The NFL Draft is less than one month away and the rumors and offers are flying like hot cakes. This is my first foray into a mock draft this season and after listening to everyone at the NFL Scouting Combine. this is how I see the first round unfolding.
This includes trades that I have heard floating around and that I believe make sense. The Giants, Commanders, Vikings and Patriots all need quarterbacks, but who do they get and when This is for your reading enjoyment only and is not to be relied on for any other purpose.
2024 NFL Mock Draft: Bears trade top pick and QBs fly off the board
1. New York Giants (Trade with Chicago) - Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU
It is no secret that the New York Giants need to draft a top-flight quarterback in this draft and they are going to do exactly that. The Giants are going to trade their sixth pick in the first round and three second round selections (two this year and one in 2025) to get the top pick in the draft. The Giants love Daniels, he is the one that they want and they are going to mortgage part of their future to get him. Watch for Daniel Jones to be dealt on draft day for a late round selection.
2. Washington Commanders - Caleb Williams, QB, USC
Offensive coordinator and quarterback whisperer Kliff Kingsbury selects his student from his days as an offensive assistant at Southern California. Williams is too much of a diva for my liking and I can't stand his attitude, but Kingsbury takes him under his wing and molds him into a quality starting quarterback by midseason.
3. Minnesota Vikings (Trade with New England) - J.J. McCarthy, QB, Michigan
Both teams need a starting quarterback as the Vikings lost their starter, Kirk Cousins to the Atlanta Falcons and the Patriots traded Mac Jones to Jacksonville for a ham sandwich and a soda. The Vikings trade their two first round picks, 11th and 23rd, plus their second round selection in 2025 to grab McCarthy, who is the quarterback of their future.
4. Arizona Cardinals - Marvin Harrison, Jr., WR, The Ohio State University
The Cardinals have not had a consistent, big-play receiver since Larry Fitzgerald retired and Harrison fills the bill. Harrison is the best, most productive receiver to come out in years and he was a stud in the making the moment he set foot on The Ohio State University campus.
5. Los Angeles Chargers - Rome Odunze, WR, Washington
Jim Harbaugh might love to pound the football and when he's done, he will pound it some more, but the Chargers draft a wide receiver for Justin Herbert to throw to. The Chargers released Mike Williams and traded Keenan Allen to Chicago so you know they need help at the X and Z positions. Odunze has a quick first step off the line and is big enough to get off the jam and the speed to get downfield in a hurry.
6. Chicago Bears (Trade with New York - Drake Maye, QB, North Carolina
WIth the exception of Jayden Daniels, Maye has the best escapeability of all of the first round quarterbacks. He can turn a negative play into a touchdown at a moment's notice. Maye might turn out to be the steal of the first round and the best quarterback in the draft based on pure arm stregnth and accuracy. Chicago still gets a top flight quarterback and gets three more picks as a result of the trade with the Giants. Keenan Allen will love catching the football from Maye.
7. Tennessee Titans - Olu Fashanu, OT, Penn State University
It is no shock that the Titans need to improve their futility at the offensive line positions. They signed Lloyd Cushenberry in free agency to replace Aaron Brewer who left Tennessee to snap the ball to Tua Tagovailoa in Miami. Fashanu is plug and play and will protect Will Levis' blindside for many years to come.
8. Atlanta Falcons - Dallas Turner, EDGE/OLB, Alabama
The Falcons need to be able to pressure the quarterback, something that they have not done very well in recent years. Raheem Morris believes in a strong front seven and Turner is a good place to start. Turner, if the Falcons have a decent year, could be an early candidate for NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
9. Chicago Bears - Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia
Another toy for Maye here as he gets an inline blocker who can also run the seam routes and score from anywhere on the field. With the selections of Maye and Bowers, coupled with the Allen trade, Ryan Poles flexes his muscles and shows that Da Bears could win the Black and Blue division in the NFC.
10. New York Jets - Joe Alt, OT, Notre Dame
The Jets need to protect Aaron Rodgers and drafting the best tackle in the draft could do that. I like Alt better than Fashanu for the long term, but most teams draft for today. Like Fashanu, Alt is plug and play and he will help the running game and protect Rodgers from getting killed out there with that horrible offensive line that the Jets have.
11. New England Patriots - (Trade with Minnesota) - Jared Verse, Edge/OLB, Florida State
New head coach Jerod Mayo loves defense and he loves to punish the quarterback. New England did not have any modicum of a pass rush last season and have no decent players on the defensive line. Verse will bring an attitude and speed rush to get to the quarterback. His play reminds me a lot of Jaelan Phillips of Miami.
12. Denver Broncos - Bo Nix, QB, Oregon
Sean Payton gets his man and shows incredible patience by not giving up the farm to move up to draft one of the top tier quarterbacks. Nix is a first-round talent. He can throw the ball with the best of them and can escape the pocket and throw on the run. Jarrett Stidham goes back to holding a clipboard as this is Nix's team from jump street.
13. Las Vegas Raiders - Amarius Mims, OT, Georgia
Raider fans know that they need a tackle to help keep Gardner Minshew upright. You might be pounding the table for Taliese Fuaga, but I really believe that Mims is the better pro because he faced NFL-type pass rushers and defensive fronts in the SEC every week.
14. New Orleans Saints - Taliese Fuaga, OT, Oregon State
Dennis Allen gets his position of need covered, but has to settle for Fuaga and not Mims, who he fell in love with at the combine. Fuaga will also be a plug and play type and starter from day one.
