Two-Round Post-Super Bowl Mock Draft
The 2023 season has officially come to a close, and it's now time to kick off the 2024 offseason.
And man oh man, could there be some massive changes.
As it stands, the Chicago Bears possess the top pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, but they could auction it off for a second straight year to the highest bidder once again. Even beyond that, there's a ton of pending free agents that could shake up everything we knew about the NFL in 2023.
Of course, we are here to talk about the 2024 NFL Draft, and now feels like as good a time as any to throw out a full two-round mock draft with the official draft order.
Let's get this started already! The Chicago Bears are on the clock...
1. Chicago Bears (via Carolina)
The pick: Caleb Williams, Quarterback, USC
What will the Bears do at quarterback? For my moneys worth, they should take Williams and deal Justin Fields. Williams presents equal if not higher upside than Fields while being younger and not in need of a new contract.
Fields played much better this season and that's why they should sell now while his stock is high. Get good value for Fields and get your quarterback of the future.
2. Washington Commanders
The pick: Drake Maye, Quarterback, North Carolina
The Commanders have a million-and-one holes on their roster to fill, but it starts at quarterback where the team is seemingly all but helpless. Sam Howell was a disaster in 2023, so a change is needed. Maye is a pristine prospect with a high-floor and remarkable upside.
3. New England Patriots
The pick: Jayden Daniels, Quarterback, LSU
The hype around Daniels has some believing he could be the second quarterback off the board come draft day. For now, Maye maintains the edge, but Daniels is perhaps the most exciting prospect in the class and immediately becomes one of the best players on the Patriots.
4. Arizona Cardinals
The pick: Marvin Harrison Jr., Wide Receiver, Ohio State
Harrison Jr. can be argued as the best player in the 2024 NFL Draft and the Cardinals will gladly select him at fourth overall. MHJ is seen as a generational prospect and for good reason given the size, athleticism, and production. He has the chance to be the best receiver the Cards have had since Larry Fitzgerald.
5. Los Angeles Chargers
The pick: Brock Bowers, Tight End, Georgia
Bowers is a tough evaluation only because of the position he plays. At the end of the day, he's elite and matches what we said about Marvin Harrison Jr., just at the tight end position. The Chargers need playmakers on offense no matter who returns in 2024.
6. New York Giants
The pick: Malik Nabers, Wide Receiver LSU
Nabers is WR1 in most drafts, but he just happens to be in the same class as Marvin Harrison Jr. All that means, however, is that somebody is going to get a steal. The Giants need a top receiver like a fish needs water. No quarterback is going to succeed with the players they have currently.
7. Tennessee Titans
The pick: Joe Alt Jr., Offensive Tackle, Notre Dame
The Titans need to do what's best for their long-term future and build up their offensive line. Peter Skoronski was absolutely worth the investment the team made in him last season, so now they can add Alt to be their franchise left tackle. It's not the sexy pick, but it's the smartest, especially given the value here.
8. TRADE: Chicago Bears (via Atlanta)
The pick: Rome Odunze, Wide Receiver, Washington
Trade:
Atlanta receives Quarterback Justin Fields, pick 111
Chicago receives pick 8 and a 2025 second-round pick
Are the Falcons a quarterback away from competing? They may think so and given the weapons on offense, it's not hard to see why they think that. It just so happens that the Bears are looking to move Justin Fields in this mock after taking Caleb Williams first overall.
Feels like a match made in Heaven.
Meanwhile, the Bears look to continue building around Williams and draft Odunze. The man I've dubbed "DOOMSDAY" would pair nicely across from D.J. Moore and given Chicago a dynamic one-two punch at receiver.
9. TRADE: Las Vegas Raiders
The pick: Olu Fashanu, Offensive Tackle, Penn State
Trade:
Las Vegas receives pick 9
Chicago receives picks 13 and 77
The Bears are once again involved in a trade, but this time it's for a team making sure they get their guy.
The Raiders offensive line outside of Kolton Miller is upgradable and Fashanu is slipping right now. Adding him across from Miller provides bookend tackles for whoever ends up under center next season.
10. New York Jets
The pick: Taliese Fuaga, Offensive Tackle, Oregon State
The Jets were one pick away from landing a steal in Olu Fashanu, but they'll gladly "settle" for Fuaga, who is a drastic upgrade from anything the team currently has on the roster. Fuaga may be a full-time right tackle, but he's a damn good one and a player who you feel confident can be a top-end starter from day one.
