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It’s that time of year again. I always wait until the last minute to make my mock draft because I want to gather as much information as possible. This year appears to have a ton of talent, but because of that there’s not a lot of chalky picks and I cannot wait until the NFL Draft officially begins, but until then here’s my mock! And here… we.. go…
Chicago Bears - Caleb Williams - QB - USC
Not since Cam Newton have I seen a clearly best prospect in the draft get piled on like Williams has. Y’all need to chill with the Williams hate, it is insane. Williams checks all the boxes, athleticism, accuracy, pocket movement, creativity, he does everything well. I also don’t find him to be particularly arrogant, he’s arrogant, sure, but it’s nothing we haven’t seen before. He’s clearly the best quarterback in this draft and to argue against that is just being a contrarian for contrarian’s sake.
Washington Commanders - J.J. McCarthy - QB - Michigan
Do I think McCarthy is the second-best player in this draft? No. I don’t even think he’s the second-best quarterback in this draft? Also no. But the more I think about it the more this pick makes sense to me. The Daniels to Washington hype, the more I look at it, appears to come from outside of the organization, the Commanders have been extremely tight lipped about who they want. Given the social experiment the Commanders decided to run, bringing in all the top prospects and seeing who people gravitated to, and the fact that Daniels’ camp is really ticked off about it, tells me he didn’t perform well. You know who probably did perform well in that little experiment? McCarthy. Plus at the owners meeting all the team owners thought this is who they were going to draft, I trust the owners’ instincts over the media when it comes to this kind of stuff.
New England Patriots - Jayden Daniels - QB - LSU
The Patriots are reportedly taking calls, but I think they turn them all down if Daniels makes it past Washington. Daniels is largely seen as a more pro-ready prospect than Drake Maye. Daniels’ running ability also makes him a more viable starter on Day 1 because he can rely on his rushing ability while he develops. Maye is seen more as a project and Robert Kraft wants to win now; Daniels does that for him.
Arizona Cardinals - Marvin Harrison Jr. - WR - Ohio State
The Cardinals reportedly want three first-round picks to move back and with quarterbacks going in the first three picks, no one wants to pay that price for QB4. That works out just fine for the Cardinals, who get their Larry Fitzgerald replacement for the next decade. Harrison is the most polished WR coming out I’ve seen, maybe in my life, and he’s far and away the best non-quarterback in this draft.
Los Angeles Chargers - Taliese Fuaga - OT - Oregon State
The Cardinals can’t get anyone to bite to come up and neither can the Chargers. Jim Harbaugh has made it clear he wants to build in the trenches and he wants to run the ball. Even if he doesn't, his new offensive coordinator, Greg Roman, will definitely want to. Fuaga is the best run blocking tackle in this class, and he fills a need for them at right tackle. The Chargers consider Brock Bowers here, but ultimately decide to go O-line.
New York Giants - Malik Nabers - WR - LSU
Peter Schrager, in his most recent mock, had the Giants moving up for McCarthy. Well, McCarthy is off the board in this mock so they can’t do that. What they can do is continue to build this offense the best they can. Nabers would be the top receiver off the board in any draft class Harrison isn’t in. He’s an extremely explosive WR who doesn’t slow down when he cuts and isn’t afraid to attack the catch point.
Tennessee Titans - Joe Alt - OT - Notre Dame
Perhaps this is a bit anecdotal, but playing as the Titans in the most recent Madden game is nearly impossible to do because of how bad their offensive line is. The Titans have made some moves to improve it this offseason but they’re far from finished. Alt is coming off of two incredibly productive years at Notre Dame and is arguably the safest tackle prospect in this draft.
Atlanta Falcons - Dallas Turner - DE - Alabama
I don’t think Turner is the best edge in this class, but I do think he’s the best fit for Atlanta. Turner is an explosive edge rusher who proved himself this season when he was the primary threat on the defensive line for Alabama. He can also drop back in coverage. Raheem Morris loves to drop his edge players into coverage.
*TRADE* Minnesota Vikings - Drake Maye - QB - North Carolina
The Vikings get nervous about getting leapfrogged by Denver or Las Vegas and decide to move up, just a little bit, to secure their guy. The Vikings under General Manager Kwesi have a history of getting in-division deals done, so I’m not too worried about the fact that it’s the Bears they’re trading with. I mostly believe that because I don’t think the Bears are targeting Rome Odunze, which is a popular pick you see for them. But more on them later. Darnold can start for a few months to a whole season while Kevin O’Connell gets to work getting Drake Maye pro ready on the bench.
