The NFL Mock Draft
Edition #77
HEADLINES:
Ohtani's Monstrous Home Run: Shohei Ohtani continues to impress with his hitting, launching a 450-foot home run. This has some analysts wondering if he deserves the number one spot in the MLB power rankings.
Triston Casas of the Boston Red Sox is sidelined with a rib fracture.
DJ LeMahieu left his first minor league rehab game with a sore right foot.
The Yankees' Aaron Boone was ejected from a game after a fan's heckling of an umpire.
The Texas Rangers' Jacob deGrom is expected to begin his rehab assignment this week.
The Orioles have called up former No. 2 overall pick Heston Kjerstad.
Steelers Decision on Justin Fields: The Pittsburgh Steelers have decided not to exercise the fifth-year option on quarterback Justin Fields, indicating they might be looking for a new signal caller in the future.
Bengals Retain Ja'Marr Chase: The Cincinnati Bengals secured star wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase by picking up his fifth-year option, ensuring he stays with the team through the 2025 season.
Lions Sign Top Tackle Prospect: The Detroit Lions have reportedly signed top offensive tackle prospect Penei Sewell, potentially making him the highest-paid offensive lineman in the NFL.
Former NFL Player Passes Away: Former NFL cornerback Vontae Davis tragically passed away at the age of 35.
Vancouver's goaltender Thatcher Demko will be out for a week due to injury, putting pressure on backup Jaroslav Halak in the crucial series against Nashville.
Carolina's defenseman Brady Pesce is likely out for the rest of the first round against the Islanders.
Sharks Fire Coach: The San Jose Sharks fired Head Coach David Quinn after two unsuccessful seasons.
Coyotes on the Move: The Arizona Coyotes will be relocating to Salt Lake City for the 2024-25 season.
Flyers Re-sign Goalie: Ivan Fedotov has signed a multi-year extension contract with the Philadelphia Flyers.
Retirement Announcement: Veteran forward Jeff Carter announced his retirement after 19 seasons in the NHL.
LeBron Frustrated: LeBron James expressed his disappointment with the officiating after the Lakers' loss to the Nuggets, putting them in a 0-2 series deficit. Will adjustments be made, or will the Nuggets continue to dominate?
New Nets Coach Aims High: New Nets coach Jordi Fernandez hopes to achieve early success and avoid the team's history of frequent coaching changes. Can he break the cycle?
Racial Slur Allegation: Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton alleges a fan directed a racial slur at his brother during a playoff game. This has sparked discussions about fan behavior and sportsmanship.
INTRO:
Happy DRAFT morning!
The NFL Draft. It’s going to be amazing. There are a lot of things teams are going to do. Move up, move down, trade, trade, and trade.
Wanna know a fun fact…
On draft day, if you want to know how the 49ers even drafted Jerry Rice? Well, they traded up to select him. Jalen Ramsey, an amazing cornerback, got traded for a third-round pick.
The possibilities are endless. In fact, there’s one guy who may get traded, who’s a star player, who’s coming from the 49ers.
His name is Brandon Aiyuk.
But, let’s get into this Mock Draft here. Some explanations may be one sentence, some may have no explanation, or some explanations may be long.
MOCK DRAFT:
Bears:
Caleb Williams.
I’m not a fan of Caleb Williams… Not. At. All.
But, he’s a dual threat QB (those guys are EFFECTIVE) and… he’s pretty damn good.
It’s pretty obvious he’s going to change the Bears franchise… for good… It could be in anyway… For one, he could finally break that Bears QB curse, because the Bears seriously have something going on with that position. Or else? He continues
Commanders:
Jayden Daniels
This guy is such a mobile quarterback and everyone knows how hard it is to defend these type of people. His athleticism and arm accuracy is so fitting for the Commanders offense…
Vikings (TRADE WITH PATRIOTS):
Drake Maye
First things first, let’s talk about the trade.
There are so many glaring needs for the Patriots, that they need to fix it. Yeah, they dropped to pick 11, but teams like the Jets, Bears (2nd pick), Falcons, Chargers, and Cardinals don’t exactly need QB’s. So, there will still be many amazing options left, such as Michael Penix Jr., Bo Nix, and J.J. McCarthy are amazing options.
Now, why would the Vikings select Drake Maye.
They obviously need a QB and comparing Maye to every other QB on the draft market, Maye is WAY better. I mean, let’s compare Maye’s stats.
DRAKE MAYE
J.J. MCCARTHY
He’s also very tight with Kevin O’Connell and is the kind of big-arm passer than the Vikings need. Imagine this. Maye and Jefferson. Drake and Justin. Hell yeah. Amazing combo.
Cardinals:
Who else other than Marvin Harrison Jr.?
Do the Cardinals want this to be the WR room?
