NFL Rumors: Latest Draft Buzz on Justin Herbert, Derrick Brown and More

The 2020 NFL draft is mere days away, but the early first round still remains a bit of a mystery.

The Cincinnati Bengals are likely to select Joe Burrow with the first overall pick. That's what pretty much everyone expects to happen, including the LSU quarterback himself.

"I expect to be number one but you know I am not positive about it," he told Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio.

Ohio State pass-rusher Chase Young is expected to be drafted right after Burrow. He is the No. 1 player in Bleacher Report draft analyst Matt Miller's rankings, and he is likely to be picked by the Washington Redskins with the second overall pick.

Then, things should start to get interesting. Oregon's Justin Herbert and Alabama's Tua Tagovailoa are widely viewed as the two best quarterbacks after Burrow. A quarterback-needy team could trade up for one of them at three or four—picks owned by the Detroit Lions and New York Giants, respectively.

This is why the Giants have recently been linked to Herbert. According to NFL Media's Ian Rapoport, New York has put a lot of effort into researching the former Ducks standout:

Now, the Giants probably have done their homework on Herbert. They'd be foolish not to. However, it's highly unlikely they actually have any interest in drafting him one year after using the sixth pick on Daniel Jones.

If anyone from the team leaked its looking into Herbert, it was likely done as an attempt to increase the trade value of the fourth pick.

If a team believes New York could draft the 22-year-old, it may be more eager to move up and get him.

The big question is whether a team views Herbert worthy of a trade into the top five. According to Omar Kelly of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, some teams view him as a late first-round talent:

It's worth noting that the teams mentioned by Kelly aren't in the quarterback market, but that doesn't change what could be a general perception.

The Lions could also be eager to trade down. Even if they stay put, though, the third overall pick is a bit clouded. Ohio State cornerback Jeff Okudah would make a ton of sense, as the Lions finished dead-last in passing yards allowed last season—then traded away No. 1 corner Darius Slay.

However, Okudah is not the only player on Detroit's radar, Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer.

"Of late, I've heard rumblings that the coaching staff has taken a real liking to Auburn DT Derrick Brown. I'm sticking with Okudah here, for now. But I think Brown is very much a possibility," he wrote.

Brown is the eighth-ranked prospect on Miller's big board, and he would also make sense for Detroit—his ability to generate an interior pass rush could help bolster that woeful pass defense.

Another team likely to trade down on opening night is the San Francisco 49ers. They own the 13th and 31st picks and could look to move one or both of them, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

San Francisco appears to be in pursuit of more middle-round selections after trading theirs. They gave up their second-round pick to acquire Frank Clark and their third- and fourth-round picks to acquire Emmanuel Sanders.

As things stand, San Francisco's next pick after 31 would be in the fifth round. The 49ers acquired the 13th pick from the Indianapolis Colts in exchange for defensive tackle DeForest Buckner. They should be able to keep that selection and trade out of the 31 spot with a team looking to move back into Round 1.