After months of speculation, mock drafts, and rumors we will finally have answers. The 89th NFL Draft will take place in Detroit, Michigan. While initially bristling at the idea of moving the draft out of New York City, I have to admit the idea of turning the draft into a weekend football festival is pretty fun. It will be fun to see how Detroit pulls it off.
The NFL Draft is an event like any other. It underscores the idea of hope springs eternal. Every year as Round One rolls around, hopes rise that this is the year or this is the player to turn things around. Anything is possible.
While last year there was a flurry of teams maneuvering up and down the draft board, this season has more of a definitely maybe feel to it. While the Minnestoa Vikings will be the team to watch in the Top 10, there are dark horse candidates like Denver, Las Vegas, and even Indianapolis that could make moves. At the bottom of the draft, should quarterbacks Michael Penix and Bo Nix still be on the board I wouldn’t be surprised to see someone jump up to take their guy.
In our final mock draft we have some surprises and some picks made consistently through the offseason. Lets get to it…
- Chicago Bears: Caleb Williams, QB, USC
- This pick has been locked up for months. Williams is already studying the playbook.
- Washington Commanders: Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU
- This is where the draft starts. If Washington is smart they take Daniels, and maybe it’s the hangover from the Dan Snyder era, but that feels like a big if.
- New England Patriots: Drake Maye, QB, North Carolina
- If Washington does that smart thing, the Patriots are left in a tough position. They should look to trade down, but if they can’t find the right deal we have Maye as the pick in our last mock draft.
- Arizona Cardinals: Marvin Harrison Jr, WR, Ohio St.
- This has been the pick all mock draft season. The only way this doesn’t happen is if the Cardinals receive an offer they can’t refuse, and even then it would be hard to turn down with a talent like Harrison on the board.
- LA Chargers: Malik Nabers, WR, LSU
- New head coach Jim Harbaugh has been talking about the trenches all offseason, and this may be where we see Joe Alt selected, but they have zero weapons for Justin Herbert.
- NY Giants: Rome Odunze, WR, Washington
- Three straight quarterbacks followed by three straight wide receivers. Why not? The G-Men had the second worst pass offense in the league last year and still have Daniel Jones’ albatross of a contract weighing them down. Expect a QB here next season.
- Tennessee Titans: Joe Alt, OT, Notre Dame
- Another wire to wire pick over mock draft season. If Alt is gone at this point expect another offensive lineman – possibly Fuaga. The long story short is that Tennessee is still recovering from the back-to-back nightmare of Isaiah Wilson. Hopefully Ran Carthon’s new regime gets it right.
- Atlanta Falcons: Jared Verse, OLB, Florida St.
- This is a very interesting place in the draft. The first defensive player will come off the board here, but who? Turner? Murphy? Who knows, maybe even Quinyon Mitchell! But for our last mock draft we have Verse.
- Chicago Bears: Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia
- If the top wide receivers are gone, I wouldn’t be surprised if Chicago trades down. But we don’t mock draft trades and with that we have Bowers here. He doesn’t leave the Top 10.
- NY Jets: Taliese Fuaga, OT, Oregon St.
- The Jets landed Tyron Smith and Morgan Moses over free agency. If healthy, the Jets are set at tackle and Fuaga moves inside to play guard. That’s a big if however and Fuaga could kick back outside to tackle. That’s versatility the Jets need up front.
- Minnesota Vikings: JJ McCarthy, QB, Michigan
- We had this in our last mock. The Vikings hope they can stay put, land their (hopefully) franchise quarterback, and keep ahold of their draft assets. The biggest question is how aggressive will Minnesota be.
- Denver Broncos: Dallas Turner, OLB, Alabama
- A slight fall for Turner, but he lands in a great spot. Turner would be an instant impact player for the 30th ranked defense in 2023. He had 22.5 sacks in 3 seasons at Alabama.
- Las Vegas Raiders: JC Latham, OT, Alabma
- The Raiders will be interesting to watch. They are on their third brain trust over the last five years, and it will be GM Tom Telesco and head coach Antonio Pierece’s first season at the helm. Telesco pays attention to the trenches and I think he does so again this year.
- New Orleans Saints: Olu Fashanu, OT, Penn St.
- This pick has been the same in all our mock drafts. At this point, Fashanu is the best left tackle prospect on the board. He also has tremendous upside, the Saints luck out.
- Indianapolis Colts: Quinyon Mitchell, CB, Toledo
- There’s been yo-yoing all draft season over which cornerback goes first – Mitchell or Terrion Arnold. We flip back to Mitchell. While the jump from Toledo to the NFL may be stark, it’s hard to ignore his ability or his stats – 37 pass breakups and six interceptions in two years.
- Seattle Seahawks: Cooper DeJean, S, Iowa
- This is less of a who I think they’ll pick or should pick, but Seattle has a knack for throwing curveballs in Round 1. Bruce Irvin? Rashaad Perry? In our last mock draft we have DeJean as the curveball. It may be high for him, but he could be a Day One starter for the Seahawks with how thin they are at safety.
