Mel Kiper completely revamped the top 5 in his new mock draft

Kyler Murray ascends to the No. 1 spot. Then it’s time for some defense.

ESPN draft android Mel Kiper has been on his horse since the end of the college football season, during a full year of game tape, Senior Bowl practices, and combine results into a comprehensive listing of 2019’s top NFL prospects.

On Tuesday he dropped his third mock draft of 2019 with a 32-pick rundown of his best guesses for the upcoming festivities in Nashville — and there aren’t too many surprises, at least among the top 20 selections. That doesn’t mean Kiper’s staying the course from his February picks. A handful of new names, including a Big Ten receiving standout who’s been burning up the pre-draft process, enter the fray as Day 1 winds down.

After making an all defensive line top five last month, March’s mock puts a quarterback atop the 2019 NFL Draft and pushes an inside linebacker — LSU’s Devin White — into a completely revised top five. So what did we learn from Kiper’s latest set of best guesses?

This year’s crop of quarterbacks is going pretty much where you’d expect

Kiper had ducked below the Kyler Murray-to-Arizona smoke in his February draft, but Kliff Kingsbury’s infatuation with reigning Heisman winner pushed him to the top of Kiper’s draft board in March. The veteran prognosticator now sees the Cardinals punting on 2018 No. 10 overall pick Josh Rosen in favor of Murray. That’d give Kingsbury a truly fresh start in his first season as an NFL coach and the best chance to run the innovative offense he hopes to bring to the big leagues without a hitch.

Next comes Ohio State standout Dwayne Haskins, who solves the Giants’ Eli Manning conundrum at No. 6 — though Kiper isn’t entirely sold on the concept. The momentum of a Haskins-to-New York pick has cooled recently; the pairing was as high as 80 percent among mock drafts a couple weeks ago. It’s now dropped under 50 percent. That trend is something the ESPN scribe has noticed as well.

But, again, there’s no guarantee Haskins (6-foot-3, 231 pounds) will be available at No. 6, and GM Dave Gettleman might have to move up to get him. The team now has the No. 17 overall pick from the Odell Beckham Jr. trade, which could be used in another deal. It’s no certainty that the Giants take a quarterback with this pick, however; they are clearly rebuilding, have several needs (offensive tackle and edge rusher stand out) and could instead use the 17th pick for a QB.

Only one more quarterback hears his name on Day 1 in Kiper’s latest simulation. Missouri’s Drew Lock goes to the Dolphins at No. 13, meaning the Broncos and Jaguars will pass up the temptation to add a young passer thanks to the presence of former Super Bowl MVPs on their roster (Joe Flacco and Nick Foles, respectively). Washington, selecting at No. 15, is also out of the first round running.

That means Duke quarterback Daniel Jones, who has been a first-round pick in Kiper’s last two mock drafts, will have to wait until Friday (or later) to hear his name called in Nashville. This lines up with Dan Kadar’s two-round mock here at SB Nation — he’s got Lock sliding to Washington, but Jones waiting until Jacksonville at No. 38 before hearing his name called.

There are a few new names cropping up late in the draft cycle

Ohio State wideout Terry McLaurin didn’t produce until Haskins supercharged the Buckeye passing attack last fall. That pushed him into draft consideration, but it’s been a bang-up pre-draft process that’s vaulted him into the first round of Kiper’s mock. He turned heads at the Senior Bowl before performing admirably at the combine and at OSU’s pro day.

As a result, the longtime draftnik sees the Colts pairing him with T.Y. Hilton with the 26th pick of the day. Could this be the team that’s reportedly made him a first round promise?

A team told @TheTerry_25 today at the @OhioStFootball pro day to make sure his phone is on during Day One of the @NFL draft- so there is that. The man does check every box. Every one.

— Buddy Baker (@ESG_Baker) March 20, 2019

That move would make for a heartwarming homecoming for McLaurin, who attended Cathedral High School in Indianapolis. It would also disqualify him from being a Day 2 steal.

He’s not the only riser to make his Mel Kiper mock draft debut Tuesday. Temple cornerback Rock Ya-Sin rode one season at Temple and a solid combine all the way to Oakland with the 27th pick. Texas A&M center (and occasional guard) Erik McCoy stood out as the combine’s fastest offensive lineman and worked his way up to the No. 22 pick for the Ravens — a mild surprise for a player who didn’t make Dan Kadar’s two-round mock draft at all this week.

McCoy landed one spot behind another inside blocker, Boston College’s Chris Lindstrom. The former Eagle’s solid pre-draft performances have made him the latest solution to the Seahawks’ offensive line programs at No. 21. NC State center Garrett Bradbury caps off a run of newly added (on Kiper’s list) interior linemen by replacing released veteran John Sullivan with the Rams at No. 31.

The Patriots’ Rob Gronkowski replacement is ...

Alabama tight end Irv Smith Jr., assuming he lasts until the 32nd overall pick (Kadar has him snatched up by Green Back two picks prior). He’s the third first-round pick at his position, following Iowa’s powerful pass-catching duo of T.J. Hockenson (10th overall pick by the Denver Broncos) and Noah Fant (who nearly fell to New England before getting snapped up by the Packers at No. 30). Gronkowski’s retirement made tight end a priority for Bill Belichick in Kiper’s eyes — even more so than finding Tom Brady’s heir. In his first two mocks, the ESPN prognosticator had the Pats selecting Duke passer Jones with the final selection of Day 1.

With that, Kiper sees as many tight ends landing in the first round as wide receivers and running backs combined. While he sees McLaurin landing in Indiana, he’s also got Ole Miss combine superstar D.K. Metcalf going 12th overall to the Packers and Alabama tailback Josh Jacobs finding a temporary home in Oakland at No. 24. Oklahoma burner Marquise Brown had previously been a top 15 choice in Kiper’s last mock draft, but the offseason foot surgery that kept him out of the combine was evidently enough to scare the world’s foremost draft sherpa away.

Of course, with six of the draft’s first 101 selections, Belichick and the Patriots could always find a way to jump the line and boost their depleted receiving corps with a handful of trades come draft day.

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