Mock Drafts are played out. They're tedious, too wordy, and require a ton of scrolling; the UX is terrible across the board. You know what's better than a Mock Draft? A Mock Draft Simulator. It's not really the same thing, but it's close enough to give you the answers you're looking for in like, half the time.
ESPN rolled their Mock Draft Simulator out this week, and it's full of interesting tidbits. And maybe 'full' isn't the right word, but at the very least it's interesting enough to spend 12 mintes on. And in those 12 minutes, you can see exactly what The ESPN Algorithm thinks will happen with any team's pick, in any round. For instance, were you curious about who the Texans may take with their first pick in the draft this year (42 overall)? Let ESPN tell you:
3 most likely players Texans will draft at No. 42, according to ESPN
Ennis Rakestraw Jr., DB, Missouri
Braden Fiske, DT, Florida State
Edgerrin Cooper, LB, Texas A&M
For the 42nd pick, it's not a bad group. Per PFF, Rakestraw is CB7, Fiske is DT3, and Cooper is LB2. Getting either the 2nd or 3rd best prospect, midway through the 2nd round, feels like an objective win for the Texans. Cooper would probably see the most playing time right off the bat, but with both current All Pros and some decent vets at all three of those position – plus the fact that their head coach is DeMeco Ryans – any of these guys would come into about as good a Year 1 situation as prospects get.
But remember: if this doesn't work out, and the Texans don't take any of these three players specifically, you can always blame the algorithm. Everyone loves blaming algorithms.