Minnesota Football: Mocking the Mocks

With the 2021 NFL Draft kicking off this evening live from Cleveland, the excitement is also ramping up in Stadium Village. The Minnesota Golden Gophers will have two players drafted this weekend that is a given. What is still up in the air is just where Rashod Bateman and Benjamin St. Juste will end up to start their NFL careers, and when they will be selected. Will Bateman be the first Gopher to be selected in the first round of the NFL draft since Laurence Maroney in 2006? Will St. Juste hear his name Friday night in Rounds 2 or 3, or will he need to wait until Saturday to finally hear where he will be headed?

We took a look at as many mock drafts as we could find in the last week or so and found out where all the “experts” think the two Gophers will be headed and when. Some of the mocks are first round only and thus only Bateman may be listed while many others are full seven round mocks that have the locations for both Gophers. We also have omitted any mocks that have not been updated in the last week. Here is what we have found:

Rashod Bateman—WR

#18 overall to Miami Dolphins—MLIve.com

#19 overall to Washington Football Team—Profootball Focus

#20 overall to Chicago Bears—Peter King

#20 overall to Chicago Bears—Si.com’s Bengals Fan Site

#22 overall to Tennessee Titans— Will Brinson CBSSports.com

#22 overall to Tennessee Titans—Tennessean.com

#22 overall to Tennessee Titans —Newsday

#22 overall to Tennessee Titans—Pete Prisco CBSSports.com

#22 overall to Tennessee Titans—SBNation Writers

#22 overall to Tennessee Titans—The Ringer

#22 overall to Tennessee Titans—ProFootball Network

#23 overall to Chicago Bears via trade—The Athletic Beat Writers

#27 overall to Baltimore Ravens—Charles Davis NFL.com

#27 overall to Baltimore Ravens—Chad Reuter NFL.com

#27 overall to Baltimore Ravens—NBCsports.com

#27 overall to Baltimore Ravens—Dane Brugeler The Athletic

#27 overall to Baltimore Ravens—Bleacherreport.com

#28 overall to New Orleans Saints—John Clayton Washington Post

#28 overall to New Orleans Saints—Tankathon.com

#29 overall to Green bay Packers—ESPN NFL Nation

#29 overall to Green Bay Packers—Ryan Wilson CBSSports.com

#31 overall to Baltimore Ravens via Trade—Buffalo Rumblings (Bills SB Nation Blog)

Round 2 Pick 37 to Philadelphia Eagles—Ryan Wilson CBSSports.com

Round 2 Pick 60 to New Orleans Saints—WalterFootball.com

Round 2 Pick 63 to Kansas City Chiefs—Vinny Iyer Sportingnews.com

Not in 1st Round—Daniel Jeremiah NFL.com

Not in 1st Round-Bucky Brooks NFL.com

Not in 1st Round-Rhett Lewis NFL.com

Not in 1st Round—Brad Biggs Chicago Tribune

Not in 1st Round-Pro Football Talk

Not in 1st Round—Albert Breer SI.com

As you can see the predictions for Bateman are all over the end of the first round of the draft. The leader in the predictions is the Tennessee Titans with seven different predictions that Bateman will head to Nashville. But there are at least five changes that Bateman will end up in the NFC North either with the Bears or the Packers. Baltimore is another popular landing spot and with two picks in the first round seem like a decent possibility. But there are at least eight mocks we found, some by some pretty heavy hitters who have Bateman falling out of the first round completely. A lot man depend on where the rest of the wide outs go in the first round...if they go early then there is a good chance Bate goes too. If the WRs slip...that might push Bateman back to the second round. I’ll be shocked if he goes in the 60’s though like a couple of people have him going.

Our TDG prediction? Bateman goes to Baltimore with the #27 selection.

Benjamin St. Juste—CB

Round 2 Pick 66 to New York Jets—Buffalo Rumblings

Round 3 Pick 73 to Carolina Panthers—Chad Reuter NFL.com

Round 3 PIck 88 to Los Angeles Rams—Ryan Wilson CBSSports.com

Round 3 Pick 91 to Cleveland Browns—Pro Football Focus

Round 3 Pick 92 to Green Bay Packers—Pro Football Network

Round 4 Pick 120 to New England Patriots—Dane Brugler The Athletic

Round 5 Pick 155 to San Francisco 49ers—Vinny Iyer Sportsingnews.com

Round 7 Pick 242 New England Patriots—Walterfootball.com

As for St. Juste he is also all over the board. He could go as early as the late second round, and one guy who REALLY hates the Gophers in this draft has him going midway through the 7th. That won’t happen but I could see him going anywhere from the early third to the early 5th depending on how things go.

Our TDG prediction? St. Juste goes to San Francisco with pick 102 in the 3rd round.