Waterloo students and teachers participated in a one-round mock draft, selecting in the place of their favorite team(s).
Round 1 Pick 1: Tennessee Titans
Junior Kavan Bennett selected for the Titans, he chose Cam Ward, quarterback from the University of Miami. Due to Abdul Carter’s injury status and the uncertainty at the quarterback position, the Titans need Cam Ward as the quarterback of their team.
Round 1 Pick 2: Cleveland Browns
Senior Landon Wertz made the selection for the Browns, and selected Shedur Sanders because he isn’t a fan of either Watson or Pickett, and he hopes that drafting a quarterback like Shedur will lead to better things in Cleveland. After Ward went off the board at 1, the Colorado quarterback was the clear choice.
Round 1 Pick 3: New York Giants
Junior Braiden Riggle made the pick for his beloved Giants and selected Travis Hunter, a two-way player out of Colorado. Riggle wants Hunter for his abilities on the defensive side of the ball, being the versatile ball hawk that he is. The Heisman trophy winner could do a lot of good things for New York’s defense led by Coordinator Shane Brown.
Round 1 Pick 4: New England Patriots
Junior Jackson Chidester selected edge rusher Abdul Carter for the Patriots. Edge Rusher is one of the top needs for the Patriots, and Abdul Carter is without a doubt the best one available. Carter shows a lot of similarities to active Cowboys edge rusher, Micah Parsons. *add something about Penn State
Round 1 Pick 5: Jacksonville Jaguars
Junior Kyle Linderbaum picked for the Jaguars, and selected a defensive tackle out of Michigan, Mason Graham. Kyle believes that Graham will help fill the hole the Jags have on the defensive line. He also noted that Graham is a playmaker, and has all the intangibles to be a great player in the league.
Round 1 Pick 6: Las Vegas Raiders
Freshman Oliver Beckman picked Heisman finalist Ashton Jeanty to take his talents to the Raiders organization. Beckman said, “He was dominant in college, and he has such a bright future in the NFL. He’s a good fit in Vegas, especially with Pete Carroll as the head coach now.”
Round 1 Pick 7: New York Jets
West High senior and NFL enthusiast, Ajin Rangel, selected cornerback Jahdae Barron to be the newest member of the Jets. Rangel said, “I thought Jahdae Barron was the pick because of the lack of depth at the Jets cornerback room as of right now it was the best player at a position of need.”
Round 1 Pick 8: Carolina Panthers
Junior Macray Caughron made the pick for the Panthers, and receiver Tetairoa McMillin fell right into his lap. After making his pick, Macray said, “Bryce Young needs another wide receiver if they want to build a better offense. McMillan is a tall and lengthy receiver that runs great routes, and I could see him as a “Mike Evans” type of receiver.”
Round 1 Pick 9: New Orleans Saints
West High teacher and coach, Ryan Dabney, picked for his favorite team, the Saints. Dabney selected Will Campbell, the highest rated offensive lineman on the board. Dabney wants to move the star offensive tackle to guard, seeing as how they already have two solid tackles. The interior o-line needs help, and this pick is a stepping stone to protecting quarterback Derek Carr, and improving their offense.
Round 1 Pick 10: Chicago Bears
Junior Jake Melcher selected offensive tackle Armand Membou for the Bears, with one thing in mind. The biggest goal this offseason was to find pieces to protect quarterback Caleb Williams. His original intention was to take Will Campbell, but after he was picked, his mindset shifted to just taking the best tackle on the board.
Round 1 Pick 11: San Francisco 49ers
Senior John Ellis is a Brock Purdy fan because he went to Iowa State, so he selected for the 49ers. He picked Will Johnson, a cornerback out of Michigan. Johnson would definitely help cure the 49ers defensive issues from this past season, and with the departure of Talanoa Hufanga and Charvarius Ward, this pick made a lot of sense to Ellis.
Round 1 Pick 12: Dallas Cowboys
Senior Brady Dean picked Luther Burden III to be a Dallas Cowboy. Burden is a superstar receiver out of Missouri who is young and speedy. Dean says he would expect Burden to make an instant impact in Dallas, giving quarterback Dak Prescott a very solid second option alongside Ceedee Lamb.
Round 1 Pick 13: Miami Dolphins
Tony Kisch, seventh grade science teacher at Hoover Middle School, chose Malaki Starks to be the newest member of his beloved Miami Dolphins. Starks is a ball hawk, who could be the replacement that Miami is looking for, after the departure of safety Jevon Holland.
Round 1 Pick 14: Indianapolis Colts
Sophomore Caleb Dickey-Steimel picked for the Colts, and selected Tyler Warren, Tight End out of Penn State. Caleb saw that the Colts had a big hole at the tight end position, and with Warren sitting at the top of the draft board, this pick was a no-brainer.
Round 1 Pick 15: Atlanta Falcons
Junior Ben Young selected James Pearce Jr, an edge rusher from Tennessee. Ben said, “Last year we struggled with pass rush and it was ineffective, and James can change that. He has great size and speed.”
Round 1 Pick 16: Arizona Cardinals
Senior Dylan Ramsey came into this selection with one goal, to select an offensive lineman to protect Kyler Murray. He selected Josh Simmons, an offensive tackle from Ohio State. Ramsey said, “The o-line has struggled a lot in recent years, and this pick can help Kyler Murray make this offense tough to stop.”