New York Jets - Rome Odunze - WR - Washington
There’s a lot of talk that the Jets would go Brock Bowers here, but Aaron Rodgers has never really thrown to tight ends much in his career and the Jets are in their “Do Whatever Aaron Wants” phase, so even if Odunze wasn’t here I don’t think they’d go Bowers. With that said. In this mock, Odunze is here, and adding another weapon for Rodgers is a huge priority.
*TRADE* Chicago Bears - Jared Verse - DE - Florida State
Like I said earlier, I don’t think the Bears are targeting Odunze, I think with the Keenan Allen signing, along with the depth of this WR draft class, the Bears feel comfortable passing on a pass catcher at this time. Instead they look to bolster their defensive line. They just traded for, and paid, Montez Sweat, but it takes more than one pass rusher to generate an effective pass rush as a defense. Verse was an extremely productive pass rusher for Florida State who is a plus athlete at the position.
Denver Broncos - Bo Nix - QB - Oregon
Look. You just can’t roll into the 2024 season with Zach Wilson, Jarrett Stidham and Ben DiNucci as your quarterback room. You just can’t. In a vacuum, I have Nix as QB6 because of his perceived lack of upside. However, I think Nix wouldn’t be much lower than QB3 on Head Coach Sean Payton’s board, because the things Nix does well are the things Payton values in a quarterback. This is a pick that will get slammed as an egregious reach on draft night, but will age very well.
Las Vegas Raiders - Quinyon Mitchell - CB - Toledo
The Raiders need help everywhere and so they just take the best player on their board. Mitchell is a sticky and athletic cornerback who absolutely terrorized receivers during his time at Toledo. The only negative on his scouting report was he played at a group of five school, but he held up just fine against top-tier competition at the Senior Bowl.
New Orleans Saints - Olumuyiwa Fashanu - OT - Penn State
Ryan Ramczyk’s knee can no longer be trusted and there’s a very real chance that he won’t play another NFL snap. If that’s the case, and the Saints would know better than anyone, then they need to draft a tackle. 2022 first-round pick, Trevor Penning, would be a better fit at right tackle anyways and Fashanu would slide into left tackle, keeping the pocket safe for a Derek Carr who needs a clean pocket to operate.
Indianapolis Colts - Cooper DeJean - CB - Iowa
Under General Manager Brett Veach, the Colts have absolutely loved taking swings on insanely athletic players with tons of upside. Not only is DeJean an athletic freak, but he’s arguably the best Cover 3 corner in this class, which is the type of scheme defensive coordinator Gus Bradley loves to run. He can also return kicks and punts for them, so, not a lot to dislike about this pairing.
Seattle Seahawks - Troy Fautanu - OT/OG - Washington
The Seahawks are in a rough spot. Abraham Lucas has been dealing with injuries, but it’s not like a Ryan Ramczyk situation where he’s for sure done. In the meantime, they really need help along the interior of the offensive line, but there are no elite guard prospects in this draft. If only there was a player in this draft who was strong enough to play guard but athletic enough to play tackle if Lucas isn’t good to go! Oh wait. There is? And he’s local? Perfect.
Jacksonville Jaguars - Brian Thomas Jr. - WR - LSU
If you were to listen to my player rankings podcast (shameless plus) then you’d know I’m not super high on Brian Thomas Jr. However, a lot of people are. He’s a big and fast receiver who’s far from a polished product but has all the tools to become an elite receiver. Trent Baalke proved to the world in 2022 that he values athleticism over production when he took Travon Walker with the first overall pick, and Thomas fits that bill. But on a larger note, you just can’t walk into a season where you expect Lawrence to take another step with Gabe Davis and Christian Kirk headlining your receiving corps.
Cincinnati Bengals - Brock Bowers - TE - Georgia
The slide of Brock Bowers is finally stopped by the Bengals, who make the no-brainer decision to grab the elite prospect. I know they just signed Mike Gesicki, but that wouldn’t stop me from taking Bowers here. The Bengals have always been very good at future-proofing their roster and taking players they need a year early, and with Tee Higgins having one foot out the door, they need to put more stock into pass catchers.
Los Angeles Rams - Laitua Latu - DE - UCLA
I know Peter Schrager reported that the Rams will go offense or trade back, but they have so many needs on defense I just feel like that’s just another part of “lying season”. If Latu didn’t have injury concerns, I think he’d be the consensus best edge rusher in this draft, his numbers last season are on par with what the Bosa brothers did coming out of Ohio State. At this point in the draft, injuries or not, the value would be too much to pass up.
Pittsburgh Steelers - Amarius Mims - OT - Georgia
There are a ton of offensive tackles in this draft who I’d consider to be developmental prospects. While Mims technically falls into that camp, he doesn’t have any bad tape, he just doesn’t have a lot of it, with him playing less than 300 snaps this last season. The Steelers are currently slated to start Dan Moore Jr. at left tackle, and as much fun as it is for Steelers fans to watch Moore do absolutely nothing to slow down Myles Garrett twice a year, I’m sure they’d prefer watching a more competent tackle playing.