- Jacksonville Jaguars: Byron Murphy II, DT, Texas
- One of the biggest mysteries is how long Murphy will be available. He could go Top 10, he could go much later. Time will tell, but this a dream scenario for the Jags. There is little depth along the d-line and they could use an infusion of talent.
- Cincinnati Bengals: Brian Thomas, WR, LSU
- We had Thomas here in our first mock draft. Tee Higgins issued a trade request and even if he hadn’t, he would have played the year on the franchise tag and left in 2025. The pipeline from Baton Rouge to Cincinnati is strong.
- LA Rams: Laiatu Latu, OLB, UCLA
- The last time the Rams made a first round pick Jeff Fisher was their head coach. True story. What they’ll do now is anyone’s guess. The loss of Aaron Donald will be a big and take a lot of people to try and pick up his level of production. Latu, injury concerns aside, is the arguably the best pass rusher in the class.
- Pittsburgh Steelers: Troy Fautanu, OT, Washington
- The additions of Russel Wilson and Justin Fields made headlines in the offseason. Now they need to protect them. Fautanu will be the bookend to last year’s first rounder Broderick Jones.
- Miami Dolphins: Jackson Powers-Johnson, C, Oregon
- Miami lost both Connor Williams and Robert Hunt in the offseason. Powers-Johnson could be a Day One starter at either guard or center, which bodes well for the Phins. The offense is the strength of their team and need to keep it that way.
- Philadelphia Eagles: Terrion Arnold, CB, Alabama
- I don’t imagine this happening, but if it does what an absolute steal by Philadelphia. The Eagles secondary was putrid last year and needs a major haul. Arnold had 20 pass break ups and six interceptions.
- Minnesota Vikings: Jer’Zhan Newton, DT, Illinois
- Minnesota lost DJ Wonnum, Dean Lowry, and Khyiris Tonga over free agency and there is little depth behind them. Newton changes that. He racked up 13 sacks over the past two seasons proving he’s a three-down playmaker in the trenches.
- Dallas Cowboys: Graham Barton, OL, Duke
- The Cowboys have needs at left tackle and center, luckily for them Barton started at both positions over his time at Duke. Wherever he lines up for head coach Mike McCarthy, they are getting a Day One starter.
- Green Bay Packers: Amarius Mims, OT, Georgia
- Out of the Packers last four first round picks, GM Brian Gutekunst has selected three Georgia players. This year, he adds another Bulldog. Mims is a colossal tackle with immense talent, which is exactly what Green Bay need after the departure of stalwart David Bakhtiari and ascension of Jordan Love.
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Chop Robinson, OLB, Penn St.
- If Tampa Bay wants to get back to the playoffs in 2024, they need to shore up their defense quickly. Former first-round pick Joe Tryon-Shoyinka is looking like a bust. Robinson is hyper athletic and just scratching the surface of his talent.
- Arizona Cardinals: Darius Robinson, DE, Missouri
- Robinson is the perfect five-technique for Arizona and their 32nd ranked rush defense. The Cards did bring in Justin Jones and Bilal Nichols to help bolster the trenches, but more is needed. Robinson’s arrow is pointing up after a breakout season where he had 8.5 sacks and 14 tackles-for-loss.
- Buffalo Bills: Xavier Worthy, WR, Texas
- Speed kills in the NFL and Worthy broke the NFL Combine’s 40-yard dash record. After the departure of Stefon Diggs, it’s no secret that the Bills will be targeting a receiver. Worthy has some question marks, but his speed will keep defenses on edge as soon as he hits the field.
- Detroit Lions: Kool-Aid McKinstry, CB, Alabama
- The Lions struck gold last year with Brian Branch, so why not grab another Crimson Tide corner? Detroit had the 27th ranked pass defense in 2023. If they want to get back to the NFC Championship and go further, they need to bolster the secondary.
- Baltimore Ravens: Tyler Guyton, OT, Oklahoma
- Our final continuity pick of mock draft season, we keep Guyton to Baltimore. If they stalwart left tackle Ronnie Stanley can stay healthy for the season, the Ravens have a quality bookend in Guyton. If not, Guyton can flip to the left side.
- San Francisco 49ers: Marshawn Kneeland, DE, Western Michigan
- This is a bit a wild card, but the defensive line has been the hallmark of the Shanahan/Lynch era in San Francisco and they took hit in free agency losing multiple starts and impact players. Kneeland is raw, but ascending. He has the nastiness to thrive as a pass rusher.
- Kansas City Chiefs: Jordan Morgan, OT, Arizona
- The Chiefs enter with a lot of question marks. They need help at receiver, corner, among other positions. For our final mock, we have them selecting Morgan. The Chiefs didn’t resign last year’s starter Donovan Smith and now there’s an open hole on Patrick Mahome’s blindside.
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