Everybody has their mock drafts out, but here’s an original idea that hasn’t been done before: let’s pretend that only the brightest and smartest can be considered for the NFL. Introducing the internet’s first-ever Big Ten only mock draft:
#1 TENNESSEE TITANS — QB DILLON GABRIEL (OREGON)
Tennessee needs a quarterback and there’s no way they can pass up on a guy like Dillon Gabriel in this Big Ten-only pool of players to pick from. Gabriel, having played five full seasons of college football at UCF, Oklahoma, and Oregon, is the FBS record holder for 189 touchdowns scored 9155 passing, 33 rushing, 1 receiving), and is second-most all-time in passing yards (18,722, only 495 shy from tying Case Keenum).
#2 CLEVELAND BROWNS — QB KURTIS ROURKE (INDIANA)
The Browns need a good quarterback that’ll inherit a hundred years worth of pain and agony and defeat. And just downright stink and filth. The Browns should just draft a quarterback in the first round every year until they get their savior. Sure, he’s not as athletically gifted as some other candidates, but Rourke played with the heart of Tim Tebow with only a fraction of his popularity between Ohio and Indiana.
# 3 NEW YORK GIANTS — EDGE ABDUL CARTER (PENN STATE)
The true BPA of the Big Ten Only Mock Draft is off the board with the third pick. The Giants could use some help at QB, but Carter’s simply too good to be allowed to slide at four, no matter how desperate the G-men rightfully should for a real QB. Abdul Carter, you’re the quarterback now.
#4 NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS — TE TYLER WARREN (PENN STATE)
Let’s get frisky. While Tyler Warren is the #9 player on the public’s consensus board, I’ve got to think a draft pick like this crosses off a few boxes for the Patriots. Drake Maye will have a dependable target (Warren was far and away Penn State’s leading receiver in 2024) that can also put his hand in the dirt and block like an extended tackle should.
#5 JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS — WR EMEKA EGBUKA (OHIO STATE)
All of the mock drafts out there have Jacksonville going D-tackle here, but Trevor Lawrence still needs real receivers to throw to. Emeka Egbuka is a very skilled receiver, but he’s also a really smart one. Egbuka’s been through the Chip Kelly School of Offense and has read defenses in real time to figure out how to find open spaces when opponents keyed-in on teammates like Marvin Harrison or Garrett Wilson or Jaxon Smith-Njigba. In Jacksonville, Egbuka could thrive as a true #2 receiver alongside Brian Thomas Jr.
#6 LAS VEGAS RAIDERS — DL MASON GRAHAM (MICHIGAN)
The Raiders could be so, insanely Raidersy with another menace in the trenches.
#7 NEW YORK JETS — CB WILL JOHNSON (MICHIGAN)
My apologies for having a boring pick here, but talent-wise, this is too hard to pass for the Aaron Glenn regime to begin. I just wonder if Johnson’s non-participation for most of last season will be a deterrent for some on draft night.
#8 CAROLINA PANTHERS — DL DERRICK HARMON (OREGON)
Carolina has the easiest and hardest job with this pick. There aren’t a lot of bad options at #8 because almost anybody picked here is worthy of helping this team out. But the problem is just that, there are too many problems with this team, and a future Hall-of-Famer here isn’t going to be enough to solve the Panthers’ issues. I say, just keep going defense and get giant creatures like Derrick Harmon, who has a wingspan of 83 ¾”, a full five inches longer than Graham’s. He also clocked a sub-5 second 40-yard dash at the combine in his 6’4”, 313-pound body armor.
#9 NEW ORLEANS SAINTS — QB WILL HOWARD (OHIO STATE)
The Saints are pretty damn screwed at quarterback. Derek Carr’s going under the knife and Spencer Rattler just isn’t all that. Will Howard, come on down.
#10 CHICAGO BEARS — OT JOSH CONERLY JR. (OREGON)
It’s no secret that the Bears need to give Caleb Williams some protection up-front, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Ben Johnson thought that very highly of the Oregon tackle. Josh Conerly Jr. is probably a top-3 tackle in this year’s draft behind the two names out of the SEC, and is young enough to morph into a cornerstone blocker for and offense that could really use one.
#11 SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS — OT JOSH SIMMONS (OHIO STATE)
The 49ers might need to think about who it wants as its successor to Trent Williams, who will inevitably retire one day.
#12 DALLAS COWBOYS — TE COLSTON LOVELAND (MICHIGAN)
The Cowboys need hands away from Cee Dee Lamb, so TE Colston Loveland it is.
#13 MIAMI DOLPHINS — OT DONOVAN JACKSON (OHIO STATE)
Donovan Jackson was a two-time All-Big Ten player before he was a First Team All-American. Jackson was a five-star recruit out of high school and the Dolphins need all the O-line talent it can take.
