The Gridiron Review’s 2024 NFL Mock Draft 3.0. Check out our positional rankings for full breakdowns.
Chicago Bears (Via Carolina Panthers)- Caleb Williams, QB, USC
Seems set in stone, Caleb Williams could have a disappointing start to his career yet still immediately have one of the best seasons in Bears QB history.
Washington Commanders- Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU
As you will see, we are not fans of Drake Maye. We think he has upside, but needs to sit and develop ala Jordan Love. Wish the Commanders bringing in Mariota, taking a player of similar style in Daniels makes sense
Minnesota Vikings (Via trade w/NE)- JJ McCarthy, QB, Michigan
As we said, Maye needs time. Those that are singing his song and want him to start right away stating he is a combination of Allen and Herbert are foolish. Maye could be closer to Love if he can sit and develop. With only Darnold there, Minnesota needs to try and trade up for someone that can start sooner rather than later. McCarthy could also use some developmental time, but you know he can run an offense that is centered on the run game and win (if needed).
Arizona Cardinals- Marvin Harrison Jr, WR, OSU
Cardinals likely want to trade out here, but we could not find something that made it work. Instead they stay and take the much needed WR1 that the team lacks.
Los Angeles Chargers- Amarius Mims, OT, Georgia
Just watch the Michigan film. Jim Harbaugh believes in winning in the trenches as much as anyone in college football. You know(based on the Greg Roman hiring) that they are going to bring in a run game to either help take the pressure off(or ruin) Justin Herbert. Mims brings a physicality to help move bodies in the run game, and help protect Franchise QB Herbert.
New York Giants- Malik Nabers, WR, LSU
We have major concerns on Nabers. He has the upside of a WR1, but we feel like he is not the sure thing people make him out to be. His routes are not all that sharp, he suffers bouts of concentration drops, and he played a ton of snaps against way off coverage. However, the Giants have shown in recent years to take upside over anything else (see Kayvon) even though Nabers plays the slot and may not be what the Giants truly need at the receiver position.
Tennessee Titans- Taliese Fuaga, OT, Oregon State
The Titans last offseason in FA brought in a bunch of dart throws on the O-Line. The only good they did was draft Skoronski and move him to guard. New HC Brian Callahan has had to experience Joe Burrow getting sacked like the O-Line was Oprah Winfrey. Regardless of whether Levis is the future of the position or not, Callahan should be looking to build up this horrid O-Line. Fuaga is a tackle we like a lot. We think he has a good floor, but with the right coaching could have a very promising ceiling as well.
Atlanta Falcons- Chop Robinson, EDGE, Penn State
Atlanta has done a great job addressing needs. The only glaring holes are EDGE and linebacker. There is no linebacker here. Many will mock Dallas Turner here, but we feel like Chop fits the Raheim Morris system better. Either would be good picks, but Chop can actually play the end spot whereas Turner would have to play the OLB spot that already has bodies there.
New York Jets (Via Trade w/ CHI)- Drake Maye, QB, UNC
We just see the Jets doing something weird, like the Will McDonald pick last year. By all accounts, this should and could be offensive line. However, we wonder if they cannot pass up the opportunity to draft a player to develop under Rodgers. Who knows how much time Aaron has left, but we know Zach Wilson cannot be the answer. Instead of addressing a major need, the Jets trade up one pick to treat it as a luxury.
Chicago Bears (Via Trade w/ NYJ)- Laiatu Latu, EDGE, UCLA
The Bears swap picks like they did with the Eagles last year, and still take a need. Chicago has really done incredible work to fix this team. They still are missing a true end opposite of Montez Sweat, and Latu is the most pro ready pass rusher in the class.
New England Patriots (Via w/ MIN)- Brian Thomas Jr, WR, LSU
New England traded out of the QB earlier, and really benefits by getting much needed draft capitol. If they are smart, they build up the team and maybe take a swing on someone like Jordan Travis later.They address one of their biggest needs with a true X receiver in Brian Thomas Jr.
