Frey-Sam NFL Mock Draft 1.0 (post-combine)

By: Josh Frey-Sam

It’s mock draft season inside the Janitor’s Closet — one of my favourite times of year.

With the NFL Scouting Combine now in the rearview mirror, big boards are taking shape, and I couldn’t think of a better time to drop my first mock of the year.

I usually do three or four mocks per year, so if you're interested, keep your eyes peeled for more iterations of this.

If you’ve followed the draft process at all this year, you’ve probably heard that this crop isn’t as top-heavy as past years. While that may be true, where it lacks in star players, it makes up for with excellent depth.

You’re going to see starter-level players drafted late Day 2 and early Day 3, especially in the trenches and at running back.

There’s a lot to love in this class, even if it’s not loaded with sure-fire franchise cornerstones. And, as always, we’re sure to be surprised by a couple of players who end up being those franchise-changing talents.

What’s interesting about this draft — and any draft, really — is how teams will tier some of these players, especially once we move beyond the top five.

With so many of these guys being labelled as “starters” and not “stars,” which teams will look to strike as the night progresses to potentially take advantage of an undervalued player?

The other thing that plays into this is the position. I mentioned how deep this class is at running back. Does a needy team pass on Ashton Jeanty and look to grab another talented RB on Day 2 instead? What about WR Tet McMillian? He’s a consensus top-15 pick but would you take him in the first round or see if a Jayden Higgins slides to Day 2?

These are the questions decision makers must evaluate and will influence if we see a couple of surprising slides.

I’ll explain my picks below, but here is the mock:

Position breakdown: 3 QBs, 2 RBs, 4 WRs, 2 TEs, 4 Ts, 1 IOL, 3 IDL, 6 EDGE, 2 LBs, 4 CBs, 1 S

I only went with one trade, though I believe we could see a few on draft night.

The trade would look something along these lines: TEN 1st overall for CLE 2nd overall + CLE 33rd overall

I think I’m beginning to push for Aaron Rodgers — and Davante Adams — to join the Titans. I can explain that more in a later newsletter, but, in short, I think this roster is closer to competing than people think.

With Rodgers and Adams in the picture, the Titans could trade out of #1, draft Abdul Carter, a position of great need on this team, and draft two more Day One starters in the 2nd round— or maybe even trade back into the 1st.

At this time, I believe the Giants want a veteran QB. Maybe Sam Darnold can save this coaching staff and front office’s jobs, idk, but I don’t think they want to wait for Shedeur or Cam to develop. Acquire a difference-maker in Travis Hunter.

A couple of other notable picks:

Jaxson Dart No. 9 — Derek Carr’s time in NOLA is limited. Dart has risen this offseason, he could be the Bo Nix of this year’s class and surprise people on draft night.

Ashton Jeanty No. 10 — I believe the Bears will do some great work in free agency to build up that offensive line. Something in the trenches also makes sense here, but let’s not forget how important Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery were to Ben Johnson.

Tet McMillan No. 19 — As I alluded to, don’t be surprised if you see a slide like this. Tet is talented, but teams could wait to acquire a receiver. The Bucs jump on the value pick here after losing Chris Godwin to free agency.

Jayden Higgins No. 31 — I almost feel like this is too low for Higgins. Most people will mock him as a Day 2 pick. I think that by the time we reach draft night, teams will be too enthralled with his combination of size and athleticism. He’s a freaky athlete, and I won’t be shocked if a team in the early to mid 20s jumps on him.

We’ve been slow at releasing newsletters, but we’ve got tons coming down the pipeline. We’ll have MLB futures bets and more NFL offseason content coming soon.

If you’re interested, we launched a podcast not too long ago called The Janitor’s Closet Podcast where we shoot the sh*t about the latest in sports. It’s not as betting-focused, but we still talk about gambling.

Here’s our latest episode.