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Last week Mel Kiper dropped his first mock draft of the 2020 NFL season and has the Arizona Cardinals taking Andrew Thomas from Georgia.
What about the rest of the NFC West?
Well, the Los Angeles Rams joined the Arizona Cardinals on the outside of the NFC Playoffs and of course they have no first round draft picks... until 2022. Nerds.
That means the next team to draft from the NFC West is the Seattle Seahawks, and that is not until pick 27.
It is a call back to last year, where they definitely fixed their edge rushing situation.
27. Seattle Seahawks
Zack Baun, OLB, Wisconsin
It’s fair to say the early returns on 2019 first-round pick L.J. Collier, whom I ranked outside my top 50, were disappointing; he played just 142 defensive snaps and didn’t have a sack. Put that next to an injury-plagued season from Ezekiel Ansah and an inconsistent year from Jadeveon Clowney, and the Seahawks produced a very un-Pete-Carroll-like 28 total sacks, tied for second fewest in the league.
Baun is a pretty good pass rusher, but getting an immediate impact pass rusher late in round one is uncommon.
Meanwhile, while the 49ers don’t have a set pick yet, Kiper has them losing the Super Bowl and picking 31st.
31. San Francisco 49ers
Grant Delpit, S, LSU
Can the 49ers hit a home run here like they did with their first two picks (Nick Bosa and Deebo Samuel) in 2019? That could be tough, with the Niners not picking again until the fifth round. That makes this pick extremely important — they have to get a contributor, or trade down to pick up more assets.
Delpit is quite the get here at 31, but it makes sense with Jimmie Ward ready to hit free agency.
So, Thomas, Baun and Delpit coming into the NFC West in 2020, how would you rank the players and fit?