NFL Mock Draft: How the first-round shakes out after Sam Darnold trade

The Los Angeles Chargers found their franchise quarterback in the 2020 NFL Draft, landing an absolute star in Oregon’s Justin Herbert. This kid tore up the NFL in his rookie season, and going forward, they need to do everything they can to protect their No. 1 asset, and that starts at pick No. 13.

With this pick, the Chargers land Christian Darrisaw, an NFL-ready offensive tackle from Virginia Tech, and plug him right in on the left side. Keeping Herbert upright is priority No. 1 for this franchise, as we have seen what he can do when he has some time to dissect defenses from the pocket.

The Minnesota Vikings could go several different ways with their first-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, and that includes trading it to the Washington Football Team or Chicago Bears if a quarterback is still on the board. While many have them taking Alijah Vera-Tucker here, and that would be an excellent get, the team turns their attention to the defensive side of the ball in our latest mock.

With this pick, the Vikings address the cornerback position, one that became, even more, an issue after all the Jeff Gladney news this past week. Jaycee Horn is right up there in terms of the top-3 cornerbacks in this draft class and has CB1 written all over him.

The New England Patriots have done a great job revamping their roster this offseason, getting better on both sides of the ball. While they did throw a ton of money at Nelson Agholor, they should not be done with the wide receiver position, and they get a Heisman Trophy winner here with the No. 15 overall pick in DeVonta Smith.

Smith would be an excellent addition to this Patriots offense and would be a steal here in the middle first round. The Patriots could certainly move up in round one if they feel they like one of the quarterbacks, something I would not put past Bill Belichick.