Last year, in a final moment of mock-draft panic, I called editor Mitch Goldich just before midnight and asked that Trey Lance and Mac Jones be swapped in my post. I originally had Lance going third to the 49ers because, the reasoning went, Lance would add a unique dynamic to Kyle Shanahan’s offense—a kind of Robert Griffin III–plus-plus—that would lend itself to concepts that would force defenses to fight against themselves to solve the scheme. I decided to move up Jones because, as I wrote at the time, the coach had an affinity for fast processors whose accuracy developed before their body strength. Jones was certainly that player.

After feeling the stinging disappointment Las Vegas Raiders Jerseys  when Shanahan opted for Lance, my mock-drafting goals began to shift. I would like to lean not toward what teams will do but what they should do. Call it a moving scoring system, but it’s nice to be proven right after the fact if a player you liked, who gets passed over by a team, ends up succeeding elsewhere.

While teams will never admit it, they make decisions for all kinds of different reasons. They’re afraid to be wrong. They have to listen to their owner. They are lorded over by some dark, analytical machine that secretly directs their decision-making process and only reveals its choice of Harvey Mudd College linebacker Mack Stillman six days before the draft, totally alienating their scouts and coaching staff.So, why not talk about why we love the players we love, why we think teams need what they need and who might fit best in that slot while acknowledging that none of these factors may eventually represent the tipping point in an actual decision-making process? That sounds like fun, doesn’t it? (Ed. note: Sounds good to me, just please don’t change your philosophy again at midnight. Thanks. –Mitch)Neal blows me away on tape. Our Albert Breer recently noted Aiden Hutchinson is the likely top pick due in part to a wariness in perception from GM Trent Baalke. After the Urban Meyer storm left town, there is certainly pressure on both owner Shad Khan and Baalke to do normal football things. Taking the player who has become somewhat of a consensus No. 1 would classify. It would be the opposite of, say, kicking one of your players.

That said, I think Neal would benefit the Jaguars in the longer run. Doug Pederson’s quarterbacks earn a longer leash each year in his system. By the end of the Carson Wentz era in Philadelphia, there was so much long-drop hero ball. That kind of offense requires a Boston Red Sox Jerseys tackle who can sink deep into the pocket, maintain a balanced foundation against talented edge players and fend off attackers for longer periods of time. Neal can do that better than anyone else in the draft.I don’t particularly care that the Jaguars have a left tackle on the franchise tag. Move him around. I’ve been told Cam Robinson can play guard. Move Neal around for a year and cross-train him. Be a team that sets your offensive line up for success. Baalke himself told me at the combine this year that the edge class provides value into the third round. Pick up your secondary pass rusher there. Take care of Trevor Lawrence here.

Also, to the point of Breer’s sources on Baalke, what would be bad about the perception of protecting Lawrence? I think a large segment of the Jaguars’ fan base would breathe a sigh of relief knowing their generational prospect is well taken care of.

2. Detroit Lions: Aidan Hutchinson, edge, Michigan

Pair the guy with the Middle Ages ground warfare face paint and Dan Campbell together and you really have something, no? Hutchinson’s film was a blast to scroll through, though the Georgia game gave me some momentary pause. Is it fair to criticize a potential No. 1 pick for playing in a bowl game? Probably not. Is it fair to criticize Hutchinson when, defensively, he is going to be keyed on every down? Probably not. That said, there were moments when he was blocked out of running plays by non-offensive linemen. He had his best rushes when switched to the nondominant tackle. This would have been my internal Boston Red Sox Jersey argument for Neal vs. Hutchinson, anyway.That said, Hutchinson was a Tarzan-like character for most of his Michigan career. He is athletic, furiously competitive and fluid in the trenches. The Lions desperately need this kind of homegrown superstar, raised in Dearborn, to come and provide the franchise with a legitimate building block of the future.

3. Houston Texans: Ikem Ekwonu, OT, North Carolina State

I do enjoy the theory that the Texans would go with a cornerback here in order to help Lovie Smith, when the Texans so poorly mistreated their last coach and are so clearly scheming toward some future time we can’t yet wrap our heads around. If Houston pivots to something that helps bolster Smith’s favored Tampa 2 defense, consider me shocked and blown away. Ekwonu would provide some stability for the Texans and a run-blocking presence. Eventually, he’d also provide a suitable long-term replacement for Laremy Tunsil.4. New York Jets: Kayvon Thibodeaux, edge, Oregon

Robert Saleh badly wanted another edge player to pair with Carl Lawson in the first round of last year’s draft, but the Jets found a perfect system player in Alijah Vera-Tucker for whom they needed to move up. The return of Lawson gives the Jets some juice at the edge position, and the arrival of an athlete like Thibodeaux would provide the bookends Saleh needs to run a more representative version of his defense. The Jets prioritize numbers in coverage and not necessarily a reliance on a star player, like an Ahmad Gardner, here. Thibodeaux’s personality has been mangled into a sloppy predraft narrative by the NFL industrial complex looking for another character in their reality show. He’ll be fine alongside a considerate mind like Saleh. Also, having a little bit of an edge will serve him well in Florham Park.5. New York Giants: Ahmad Gardner, CB, Cincinnati

New Giants defensive coordinator Don Martindale could very well change his stripes in East Rutherford and blitz less, though even in a more reserved 2022 the Ravens were sending extra rushers on almost a third of their defensive snaps. Gardner would take James Bradberry’s spot and pair with Adoree’ Jackson for a cornerback tandem that is good enough to stay afloat in the NFC East right away. The Giants certainly have some more work to do, but I was always impressed by what Brian Daboll did with Josh Allen while the Bills’ offensive line was a work in progress. Maybe they’ll press a top need here and hope for the best two picks later. Or maybe (see below) …

6. Carolina Panthers: Charles Cross, OT, Mississippi State

I really can’t imagine, as smart and as successful a person as owner David Tepper is, that he’d allow his franchise to take a blind and consequential swing at the QB position here at No. 6. Maybe the Panthers are still in on Baker Mayfield. Maybe there is something else in the works. That said, the current structure of this franchise is a house of cards, and the true reset will come a year from now. Having to possibly inherit a new coach who will need to develop, say, Malik Willis, is a really difficult business proposition.