5 biggest surprises from Mel Kiper’s latest mock draft. Feat Shedeur Sanders to Saints

The godfather of mock drafts, Mel Kiper Jr., is back once again with his newest mock draft. For the first time this year, Kiper has mocked two rounds instead of one, giving us more insight into how teams will approach the draft holistically.

One of the biggest surprises is Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders falling to the New Orleans Saints at pick No. 9. We look at Sanders to the Saints and four other major surprises from the mock draft.

5 biggest surprises from Mel Kiper’s latest mock draft

1. Shedeur Sanders falls to the New Orleans Saints at pick No. 9

Kiper had previously projected Shedeur Sanders to the New York Giants at three, but now Sanders is falling to the New Orleans Saints at nine, and the Giants are going with Penn State's Abdul Carter. The ESPN draft analyst thinks that Carter has "elite traits."

He mentioned that Sanders to the Giants is still a possibility, but the additions of veteran quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston allow them to nab a quarterback later in the draft in Round 2. We will get to that later.

2. Dallas Cowboys taking running back Omarion Hampton

The Dallas Cowboys need to surround Dak Prescott with offensive playmakers. Excluding Travis Hunter, every other wide receiver was still on the board. However, Kiper predicts that the Cowboys will instead take the second running back in the draft with North Carolina's Omarion Hampton.

His logic is that the Cowboys need to upgrade at the position, and Jerry Jones has already taken running backs in Round 1 previously with Ezekiel Elliott in 2016 and Felix Jones in 2008. Kiper likes Hampton’s home-run ability and niftiness to make the most of any running lanes.

3. Matthew Golden is the first pure wide receiver taken

The race to be the first pure wide receiver taken off the board eventually goes to Texas' Matthew Golden in this mock draft. Kiper projects Golden to the Arizona Cardinals at pick 16, ahead of Tetairoa McMillan (#20 to the Denver Broncos) and Emeka Egbuka (#36 to the Jacksonville Jaguars).

The Cardinals draft Golden to add to the weapons available for quarterback Kyler Murray. He will be paired with last year's fourth overall draft pick, Marvin Harrison Jr, and pass-catching tight end Trey McBride to form a dynamic trio.

4. Jaxson Dart gets selected in the first round by the Rams

Dart is the third quarterback in this mock draft, becoming Matthew Stafford's long-term successor in Los Angeles. Stafford is 37 and returned to the Rams after a protracted contract standoff, so the organization needs to plan for the future.

Kiper loves this pick because of the potential of having Dart nurtured by head coach Sean McVay and allowing him the time to transition from an RPO-style offense to the more traditional NFL offense.

5. Kiper has Tyler Shough and Jalen Milroe going back-to-back to kick off Round 2

Quarterbacks #4 and #5 came off the board early in the second round, with Kiper sending Louisville's Tyler Shough to the Cleveland Browns at pick 33 and Alabama’s Jalen Milroe to the New York Giants at pick 34. This would allow the two teams to stay true to their board and pick up blue-chip prospects, such as Travis Hunter and Abdul Carter, in the first round.

Shough would compete with new acquisition Kenny Pickett to be the starting quarterback in Cleveland with Deshaun Watson out with an Achilles injury, while Milroe would sit behind Wilson and Winston in New York and learn how to analyze pre-snap reads.