11. Minnesota Vikings
The pick: Terrion Arnold, Cornerback, Alabama
This is a really weird cornerback draft because there's no consensus number one guy. Arnold has been gathering a lot of hype recently and for a very good reason. There's ball hawking skills here that make him tantalizing for teams to add. The Vikings need a true number one corner and rolling the dice on Arnold feels more than warranted.
12. Denver Broncos
The pick: Dallas Turner, Edge Rusher, Alabama
Turner is a beast, plain and simple, and it feels like teams are beginning to have a consensus opinion on this. The Broncos have been able to manufacture a pass rush with Jonathon Cooper and Nik Bonitto, but neither have the ceiling that Turner possesses.
13. TRADE: Chicago Bears
The pick: Cooper DeJean, Cornerback, Iowa
Trade:
Chicago receives picks 13 and 77
Las Vegas receives pick 9
The Bears landed three first-round draft choices all inside the top-15 and selected three plug-and-play starters. DeJean is a smooth operator with ball skills to make teams excited about turnover potential. He also has dynamic return man abilities on special teams.
14. New Orleans Saints
The pick: Brian Thomas Jr., Wide Receiver, LSU
Michael Thomas could (and should) be a cap casualty for the Saints and outside of Chris Olave the cupboard is empty at wide receiver. Thomas Jr. not only provides much needed depth at the spot, but he has huge size and a "my ball" mentality that will lead to lots of contested catches and red-zone targets.
15. Indianapolis Colts
The pick: JC Latham, Offensive Tackle, Alabama
The Colts have to figure out what they're doing with Michael Pittman Jr. There's no reason to let him walk, but if he does then wide receiver becomes the number one need. Until we know he's gone, we're working under the assumption that he's back for at least next season. That said, Anthony Richardson needs a tackle and Latham is a damn good one at this value.
16. Seattle Seahawks
The pick: Laiatu Latu, Edge Rusher, UCLA
I won't back down on my love for Latu, but his stock has significantly cooled off recently. The Seahawks won't mind ending his slide here, and his flexibility to rush from multiple positions sounds like exactly what the team historically values and what new head coach Mike Macdonald likes from his pass rushers.
17. Jacksonville Jaguars
The pick: Jer'Zhan Newton, Interior Defensive Line, Illinois
The Jaguars got exposed in the second-half of the season and part of that was because of the defense. A good remedy for a bad defense is an ass-kicker on the interior. Newton is a bad man who is falling victim to "overthinking season."
18. TRADE: Miami Dolphins
The pick: Amarius Mims, Offensive Tackle, Georgia
Trade:
Miami receives picks 18 and 148
Cincinnati receives picks 21 and 157 and a 2025 third-round pick
One more trade in round one for this mock. This time, it's the Dolphins jumping the Rams and Steelers to get a tackle. Mims is someone I've been high on throughout the process and the behemoth that he is makes it easy to love him.
Although the Bengals could also use a tackle, they can't help getting a future third round pick to move down a couple of spots.
19. Los Angeles Rams
The pick: Quinyon Mitchell, Cornerback, Toledo
The Rams have been drafting as hot as anyone the last few years and with their much anticipated return to the first-round, they'll be looking to hit as big a home run as we've seen. Mitchell is soaring up draft boards and for good reason after a stellar 2023 campaign. Cornerback isn't a huge need for LA, but the way the roster is built allows them to go "best player available" and take a stud.
20. Pittsburgh Steelers
The pick: Jackson Powers-Johnson, Center, Oregon
There's something about the Steelers and nailing first-round picks on centers. Mike Webster... Dermontti Dawson... Maurkice Pouncey... Whatever their scouting process is for the position, they seem to nail it every time. Powers-Johnson has become one of my favorite players in the draft and feels like a Steelers kind of player.
21. Cincinnati Bengals
The pick: Keon Coleman, Wide Receiver, Florida State
Trade:
Cincinnati receives picks 21 and 157 and a 2025 third-round pick
Miami receives picks 18 and 148
The Bengals got to move down and still grab one of the highest ceiling players in the class. We have no idea if Tee Higgins and/or Tyler Boyd will be back in 2024, but they can go younger and cheaper by adding Coleman on day one. Coleman plays a very similar style of play to Higgins, too, so this feels like a natural fit.