Miami Dolphins - Byron Murphy II - DT - Texas
Admittedly, this is one of the moments where I look up and wonder where I went wrong in my mock draft for Murphy to fall this far, but, here we are. Murphy is arguably the most complete DT in this class and it’s an area of need for the Dolphins. Miami would sprint in this pick if he fell this far.
Philadelphia Eagles - Terrion Arnold - CB - Alabama
I know, I know, “Howie always drafts linemen in the first round”. Well, with both of their cornerbacks being on the wrong side of 30, it’s time to think about breaking that habit. Arnold is an athletic zone-coverage corner who held up really well under a lot of targets this past season.
Minnesota Vikings - Johnny Newton - DT - Illinois
The Vikings traded up with the Texans in anticipation that they’d need it to move up to get Maye. Since in this mock, they didn’t need to do that, they stay put and get an explosive interior defensive lineman who can rush the passer. The Vikings defense was running on fumes and Defensive Coordinator Flores’s scheme last year, I wouldn’t be surprised if the rest of the draft outside of Maye at the top is defense for the Vikings.
Dallas Cowboys - JC Latham - OT - Alabama
Tyron Smith has moved on to Jets, which leaves a hole along the offensive line. As of right now, Tyler Smith is projected to kick out to tackle and the Cowboys are slated to start T.J Bass at left guard, which isn’t great. The Cowboys can go one of two ways, draft Jackson Powers-Johnson and play him at guard until Zach Martin retires, or draft JC Latham and keep Tyler Smith at guard and figure out center later. Since we know Smith is an elite guard already, I lean towards keeping him at guard and taking the powerful, athletic Latham to fill the left tackle spot.
Green Bay Packers - Graham Barton - OG/OT - Duke
Barton played left tackle at Duke, but he projects to guard at the NFL level. He’s also on record saying he wouldn’t mind playing center if needed. The Packers have a history of taking position-versatile offensive lineman and finding the best place for them in the league. The Packers could use help at guard and at tackle, so no matter what they decide to play him as, there’s a place for him on this team.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Jackson Powers-Johnson - OC - Oregon
The Buccaneers have holes all over the roster, but after paying Baker Mayfield, keeping him upright is a priority. The Bucs have a hole at center and left guard, JPJ is a huge lineman who was impossible to get around in college. No matter where on the interior line the Bucs play him, he’ll immediately upgrade the entire line.
Arizona Cardinals - Chop Robinson - DE - Penn State
The Cardinals need help on every level of the defense, but their defensive line is especially sad. Robinson is an extremely explosive pass rusher who would start immediately for the Cardinals. There are concerns about his ability against the run, but he would add a much-needed pass rush presence to this roster.
Buffalo Bills - Adonai Mitchell - WR - Texas
After trading away Stefon Diggs and letting Gabe Davis walk, the Bills have a huge need at wide receiver. I fully expect them to take multiple receivers in this draft, but they need to inject potential high-end talent at the top of the draft. Mitchell definitely has the traits to be a high-end receiver. He needs a little bit of polishing, but he’s big and fast and has a knack for making big plays.
Detroit Lions - Nate Wiggins - CB - Clemson
Physically, Wiggins doesn’t look like a Dan Campbell corner, but his mentality definitely fits in with the toughness Campbell requires from his players.The only negative part of Wiggin’s game is his size, he excels everywhere else.
Baltimore Ravens - Kool-Aid McKinstry - CB - Alabama
The Ravens need help at receiver and cornerback. There are talented receivers still to find in this draft, McKinstry is the last high-level cornerback prospect. McKinstry was anticipated to be the top corner in this draft following the 2022 season, but his stock fell during the 2023 season. He’s not a high-level athlete, but he’s very smart at the position to the point where opposing teams refused to throw to him last season.
San Francisco 49ers - Tyler Guyton - OT - Oklahoma
I’m not crazy about Guyton, but some people are really high on him. It would take him time to develop, but he’s an incredible athlete for the position and has a high ceiling, if you can get him to take the next step. The 49ers quietly had a pretty bad offensive line last season, you just didn’t notice because Shanahan’s scheme focused on getting the ball out quickly. Adding help along the O-Line is a priority.
Kansas City Chiefs - Troy Franklin - WR - Oregon
The Chiefs had a need at receiver even before Rashee Rice got into legal trouble. A lot of people have Ladd McConkie going here, and while that’s a fine choice, I prefer Franklin. Franklin provides a more potent vertical threat, which pairs well with Mahomes arm talent.
