The sports world had absolutely nothing to talk about for over a month. Suddenly, the “Last Dance” documentary and the NFL Draft are packed into the same week and the ship seems to be sailing again.

With the draft just days away, five Times News prognosticators - Emmett McCall, Brad Hurley and Jason Boris from the sports department, and Jarrad Hedes and myself from the news department - got together for a group NFL mock draft.

Boris is consistently a nationally top-ranked mock draft prognosticator. His scores are either as good, or typically better than the analysts you watch on TV every Sunday. Be sure to check out his personal mock draft in Thursday’s Times News.

The format for our draft was simple:

1. It was an alternating picks scenario held over a three-day period last week.

2. No trades were allowed.

So, let’s dive into it.

There were no surprises at the top. It was unanimously agreed upon that the Bengals would be insane to not take Joe Burrow at No. 1. Easy pick for Hurley at the top of the board. Following Hurley was another no-brainer according to Boris, who sent defensive end Chase Young to Washington.

After the top two selections, nobody knows.

This year’s draft has been already labeled as one of the most unpredictable drafts in history. The COVID-19 pandemic made a ton of pre-draft visits impossible, and many free-agent dominoes haven’t fallen yet either.

McCall had the No. 3 pick and gave the Lions Ohio State cornerback Jeffrey Okudah, although McCall and the rest of our prognosticators agreed that Detroit is a popular team to make a move down. McCall then sent Alabama’s big offensive tackle Jedrick Wills to give Kyler Murray some help in Arizona at No. 8. The receiver class is loaded, and McCall pegged Jerry Jeudy to San Francisco one pick after Boris predicted CeeDee Lamb to Las Vegas.

“I actually think Jeudy might be the No. 1 receiver taken in the draft,” McCall said. “I was happy he was there with the 49ers’ pick.”

Another highly-anticipated selection McCall made was sending quarterback Jordan Love to New England, however, McCall and others believe the Patriots will trade out of the selection.

After Burrow at the top, Hurley had to do his homework.

Justin Herbert already had his bags packed for Miami when Hurley was on the clock with the Chargers. The result was Bama’s Tua Tagovailoa moving to the west coast to play with Keenan Allen and Mike Williams. It will be interesting to see who’s off the board first on Thursday between the two highly touted prospects.

OK Eagles fans, Hurley sent LSU receiver Justin Jefferson to the Birds at No. 21 - one year after investing in JJ Arcega-Whiteside.

“If they stay at No. 21, this is my guy,” Hurley said. “He showed some speed at the combine with a surprising 40-yard time and you know he plays fast, you saw it against quality SEC defensive backs. He has a great catch radius, he doesn’t drop the ball and he has great size. But I think the Eagles’ guy is CeeDee Lamb … If he gets around that No. 15 area, I think you might see them trade up.”

Nobody really knows what the Giants will do at No. 4, and according to Hedes, general manager Dave Gettleman might not either. Hedes sent Clemson’s Isaiah Simmons to New York.

“I think there’s a chance they trade out of that pick; if they don’t you’re looking at offensive line or the unicorn in the room, Isaiah Simmons. I’ve been hearing that Joe Judge wants some offensive line help, can’t argue with that. Gettleman, the GM, loves Simmons a lot. I watched that defense every game last year. I certainly wouldn’t turn down offensive line help, but watching that defense was painful. Simmons is a rare talent and I don’t know that I could pass him up at that spot.”

The Jaguars need a ton of help defensively. At No. 9, Hedes pegged Javon Kinlaw, the versatile defensive lineman out of South Carolina.

Five picks later, help is on the way for Tom Brady, as Iowa’s offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs is slated to line up to protect the GOAT.

All of our prognosticators seemed to love LSU linebacker Patrick Queen, who Hedes found a home for in New Orleans to help keep an eye on division rivals Christian McCaffrey and Todd Gurley.

Hedes sent LSU corner Kristian Fulton to Tennessee, which makes me happy as a Titans’ fan, in hopes that there is a hint of a move left in the cards for Jadeveon Clowney. If so, GM Jon Robinson would likely have to say goodbye to CB Logan Ryan, who played elite football in the Tennessee secondary. Ryan met with the Jets last week.

Boris can’t completely tip his hand before the deadline to submit his final mock draft on Thursday morning at 1 a.m. However, he gave us a ton of good insight.

