2020 NFL Mock Draft Analysis I

Below will be my inaugural analysis for the first mock draft of the year conducted on July 15th. In this draft I was the 6th pick in a 12 team mock with 15 Rounds.

Round 1 Pick 6: Michael Thomas WR New Orleans Saints

- Thomas is the number one option for Drew Brees in the Saint's offense. Coming off a career year in 2019, I expect Thomas to replicate that in 2020 and solidify himself as the number one receiver in the league.

Round 2 Pick 18: DeAndre Hopkins WR Arizona Cardinals

- I was slightly nervous taking Hopkins here but I knew that he was the best available at the time. Going from Watson to Murray, in my opinion, will bring down his 2020 numbers. He will still be the number one receiver in that offense and my hopes are that Kliff has already built up a playbook to utilize Hopkins as a red-zone threat.

Round 3 Pick 30: Le'Veon Bell RB New York Jets

- Bell was definitely a disappointment last year. He had the lowest YPC of his career and rarely saw the endzone. Granted, he was still the best part about the offense with Sam Darnold missing half the season with mono. Bell is still an extremely talented football player and I hope the Jets can finally utilize him in his second year with the team. Maybe a mid-season trade can boost his numbers if the Jets decide to let him go.

Round 4 Pick 42: Johnathan Taylor RB Indianapolis Colts

- I have a feeling that Johnathan Taylor will be the full time back by the end of the season. Taylor had an incredible college career and with the Colts best-in-league offensive line, I expect him to put up some serious numbers as a rookie and possibly lead the rookie RB class in yards.

Round 5 Pick 54: Terry McLaurin WR Washington Football Team

- Scary Terry is going to build off his break out 2019 rookie season in the upcoming year. The Washington Football Team is totally revamped from top to bottom under Head Coach Rivera. The Haskins-McLaurin combination is one that I see doing well in 2020 with McLaurin being Haskins go-to in the offense.

Round 6 Pick 66: Deshaun Watson QB Houston Texans

- Watson has all of the tools to be an MVP in the NFL. He's a great passer, runner, and has been the leader of the Texans since he came into the league. With Hopkins gone, I can see Cooks stepping up along with Fuller to be his main targets. I fully expect Watson to put this team on his back once again and lead them into the playoffs.

Round 7 Pick 78: Rob Gronkowski TE Tampa Bay Buccaneers

- Coming out of retirement to play with Brady again; I'm not quite sure what to expect out of Gronkowski. Arians has not been known to involve TEs into his offensive schemes (see Cameron Brate and OJ Howard last year) but we'll see if Brady can find Gronk in the red-zone like their days on the Patriots. Even with two top 10 WR in Evans and Godwin I still think Brady will find his former favorite target in Gronk.

Round 8 Pick 90: Sony Michel RB New England Patriots

- Sony Michel had high expectations coming out of Georgia and going into the Patriots offense as their premier back. Belichick has been known to run a back-by-committee approach to his offense (see the Vareen, White, Gray days), but with Cam Newton as the possible Week 1 starter, the potential for Michel to get more involved is there as Newton targeted McCaffrey many times when he was a Panther.

Round 9 Pick 102: Tarik Cohen RB Chicago Bears

- I like Tarik Cohen for the sole reason of Mitch Trubisky being a not very good QB. Cohen was a serviceable PPR RB last year for this reason and I don't see Mitch turning his play style around in a season. I expect a lot of dump offs to Cohen just like last year.

Round 10 Pick 114: Henry Ruggs III WR Las Vegas Raiders

- Al Davis was drafting from the grave this year when Ruggs was selected. I'm actually excited to see how Gruden and the Raiders utilize Ruggs' speed with Derek Carr. His explosiveness should put up big numbers but with that comes streakiness.

Round 11 Pick 126: New England Patriots DEF

- What's more to say about a top 5 defense in the league?

Round 12 Pick 138: Jalen Raegor WR Philadelphia Eagles

- Along similar lines of Ruggs, Raegor is a fast, playmaking, WR out of TCU. I love him on this Eagles team as they are desperate for a legit WR and weapon to give to Wentz. I fully expect Doug Peterson to get the ball in his hands often.

Round 13 Pick 150: Harrison Butker K Kansas City Chiefs

- The Chiefs move the ball and score often. Butker has been very accurate over the last couple of seasons and I don't expect anything to change.

Round 14 Pick 162: Jamaal Williams RB Green Bay Packers

- I took Jamaal Williams because he was an Aaron Jones vulture last year. Jones is definitely the starter in Green Bay, but Williams is up there in snaps and thats enough for me to plug him into the lineup on short notice or if another RB goes down with injury.

Round 15 Pick 180: Jimmy Garoppolo QB San Francisco 49ers

- Definitely a homer pick for myself as a 49er fan. Regardless, Jimmy G wins football games and occasionally he can put up the numbers to do so. A starter on a Super Bowl contending team is definitely one I would have as a back up in fantasy.