A few weeks back on ESPN’s First Draft, Field Yates and Mel Kiper Jr. each did a mock draft of the first 18 picks at the end of the regular season with that portion of the draft order set after Conference Championship Sunday. Now with Super Bowl LIX’s participants determined, and all but two points in the NFL Draft order known, Kiper released his Mock Draft 1.0 on the NFL on ESPN YouTube Channel.

This set of draft picks isn’t what Kiper and Yates have on their draft boards but instead is Kiper guessing who the 32 NFL teams will pick based on his sources and insiders.

Miami Hurricane Heisman Trophy candidate and All-American quarterback Cam Ward was marked to go first overall to the Tennesse Titans. At the second overall pick, this mock draft broke a certain faction of the Duval Devout’s hearts one round sooner than Kiper did previously.

For those in the Jaguar fanbase who are Travis hunters, the Colorado Buffaloes Heisman Trophy Winner Travis Hunter went second to the Cleveland Browns. “. . . [The Browns] need a dynamic receiver — sprinkle him in at corner. . . Go find another quarterback. I don’t know where Sam Darnold is going to end up, I don’t what’s gonna happen with Justin Fields [or] Kirk Cousins — there’s a lot of other options out there.” With both hosts listing Hunter at the top of their draft board, they advise an NFL franchise to think twice before passing on Hunter before to commit to a quarterback in this class that they aren’t in love with. That philosophy, if shared by NFL GMs, completely ruins the chances of Hunter coming to Duval country.

At three, former Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders was predicted to head to the New York Giants while Abdul Carter of the Penn State Nittany Lions was written in to get scooped up by the New England Patriots as an edge rusher at four.

Carter was picked in Yates’ and Kiper’s previous draft at five to head to the Jaguars. That being said, with Carter not making it past the top four in this effort, Kiper predicted that the Jaguars at the fifth overall pick would bring in Michigan Wolverine defensive tackle Mason Graham.

“. . . That defensive tackle spot was horrific for Jacksonville,” said Kiper. “[The defensive line was] good on the edges with Travon Walker coming on [Josh Hines-] Allen as well. Inside, that interior defensive line needs a Mason Graham.”

The assessment of the defensive tackle spot for the Jags holds consensus among NFL experts and the Jacksonville media. However, this Mock Draft 1.0 was posted before the Jags zeroed in on Liam Coen as their head coach.

While Coen acknowledged the need for upgrades in the trenches in his introductory press conference, whether he’ll focus on the defensive side of the first round remains to be seen. It is also worth mentioning that the Jaguars are still prime candidates to try and trade back from five to acquire multiple first or second-round picks,  in a year which many conclude is a deep 2025 NFL Draft class.

Kiper himself commented, “. . . The first round of the draft is underwhelming, the draft overall [is] pretty good from the second round on.”