22. Philadelphia Eagles
The pick: Ennis Rakestraw Jr., Cornerback, Missouri
The Eagles didn't get nearly the production they were hoping for from James Bradbury and Darius Slay this season after giving both lucrative extensions. With both on the wrong side of 30, it's time to get younger and cheaper on the backend. Rakestraw Jr. is another cornerback that makes this year's class so difficult to evaluate in a very good way. The Eagles can bring him along slowly behind Slay and Bradbury.
23. Houston Texans (via Cleveland)
The pick: Jared Verse, Edge Rusher, Florida State
This could very well be the best value of the entire draft. Verse was once seen as high as a top-five draft pick, but a good season not great season, puts him back into the same value he was seen in during last year's draft cycle. But that's not even remotely a bad thing, as he comes in across from Will Anderson Jr. to give the Texans a terrifying pass rush duo.
24. Dallas Cowboys
The pick: Kool-Aid McKinstry, Cornerback, Alabama
McKinstry was the consensus CB1 before the start of the season and now he's picked just inside the top-25 as CB5. Like Jared Verse, McKinstry had a good - not great - season and because of that his value dips a bit. Even still, this is a more than quality corner who gets to play behind Trevon Diggs and Daron Bland. It's great value for the Cowboys and continues to keep an important position deep.
25. Green Bay Packers
The pick: Nate Wiggins, Cornerback, Clemson
The Packers are a weird team to mock for because there's no huge needs for positions that typically demand round one value. Instead, they'll pounce on a slipping Wiggins in a loaded cornerback class. Like the Cowboys, it's not the biggest need, but it keeps an important position deep with some upside to overtake the guys ahead of him down the road.
26. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The pick: Bo Nix, Quarterback, Oregon
I am one of the people at the forefront of the "extend Baker Mayfield" train. Should the Buccaneers opt not to, then we could even see them trade up for Nix, who has the potential to be a super star. But honestly even if they bring back Mayfield it's not a bad thing to take a chance on a terrific quarterback prospect to back up a guy who has been up-and-down throughout his career.
27. Arizona Cardinals (via Houston)
The pick: Bralen Trice, Edge Rusher, Washington
The Cardinals land a local kid that fits a need. You can't ask for much more. But Trice is a stud and has upside to be a game-changer off the edge. The Cards have another young, stud edge rusher in B.J. Ojulari, which gives the team a potential bookend edge rushing combo for the future.
28. Buffalo Bills
The pick: Troy Franklin, Wide Receiver, Oregon
Gabe Davis is a pending free agent and Stefon Diggs is on the wrong side of 30. The Bills have a need for a WR2 across from Diggs and perhaps his successor as Diggs gets older. Franklin might be the biggest "my guy" prospect for myself and with his size, speed, and game-changing abilities, I find it hard to see a scenario where he doesn't become a star. With Josh Allen's big arm Franklin is an Offensive Rookie of the Year favorite for me.
29. Detroit Lions
The pick: Kamari Lassiter, Cornerback, Georgia
The Lions had a Cinderella story run to the NFC Championship game and in order to make that an annual event and not a fluke, they need to stay aggressive in adding defensive talent. Detroit has a need for a true number one cornerback and Lassiter has the upside to be exactly that.
30. Baltimore Ravens
The pick: Tyler Guyton, Offensive Tackle, Oklahoma
The Ravens were good play calling away from a Super Bowl run and now they are faced with several big-time pending free agents and a smaller cap. It'll be up to GM Eric DeCosta to keep this team afloat amidst what could be a huge offseason of turnover. The Ravens need to get younger on the offensive line and Guyton can be a plug-and-play at right tackle to get younger and cheaper.
31. San Francisco 49ers
The pick: Jordan Morgan, Offensive Tackle, Arizona
Trent Williams can't play forever and the 49ers need offensive tackle upgrades regardless. Morgan is an athletic specimen at the position and could easily outplay his draft position with the right coaching. In this offense, Morgan could become a well-known commodity early in his career.
32. Kansas City Chiefs
The pick: Byron Murphy II, Interior Defensive Line, Texas
Chris Jones is a pending free agent for the Chiefs and it will be anything but easy to bring him back given their cap space. Even if they do retain the future Hall of Famer, KC could stand to get him a partner in crime. Murphy II has been seen as an IDL1 over Jer'Zhan Newton on some boards and he's a big-time riser for the draft process. Pairing Murphy II with Jones spells out big trouble for opposing offensive lines.
