MOCK NFL DRAFTS
| Pick | Team | Pos | Player | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
#1 |
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QB |
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| It seems like Bears fans are pretty divided on what they think the team should do about the quarterback position, but I think it’s becoming increasingly obvious that they’re leaning towards taking a quarterback first overall. Justin Fields has shown some promising signs of development, but with a new offensive coaching staff coming in, the team will opt to get a fresh start with a prospect who many consider to be ‘generational’ in Caleb Williams. | ||||
#2 |
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QB |
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| For a while it looked like Sam Howell was playing well enough to earn himself another year as the starter, but after a late-season collapse, the Commanders are going to need to find a fresh face to lead this team in 2024. Luckily for them, the 2024 class of quarterbacks has elite high-end talent, including UNC’s Drake Maye. He can make any throw on the field, and he’d fit right in on Washington’s offense after playing with a dismal supporting cast in college. | ||||
#3 |
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WR |
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| The Patriots have been without a true WR1 for several years at this point, but now with the third-overall pick in the 2024 Draft, they’re in prime position to solve that issue for the next decade or so. Marvin Harrison Jr. is arguably the best wide receiver prospect to ever come out of college, and although New England is in desperate need of a change at quarterback as well, the value on Harrison here is much better than reaching down the board for someone like Jayden Daniels or Michael Penix Jr. | ||||
#4 |
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OT |
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| Arizona invested in the offensive line last year when they took Paris Johnson Jr. in the first round, and now, they’ll double-down by taking Penn State’s Olu Fashanu. He’s been one of the best pass protectors in all of college football over the last couple of seasons, and although there’s still some work to be done with him, having two young linemen selected in the top ten in each of the last two drafts should help Arizona to build one of the best young units in football. | ||||
#5 |
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WR |
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| This is going to sting a little bit, given that the Chargers just used a first-round pick on Quentin Johnston last year, but it needs to be done. Keenan Allen had a pretty good year in 2023, but he’s going to be 32 years old next year and isn’t getting any better at this point. Mike Williams will be coming off of a torn ACL next season, and Johnston is looking like one of the biggest busts of the draft. Malik Nabers has had a dominant college career and is one of the safer picks in this year's class, which will give Justin Herbert some reliability in a group of receivers that’s otherwise volatile. | ||||
#6 |
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OT |
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| The Giants have used an early first-round pick on multiple offensive lineman over the past few years, but they still remain one of the worst units in the NFL. It doesn’t feel good sinking this much capital into one position, but they need the help, and Joe Alt could help solve multiple problems in the front five. He projects to be able to play right tackle well, which will allow Evan Neal to bump inside to guard, where he will hopefully be better than the dismal mess that he has been on the outside. | ||||
#7 |
|
TE |
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| With Mike Vrabel gone and Derrick Henry likely set to leave the team in free agency, a new era is beginning in Tennessee. Will Levis showed a lot of promise as their potential franchise QB, but with an aging DeAndre Hopkins and an underwhelming Treylon Burks being his top two weapons, it’s clear that they’re in need of an upgrade. That’s where Brock Bowers comes in. He has been hailed as a generational talent by many scouts, and he would immediately become the most dynamic playmaker that the Titans have. | ||||
#8 |
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QB |
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| The Desmond Ridder/Taylor Heinicke experiment in Atlanta went very poorly in 2023, and with Arthur Smith now out as the head coach, it’s time for the Falcons to start anew. Whoever they get to coach this team will need a quarterback to work with, and who better than LSU’s Heisman-winner Jayden Daniels to take on that role? He’s one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks that we’ve seen over the past few years, and an offense featuring him, Bijan Robinson, Kyle Pitts, and Drake London would be among the most explosive in football. | ||||
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#9 |
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WR |
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| The Bears have a few other needs that they could address with this pick, but with Caleb Williams heading to Chicago in this scenario, I think it would be logical for them to surround him with some good weapons. They’ll do just that with Rome Odunze. He was statistically one of the best wide receivers in college football in 2023, and he seemed to be the heart and soul of a Washington team that fell one game shy of winning the National Championship. Darnell Mooney, Velus Jones Jr., and Tyler Scott are all nice depth pieces, but bringing in Odunze would give the Bears a high-end WR2 to complement DJ Moore. | ||||
#10 |
|
OT |
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| The Jets had a disappointing year in 2023, but that mostly stemmed from QB Aaron Rodgers going down with a season-ending injury in Week 1 of the season. It’s clear that they need to get him better protection for next year, and grabbing Alabama’s JC Latham would be a good start in upgrading their front five. He’s insanely strong and just downright mean in the running game, and he would be very effective at opening up running lanes for star RB Breece Hall. Adding him to this offense and getting a couple of key players back from injury should be enough to get this unit closer to the ‘solid’ category in 2024 rather than being below-average again. | ||||
#11 |
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DL |
