100 Days of Mocks: ‘The Worst Mock Ever’

With 15 days until the 2023 NFL Draft, here are 10 fresh mock drafts that included three votes for outside linebackers, three for offensive tackles and three for Michael Mayer.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – CBS Sports’ Will Brinson published his third mock draft, with the goal of “providing the worst possible mock draft you will ever see.”

Sorry. That was a failure, too.

With the Green Bay Packers and New York Jets swapping first-round picks in an Aaron Rodgers trade, the Packers selected Iowa pass rusher Lukas Van Ness with the 13th overall selection.

That would seem to be a good outcome. Van Ness perfectly fits the Rashan Gary-style mold of big, strong, ascending outside linebacker. At 6-foot-5 and 272 pounds, “Hercules” had 13.5 sacks and 19.5 tackles for losses in two seasons while never starting a game.

“I’m looking forward to getting that that first start at the next level,” Van Ness said at the Scouting Combine. “So, coming in with a chip on my shoulder, I’m just ready to put my nose down to work.”

Barstool’s Steven Cheah took a different big-guy edge with Clemson’s Myles Murphy. Van Ness at 272 pounds ran his 40 in 4.58 seconds. Murphy at 268 pounds ran his 40 in 4.52. He had 18 sacks in three season and would provide a critical third piece behind Gary and Preston Smith.

At USA Today’s Touchdown Wire, Doug Farrar and Kyle Madson alternated picks, with Madson sticking with the edge trend and going with Georgia’s Nolan Smith. “Stick him on the edge and he’s going to disrupt quarterbacks for a long time,” Madson wrote. The Packers need an outside linebacker, to be sure, but the 238-pound Smith would break their mold.

In the Sports Illustrated/FanNation publishers mock draft, I selected Georgia offensive tackle Broderick Jones.

NFL Network host Rhett Lewis also went with Jones to provide “peace of mind” given the team’s “recent string of unfortunate injuries” on the offensive line.

Football Outsiders’ Benjamin Robinson took an offensive tackle, too. “Protecting the quarterback should be a top consideration for the Packers as they enter the Jordan Love era. Darnell Wright is a solid and very technical right tackle who had an elite performance against Will Anderson to his name along with All-SEC honors in 2022.”

Tony Pauline is no fan of the Packers’ receivers, of which there are only five contract and only three have caught a pass in a regular-season game. So, he took USC’s Jordan Addison, who can win from the slot and outside and produce in the short and deep passing games.

“The Packers’ depth chart at receiver is pitiful,” Pauline wrote. “The day he’s drafted, USC’s Jordan Addison would become the Packers’ best route runner and offers one of the most reliable sets of hands on the unit.”

Fox Sports’ Joel Klatt likes the fit of Notre Dame tight end Michael Mayer.

“I really love his game, particularly on an offense that did not have a dynamic quarterback,” he wrote. “[Mayer] was the focal point. Everyone's trying to stop Michael Mayer, and he was still able to produce. Great player, great kid, great leader, and I think he's a really safe pick."

Scott Bair of Falcons.com also went with Mayer.

Finally, in a three-round mock, The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Eddie Brown also led off with Mayer. The Day 2 picks were used on Michigan defensive tackle Mazi Smith and Utah offensive lineman Braeden Daniels.

Daniels was a three-year starter with double-digits starts at left tackle, right tackle and left guard. Daniels fits the Green Bay mold of picking versatile blockers but he might lack the length to flourish at tackle, and that’s where there’s a need.

100 Days of Mocks

Starting Jan. 17, when there were 100 days until the start of the NFL Draft, we started our mock-worthy goal of 100 mock drafts in 100 days. Here are the last 10 days of the series.

Our group of team publishers put together this first-round NFL mock draft. Here's the full mock: https://t.co/E6vghZ9oQp
And my explanation of the #Packers' pick:https://t.co/raYcbvjmPw

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) April 12, 2023

16 days: Mel Kiper’s fourth mock draft

17 days: Van Ness leads seven-round mock

18 days: Easter

19 days: “Consensus Mock Draft”

20 days: Two seconds for Rodgers in NFL.com four-rounder

21 days: Some seven-round mocks

Packer Central’s sixth seven-round mock draft

22 days: Tackle before tight ends

23 days: On the offensive

24 days: A 10-mock Monday

25 days: The Wright tackle?