It’s not officially NFL Draft season until we start hearing more from Mel Kiper.
In anticipation of the big day, Mel Kiper has shared his latest top 5 with us from his most recent mock draft, and it goes against some of the big rumors we have been hearing over the past week or two.
Kiper shared his projected top 5 on ESPN’s First Take, and he has the Bears unsurprisingly taking USC’s Caleb Williams at No. 1, with LSU’s Jayden Daniels going 2 to Washington, UNC’s Drake Maye third to the Patriots, Ohio State star wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. going fourth to the Cardinals, and the Chargers rounding out the top 5 with LSU’s Malik Nabers at No. 5.
.@melkiperjr's latest mock draft 👀 pic.twitter.com/aygkAvWn6R
— First Take (@FirstTake) March 27, 2024
It’s not a shocking top 5, but one thing that is notably missing is the inclusion of Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who fans have been hearing about nonstop as his draft stock is reportedly soaring.
There have been rumors of McCarthy going as high as No. 2, which would throw a huge wrench into the top 5 and likely kick off a snowball effect of trades in the top 10.
The 2021 draft was the only draft to have the top 5 picks all be on the offensive side of the ball since 2012, but it’s looking like we will once again have an offense-heavy top 5 or 10 picks this year.
It’s tough to project this year’s draft, as there are so many quarterbacks hearing their names floated around the first round.
Keep an eye out over the next few weeks on the McCarthy aspect of this, as Kiper apparently sees that narrative as a smokescreen.
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