Mel Kiper’s mock draft has been a staple of NFL draft coverage for decades
At this point, the NFL draft is a media industry on its own. A combination of two of the biggest sports in the world, college football and the NFL, draft coverage gets attention from fans on both sides and passion. The NFL draft is where hope lives for teams, especially those picking near the top.
Mel Kiper Jr. was the start of that industry for most people which makes his NFL mock draft the most interesting for fans. His first came out today and has the Cleveland Browns debating between QB Shedeur Sanders and CB/WR Travis Hunter.
The DBN staff had a similar debate about the second overall pick with more than two options thrown out.
In Kiper’s mock draft 1.0 on ESPN (Insider, $), the Browns choice might not be a popular one:
Travis Hunter, WR/CB, Colorado
Kiper provided some insight into why he thinks Hunter could be the pick when a quarterback is such an obvious need.
… so taking Sanders isn’t out of the question. But I think Cleveland is more likely to address another hole here and find QB reinforcements in free agency and/or later in the draft. (Trading back for more picks with another QB-needy team could be part of the equation, too.)
Plus, Hunter is just that good. I see elite quickness and ball skills on both sides of the ball, traits that helped him to 15 touchdown catches and four interceptions this season. The Browns would likely use him primarily at receiver and then sprinkle him in at cornerback in specific situations.
Much like DBN’s mock draft on Wednesday, Kiper believes that a veteran quarterback and/or a QB a little later makes sense for Cleveland. In this case, unlike our mock, Kiper doesn’t have the Browns trading down to accumulate picks and, instead, drafting who many think is the most talented player in this year’s draft.
Hunter is likely to play full-time as a cornerback while moonlighting as a receiver. Adding Hunter on the other side of Denzel Ward while giving Jerry Jeudy, David Njoku and Cedric Tillman another running mate could increase Cleveland’s playmakers on both sides of the ball.
With Cam Ward selected at the top of Kiper’s mock, Sanders falls to the third pick while Jalen Milroe was not selected in the first round.
What do you think of Kiper having the Browns select Hunter? Would you rather take Hunter or trade down a few slots (or at least one to force the Giants to move up for Sanders)?