Mock draft from April of last year

[Cdparr7]

For those of you that put a lot of stock in mock drafts. This is from Chad Reuter at NFL Network 1 week before the draft. 
 

He has 5 QBs going in the 1st round.

Pick 2: Kenny Pickett

Pick 8: Malik Willis

Pick 12: Matt Corral

Pick 16: Desmond Ridder

Pick 32: Sam Howell

This is how they actually went:

Pick 20: Kenny Pickett

Pick 74: Desmond Ridder

Pick 86: Malik Willis

Pick 94: Matt Corral

Pick 137: Bailey Zappe

Pick 144: Sam Howell

[TJKJ23xx]

Last year was by far the worst speculation vs reality of draft picks for QB's I have ever seen. 

[TJKJ23xx]

What's even crazier is the most "NFL ready" might have been Howell and the Commanders seem to think they have found the second coming of Kirk Cousins for themselves in the process.

[Jackie Lee]

https://www.nfl.com/news/daniel-jeremiah-2020-nfl-mock-draft-4-0-bucs-pick-jerry-jeudy-0ap3000001110524

https://www.nfl.com/news/daniel-jeremiah-2021-nfl-mock-draft-4-0-broncos-patriots-trade-up-for-qbs

The 2022 class sucked. This year I wouldn't be surprised if it's only Young and Stroud in the 1st. Corral got put in a shitty situation so even him being 1st on a lot peoples boards last year could still be true for that class if he ever gets a chance 

[45catfan]

2 minutes ago, Jackie Lee said:

https://www.nfl.com/news/daniel-jeremiah-2020-nfl-mock-draft-4-0-bucs-pick-jerry-jeudy-0ap3000001110524

https://www.nfl.com/news/daniel-jeremiah-2021-nfl-mock-draft-4-0-broncos-patriots-trade-up-for-qbs

The 2022 class sucked. This year I wouldn't be surprised if it's only Young and Stroud in the 1st. Corral got put in a shitty situation so even him being 1st on a lot peoples boards last year could still be true for that class if he ever gets a chance 

Levis will go top 10. AR-15 will likely go first round too, but teams know they are going to have to be patient with him, so where he goes is iffy.  Not many teams have the luxury of waiting for rookies to develop.  Heck, the Jets are jettisoning Wilson just after two seasons.  Young and Stroud are plug/play.  Levis could be too, but should sit a year.  Richardson will bomb if he plays right away.  I think most teams realizes he needs to sit.  Again, not many teams can afford to draft a first round QB and sit him.

[Jackie Lee]

3 minutes ago, 45catfan said:

Levis will go top 10. AR-15 will likely go first round too, but teams know they are going to have to be patient with him, so where he goes is iffy.  Not many teams have the luxury of waiting for rookies to develop.  Heck, the Jets are jettisoning Wilson just after two seasons.  Young and Stroud are plug/play.  Levis could be too, but should sit a year.  Richardson will bomb if he plays right away.  I think most teams realizes he needs to sit.  Again, not many teams can afford to draft a first round QB and sit him.

I'm fine with anything besides wasting a top 10 pick on Levis

[45catfan]

1 minute ago, Jackie Lee said:

I'm fine with anything besides wasting a top 10 pick on Levis

I'm actually on the 2024 train.  We can't/won't get Young or Stround and the next two have HUGE question marks.  Solidify the roster at other positions this year, get the bridge QB and draft the QB of the future next draft.

[Jackie Lee]

Just now, 45catfan said:

I'm actually on the 2024 train.  We can't/won't get Young or Stround and the next two have HUGE question marks.  Solidify the roster at other positions this year, get the bridge QB and draft the QB of the future next draft.

Yeah I'd rather throw a 2nd at Hooker than Levis or AR in the 1st. Worst case scenario you have a solid backup for 4 years

[45catfan]

1 minute ago, Jackie Lee said:

Yeah I'd rather throw a 2nd at Hooker than Levis or AR in the 1st. Worst case scenario you have a solid backup for 4 years

Agreed on Hooker.  Next draft is shaping up to be a doozy. The underclassmsn are boss and a TON of SR/RSR/GR QBs that are out of eligiblity.  There's about 6 guys that were coming out this draft that stayed/transferred that are all coming out on top of all the others that will be declaring too.  Some underclassmen will stay, still, it will be the draft to snag a QB.  Granted we will miss out on Williams and Maye (if he declares) but still prime pickings should remain beyond that.

[Stumpy]

37 minutes ago, 45catfan said:

I'm actually on the 2024 train.  We can't/won't get Young or Stround and the next two have HUGE question marks.  Solidify the roster at other positions this year, get the bridge QB and draft the QB of the future next draft.

wash, rinse, repeat...

[ncfan]

5 hours ago, Stumpy said:

wash, rinse, repeat...

Are you ready for “I'm actually on the 2025 train.  We can't/won't get Maye or Caleb Williams and the next two have HUGE question marks.  Solidify the roster at other positions this year, get the bridge QB and draft the QB of the future next draft.”

[TLGPanthersFan]

6 hours ago, 45catfan said:

I'm actually on the 2024 train.  We can't/won't get Young or Stround and the next two have HUGE question marks.  Solidify the roster at other positions this year, get the bridge QB and draft the QB of the future next draft.

Watch next year everyone will be saying none of those QBs will be worth trading up. Also we will have to trade up because unless the wheel really fall off we are not getting another top 10 pick. 

[TLGPanthersFan]

6 hours ago, Stumpy said:

wash, rinse, repeat...

Still find it weird people think we are gonna be in a position to get a QB of the future in 2024 or that all the QBs in a supposedly good draft are gonna all be worth trading up for in the eyes of the Huddle.

I said it before. It will be like it is every year. Bunch of QB hype before the college season. Then all but maybe one or two are gonna be worth potential trading up and the QB needy teams won’t want to trade down. 
But more that likely none will be worth trading up at all in the Huddles eyes. 

College QB Hype>College Season Starts>Hype for QBs goes Down>None are worth getting in the first round>Maybe next year is the year>Repeat. 

[d-dave]

Mike Kaye was on the Locked on Panthers podcast talking about just such an issue.  He was saying that even Richardson could be gone by 5.  I laughed.  Like really hard.  Who in their right mind is going to go all in on Rookies QBs in the top 5?  This class??? hahahahaha!

Then you think about the general trends in the NFL.  If you like a guy, you go get them.  Like with what KC and Buffalo did.  Like what the 49ers did with Lance (which who knows if they got that right!).  Not everyone can fail into the #1 pick.  That requires a fair amount of bad luck to be that putrid.  Sometimes you have to make some big moves to get the guy who will push you over the hump.

I'm not opposed to trading up for the guy the staff thinks they can get the right guy to lead the team for the next 10 years of success.  I also don't think everyone is going to be breaking down the doors for these QBs.  As we've seen, each pick is risky AF, and more often than not, it comes down to staff just as much as the player.

I have no idea what's going to happen.  It's going to be an interesting time as we see how the draft landscape changes and what moves the Panthers and other teams make.