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| The season-ending Achilles injury that Kirk Cousins suffered derailed Minnesota’s 2023 season, but assuming he’s healthy for 2024, the offense should be sitting pretty well. That will leave them with the luxury of focusing on the defensive side of the ball, and they’ll start by upgrading the trenches. Jer’Zhan Newton is widely considered the top interior lineman in this class, and there’s little doubt that he will be a game-changer in the Vikings' front seven in his first year. | ||||
#12 |
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QB |
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| Penix saw his draft stock rise rapidly after the first round of the College Football Playoffs, but after a disappointing showing in the championship game, his stock has come back to Earth. I still think that he’ll be in first-round conversations for 2024, and with the Broncos set to move on from Russell Wilson, they’ll need to reach for him with this pick if they want to end up with a decent rookie QB. He’s far from a guaranteed prospect, but he certainly has high potential and could develop into a franchise-changer for the Broncos in due time. | ||||
#13 |
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CB |
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| It feels like the Raiders take a defensive back with a high pick every year, and that’ll continue in this scenario. Nate Hobbs has turned out to be a pretty good player for them, but they still need more help in the secondary, which will lead to them taking one of the best names in college football in Kool-Aid McKinstry here. He has a prototypical build for a lockdown cornerback in man coverage, the Las Vegas would be smart to load up on defense in a division that will feature Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert for the foreseeable future. | ||||
#14 |
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DE |
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| New Orleans is going to find themselves in a bit of a pickle this offseason. They once again have a terrible situation with their cap space, so they aren’t going to be able to grab many big-name free agents. It’s a bad year for them to be broke, considering that their veteran players like Cameron Jordan and Demario Davis showed some real signs of regression in 2023. They need to start rebuilding this defense, and Verse would be a cheap upgrade for them and would likely end up being the cornerstone of this defense for years to come. | ||||
#15 |
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CB |
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| Indianapolis ended up being a bit better than most expected after QB Anthony Richardson suffered a season-ending injury, but the defense was still subpar at best. Their secondary lacks any real talent, so going out and getting someone like Nate Wiggins would be a smart first step in getting some star power on the defensive side of the ball. | ||||
#16 |
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DE |
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| Latu’s draft stock seems to be all over the place right now, but I think Seattle would be a good landing spot for him. He’s got a deep bag of moves and is one of the best ‘technicians’ on the defensive line in this class, and he would be a safe pick to kick off the post-Pete Carroll era in Seattle. | ||||
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#17 |
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OT |
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| Jacksonville’s offense was underwhelming in more areas than one this year, and it’s clear that they just simply need more talent. Trevor Lawrence needs more time to throw the ball, so drafting Georgia’s Amarius Mims would be a great way for the team to invest in his health and development moving forward. Mims is a bit of a raw and inexperienced prospect, but the physical tools that he’s shown on tape are absolutely elite and give him the upside to become one of the best lineman in football in a few year’s time. | ||||
#18 |
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OT |
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| Joe Burrow suffered multiple injuries again in 2023, and the team just simply can’t allow this to happen anymore. They gave him a huge contract extension and view him as the future of their franchise, and now they have to get serious about protecting him, especially with Jonah Williams set to his free agency. Fuaga has the versatility to play on the inside or outside at the next level, and he’d likely be one of their best offensive linemen within a couple of years. | ||||
#19 |
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CB |
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| Green Bay was surprisingly able to find their way into the playoffs this year, but it seems apparent that they have some work to do before they can be considered legit Super Bowl contenders. Upgrading the secondary would be a great use of their first-round pick. Jaire Alexander holds things down enough on his side, and Eric Stokes plays well enough most of the time, but adding someone like Cooper Dejean would put it all together. He projects to be a lot better as a slot cornerback or a safety rather than an outside guy, and his versatility would allow everyone to play their optimal position, which would strengthen their play in the secondary considerably. | ||||
#20 |
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WR |
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| This might seem odd at first glance, given that Mike Evans was great last year and has been for the better part of a decade, but it doesn’t seem so crazy when you remember that he may be leaving the team in free agency this year. It’s looking more and more like Baker Mayfield will get another shot as the starter in 2024, and he’ll need more weapons beyond Chris Godwin if the team wants to have any realistic expectation of him to repeat his success from this year. Brian Thomas Jr. has been hiding in the shadows of Malik Nabers a bit, but it's possible that he’ll shine in the pre-draft process and play himself squarely into first-round conversations for this year. | ||||
#21 |
|
LB |
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| With Arizona opting to upgrade the offensive line earlier in this draft, it makes sense for them to focus on the defense with this pick. Dallas Turner has been getting hype as a potential first-round pick ever since his stellar freshman season with the Crimson Tide, and he would likely be a good fit for an Arizona team that lacks any real playmakers on the edge. | ||||
