The Athletic

After spending the last two months talking to college football coaches and NFL sources, I put together my third annual first-round NFL mock draft based on those evaluations and the needs of each team. The draft evaluation process is an inexact science, but what I strive to do with this project is provide unique insight into each of the players, as the analysis comes directly from the coaches who have scouted, game-planned for and played them. Those sources, granted anonymity to speak freely about the prospects, know exactly what they’re dealing with and what they’ve tried to do to them in real game situations — and how it all turned out.