Boris shipped Auburn’s Derrick Brown to Carolina at No. 7 to help with life after perennial All-Pro linebacker Luke Kuechly. CeeDee Lamb started the run on wide receivers with the Raiders’ pick. Boris dubbed this draft as the deepest class of wide receivers in NFL draft history.

“I think picks between 8-10 are prime spots where you’re going to see action with trades,” said Boris. “It’s very fluid at this point of the draft. I chose CeeDee Lamb to Oakland. Do I think he’s going to be the first receiver taken? Stay tuned on Thursday.”

At No. 17, Boris sent corner C.J. Henderson to the Dallas Cowboys.

“If this scenerio plays out Thursday and Henderson is still on the board when the Cowboys pick, they will be ecstatic,” said Boris.

Boris penciled in Penn State’s Yetur Gross-Matos at No. 27 to Seattle, but is a firm believer that the Seahawks will not make that pick. Boris noted that it’s almost been a full decade of the Seahawks trading down in the first round.

Now, lets look at my picks.

I was on the other side of the quarterback debate at No. 5, sending Oregon’s Justin Herbert to Miami. I can’t say I’m confident in either one of these guys. Tua presents extremely high upside, but is extremely risky with his obvious mechanical flaws and recent injury history.

The Browns are doing everything possible to make Baker Mayfield comfortable. Cleveland signed Austin Hooper, one of the best tight ends in football, and added right tackle Jack Conklin to sure up the offensive line - which was a huge liability last season. With an above average defense on paper, let’s add some help to Mayfield’s blindside with tackle Andrew Young from the University of Georgia. Thomas owned a 92.5 overall grade according to Pro Football Focus last season and improved every year. He’s a high floor player, and I am expecting much better things from the Browns in 2020.

I pegged Clemson’s Tee Higgins to Minnesota, who haven’t done much to replace Stefon Diggs.

It’s definitely going to be an unpredictable draft.

A few months ago, who could have guessed that Roger Goodell would announce picks from his basement? On top of that, the Vegas odds are in heavy favor of there being some type of technical difficulty on Thursday. Bovada currently has it set at 4.5 teams experiencing technical difficulties with a -160 line favoring the over.

Stay tuned for the Jason Boris mock draft on Thursday for a great read.

Following is the pick-by-pick selections of the Times News writers:

1. CIN (Hurley) Joe Burrow (QB, LSU)

2. WAS (Boris) Chase Young DE, Ohio State)

3. DET (McCall) Jeffrey Okudah (CB, Ohio State)

4. NYG (Hedes) Isaiah Simmons (LB, Clemson)

5. MIA (Carlucci) Justin Herbert (QB, Oregon)

6. LAC (Hurley) Tua Tagovailoa (QB, Alabama)

7. CAR (Boris) Derrick Brown (DT, Auburn)

8. AZ (McCall) Jedrick Wills (OT, Alabama)

9. JAX (Hedes) Javon Kinlaw (DT, South Carolina)

10. CLE (Carlucci) Andrew Thomas (OT, Georgia)

11. NYJ (Hurley) Mekhi Becton (OT, Louisville)

12. LV (Boris) CeeDee Lamb (WR, Oklahoma)

13. SF (McCall) Jerry Jeudy (WR, Alabama)

14. TB (Hedes) Tristan Wirfs (OT, Iowa)

15. DEN (Carlucci) Henry Ruggs III (WR, Alabama)

16. ATL (Hurley) K’Lavon Chaisson (DE, LSU)

17. DAL (Boris) C.J. Henderson (CB, Florida)

18. MIA (McCall) Josh Jones (OT, Houston)

19. OAK (Hedes) Kenneth Murray (LB, Oklahoma)

20. JAX (Carlucci) Xavier McKinney (S, Alabama)

21. PHI (Hurley) Justin Jefferson (WR, LSU)

22. MIN (Boris) Austin Jackson (OT, USC)

23. NE (McCall) Jordan Love (QB, Utah State)

24. NO (Hedes) Patrick Queen (LB, LSU)

25. MIN (Carlucci) Tee Higgins (WR, Clemson)

26. MIA (Hurley) D’Andre Swift (RB, Georgia)

27. SEA (Boris) Yetur Gross-Matos (DE, Penn State)

28. BAL (McCall) Zach Baun (LB, Wisconsin)

29. TEN (Hedes) Kristian Fulton (CB, LSU)

30. GB (Carlucci) Jalen Reagor (WR, TCU)

31. SF (Hurley) Trevon Diggs (CB, Alabama)

32. KC (Boris) Cesar Ruiz (C, Michigan)