Chargers:
Rome Odunze
Let there be Joe Alt, Malik Nabers, and others, but Rome Odunze is seriously CRAZY. Again, let’s look at a WR Room…
…
Giants:
J.J. McCarthy
Daniel Jones is a bust. He’s sucks and he’s not going nowhere other than being a backup…
Daniel Jones will get traded at the deadline. J.J. McCarthy is the obvious pick.
Eagles (TRADED WITH TITANS):
Joe Alt
Howie Roseman is always looking to trade up. In fact, he’s been with the Eagles for 13 years and he’s traded up 10 DANG TIMES!
Jason Kelce is gone. Lane Johnson’s like 50 years old, and even though the cornerback situation is a..., the Eagles have owned the best O-line for last million years and with a dual-threat QB and amazing RB room, getting a great O-line will give them the plus of a running game.
Falcons:
Dallas Turner
Another pick where talent meets need in the Venn diagram. The Falcons top sack-getters last year were Calais Campbell and Bud Dupree, each with 6.5. That's a low number to begin with, but neither one is on the team as of this writing. Turner makes sense, especially considering how aggressive the Atlanta front figures to be with Raheem Morris and defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake managing the unit. Not only is he a healthier body than Laiatu Latu, but he's about two years younger as well. (CBS Sports)
Jaguars (TRADE WITH BEARS):
Malik Nabers
The Bears definitely need extra picks, so they’re going to give this one up here to the Jags.
This guy definitely fell… A lot…
Nabers can stress defenses and be the go-to receiver in an offense that hasn't had a go-to receiver in a while. Nabers has best-in-class acceleration and physicality to be very productive.
Jets:
Brock Bowers
Tyler Conklin might be good, but he ain’t the best and he certainly isn’t Brock Bowers level.
The Jets are now in an Aaron Rodgers WIN-NOW mode and the case with Aaron Rodgers is… He’s now Patrick Mahomes… He need WRs.
Patriots (TRADE WITH VIKINGS):
Michael Penix Jr.
The Patriots needed their QB and they’re going to be getting their QB. Look, Penix is the most underrated QB in the draft this year. Penix has a quick-release and a strong arm to attack downfield, but he's also accurate in the short range and did an exceptional job of avoiding sacks while at Washington.
Broncos:
Bo Nix
In almost every single mock draft I’ve seen, Bo Nix has dropped to second round… and lower! That’s wrong. This is the man of the Broncos future. Bo Chapman Nix.
Raiders:
JC Latham
If this team wants to control the line (they want to), then this guy is a priority.
Saints:
Olumuyiwa Fashanu
New Orleans needs immediate help at both tackle spots but Fashanu can be viewed as a long-term solution on the left side. A two-year starter, Fashanu does well against the pass rush thanks to his nimble feet and massive strength. How well? He allowed zero sacks in his college career and just 10 pressures in 2023! Fashanu has the potential to be a building block that really makes the whole Saints offense better. (CBS Sports)
Colts:
Quinyon Mitchell
This is a team that allowed a 60% completion rate in all but two games last season…They desperately need him.
Seahawks:
Troy Fautanu
New Seahawks offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb coached Fautanu at Washington since 2022 and knows his game. Fautanu would then seemingly be an easy fit into Seattle's offense, which naturally figures to be physical and work off of zone-run concepts. But he doesn't have to play left tackle right away like he did for the Huskies -- he's equally suited to play guard or center thanks to his unique agility given his size. There should be an impact felt here in the Seattle run game right away. (CBS Sports)
Rams (TRADE WITH BEARS):
Aaron Donald is long gone from the Rams. They need an amazing DL. They have to trade up to get this guy.
Byron Murphy Jr.
This guy is big, strong, and fast.
Bengals:
Johnny Newton
This man can seriously hunt QB’s and RB’s. Plus, the Bengals seriously need some youth at DL.
Bears:
Chop Robinson
The pass rush of the Bears was not good at this time last year. However, the addition of Robinson is a positive one for the defense, which started improving after Montez Sweat joined the team. The combination of Robinson and Sweat has the potential to make the Bears defense one of the top-10 units with their pass rush. Robinson's exceptional athleticism is evident in his outstanding first step, which gives him an advantage when attacking the quarterback.
Steelers:
Amarius Mims
The extra-EXTRA large edge blocker (6-foot-7 3/4 and 340 pounds with 36 1/8-inch arms and 11 1/4-inch hands) would help the Steelers as they become a ground-and-pound squad.
Dolphins:
Jackson Powers-Johnson
The Dolphins offense had difficulty performing against tough defensive fronts last season, and one way to improve it could be to strengthen their offensive line.
EAGLES:
Wait… How are the Eagles still here?