Denver Broncos- Bo Nix, QB, Oregon
There is a good chance Denver trades up for this player. The hate for Bo Nix is puzzling. He is ready to go day 1 and actually has a good amount of upside. We have a very difficult time thinking the Broncos go into this season with Stidham has their starter.
Las Vegas Raiders- Terrion Arnold, DB, Alabama
All of the top QBs are off the board at this point, we believe Penix would be a big reach here. The Raiders also brought in Garnder Minshew, which we think is a better move than the consensus believes. The Raiders need to address their CB room. Arnold isn’t our CB1, but between the person he is and his aggressive style of play, we think Antonio Pierce is going to fall in love with him.
New Orleans Saints- Rome Odunze, WR, Washington
Odunze has a slight fall because of other needs, but it stops here and the Saints are ecstatic. Odunze could dominate starting off as a WR2 next to Olave, and could be a wicked YAC weapon for New Orleans.
Indianapolis Colts- Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia
We are Jelani Woods truthers, but he has been disappointing. The best thing the Colts can do is build around Anthony Richardson. With the selection of Bowers, the Colts would have 2 elite athletes at the tight end position that can both block. Pair that with the receiver core and Richardson is set up for a ton of success with added creative freedom for Steichen.
Seattle Seahawks- Troy Fautanu, OL, Washington
We’ve seen Seattle getting mocked an OT before, although we like the young duo they have in Cross and Lucas. The Seahawks do need help on the interior of the O-Line though. Fautanu provides positional flexibility on the line and should be a Day 1 contributor. Not to mention new Seahawk OC Ryan Grubb was Fautanu’s college OC.
Jacksonville Jaguars- AD Mitchell, WR, Texas
If you want to know why Mitchell should be successful at the next level, just watch his profile on Sportscenter featured. He is a very high character player, who also happens to catch almost everything thrown to him, has elite speed, and decent size. JAcksonville is still missing another weapon and a true 1 receiver. That could be AD.
Cincinnati Bengals- Xavier Legette, WR, South Carolina
We are assuming Higgins is traded by the draft or on draft night. With Burrow getting hurt, the Bengals may want to shift the offense a hair and allow more quick throws and YAC potential. This is why we go with Legette over Coleman. Legette is an elite athlete who can take any pass to the house. He and Chase could be quite the duo.
Los Angeles Rams- Dallas Turner, EDGE, Alabama
Turner has elite upside, but we truly think he is more of a project than the analysts are saying. In the spirit of this, he falls slightly, but gets picked up by the Rams. They need more pass rushing juice with Donald’s retirement, and Turner offers elite athleticism to play the OLB position.
Pittsburgh Steelers- JC Latham, OT, Alabama
Especially with new OC Arthur Smith, who doesn’t believe in a forward pass, the Steelers are going to need to solidify their O-Line. For us Latham is a better run blocker than pass blocker which fits perfectly in Pittsburgh, along with his play demeanor. Drafting Latham also allows 2023 1st rounder Broderick Jones to go back to the LT spot.
Miami Dolphins- Byron Murphy II, DL, Texas
The Dolphins lost Raekwon and Wilkins, and did not do much to replace either of them. Murphy can play the nose or DE in a 3-4, and could possess upside similar to what Wilkins does.
Philadelphia Eagles- Tyler Guyton, OT, Oklahoma
We believe that Guyton is a “higher end developmental prospect”. He’s a converted TE with the athleticism and tools/skillset to eventually be a quality starter, but he ideally needs time to develop, which he has the luxury of in Philly, especially with arguably the best OL coach in the NFL. He could also supply decent play if either Mailata or Johnson were to go down.
New England (Via Trade w/ MIN, Via Houston Texans, Orig Cleveland Browns)- Joe Alt, OT, Notre Dame
We don’t believe that Joe Alt is the prospect the consensus believes he is. We have concerns about some bad tendencies he has in his game. We have him as a Fringe 1st Rounder to the right team. NE has a history of great O-Line play and a need at LT and think this would be a really good fit for both sides.
