Chase Young goes No. 1 overall in latest NFL mock draft

Mock drafts fuel the NFL draft community all year long, and a new top-five mock was recently published that didn’t have a quarterback going first overall.

It’s still early in the 2020 NFL draft process (extremely, absurdly early), so mock drafts that are published this time of year are really meant to lay the groundwork for the upcoming college football season and paint a picture of which players will begin the year as the premier players in the country.

So take them with a grain of salt.

That said, they’re still a lot of fun to read and analyze.

Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller published his latest swing at an early mock draft, although it was an abbreviated top-five variety.

Miller went against the popular narrative right now, one that has either Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa or Oregon QB Justin Herbert as the likely first pick overall and instead sent the Arizona Cardinals some help for their pass rush in Ohio State’s Chase Young.

Young’s upside as a pass rusher is undeniable. He possesses a fantastic combination of size, bend and power, and with another year of refinement, will be graded similarly to the top edge defenders who have come out in recent years. It wouldn’t be a shock if he ends up as the first pick, but it would only be in a scenario like this where the Cardinals already have a young franchise quarterback on the roster.

That isn’t the case for the Bengals, however. And that’s who Miller has selecting second overall; they grab Tagovailoa with their pick.

This one’s a no-brainer. And it doesn’t matter what kind of year Andy Dalton has in 2019. Even if he has a Pro Bowl season, Cincinnati is going to be in the market for their next-generation franchise player. Enter Tua.

As for Herbert? He goes third to the Dolphins.

Unlike the Bengals, Miami’s need at quarterback will come down to how Josh Rosen performs this year. He has a chance to play himself into the centerpiece of the franchise considering how highly regarded of a prospect he was in 2018. He was a top-10 pick and pegged as a blue-chip quarterback during his draft cycle. A big year in 2019 means the gig is his in South Beach for a really long time.

For the rest of Miller’s mock draft, click here.