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The Tufts Daily
Where you read it first | Monday, December 23, 2024

The Coin Toss: One more toss

Welcome to The Coin Toss, where I make bold, unlikely predictions about your favorite professional sports. This will be the last edition of the semester. Sad, I know.

Over the past couple of weeks, I predicted four NBA playoff series winners. I had the Jazz over the Clippers, the Rockets over the Thunder, the Raptors over the Bucks and the Wizards over the Hawks. As I write this, none of the series is over yet, so I won't be able to recap those predictions. Keep an eye on the results, and remember who called it!

The NFL Draft starts on Thursday, so I thought I'd do a top-ten mock draft for you guys. It's very hard, even for the Mel Kipers of the world, to get more than a few picks correct. I think it'll be fun nonetheless!

1. Cleveland Browns: DE Myles Garrett

No surprise here, the best player in the draft goes first -- unless the Browns screw this up again and take a QB, which I think they'll save for their twelfth pick.

2. San Francisco 49ers: DE Solomon Thomas

The Niners need help up front, so they go with the Stanford product here. It should be an easy choice, assuming Garrett is off the board.

3. Chicago Bears: S Jamal Adams

Adams is probably the best defensive back in the draft. The Bears desperately need help in their secondary. I think they'll go with Adams here over Ohio State's Marshon Lattimore and Malik Hooker.

4. Jacksonville Jaguars: RB Leonard Fournette

How do you not pick Fournette here? The Jags have a lot of youth on defense, and Blake Bortles needs help on the other side of the ball. Fournette is a very talented back that can make an impact right away.

5. Tennessee Titans: WR Mike Williams

The Titans lost out on Alshon Jeffery and they still need a target for Marcus Mariota. Enter Mike Williams from Clemson, the best wideout in the draft this year.

6. New York Jets: CB Marshon Lattimore

As a Jets fan, this was the hardest pick to choose. They have so many holes, but their secondary was atrocious last year. I think they'll address that issue by finding Darrelle Revis' successor as cornerback.

7. Los Angeles Chargers: S Malik Hooker

Very weird to write that, 'Los Angeles' Chargers. Anyway, the best player left on the board is Malik Hooker, and this is another team with a lot of needs. They get an impact safety here with the seventh pick.

8. Carolina Panthers: RB Christian McCaffrey

If Fournette is gone, this is the obvious choice for Carolina. They need a running back badly, and McCaffrey has emerged as the second-favorite back over FSU's Dalvin Cook.

9. Cincinnati Bengals: DE Derek Barnett

Almost had Reuben Foster here, but I think teams will be afraid to take him early after the diluted sample. Barnett is the best defensive end left at this spot, and the Bengals should look to fill that need.

10. Buffalo Bills: TE O.J. Howard

The Alabama product is far-and-away the best tight end in the draft. He'll make an impact right away and he would be a dependable target for Tyrod Taylor in Buffalo's new offense.