On Wednesday, Mike Tannenbaum, former NFL general manager for the New York Jets (and front office manager for the Miami Dolphins), released a mock ESPN draft in which he made it clear that he took a different approach than some other analysts.
I’ll leave the actual predictions for Round 1 to my colleagues. This is not what I expect or what I hear. Instead, below is how I would make each first-round pick if I were representing each of the 24 teams with at least one Day 1 pick. It’s based on my own evaluations and preferences, as well as what I feel makes the most sense for each team on the board.
With this approach, many of the same faces appeared in Tannenbaum’s first-round picks – although some ended up in different positions than we normally see. For the Kansas City Chiefs, Tannenbaum chose a wide receiver and defensive end.
29. Kansas City Chiefs WR Jameson Williams, Alabama
The Chiefs traded Tyreek Hill. Now they have a chance to use one of the picks that came to Kansas City in return to draft his replacement. Williams has torn his cruciate ligament and won’t be ready for Week 1, but his blast and speed make him an ideal Chiefs draft pick. I was really impressed with Williams’ game in the SEC championship when he had seven catches for 184 yards and two touchdowns.
30. Kansas City Chiefs DE Arnold Ebiketie, Penn State
As for defense, I want to get a productive edge rusher. Only three teams had fewer sacks than the Chiefs’ 31 in 2021, but Ebiketie posted 9.5 sacks for Penn State last season after joining from Temple.
Just like in the Bucky Brooks mock we covered Wednesday, we see an analyst replace wide receiver Tyreek Hill in the first round — but unlike Brooks, he uses Kansas City’s other pick to pick a defensive to reach the end instead of a certainty. Also, unlike Brooks, he walks out of a top school with a wideout — albeit with an injury that could keep him off the field for at least part of the upcoming season. Interestingly, edge rushers like Purdue’s George Karlaftis and Minnesota’s Boye Mafe were still available when Tannenbaum sent Ebiketie to Kansas City. However, he is not alone in making this judgement. The former Nittany Lion was taunted in two more first-round projections in front of the Chiefs.
National mock draft picks
| position | Surname | school | pt |
| S | Daxton Hill | Michigan | 16% |
| EDGE | Georg Karlaftis | Purdue | 13% |
| EDGE | Boye Mafe | Minnesota | 9% |
| cb | Kaiir Elam | Florida | 7% |
| EDGE | Arnold Ebiketie | Pennsylvania | 5% |
| WR | Jamesson Williams | Alabama | 5% |
| S | Jalen Pitre | Baylor | 4% |
| cb | Kyler Gordon | Washington | 4% |
| WR | Jahan Dotson | Pennsylvania | 4% |
| WR | Treylon Burks | Arkansas | 4% |
| WR | George Pickens | Georgia | 4% |
| DT | Devonte Wyatt | Georgia | 4% |
| cb | Roger McCreary | Maroon | 2% |
| EN | Cameron Thomas | State of San Diego | 2% |
| EDGE | Jermaine Johnson II | State of Florida | 2% |
| EN | DeMarvin Leal | Texas A&M | 2% |
| WR | Chris Olav | State of Ohio | 2% |
| WR | DrakeLondon | U.S.C | 2% |
| WR | Christian Watson | N. Dakota State | 2% |
| WR | Garret Wilson | State of Ohio | 2% |
| WR | Sky Moore | W Michigan | 2% |
| DT | Jordan Davis | Georgia | 2% |
| DT | Logan Hall | Houston | 2% |
| OIL | Bernhard Raiman | Central Michigan | 2% |
National mock draft positions
| position | pt |
| defensive back | 33% |
| Edge rusher | 33% |
| wide receiver | 25% |
| Defensive tackle | 7% |
| offensive line | 2% |
| Close end | 0% |
| Back race | 0% |
| linebacker | 0% |
opinion poll
Which of these wideouts would you prefer?
68%
Jameson Williams (373 votes)
12%
Garrett Wilson (67 votes)
547 total votes Vote now
opinion poll
Which of these edge rushers would you prefer?
19%
Arnold Ebiketie (80 votes)
37%
George Karlaftis (158 votes)
420 total votes Vote now