It all comes down to this. All the rumors, signings, trades, and more have led to this moment. The 2024 NFL Draft is upon us and will go down on Thursday night: Here’s my final mock for this year:
- Chicago Bears – Caleb Williams – QB – USC
Caleb Williams, you are a Chicago Bear. - Washington Commanders – Jayden Daniels – QB – LSU
The Commanders aren’t looking to trade this pick. Jayden Daniels is their guy. - New England Patriots – Drake Maye – QB – North Carolina
New England was fielding offers but none have piqued their interest. Odds are they settle with Maye and take the third QB off the board. - New York Giants – J.J. McCarthy – QB –
TRADE WITH THE CARDINALS
A trade into the top five but not the one you were expecting. A few different teams are reportedly interested in the young man out of Michigan but it makes sense for the Cardinals not to trade too far back to still have a high chance of taking a - Los Angeles Chargers – Marvin Harrison Jr. – WR – Ohio St.
I’ve been so tempted to take Joe Alt here and it would make all the sense in the world. The fact that Keena Allen and Mike Williams are gone and Marvin Harrison Jr. is there at five is too much to pass up. - Arizona Cardinals – Malik Nabers – WR – LSU
TRADE WITH THE GIANTS
It makes sense for the Cardinals not to trade too far back to still have a high chance of taking one of the top wide receiver prospects. Nabers also fits as an explosive weapon to compliment a tall, big body pass catcher in Michael Wilson. - Tennessee Titans – Joe Alt – OT – Notre Dame
The Titans have not addressed offensive tackle in free agency and have a prime opportunity to fix that issue with one of the best prospects we’ve seen in a while. - Atlanta Falcons – Dallas Turner – ED – Alabama
Turner isn’t a clear cut top pass rushing prospect but brings much-needed youth and can help affect the opposing team’s backfields. - Chicago Bears – Taliese Fuaga – OT – Oregon St.
I had Murphy going to Chicago for the longest time, but giving Caleb Williams more time to throw to his weapons matters a lot. - New York Jets – Rome Odunze – WR – Washington
I wanted to slot Brock Bowers to New York because their tight end position has been awful for so long. Reports lead me to believe the Jets would rather invest in a top three wide receiver despite already having Garrett Wilson and Mike Williams. - Minnesota Vikings – Byron Murphy II – IDL – Texas
I don’t believe the Vikings are as high on either of the top remaining quarterbacks. Therefore, I directed my attention to the defense and selected the top interior defensive lineman. - Denver Broncos – Bo Nix – QB – Oregon
Even with the recent trade for Zach Wilson, it’ll be hard to expect Nix or Penix to fall to them in the third round. You just have to grab your guy. - Las Vegas Raiders – Michael Penix Jr. – QB – Washington
Just like with Denver, does Vegas want to risk missing out on the quarterback they like? You might as well bite the bullet and take your guy then address the other needs in the following rounds. - New Orleans Saints – Olumuyiwa Fashanu – OT – Penn St.
Since James Hurst retired, I fully expect the Saints to double dip into the offensive line in the first two rounds just like they did last draft with the defensive line. Fashanu has gone up many draft boards and could be ready to play left or right tackle. - Indianapolis Colts – Brock Bowers – TE – Georgia
Bowers is a player that could go as high as five but could also drop as far as he does here. Indy isn’t afraid to take a luxury position and the former Georgia Bulldog could be a nice security blanket for Anthony Richardson. - Seattle Seahawks – Jer’Zhan Newton – IDL – Illinois
Seattle is weird because there are infinite possibilities of what they do in the first round. I’ll settle with a top defensive lineman as the Seahawks could use some help in that department. - Jacksonville Jaguars – Quinyon Mitchell – CB – Toledo
The Jags getting their pick of the litter of cornerbacks in the middle of the first round is bonkers. Many want Jacksonville to select Mitchell and I’m here for it as they need to try and cover those Texans receivers. - Cincinnati Bengals – Brian Thomas Jr. – WR – LSU
Another former LSU Tiger heading to Cincinnati makes so much sense. Not only that but he can replace Tee Higgins as an X receiver if the Bengals are going to be traded in the next couple of days. - Los Angeles Rams – Troy Fautanu – OT – Washington
Logic says to take a defensive lineman since Aaron Donald has retired. I’ll go in the opposite direction and improve that offensive line even more with a versatile piece. - Pittsburgh Steelers – JC Latham – OT – Alabama
One way or another Pittsburgh should go for another offensive tackle, just comes down to who do they settle for. Latham is my final choice and should sure up the edges for whoever plays quarterback. - Miami Dolphins – Jackson Powers-Johnson – IOL – Oregon
Miami’s got a few question marks on the interior of their offensive line. Powers-Johnson grades out well and could play center or guard. - Philadelphia Eagles – Terrion Arnold – CB – Alabama
Philly wants to trade up to get a corner but I found a way for them to take one where they’re at and it’s an SEC corner too. Arnold could do a lot for this Eagles defense and eventually replace their older guys. - Minnesota Vikings – Cooper DeJean – CB – Iowa
I’ll double down on defensive players for the Vikings. DeJean did a little bit of everything at Iowa and the Vikings could use that as their secondary is middle of the road at best. - Dallas Cowboys – Payton Wilson – LB – NC St.
Dallas seems to still be all in on Micah Parsons despite the rumors. Let’s give him another linebacker to work with who’ll replace Leighton Vander Esch. - Green Bay Packers – Amarius Mims – OT – Georgia
There are plenty of impressive offensive tackle prospects for the Packers to take and replace David Bakhtiari. Mims is one of those guys that has a good chance of going higher and would be a great addition for Green Bay. - Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Jared Verse – ED – Florida St.
I wanted to take another cornerback here but Verse still being on the board at this point is too good to pass up. Plus, if your pass rush is good enough, you don’t need a great secondary. - Arizona Cardinals – Laiatu Latu – ED – UCLA
Injury concerns are what would hold Latu back from getting taken higher but if he is to fall this far it’s a risk you’re willing to take if you’re Arizona. Latu is a premier pass rusher and they haven’t had one of those in a few years. - Buffalo Bills – Adonai Mitchell – WR – Texas
The Bills have reportedly been wanting to trade up to draft a wide receiver. They easily could but if Thomas isn’t available and they can’t get a deal done then they could go for Mitchell at the end of the first. He’s a tall pass catcher who has been able to so the ability to create separation. - Detroit Lions – Kool-Aid McKinstry – CB – Alabama
The Lions need help at corner and they need it badly. McKinstry is good on the boundary but can move around a little and help in the box. - Baltimore Ravens – Chop Robinson – ED – Penn St.
Let’s take a shot on a player that tested out well at the combine and looked good in his time at Penn State. Robinson can be a rotational piece until he’s given a chance to start in a couple of years. - San Francisco 49ers – Tyler Guyton – OT – Oklahoma
Guyton could be stashed away as the 49ers still have Trent Williams on the left side and Colton McKivitz on the right. Once one of them leaves, Guyton could slide in for a seamless transition. - Kansas City Chiefs – Jordan Morgan – OT – Arizona
If the defending champs make this selection at 32 they should go for Morgan. The former Wildcat grades out well at left tackle and would be able to compete for that starting job.