#14 INDIANAPOLIS COLTS — OT AIREONTAE ERSERY (MINNESOTA)
Colts fans want a tight end like Warren, but regardless of his availability, going O-line here says you’re serious about your run game having long-term success. Ersery didn’t play organized football until his uncle and the high school coaching staff talked him into it leading into his sophomore year. Turns out, he was pretty decent, but was just a three-star recruit when he committed to Minnesota. By the end of his college career, he finished as a Second Team All-American and is now a 6’6”, 331-pound prospect in the draft process.
#15 ATLANTA FALCONS — EDGE JT TUIMOLOAU (OHIO STATE)
JT Tuimoloau’s near 35-inch arms stand out for his position, and his 12.5 sacks made in 2024 certainly matter in terms of having a productive outlook on his future.
#16 ARIZONA CARDINALS — DL KENNETH GRANT (MICHIGAN)
The #3 player in last summer’s Freak’s List, Grant was an obvious player to want to keep an eye out for in 2024.
#17 CINCINNATI BENGALS — EDGE JACK SAWYER (OHIO STATE)
Some guys are taller, some other dudes might even be faster. But is there a prospect in the country with more Ohio in them than Sawyer? Hell to the no. Sawyer is the exact type of spirit this defense needs to play opposite of Joe Burrow.
#18 SEATTLE SEAHAWKS — OG MARCUS MBOW (PURDUE)
I’ve got no idea what to expect from this new-looking Seattle team, but QB Sam Darnold isn’t giving his new team any victories without some added help up front. Mbow’s a versatile prospect, and Seattle needs both help and versatility.
#19 TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS — LB CARSON SCHWESINGER (UCLA)
Carson Schwesinger’s a cool story that’s harder and harder to find, which makes guys like him easier and easier to appreciate. A no-star walk-on at UCLA to First Team All-American, Schwesinger’s a go-getter that rose up through special teams and could be a real player in the NFL on defense right away.
#20 DENVER BRONCOS — RB KALEB JOHNSON (IOWA)
A 1,500-yard rusher with 23 total touchdowns scored at Iowa last season, Johnson should be a legit target for the Broncos in this draft.
#21 PITTSBURGH STEELERS — QB MAX BROSMER (MINNESOTA)
Definitively, Max Brosmer is a quarterback, which is technically a position of need for the Steelers. The good news is that the Steelers historically make chicken salad out of all of its draft picks, so this should work out just fine.
#22 LOS ANGELES CHARGERS — WR TEZ JOHNSON (OREGON)
For as talented and speedy Tez Johnson is, he’d definitely be a different player for Jim Harbaugh. When’s the last time he coached somebody that was 150 pounds?
#23 GREEN BAY PACKERS — RB TREVEYON HENDERSON (OHIO STATE)
Tre Henderson leaves Ohio State as a top-5 rusher all-time and his speed is certainly going to play at the next level.
#24 MINNESOTA VIKINGS — RB QUINSHON JUDKINS (OHIO STATE)
Another Ohio State running back off the board, but Judkins spent just one year with the Buckeyes. He has two years of playing experience at Ole Miss too. Judkins rushed for over 1,000 yards in all three of his playing seasons with a career rushing average of 5.12 yards per carry (45 total TD rushed).
#25 HOUSTON TEXANS — OT MYLES HINTON (MICHIGAN)
When you need blockers, you get blockers. Hinton was originally a Stanford player when David Shaw ran the show, then transferred over to Michigan ahead of the 2023 season.
#26 LOS ANGELES RAMS — CB DENZEL BURKE (OHIO STATE)
Maybe Denzel Burke doesn’t come into this draft cycle with the kind of profile one might’ve expected when he earned Freshman All-American honors in 2021, but I still think he’s a talented enough to consider here.
#27 BALTIMORE RAVENS — EDGE JORDAN BURCH (OREGON)
Good size at 6’4” and 279 pounds, the South Carolina and Oregon product might end up being a dependable edge defender in the league one day.
#28 DETROIT LIONS — EDGE OLUWAFEMI OLADEJO (UCLA)
The UCLA edge has a long reach with near 34-inch arms and a wingspan just over 82 inches.
#29 WASHINGTON COMMANDERS — TE MOLIKI MATAVAO (UCLA)
A big-bodied target that has the size to help fill out a tight end room. He’s not exactly a traditional hand-in-the-dirt TE, but he can probably make a difference in an RPO-friendly system.
#30 BUFFALO BILLS — DL TYLEIK WILLIAMS (OHIO STATE)
I see a lot of mock drafts saying the Bills should go D-line, so I’m following suit here with one of the top run defenders in the class.
#31 KANSAS CITY CHIEFS — OT HOLLIN PIERCE (RUTGERS)
I don’t need to see the mock drafts to know that the Chiefs need some blockers. Getting linemen now won’t unlose them the most recent Super Bowl against the Eagles, but the Chiefs should still get as many O-linemen as they can with this pick.
#32 PHILADELPHIA EAGLES — DL TY HAMILTON (OHIO STATE)
Mr. Irrelevant of the Big Ten only draft, Ty Hamilton is a tough-nosed player that got some Honorable Mention recognition with Ohio State.
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