With the playoff race underway—and accordingly, the race for a top-10 pick also underway—mock draft season is in full swing for most of the league. Those sleigh bells you hear a-ringin’? They aren’t for Christmas; they’re for Draft Season.
Here at The Draft Network, you can read a new mock draft every Monday and see my review of each mock afterward, with second and third round updates coming later in the week. If you want to do your own mock draft for your favorite team, open our Mock Draft Machine and take control of the reins yourself!
I sat down with Trevor Sikkema’s Mock Draft 3.1 and highlighted the five best fits from the second round that he released earlier this week.
Philadelphia Eagles: Alabama LB Dylan Moses (Pick No. 38)
The Eagles have no linebacker talent after the departures of the last few seasons, and no leader in the defensive backfield as Malcolm Jenkins has left for New Orleans. Dylan Moses can solve both problems for them.
Moses has struggled a bit this season in his transition to MIKE linebacker, but in Philadelphia, where the Eagles have no starters at linebacker currently on the roster, he can be placed in a variety of alignments to figure out where he fits best in the league. A quality coverage player experienced in short zones, Moses will help discourage the easy underneath targets the Eagles often relinquish in the quick passing game.
Washington Football Team: Ohio State WR Chris Olave (Pick No. 42)
The last Ohio State wide receiver draft pick for Washington went pretty well, in case you don’t remember. Terry McLaurin is likely a top-10 WR in the league, and if he isn’t, he’s well on his way.
The next receiver in the McLaurin mold coming out of Ohio State is Olave, who is a smooth route-runner with sweet feet in much the same way McLaurin was. Olave has higher volume and more experience than McLaurin, and also brings a more well-rounded skill set to the table in his catch point work and toughness through contact. Pairing him with McLaurin should make Washington almost impossible to handle in man coverage, as well as slot/outside versatility from their starting two wide receivers.
Baltimore Ravens: Syracuse S Andre Cisco (Pick No. 49)
I’m pretty sure I’ve highlighted the Trevon Moehrig fit here before, as Baltimore needs an impact centerfielding safety—but even if I have, Cisco is still worth the love here. The Baltimore Ravens defense is aggressive, and if there’s a word to describe Andre Cisco, it is aggressive.
The Syracuse safety only played two games this season following an ACL injury that may affect his stock, so we have to keep an eye on his health and return to explosiveness—but no safety in college football has had as much ball production as Cisco, who has the potential to be an impact safety in Year 1 in the NFL by generating PBUs and INTs with his top-flight ball skills, physicality into the catch point, and route pattern recognition. For a Baltimore defense that asks its safeties to cover a lot of ground and read routes on the fly, Cisco’s skill set is delightful—almost impossible to pass up at this value.
San Francisco 49ers: Alabama iOL Landon Dickerson (Pick No. 46)
How about Landon Dickerson this year? After dealing with a ton of injuries at Florida State, his transfer to Alabama could not have gone smoother—and he’s flying up draft boards for his power, hand strength, and blitz recognition at the pivot for Alabama.
But he does have guard background, so the versatility is nice for San Francisco, who needs a facelift across their interior offensive line. Dickerson’s ability to wrench interior defensive linemen out of their gaps will work for the tough angles in Kyle Shanahan’s running game, and he’s a devastating finisher on the move when he gets to the second level. I think he’s a guard for them, and a dang good one at that.
Miami Dolphins: Wake Forest EDGE Carlos Basham Jr. (Pick No. 54)
This is a great example of keeping a strength a strength here. Basham, if successful in the league, will be successful in the mold of a Shaq Lawson or an Emmanuel Ogbah: a big, heavy-handed 5-technique who stays on the field for all three downs, collapses the pocket with power rushes, and works his hand fighting to soften rush angles and churn out 6-8 sacks a season.
Both of those players are currently on the Dolphins. For a team that loves size in their rushers, Basham represents a cheaper option for Ogbah and Lawson over the next couple of seasons, and will help keep the pass rush fresh into the fourth quarter and the latter part of the season. While they may have greater needs elsewhere, there’s no denying the fit.
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