7. Tennessee Titans: Joe Alt, OT, Notre Dame
The Tennessee Titans made the somewhat surprising decision to fire head coach Mike Vrabel this offseason, and they replaced him with former Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan.
If there’s one thing Callahan learned from his time in Cincinnati, it’s that a franchise QB is only going to go as far as his offensive line can take him…or keep him upright.
Getting the offensive line settled in Tennessee should be one of Callahan’s top priorities, and certainly after he was allowed to take his father Bill with him to the Titans in a lateral move (offensive line coach with Cleveland), you expect the trenches to be emphasized.
8. Denver Broncos (from Falcons): JJ McCarthy, QB, Michigan
The value to jump up from 12 to 8 is about 200 points on the NFL Draft trade value chart, so this would be a slight overpay on the Broncos' part.
But for the sake of this 2024 NFL Mock Draft, let’s also say that the Atlanta Falcons (the odds-on favorites right now to be Russell Wilson’s next team) also get Russell Wilson this offseason.
The Denver Broncos would be moving on with Jarrett Stidham as their QB1 and you can’t help but wonder how that would go over with the fan base.
I think it’s time for Sean Payton to finally pull the trigger on a QB he loves. We’ve heard rumors through the years of him really liking players at the back end of Drew Brees’ career in New Orleans, but nothing ever materialized. JJ McCarthy is the type of player that I think Payton can get on board with.
He’s a winner, he’s smart, he’s got poise, he comes through in big situations, and he can manage an offense.