15. Indianapolis Colts - Quinyon Mitchell, CB, Toledo
Indy thought that it solved its cornerback problem by negotiating with L'Jarius Sneed, formerly of the Kansas City Chiefs, but when that deal fell apart and Sneed was traded to Tennessee and signed a whopper of a contract, Mitchell became the obvious choice for the Colts.
16. Seattle Seahawks - Troy Fautanu, OT, Washington
Fautanu does not have a long way to go from campus to the Seahawks practice facility as the 'Hawks stay local and get the next best tackle on the board. There has been some talk that they might go with Jackson Powers-Johnson, with this pick, but they need a pure tackle to anchor the line. They have a satisfactory interior offensive lineman to help keep Geno Smith upright.
17. Jacksonville Jaguars - JC Latham, OT, Alabama
Trevor Lawrence will thank the Jags for this pick as hopefully, by going with the best available lineman, Latham can help Lawrence complete passes while he is upright and not lying on his back. Latham is a steal at 17 and Doug Pederson gets a good one with this selection.
18. Cincinnati Bengals - Tyler Guyton, OT, Oklahoma
This is a position of need for the Bengals as opposed to the best available athlete on the board. Guyton would be a tremendous bookend for the Bengals and will assist the ground game which was less than stellar for the Bengals last season. Guyton was well coached at Oklahoma and that will be evident when he starts one week one.
19. Los Angeles Rams - Michael Penix, Jr., QB, Washington
The Rams go with the best player on the board and draft the Heisman runner up and groom him to take over for Matthew Stafford, who is not getting any younger. Father time has not been good to Stafford since he won the Super Bowl in 2021.
20. Pittsburgh Steelers - Graham Barton, Guard, Duke
Barton will play next to last season's top pick Broderick Jones and give Russell Wilson or Justin Fields time to throw on the move and give Najee Harris some holes to run thru. The Steelers need to address the IOL as it was a problem last season. This will not be the only guard that the Steelers select in this draft.
21. Dallas Cowboys (Trade with Miami) - Jackson Powers-Johnson, IOL, Oregon
Powers-Johnson can play left guard, right guard and center. His versatility is a bonus that Mike McCarthy likes and Jerry Jones loves picking linemen in the first round. Look for JPJ to start at center as Jones wants a replica of Travis Frederick from 11 years ago. The Dolphins receive the Cowboys first round pick and second round pick in 2024 and a third-round pick in 2025.
22. Denver Broncos (Trade with Philadelphia) - Brian Thomas, Jr., WR, LSU
The Broncos draft a wide receiver to take over Jerry Jeudy's spot on the depth chart and start opposite Marvin Mims, Jr.
23. Arizona Cardinals (Trade with Minnesota) - Darius Robinson, EDGE, Missouri
Robinson brings athleticism and versatility to the Cardinals and is an every down player. He will be a terror in the opposing backfields. His speed off the edge surprised a lot of scouts and moved him into the first round.
24. Miami Dolphins - (Trade with Dallas) - Xavier Worthy - WR, Texas
This pick is not even fair. Worthy will line up with Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle and give the Dolphins more collective speed on offense than the Indy 500. Tua Tagovailoa has the quick release and Worthy, with his 4.21 speed will catch anything near him and outrun any defender.
25. Green Bay Packers - Nate Wiggins, CB, Clemson
The Packers gave Xavier McKinney the largest free agent contract of the year to play strong safety. With Wiggins, he adds speed to the secondary and can take on the slot receiver or come in on nickel and dime packages.
26. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Chop Robinson, EDGE, Penn State
Robinson almost went to the Dolphins at 24, but with the signing of Shaq Barrett, the Dolphins could wait on another EDGE rusher. The Bucs, on the other hand need Robinson as they lost Barrett in free agency.
27. Arizona Cardinals - Byron Murphy II, DT, Texas
Murphy is the best inside pass rusher in the draft and he goes to Arizona where they already feature a tremendous outside pressure. The Cardinals utilized their three first round picks very well and will be a force to be reckoned with in the NFC.
28. Buffalo Bills - Keon Coleman, WR, FSU
Buffalo need another fast playmaker on offense and Coleman is their man. Stefon Diggs is begging to get out of town and despite signing a free agent WR, they still needed a WR2 that can be WR1 when Diggs gets his one-way ticket to ride.
29. Detroit Lions - Kool Aid McKinstry, CB, Alabama
Kool Aid is Dan Campbell's type of player. Not too flashy, despite the nickname, and brings his lunch pail and his best every day to work. He will lineup outside as his former Alabama teammate Brian Branch covers the slot formation.
30. Baltimore Ravens - Adonai Mitchell, WR, Texas
Eric DeCosta loves drafting wide receivers in the first round. Mitchell will replace OBJ who left in free agency and has the skills and the speed to be a WR1. He has size and is a very physical player who can hand fight with the best of them. He has better hands than Worthy, but is not as fast.
31. San Francisco 49ers - Cooper DeJean, CB, Iowa
San Francisco showed in the Super Bowl what it needed was another corner in its nickel and dime packages. DeJean will fill the role as the slot defender and also play in nickel and dime situations.
32. Kansas City Chiefs - Laiatu Latu, EDGE, UCLA
The Super Bowl Champs go with the best player on the board and Steve Spagnuolo gets even richer with this selection. Latu was the best EDGE defender in the old Pac-12 and will earn a starting role on the Chiefs at either edge or OLB.
These are my professional prognostications. I go and stretch the rubber band as far as it will stretch on a few picks, but if I were the GM for these teams, this is how I see the draft after the combine. I have not taken into consideration any of the data from the pro days. I will issue another Mock Draft as we get closer to D-Day, April 25.
We will have to wait and see how many I got right and how many I missed. Until next time, keep reading.