Delpit from LSU. He reminds me so much of Jamal Adams, except with better ball skills. Adams is a better hitter, but he is also on an awful team, so I don't think he is as respected as he should be. I think Delpit can end up in San Francisco, or Chicago, somewhere with a solid defense, and he will have a similar type career, but be more highly regarded.

As for the bust of this class I have Antoine Winfield Jr. Yes he has tremendous ball skills, he got a ton of interceptions and was the key to Minnesota's defense, but I just don't see it from him. The interceptions means college teams weren't afraid to throw to his side, and he did get beat some too. He has the name recognition, but I'm not sold.

As for my sleeper, I'm going division 1-AA here, and going with Jeremy Chinn from Southern Illinois. I hadn't heard of him until recently, but I saw some of his highlights, and this kid is good. He is going to be a solid special teams guy at the start, and he will be a starter sooner rather than later. He is also very big for a safety as well.

Corner

Switching to corner, how can you not have Jeffrey Okudah as the top guy. He is so arrogant and cocky and seems like a real asshole, but the kid can play. He is as shutdown as they come right now. I have to say, seeing him get torched by Trevor Lawrence was hilarious to me, but that was an outlier. He is really good, and if Detroit passes on him, it will be another in a long line of mistakes for them. I loathe that I have so many University of Ohio State players as top prospects, but they had a loaded team last year.

My bust corner is Kristian Fulton from LSU. Outside Delpit, the LSU defense got torched at times. Also, without Delpit, Fulton wouldn't be as highly regarded. Fulton was helped so very much by being on the same team as a legit top 5 potential pick. He was part of a secondary that let Ole Miss gain a million yards on them.

My sleeper at corner is Jaylon Johnson from Utah. He is 6 feet tall, almost 200 pounds and has some speed. He will be a solid slot corner that turns into a lock down corner within a year or two. Corners that big don't come around often, and I would jump at a chance to take him in the second or third round if he is still available.

Linebacker

Moving on to linebacker, Isiah Simmons is without question the best linebacker, and for me, the best player in the draft. He can do it all. I could have put him at safety or corner too, and he would be number one. He is so good, can do it all and will change the fortunes of whatever team takes him very early on in the draft. Simmons is dream modern prospect on defense.

My bust is Kenneth Murray from Oklahoma. I think he looks like a traditional linebacker, and he can hit, but I just cannot shake how much LSU exposed him in the playoff. They attacked him in the air and on the ground. I have images of him heaving and laying on the ground to try and get off the field. He got dusted by a team filled with NFL talent. I think he will just be okay, not team altering.

My sleeper at linebacker is Troy Dye from Oregon. He is fast, used to playing spread teams and can cover and hit. He will be a solid team dude as well. I could see him being a quieter version of Luke Kuechly. I think he has that in him.

Defensive Line

Chase Young is the guy. He is the best D line prospect since Jadaveon Clowney, and he may be better. To me he is a bigger and stronger Julius Peppers. Young wrecked backfields all year, and I think he will do the same in the NFL. If Washington doesn't take him I would be absolutely stunned.

My bust is Javon Kinlaw. I know he is big and strong, but leaving the Senior Bowl and not doing the combine left a bad taste. I know his spot is secure, but he isn't a QB or skill player, guys who normally do that. I wanted to see his times and other stuff, but he decided not to compete claiming he was injured. I don't know about all that.

My sleeper is Josh Uche. Again, fan boy here, but this kid was great, and he became a sack machine for Michigan over the past two years. He is quick, has good hands and can move. He was constantly in the backfield the past two years. I will forever be thankful to my dad for pointing him out to me early two years ago when we were at a game. He has been a joy to watch, and I think he will be a great NFL pass rusher.

So there you have it, my version of a pre draft ranking of some players. I do want to say, I hope all the kids I considered "busts" prove me wrong. I don't like to judge children that are so much more talented than I have ever been. I want them to all have success. That being said, this draft will be odd, but I stoked it is coming, and I am interested to see how wild this thing gets because I think, especially in the later rounds, it is going to be real wild. We will find out starting tomorrow. Oh, and one last thing, I hope the Bengals do the right thing and take Burrow number one because I don't want to hear RD yell at me about it for years, and this is the most perfect situation that franchise could ever fall in to. They better not screw it up for a ton of people's sake. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.