Daily Mock Draft: Underclassmen Only

Focusing on juniors creates a dynamic backfield pairing, adds plenty to skill positions

The negotiating period for free agency starts Monday, and signings won’t begin until two days after that.

Whatever plays out during that critical portion of the NFL’s offseason calendar will have a direct impact on what teams decide to do in the 2020 NFL Draft.

To help pass the time until then, we will serve up a daily mock draft (following a break for a news-heavy Thursday) with help from TheDraftNetwork.com’s rankings and mock draft program. Each will have a different theme, but when all is said and done, they should provide a little more insight into what might be available to the Tennessee Titans in this year’s draft.

Today: Underclassmen only.

Friday: SEC only.

Wednesday: Offense only.

Tuesday: Defense only.

Monday: Best player available.

Not every player who leaves college before they have exhausted their eligibility makes the right decision, but many are more than ready and fill up the early rounds of the NFL Draft. This year should be no exception. So, for this draft we exclusively selected players who had one year of remaining eligibility (juniors or redshirt-juniors).

THE RESULTS

First round (29 overall): J.K. Dobbins, RB, Ohio State

Second round (61 overall): Terrell Lewis, OLB, Alabama

Third round (93 overall): Darnay Holmes, CB, UCLA

Sixth round (174 overall): Lynn Bowden, WR, Kentucky

Seventh round (224 overall): Stanford Samuels III, CB, Florida State

Seventh round (243 overall): Jeff Thomas, WR, Miami

Thoughts: The idea of combining Dobbins (5-10, 217) with Derrick Henry in the Titans’ backfield is a tantalizing one. In addition to his 4,459 rushing yards (2,003 in 2019) he caught more than 20 passes in each of his three seasons. So, he can serve as a third-down or change-of-pace back until he overtakes Henry the way Henry eventually unseated DeMarco Murray.

Lewis (6-5, 258) is far from a finished product but that makes him exactly the kind of player with which coach Mike Vrabel would like to work. Similarly, sixth-round pick Bowden (6-1, 199) is athletic enough that he played quarterback this season when injuries forced Kentucky coaches to get creative. General manager Jon Robinson was in New England when the Patriots drafted college quarterback Julian Edelman and turned him into a wide receiver, which means he likely could see similar possibilities for someone as athletic as Bowden.

Neither Holmes (5-10, 192) nor Samuels (6-2, 185) is likely ready to step in and start on defense right off the bat, but both have skills that could make them useful in certain packages as they work to develop. Thomas (5-10, 180) is little but has acceleration that will get the attention of scouts and personnel people, particularly in the later rounds.

Bottom line: This draft does not provide any potential starter and/or long-term replacement at right tackle because the majority of offensive linemen tend to stay in college and build as much size and strength as possible. This group is rife with skill position players on both sides of the ball.

Dobbins seems like an unnecessary pick, but many people thought the same thing about Henry four years ago. Beyond that, most of the rest of the group consists mostly of guys scouts believe have some holes in their games but also have big upside, which is about the way everyone generally thinks about underclassmen.