Mayock's Full Draft Board Read

Mike Mayock joined the show 13 days out from the draft, and the conversation moved from Sumer Sports interviews to the Raiders to a board-wide read on tackles, receivers, and quarterbacks. It closed with a 12-year-old Draft Day story.

Mayock opened with the Sumer Sports position-by-position series, crediting conversations with Howie Long, Maxx Crosby, Steve Smith, and Luke Kuechly. He shared the origin story of his friendship with Long, who was a 16-year-old high school junior in South Boston during the busing era. Long's grandmother moved him out of the neighborhood, they roomed together at the Blue-Gray All-Star game, and 50 years later they are still close.

On Crosby and the Raiders, Mayock's guess is Crosby sticks. He told Crosby to prepare for anything and keep working, but the infrastructure Vegas built this offseason, including Kirk Cousins as a bridge and Tyler Linderbaum at center, has Crosby excited. The Cousins signing, Mayock argued, is the insurance that lets Fernando Mendoza develop on his own timeline rather than be forced in. Development is about an intersection. The kid has to be ready and the team has to be ready. Green Bay's patience with Jordan Love and Kansas City's patience with Patrick Mahomes are the templates.

At 13 days out, Mayock's board had seven offensive tackles graded high enough to go in the first round, with a steep drop after that. He flagged Georgia's Earnest Greene as the biggest riser since the end of the season and said he could go as early as pick six to Cleveland. At wide receiver he raised Indiana's Omar Cooper as a possible fourth receiver off the board, and he was watching for medical rechecks on Matthew Golden and Jordan Tyson.

On Ty Simpson, Mayock repeated his worry. A 6'1", 212-pound one-year starter with a good arm, quick feet, and tied eyes and feet. Ideal landing spot is second round to the Rams behind Stafford. The fear is the first round. He grouped Simpson with Bo Nix and Jayden Daniels as second-round grades and noted the situation matters more than the slot.

On 2027's quarterback class looming over this draft, Mayock pushed back on counting chickens. Arch Manning did not declare. The Oregon quarterback stayed for the NIL money. Demand exceeds supply at the position, which is why panic pushes value up every April.

The segment closed with the story of shooting Draft Day. Mayock, sitting in Radio City Music Hall with Ivan Reitman, told the director that Stripes was his favorite movie but the second half in Germany was not very good. Reitman's answer was that they ran out of money. Rich's punchline to Mayock held up. Not everything in life requires an evaluation.