2024 NFL Draft: 3 first-round players who could get pushed down draft board
To not fault of their own, these three players could tumble down the draft board in the first round.
With the likelihood that QBs, WRs, and OTs fly off the board early in the 2024 NFL Draft, other prospects might then fall down in the first round. This happens all the time during the NFL Draft season. There's always a handful of prospects that go a lot lower than some of us think, and some that go higher than we think.
And there are varying reasons for that, but one reason is need, especially at QB. With this class being quite talented at QB and teams getting more aggressive in trying to find their QB of the future, we could see as many as six passers get taken in the first round and perhaps as many as four in the top six picks, which is flat-out craziness.
The draft classes at WR and OT are also quite deep, so other postions could see top players fall. Let's look at three of them.
2024 NFL Draft: 3 first-round players who could get pushed down draft board
1. Quinyon Mitchell, CB, Toledo
Let's see here. Let's just say that this mock draft came true in the first round:
1. Bears - Caleb Williams
2. Commanders - Jayden Daniels
3. Patriots - Drake Maye
4. Vikings (via ARI) - JJ McCarthy
5. Chargers - Joe Alt
6. Giants - Marvin Harrison Jr
7. Titans - Olu Fashanu
8. Falcons - Dallas Turner
9. Bears - Rome Odunze
10. Jets - Brock Bowers
11. Cardinals - Jared Verse
12. Broncos - ??
13. Raiders - Taliese Fuaga
14. Saints - JC Latham
15. Colts - ??
I put the question marks at picks 12 and 15 as I think both the Broncos and Colts could take a first-round CB, but it might not make a ton of sense for them to do that. The Broncos need a franchise QB, and could stand pat at 12 and take Bo Nix or Michael Penix Jr. A pass-rusher is also a huge need for Denver and a much more valuable position than CB.
The Colts were rumored to be in on L'Jarius Sneed, but they also could draft a wide receiver or pass rusher. I do believe that the CB spot in general could end up falling a bit in the first round due to the heavy offense with the top 14-ish picks.