Round 1 Pick 17: Cincinnati Bengals
Waterloo Career Center student Isaac Jones selected Mike Green for the Bengals. After the retirement of defensive end Sam Hubbard, as well as their star Trey Hendrickson requesting a trade, there is a glaring hole at edge rusher for the Bengals. Mike Green, edge rusher out of Marshall, can hopefully be the cure.
Round 1 Pick 18: Seattle Seahawks
Die-hard Seahawks fan, Boston Wolford, selected receiver Emeka Egbuka with the 18th overall pick. After Lockett was released, and Metcalf was traded, the Seahawks could use another wide receiver to complement Cooper Kupp and “Jaxon Smith-Njigba”.
Round 1 Pick 19: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Junior Jay Esmael picked Donovan Ezeiruaku for Tampa. His reasoning was, “The Bucs have a glaring hole at defensive end, and taking an edge rusher just makes sense here.” Ezeiruaku, a pass rusher out of Boston College, has the ability to drop into coverage but also dominantly rush the passer. I would compare him to Giants edge rusher, Brian Burns.
Round 1 Pick 20: Denver Broncos
Junior Eli Johnson picked running back Omarion Hampton. Eli is a huge Broncos fan, and one of his favorite players, running Back Javonte Williams, was not re-signed. Knowing this, Eli wanted to take a running back who just so happens to be from North Carolina, the same college that Javonte went to.
Round 1 Pick 21: Pittsburgh Steelers
Junior Jacob Bennett picked for the Steelers, and selected quarterback Jaxson Dart. Bennett said, “I think we’ll bring in a veteran quarterback, and we should draft a young guy for the future. With our wide receiving core, he will be coming into a good situation.” Dart was a standout quarterback for Ole Miss last season, and he is rising on draft boards after his impressive combine performance.
Round 1 Pick 22: Los Angeles Chargers
Waterloo Career Center teacher and LA fanatic, Mark Alderks, was the pick representative for the Chargers. Mark picked Georgia defensive end Mykel Williams because he is the perfect replacement for Joey Bosa. Although there are other holes on the team, edge rusher seemed the most important. Mark says, “They’ve had their eyes on Williams for a while, and that’s why they let Bosa go.”
Round 1 Pick 23: Green Bay Packers
Freshman John Gardner, who is a Packers fan, picked defensive end Shemar Stewart. John’s mentality was to take the top edge rusher on the board, and that’s exactly what he did. Stewart is a great talent out of Texas A&M, and he could add a lot to Green Bay’s defense.
Round 1 Pick 24: Minnesota Vikings
As a die-hard Vikings fan myself, I took on the responsibility of making this pick. I selected Nick Emmanwori, safety from South Carolina. Although I could see the Vikes trading out of this pick, there is definitely a need for defensive backs after losing starting free safety, Camryn Bynum. Emmanwori is a six foot three play wrecker, who could do great things in Brian Flores’ defense.
Round 1 Pick 25: Houston Texans
Junior Hunter Spitzer picked offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr to be the newest Houston Texan. Hunter wants to replace Laremy Tunsil, and taking a Texas guy is definitely the right fit. “Anything to protect Stroud.” Hunter said.
Round 1 Pick 26: Los Angeles Rams
Teacher Mark Alderks made the selection for the other team in LA, and selected linebacker Jihaad Campbell. Mark said, “He’s an Alabama product, which means he’s coming from a successful program, which will lead to good things in the league.” Campbell was also the top player left on the board, which played into Alderks’ decision.
Round 1 Pick 27: Baltimore Ravens
Junior Tucker Satterlee, a die-hard Ravens fan, selected edge rusher Nic Scourton. Tucker picked Scourton to add more depth to the Ravens defensive line. After having a very successful season, Tucker hopes that Scourton is the piece that can push the Ravens over the finish line, and win them a super bowl.
Round 1 Pick 28: Detroit Lions
Junior Colin Lesyshen selected linebacker Jalon Walker because he wants to beef up the depth at linebacker, especially after the defense was so injury-prone last season. Georgia is known for producing great prospects, and Walker could be a great role player in Detroit.
Round 1 Pick 29: Washington Commanders
Sophomore Carter Bolick picked Coleston Loveland, a tight end out of Michigan. Carter automatically wanted the top tight end on the board, and luckily, a great tight end fell to him. Loveland is heavily sought out for, especially because of how valuable tight ends are in today’s game. Loveland, former national champion, could be a big help to Jayden Daniels and that Commanders offense.
Round 1 Pick 30: Buffalo Bills
Junior Logan McGilligan, a member of Bills Mafia, selected Oregon defensive tackle Derrick Harmon. The run stuffing defensive tackle out of Oregon can be great value for the Bills here late in the first round. Logan thinks it is a realistic pick, but also could do good things for the Bills defensive line group.
Round 1 Pick 31: Kansas City Chiefs
Junior Lane Carlson is a big time Chiefs fan, and he picked Michigan defensive tackle Kenneth Grant. Carlson saw Grant sliding down the draft board and snagged him, and he thinks Grant could be a great complement to Chris Jones and others on Spagnuolo’s d-line.
Round 1 Pick 32: Philadelphia Eagles
Junior Tyler Arntz, a fan of the Super Bowl champs, selected Notre Dame safety Xavier Watts. Watts is a highly rated defensive back coming into this draft, and Tyler thinks that Watts could be a lot of help to both Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, who are two of the young corners on Philly’s incredible defense.
