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Jim Harbaugh said that he would be the No. 1 pick in the draft.
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After a bit of Week 18 chaos, the order for the top 16 picks in the first round of the NFL draft has been set. Both teams could be thinking about pass-rusher. The Big Board has two defensive ends on it, one of which is ranked by Mel Kiper Jr. The Jags and Lions both won on Sunday to get the top two picks.
The New York flavor is expected to take hold early in the draft. The Jets and Giants have two picks in the top 10. The Jets and Giants have picks in the fourth and 10th spots.
The Philadelphia Eagles have three first-round picks, the most of any team, but the first one doesn't come up until 15. Depending on how far they go in the playoffs, they have pick No. 16 and a to-be-determined selection.
The first round of the NFL draft will be held in Paradise, Nevada, home of the Las Vegas Raiders. Rounds 2 and 3 will take place on April 29 and Rounds 4 and 7 will take place on April 30. The draft will be broadcasted on multiple networks.
The top 16 picks are below. The team write-ups have been updated.
1. The Jacksonville Jaguars have a losing record.
There are a lot of needs for the Jags, but they're not looking for a quarterback or a defensive back. If the approach is to build around the pass-rusher of their choice, the Jags should go heavy on offense.
2. The Detroit Lions are 3-13.
It would make sense to go with an elite edge rusher with the 2nd overall pick, because Dan Campbell is trying to build a hard-nosed culture in Detroit. As well as being a local product, Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, and he makes sense from a football perspective.
The Lions will get another late first-round pick because they have the Rams' selection from the Matthew Stafford-Jared Goff trade. Picking the right guys will be crucial to the franchise.
3. The Houston Texans have a losing record.
The biggest question is if Houston will use this pick on a quarterback. Davis Mills has shown signs of life down the stretch of the season, and he is not a great quarterback. Do the Texans go with a veteran option, give the ultra-affordable Mills another chance or draft the player the team hopes is the QB of the future?
4. The New York Jets have a losing record.
The Jets have nine picks and four of them are in the first two rounds. They will have two top 10 picks for the first time in the common draft era, so it's a great opportunity to address their historically poor defense.
The Jets need a lot of help on the second and third levels, but they could end up with an edge rusher if one is the best player available.
5. The New York Giants have a losing record.
The Giants have 10 picks in the April draft, which is a positive for them heading into the summer. They will have two picks in the top 10 of the first round, plus Chicago's.
If Dave Gettleman's time with the team comes to an end, they have a lot of draft capital at their disposal to address the offensive line and find a high-end edge rusher.
6. The Carolina panthers are 5-12.
After giving up their second-round selection for quarterback Sam Darnold and third-round pick for CornerbackCJ Henderson, the Carolinas have a lot of needs and few high draft picks to fill them. The question is whether to reach for a quarterback in a thin class or rebuild an offensive line that has only a couple of legitimate starters.
Carolina will be stuck with a $18.8 million fifth-year option on Sam Darnold's contract, and missing on him was a huge mistake.
7. The New York Giants are a team.
The Giants got the pick from the Bears for quarterback Justin Fields. The Giants received a wide receiver in the first round.
8. The Atlanta Falcons are 7-10).
The Falcons need everything from figuring out what the quarterback position will look like in the future to the long-snapper. Don't use a draft pick on a long-snapper.
Terry Fontenot and Arthur Smith will be able to go to almost any position on the board to match need with draft value, thanks to Atlanta's roster construction. It's an interesting place to be for a team trying to replenish talent while also cleaning up the salary cap.
9. The Denver Broncos have a 7-10) record.
The Broncos' biggest draft question is the same as it was last year: What, exactly, is the team's plan at quarterback? The draft strategy will be based on whether to sign or trade for a veteran quarterback. They have the cap space to do whatever they want in free agency, and they already have 11 picks in the April draft.
George Paton, the general manager, is approaching the end of his first year on the job, and he has repeatedly said how much he wants more draft picks. It's not clear if he would consider a trade of multiple first-round picks to acquire a top-tier quarterback.
10. The New York Jets are in the Southeast.
The pick is a result of the trade. The Jets got two first-round selections in the deal and used their picks from it to trade up for guard Alijah Vera-Tucker in the 2021 draft.
11. The Washington football team is 7-10).
Washington likes Taylor Heinicke, but the team will be looking for a better long-term solution. Heinicke's play means it doesn't have to pick, but there will be interest in finding someone with a higher ceiling. This is not a draft with top-end quarterback talent, but Washington won't have a high pick. The organization started 31 different players at the position over the course of the last two decades, and they have been looking for a long-term answer for years.
If Brandon Scherff leaves, Washington could use more help on the offensive side. John Keim said that a middle linebacker will be a priority.
McShay's rankings are: Kiper's is:
McShay's opening mock draft in 2022.
The QBs in the class of 2022.
The draft order is Who's No. 1?
More coverage and full rankings.
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