Boy were we wrong.
Or were we?
The QB Club Mock Draft actually started strong. Fernando Mendoza went #1 overall. We had that one nailed.
After that… things got interesting.
The Jets took Bailey over Reese (and Tate).
The Cardinals bravely took a running back at #3.
Jeremiyah Love did not slide the way we predicted.
Ty Simpson went early.
Reuben Bain went late.
Jermod McCoy, who we had going 12th, didn’t go at all.
So the obvious question became:
Did we get anything right?
Actually, yes.
Mansoor Delane went to the Chiefs. They even traded up to make sure they got him.
Caleb Downs went 11th. We had him at 10.
Makai Lemon went 20th. We had him at 19. Then we all heard his interview and collectively thought, “Oh… that explains some things.”
Meanwhile, teams started moving everywhere.
The Texans traded up for Keylan Rutledge.
The Dolphins moved up for Chris Johnson.
The Jets jumped again for Omar Cooper.
The Titans climbed the board for Keldric Faulk.
Draft boards shifted fast.
And several players we projected in Round One are still waiting to hear their names called:
(12) Jermod McCoy — maybe his knee is worse than expected
(25) Denzel Boston — likely early Day Two
(26) Jacob Rodriguez — still makes sense for Buffalo, who traded out of Round One
(28) Kayden McDonald — the only undrafted attendee still on the board
(30) Colton Hood
(31) Zion Young
(32) D’Angelo Ponds
All strong candidates to go early on Day Two.
So what does this tell us?
First, mock drafts are fun. They are not destiny. Some people take them far more seriously than they should.
Second, the real answers come later.
After next season we start learning things like:
Is David Bailey better than Arvell Reese?
Do Reuben Bain’s “T-Rex arms” actually matter?
Did teams pass on the wrong players entirely?
Or maybe we end up watching the Rams lose the Super Bowl while Ty Simpson stands on the sideline as QB3 and Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry run wild behind their new guard Vega Ioane.
Right now, it is still a guessing game.
We may have been wrong about the mock. That doesn’t necessarily mean that we didn’t recommend the best picks overall.
But the only way to know whether we were really wrong is when the players take the field. 🏈