#22 |
|
DE |
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| Byron Young showed some promise on Los Angeles’ defensive line last year, but they’re going to need more talent beyond him if they want to have a competent unit. They were already bottom ten in the league in sacks registered in 2023, and Aaron Donald isn’t getting any younger. Chop Robinson has been getting first-round hype for a couple of years now and remains a high-upside pick who could develop into one of the league’s best with the right coaching. | ||||
#23 |
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CB |
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| The combo of trading Chase Claypool and taking Joey Porter Jr. with the pick that they got for him has aged like a fine wine for Pittsburgh, but if the Steelers actually want to fix up their secondary, they’ll need to double-down and use another high pick on a defensive back this year. Terrion Arnold initially teased a return to Alabama, but he has since committed to the NFL Draft, and would be a significant upgrade over an aging Patrick Peterson or a disappointing Levi Wallace. | ||||
#24 |
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OT |
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| The Dolphins were lucky enough to have Tua Tagovailoa avoid any major injuries this year, but that doesn’t mean that the offensive line was very good. The interior specifically needs a considerable amount of work done, and Troy Fautanu would be a great building block on the inside. | ||||
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#25 |
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CB |
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| After boasting an elite secondary in 2022, the Eagles had one of the league’s worst in 2023. Darius Slay and James Bradberry are clearly both losing a step, and they’re going to need some fresh blood beyond Eli Ricks and Kelee Ringo in the secondary. Auburn’s D.J. James is far from a perfect prospect, but with a late pick, the Eagles will likely have to settle for an unrefined, high-upside player rather than someone who’s already the full package. | ||||
#26 |
|
WR |
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| 2023 has been the most frustrating season that Chiefs’ fans have had to endure in the Patrick Mahomes era, largely thanks to the clown show that they have going on at wide receiver. Skyy Moore has proven to be mostly useless, Justyn Ross showed us that training camp hype doesn’t matter as much as we thought, and Kadarius Toney seems to be better at helping the other team score touchdowns rather than his own. Pair all of that with an aging Travis Kelce, and you see a massive need for a competent receiver outside of Rashee Rice in Kansas City. Troy Franklin has electric speed and seems to be a safer prospect, and I have little doubt that he’d be the team’s clear-cut WR2 in his first season. | ||||
#27 |
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OT |
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| Tyler Guyton has only allowed one sack in the past two seasons, and he would be a great pickup for the Texans, who need to invest in QB C.J. Stroud’s long-term health. The depth on the offensive line has been lacking severely for a couple of years now, but a move like this could be enough to shore up the unit and at least get a competent running game going to take some of the pressure off of their young quarterback. | ||||
#28 |
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DE |
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| Trice was the cornerstone of a Washington defense that was good enough to go to the National Championship game in 2023. He has a deep bag of moves and can consistently beat offensive linemen with finesse, and someone else that’s capable of getting to the quarterback is exactly what Detroit needs. Their front seven will be nasty if they can get someone alongside Aidan Hutchinson to wreak havoc. | ||||
#29 |
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WR |
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| Stefon Diggs, while still one of the most talented wide receivers in football, has proven that he can’t maintain elite play for an entire season. The Bills have a clear need for another playmaker on offense, and Xavier Legette fits the bill perfectly (no pun intended). He’s an incredibly dynamic and quick athlete, and adding him to an offense that already features good young talent like Josh Allen, James Cook, and Dalton Kincaid would help add another dimension to this passing attack. | ||||
#30 |
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CB |
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| Stephon Gilmore has played reasonably well this year, but Cowboys fans shouldn’t be expecting him to keep this up as he continues to age. Trevon Diggs will also be coming off of a season-ending injury in 2024, so drafting Iowa State’s T.J. Tampa seems to be a smart idea for the Cowboys. He has great length and a prototypical build for an outside guy, and I think that he’s one of the most underrated cornerbacks in this class and will sneak his way into first-round conversations by April. | ||||
#31 |
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OT |
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| Trent Williams has been arguably the best tackle in football over the past few years, but he’s not getting any younger, and there’s multiple holes that need to be filled on this offensive line. Suamataia would be a good candidate to fix that. He possesses great physical tools with his size and his reach, and he has the versatility to play on the right or left side of the line in the NFL. | ||||
#32 |
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WR |
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| Coleman burst onto the scene in 2023 after transferring to Florida State from Michigan State. He was FSU’s top wideout and became known for coming down with some insane contested catches. He stands at 6’4, 216 lbs, which gives him a great size and frame to play on the outside in the NFL, which is exactly what the Ravens need after taking Zay Flowers in the first round last year. There’s reasons to be concerned with his route running and sub-par production in college, but with all the hype he’s been getting going into the draft cycle, it seems more likely than not that he will find his way into the first round. | ||||