Different is intriguing with a glut of mock drafts surfacing in the lead up to the 2020 NFL draft. Most mocks have the same two or three players heading to San Francisco with the No. 13 pick, and perhaps a handful of different projections for the No. 31 slot. Pro Football Focus gave a big shakeup with their Analytics Mock Draft 2.0.
PFF devises the analytics mock based on two criteria: positional value and college-to-pro projections. Here’s how the analytics site explains each of those elements:
1. Positional value – Our goal isn’t to pick the eventual rookie of the year, it’s to win a Super Bowl. Saquon Barkley is awesome at his job, but his job doesn’t contribute to winning nearly as much as that of his quarterback. Players who impact the passing game have the most value, and that is reflected here.
2. Our college-to-pro projections – We take into account how each player grades in different situations in college and train algorithms to project performance into a set of NFL situations. We also take into account the prospect’s athletic profile with respect to each facet of play. Here is a more in-depth look at these projections for stud playmaker Isaiah Simmons from Clemson, for example.
Those two criteria lead to an intriguing mock. Wide receiver Henry Ruggs III, a popular mock choice for San Francisco, is gone to the Giants with the fourth pick. Ruggs’ college teammate Jerry Jeudy, another frequent 49ers mock selection, goes No. 6 to the Chargers, and CeeDee Lamb is
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