Dallas Cowboys- Olu Fashanu, OT, Penn State
We were originally very high on Fashanu, but after a rescout we believe he is a much rougher prospect than we originally thought. Along with Philly and NE, Dallas has a history of developing good linemen. There’s definitely enough there for Dallas to work with, they just need to clean Fashanu up. Fashanu allows Tyler Smith to stay at guard and with the fit most likely supplies Dallas with great LT play for years to come.
Green Bay Packers- Kingsley Suamataia, OL, BYU
On paper the Green Bay Packers are an extremely well rounded team, especially with the emergence of Jordan Love. To most, Suamataia is a tackle, and we believe that he definitely can play tackle, but felt he could kick inside to guard and supply great play there as well. In this scenario, Suamataia probably gets kicked inside to guard although in an injury pinch could be kicked back out to fill in for Walker or Tom.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Nate Wiggins, CB, Clemson
We have an extremely high grade on Wiggins. We truly believe he could be one of, if not the best, CB prospect to have come out of college football in the last couple years. We think he will be a very good starter off the bat, but also think that he’s got some rawness/underdeveloped parts of his game that provide him with a very high ceiling. Wiggins falling wasn’t about him as a prospect in particular but more so how the board itself fell. If Tampa is able to get Wiggins here, it would be an absolute steal.
Arizona Cardinals (Via Houston Texans)- Darius Robinson, EDGE, Missouri
After addressing the receiver position, the Cardinals turn to another need, and that is DE. The Cardinals have a decent pass rush rotation at the OLB position, and invested in the nose tackle, so a high end DE is the next logical step.
San Francisco (Via Trade w/ BUF)- Ladd McConkey, WR, Georgia
Reports suggest the Niners and Aiyuk are far apart on a deal, so he could be moved. Buffalo desperately needs a new number 1 that is not Diggs. With the headache gone, Buffalo needs a new favorite for Allen and a rookie does not make sense. The Bills are in win now, so trading for an elite 1 makes more sense. The 49ers immediately replace Aiyuk with a player of similar play style.
Kansas City Chiefs (Via Trade w/ Detroit Lions)- Keon Coleman, WR, FSU
With the Rashee Rice news, Kansas City has to be wondering what to do. They could trade for a receiver, but also could trade up for one. Keon Coleman adds an element Mahomes has not really had (except sort of in Kelce). Coleman is a jump ball specialist with great size who could be a dangerous downfield threat for Mahomes.
Baltimore Ravens- Javon Bullard, DB, Georgia
Regardless of who their DC has been, the Ravens defense especially in the back end has usually been a lot of chess pieces. They just lost Geno Stone to in-division rival Cincinnati. We believe that Bullard can play anywhere in the secondary, and it is something the Ravens will fall in love with. If they deal with CB injuries again, he can fill in there, if they want him to play Nickel he can do that, if they want to put Hamilton at Nickel and leave Bullard at Safety he can play Free or Strong. Bullard also already comes from a blitz heavy Georgia scheme, so he should be able to fit right in.
San Francisco 49ers- Christian Jones, OT, Texas
We are higher on Jones than most, and believe he could go higher than this, but due to other fits and how the board fell Jones falls into the 49ers lap. The 49ers O-Line continues to be pretty underwhelming, and full of vets and later round draft picks(minus Williams). Jones will slide right in as the bookend opposite Wiliams and will be a big get for CMC and the run game and Purdy in pass pro.
Detroit Lions (Via Trade w/ Kansas City Chiefs)- Kamari Lassiter, CB, Georgia
Despite the Lions making moves to improve the secondary, with how hard it was to watch their CBs last year we think they still add at least one rookie to the room. Lassiter is 100% a Lions and Dan Campbell type player. As a DB, DC Aaron Glenn should be in love with Lassiter, but above all Lassiter is a hard nosed football player, a leader, and a team first guy. Not to mention getting Lassiter at 32 would be a bit of a steal.