Mel Kiper Jr. has major changes in Mock Draft 2.0
Apparently the Senior Bowl showed Mel Kiper Jr. a lot.
The ESPN NFL draft expert did some major shuffling since his first mock draft a month ago. If you’ll recall, Kiper had Ohio State’s Joey Bosa going No. 1 overall. In his Mock Draft 2.0, he dropped him all the way down to No. 6 and didn’t even have him as the first defensive end selected.
Still, that wasn’t one of Kiper’s biggest B1G shifts.
He moved Eli Apple and Ezekiel Elliott up 12 and seven spots, respectively. But he dropped Taylor Decker back 11 spots and he took Penn State’s Austin Johnson out of his first round.
Instead, he added Illinois’ Jihad Ward into the picture. Perhaps Kiper did some listening to Todd McShay, who said that Ward’s stock rose plenty at the Senior Bowl.
Interesting to note is the fact that Darron Lee didn’t crack either of Kiper’s first rounds. Maybe the combine, which will happen before his next mock draft, will turn that around.
But as it stands, here’s where Kiper has each B1G player in the first round:
OVERALL PICK, NFL TEAM | POSITION, PLAYER | SCHOOL |
---|---|---|
6. Baltimore Ravens | DE Joey Bosa | Ohio State |
13. Philadelphia Eagles | OT Jack Conklin | Michigan State |
14. Oakland Raiders | CB Eli Apple | Ohio State |
22. Houston Texans | RB Ezekiel Elliott | Ohio State |
28. Kansas City Chiefs | DE Jihad Ward | Illinois |
31. Denver Broncos | OT Taylor Decker | Ohio State |