Well, I have the Eagles trading their a few players plus some picks in 2025.
So, who else would they pick other than…
Nate Wiggins
Wiggins fits the Eagles in so many ways: For starters, he's an excellent zone corner who has the speed and burst to latch on to open WRs. He competes for the ball with his tall frame and long arms and does a good job diagnosing routes. All of that is perfect for what Vic Fangio wants from his corners. There's also the need the Eagles have for a long-term solution at cornerback with Darius Slay and James Bradberry both at least 31 years old. Wiggins' only drawback is that he's lean, but we've seen the Eagles trust lean players before with some good results. (CBS Sports)
Patriots (TRADE WITH VIKINGS):
Jared Verse
This is the perfect one for the Pats. He has an amazing burst off the snap. His size fits very well.
Cowboys:
Tyler Guyton
The Cowboys O-Line sucks, but if they wanna keep winning, they cannot let it fall apart. He knows how to run-block which means he fits perfectly in the Dallas offense.
Packers:
Darius Robinson
The Packers… they don’t have any NEED to fill right now. The only reason I didn’t have them trade down was because age. Preston Smith, the current pass-rusher for the Packers right now.. he’s getting older older. He doesn’t suck, but that doesn’t mean that being older doesn’t give you disadvantages.
That being said, Robinson is a very daring guy on the line and would be very helpful to a division that may just be becoming tough.
Buccaneers:
Laiatu Latu
The Bucs need some serious pass rush help. I know for a fact this man’s going to help. BIG TIME.
Cardinals:
Jer'Zhan Newton
Bills:
Brian Thomas Jr
Stefon Diggs gone… Gabe Davis gone…
I mean, what the hell! What are the Bills doing with their WR room? They need a guy to replace Stefon. Brian Thomas Jr. is the man.
Lions:
The man. The myth. The legend.
The creator of Kool-Aid. (ONE OF THE BEST DRINKS EVER.)
Kool-Aid McKinstry.
Nah, I’m playing with you.
If the Lions want to start playing better defense, then they have to start with this man.
Ravens:
Amarius Mims
General manager Eric DeCosta needs to address the edges with Morgan Moses traded away and Ronnie Stanley struggling with injuries.
49ers:
Jordan Morgan
The 49ers have some… salary cap issues. Plus, a Trent Williams one.
Williams is entering his final years of his career and they need to get someone to replace him… before it’s too late. Morgan is an amazing blocker at the point of attack with skills that can let him play on ANY SIDE of the O-Line.
Chiefs:
Ennis Rakestraw Jr.
The Chiefs lost L’Jarius Sneed. Gotta replace him. Rakestraw is a rock-solid cover corner with superb tackling skills.
Conclusion:
That was the 2024 NFL Mock Draft by Sports Square. At the time of me publishing this (7:00 A.M. EST), there are 13 hours until the NFL Draft begins. It is a three-day event.
Here is all the info.
Thursday, April 25
Round 1: 8 to 11:30 p.m. on ABC, ESPN and NFL Network.
Friday, April 26
Rounds 2 and 3: 7 to 11:30 p.m. on ABC, ESPN2 and NFL Network.
Saturday, April 27
Rounds 4 to 7: noon to 7 p.m. on ABC, ESPN and NFL Network.
On ESPN, Mike Greenberg will serve as host for the first two nights of the draft alongside Mel Kiper Jr., Louis Riddick, Booger McFarland, Adam Schefter and Molly McGrath.
On ABC, Rece Davis will host with Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard and Field Yates from one set, and Sam Ponder and Robert Griffin III reporting from another set. For Day 3 of the draft on Saturday, ABC and ESPN will combine forces with Davis, Kiper, Riddick and Yates covering rounds 4 through 7.
On the NFL Network, Rich Eisen will lead coverage featuring Daniel Jeremiah, Charles Davis, Kurt Warner, Joel Klatt and Ian Rapoport.
Pick Order:
MOCK DRAFTS:
https://www.tankathon.com/nfl/mock_draft
https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/news/2024-nfl-mock-draft-trades-re-shape-qb-landscape-while-stud-pass-catchers-find-new-homes/
https://www.nfl.com/news/charles-davis-2024-nfl-mock-draft-3-0-pats-select-j-j-mccarthy-at-no-3-vikings-snatch-drake-maye
https://www.nfl.com/news/bucky-brooks-2024-nfl-mock-draft-4-0-dt-byron-murphy-ii-is-first-defender-taken-bengals-select-wr
https://www.nfl.com/news/dan-parr-2024-nfl-mock-draft-2-0
https://www.nfl.com/news/seven-round-2024-nfl-mock-draft-round-1
Amarius Mims can't be picked twice :|
Ain't no way the Falcons just drafted a QB