Divining NFL draft intentions has never been particularly easy, which probably accounts for why hypothetical predictions of picks are fittingly called “mock.” Secrecy on the teams’ part has ratcheted up over time, to a level typically accorded nuclear launch codes, which has added to the difficulty factor for mock’sters. GM Ryan Pace donning a disguise to attend quarterback Mitchell Trubisky’s final college game, the 2016 Sun Bowl, spoke to the degree of subterfuge personnel staffs are willing to resort to as camouflage.
But there invariably are clues, even if knowing which breadcrumbs in the trail are real and which are feints requires a Ouija board.