#332: Dash To The Draft 2022 (Last Minute Draft Rumors + Mock Draft 5.0 with Carmen Vitali)

1. As you know this spring in the NFL can be summed up in one word: trades. We have seen star player after star player get traded for a bounty of draft picks…and we may not be done. As ESPN’s Jeff Darlington reported on Wednesday, 49ers star WR Deebo Samuel has asked for a trade. While the Niners apparently do not intend to honor that request at this time, you know as well as anybody that things in the NFL can change in a flash. Can you see Deebo getting traded either right before or during the draft?

2. Regardless of how the situation with Deebo Samuel unfolds, Peter King said in his Football Morning in America column a week or so ago that he sees a lot of trades going down during the draft. Saints GM Mickey Loomis told King that since the consensus on draft boards across the league is the smallest it has been in a long time, maybe ever, he expects a player the Saints have graded in their top-20 to be within striking distance for them at 49 overall. Another GM said he could see teams without a first-round pick this year trade next year’s first and second to move as far up the board as possible. Just how robust do you see the trade market being on Draft Day itself?

3. To summarize how much I LOVE football, both my favorite professional sports period are NFL teams. One is the Denver Broncos, and the other (I believe they’re your favorite NFL team) the Chicago Bears. What is the latest intel you’re hearing about the draft plans of both of those teams?

4. LISTENER QUESTION: The Packers have historically preferred to wait until the second round to draft a WR. Do you think Green Bay actually drafts a WR in the first round this year?

5. While this year’s QB class is very underwhelming, quarterbacks still figure to be a central theme for how the first round unfolds. We will very likely see three signal callers get their names called next Thursday night, if not more. The only mystery is when exactly they’ll come off the board. So here’s a hypothetical. Let’s say the Panthers at six stay put and draft one of the top three OT’s, when would you anticipate the first QB being selected? How many QB’s do you think go in the first round when all is set and done?

6. With just a week before the draft, we always tend to get hot buzz about certain players rising up boards and others falling down the boards. Which players do you believe will get drafted much earlier than anticipated, and which players do you believe will be drafted much later than anticipated?

7. MOCK DRAFT 5.0

-Jaguars: Aidan Hutchinson

-Lions: Kayvon Thibodeaux

-Texans: Travon Walker

-Jets: Sauce Gardner

-Giants: Evan Neal

-Panthers: Ikem Ekwonu

-Chargers [from Giants]: Charles Cross

-Falcons: Kyle Hamilton

-Seahawks: Malik Willis

-Jets: Drake London

-Commanders: Derek Stingley, Jr.

-Vikings: Garrett Wilson

-Texans: Trevor Penning

-Ravens: Jermaine Johnson

-Eagles: Devonte Wyatt

-Saints: Jameson Williams

-Giants (from Chargers): Zion Johnson

-Eagles: Chris Olave

-Saints: Kenny Pickett

-Steelers: Desmond Ridder

-Patriots: Trent McDuffie

-Packers: Jordan Davis

-Cardinals: Andrew Booth, Jr.

-Cowboys: George Karlaftis

-Bills: Jahan Dotson

-Titans: Bernhard Raimann

-Bucs: Tyler Linderbaum

-Packers: Christian Watson

-Chiefs: Treylon Burks

-Chiefs: Devin Lloyd

-Bengals: Kenyon Green

-Lions: Lewis Cine