Now that the College Football season is over following Ohio State’s 34-23 win over Notre Dame and the NFL Playoffs closing towards the end with the Conference Championships this weekend, the NFL Draft starts to become the top talking point in the football community. As college fans won’t have any football to root for till the Fall, they’ll cheer for the NFL hopes of the players from their schools.
The recent mock draft by Sporting News, the ninth edition, reflects the risers and fallers from the College Football Playoffs and the deep dives that have happened with top prospects. While it seemed as if the top of the NFL Draft would stay consistent, a prediction has happened that could see a star quarterback fall down the board.
Mocked to the Las Vegas Raiders at sixth overall, Sporting News projects the Raiders to start their new regime with Miami Hurricanes star quarterback Cam Ward at the helm. Here’s what they had to say about the pick:
“The Raiders may or may not want to land Sanders, but they should be more than fine with Ward with the right new coaching staff that will take advantage of his dual-threat potential. Las Vegas has tried to bridge this position with veterans and limited investment, but it’s time to splurge on a first-rounder with part-owner Tom Brady now involved.”
While many mock drafts, such as ESPN’s Jordan Reid, have Ward going first overall to the Tennesee Titans, the latest Sporting News mock has them opting to take the potential top player available in Colorado’s Travis Hunter.
The Raiders already fired both their head coach and general manager this offseason, so the move to draft Ward would go together with a complete organizational change in Las Vegas. If Ward were to land in Vegas, he’d have the privilege of throwing to this year’s top tight end Brock Bowers, who nearly eclipsed 1,200 and had five touchdowns as a rookie.