All hail NFL mock draft king: Pennsylvania grant manager excels at mastering 'puzzle'

Boris, who thinks about the draft "365 days a year," assembles his puzzle throughout the college football and NFL seasons. He establishes a group of 32-35 potential first-rounders in the weeks leading up to the draft. Once he does that, he makes no changes to his list. 

Boris then combs through social media and the internet to match players to teams. He's especially attuned to the teams for which players work out privately and top-30 visits. (Top-30 visits are held by teams before the draft. Each team may host up to 30 draft prospects at their facility to get to know them better.)

However, doing a boatload of research isn't enough. To become an accurate mock drafter, one needs years of practice, Boris said. 

Boris published his first mock draft in his student newspaper at Tamaqua Junior High School in Pennsylvania. When email arrived in the 1990s, Boris said he sent his mocks to "anyone who had an email address." 

After graduating from college, he became a part-time sportswriter in November 2000 for the Times News in Lehighton, Pennsylvania. He published his first mock in 2001. It has now appeared in the newspaper for 25 straight years. He started submitting these mocks to The Huddle Report in 2009.

Boris stores all of his mock drafts in a box at his home. He takes notes and tracks teams' tendencies. 

In his 2025 mock draft, Boris had the Cincinnati Bengals selecting Texas A&M defensive end Shemar Stewart with pick No. 17, which was correct. Boris said he thought the Bengals would like Stewart because they typically target prospects from big schools. At the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine, Stewart (6-foot-5, 267 pounds) ran a 4.59 40-yard dash.

Boris' knowledge of the draft process is one key reason he continues to produce quality mock drafts. 

"Anybody can win a mock draft on a given year," he said. "But I think striving to be consistent is much more important than having one good year. So I do take a lot of pride in that it's not just a flash-in-the-pan thing."

Boris said he's still fascinated with the "mystery" of the draft. His ability to solve the puzzle is what separates him from other draftniks.

So, all hail the king. 

All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.