Reddy | 2024 NFL Mock Draft
For many years and many volumes, I was lucky enough to cover football for The Daily’s sports section — but my favorite time of year was not the college football season nor the pro football season, but NFL Draft season. Though I am now an alumnus, my passion for the annual event has not waned. With that said, here is my 2024 NFL Mock Draft.
1. Chicago Bears: Caleb Williams, QB, USC
Williams is the biggest no-brainer of the draft. Ever since he stepped onto the field at Oklahoma before transferring to USC, he has been circled as a future NFL star with all the talent, experience and swagger to lead Chicago into legitimate NFC contention as soon as this coming season.
2. Washington Commanders: Drake Maye, QB, North Carolina
The Commanders may have tipped their hand with this pick when they traded away Maye’s old teammate and close friend Sam Howell last month as they cleared out any potential drama upon his arrival. Maye has been knocked during this draft process, but remains the statuesque 6-foot-4, 225-pound prototype with all the measurables and intangibles teams covet.
3. New England Patriots: Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU
The reigning Heisman trophy winner is brought in to champion a new era for Patriots football under new head coach Jerod Mayo. The dual threat wins the starting job from Jacoby Brissett and helps revitalize a suffering offense in New England.
4. Minnesota Vikings: JJ McCarthy, QB, Michigan
PROJECTED TRADE WITH THE ARIZONA CARDINALS
In a receiver-heavy draft, the Cardinals drop back to the 11th pick and add further capital they will need to overhaul a talent-starved roster. Meanwhile, Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah gives up a haul of picks (including the Vikings’ two 2024 first rounders) to grab their signal caller of the future in JJ McCarthy, who will thrive in Kevin O’Connell’s quarterback-friendly, motion-heavy offense.
5. Los Angeles Chargers: Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Ohio State
Harrison Jr. is one of the greatest receiver prospects in a generation, perhaps the best we have seen since Alabama’s Amari Cooper or Julio Jones. With stellar route-running and ridiculous body control for his 6-foot-3, 209-pound frame, Harrison Jr. looks poised to give his Hall-of-Fame father a run for his money.
6. New York Giants: Malik Nabers, WR, LSU
The Giants offense is a mess for many reasons, but one of the most glaring is their dearth of quality pass-catchers. Some feel LSU’s Malik Nabers is the best wide receiver in the class — explosive, twitched-up and wicked fast. I am not in that camp, but it is undeniable that his game jumps off the tape.
7. Tennessee Titans: Joe Alt, OT, Notre Dame
Alt has freakish dimensions, excellent technique and NFL bloodlines. He and Peter Skoronski will constitute one of the best left tackle/guard tandems in the league for years to come.
8. Atlanta Falcons: Jared Verse, EDGE, Florida State
The Falcons have a lot of needs on the defensive side of the ball but opt for the rugged, experienced power-rusher Jared Verse. Verse evidenced impressive strength and athleticism both on tape and at the NFL Combine and likely would have been a top-10 pick had he entered the draft last year.
9. Chicago Bears: Rome Odunze, WR, Washington
The Bears exit the draft with one of the scariest offenses in the NFL on paper, adding Washington’s Odunze to a dangerous trio alongside Pro Bowlers Keenan Allen and DJ Moore. The Bears don’t have much depth at the position after Allen and Moore and lock up a target to develop with Caleb Williams for years to come. NFC North secondaries beware.
10. Denver Broncos: Michael Penix Jr., QB, Washington
PROJECTED TRADE WITH THE NEW YORK JETS
I cannot imagine Sean Payton leading the Broncos into the 2025 season with Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson fighting for the starting job; they jump up a few spots here to make sure they land their guy. Penix Jr. may have the strongest arm of the class and racked up half a decade of starting experience in college; he takes over as Denver’s quarterback of the future.
11. Arizona Cardinals: Terrion Arnold, CB, Alabama
PROJECTED TRADE WITH THE MINNESOTA VIKINGS
The Cardinals defense needs work at all three levels, and they get started on the overhaul here with Alabama’s Terrion Arnold. At six feet flat and 189 pounds, Arnold is the prototype: a twitchy, aggressive man-cover corner with experience in the SEC and impressive technique despite his young age. He will be the best player in the Cardinals’ cornerback room on day one and has early Pro Bowl potential.
12. New York Jets: Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia
PROJECTED TRADE WITH THE DENVER BRONCOS
The Jets give Aaron Rodgers one of the best tight end prospects to ever enter the NFL in Georgia’s Brock Bowers, a two-time John Mackey Award winner with both elite blocking and receiving ability.
13. Las Vegas Raiders: Taliese Fuaga, OT, Oregon State
Outmaneuvered by their division rivals in Denver, the Raiders opt to stick and pick with Gardner Minshew as their guy going into 2025. They solidify the right side of their offensive line with Taliese Fuaga, a rugged mauler in legitimate contention to be the top tackle taken in the class.
14. New Orleans Saints: Olu Fashanu, OT, Penn State
The Saints grab the tackle with perhaps the highest upside in the class as a pass blocker in Penn State’s Fashanu, who likely would have been a top-ten pick had he entered the draft last season.
15. Arizona Cardinals: Dallas Turner, EDGE, Alabama
PROJECTED TRADE WITH THE INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
The Cardinals jump up and double up on Alabama defenders here, using some of their recently acquired draft capital to land another athletic standout in the Crimson Tide’s Dallas Turner. Arizona general manager Monti Ossenfort leaves Detroit with the two players many consider the draft’s best defensive prospects.
16. Seattle Seahawks: Troy Fautanu, OT, Washington
This has been a popular pairing for a few months: reuniting the versatile Morris Trophy-winning Troy Fautanu with his old head college offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb. Fautanu has best-in-class movement skills and slots in at guard for the Seahawks.
17. Jacksonville Jaguars: Quinyon Mitchell, CB, Toledo
Toledo’s Mitchell has crushed the pre-draft process, excelling at the Senior Bowl and NFL Combine. A two-time First Team All-MAC selection, Mitchell has locked up just about every receiver he has lined up against in-season and through the all-star circuit. The Jags enter the 2025 season with one of the best defenses in the NFL on paper.
18. Cincinnati Bengals: Brian Thomas Jr., WR, LSU
LSU started two of the best receivers in college football last year; the Bengals add another pass-catcher from the Bayou in Thomas Jr. to pair up with Jamarr Chase and Tee Higgins. This gives quarterback Joe Burrow one of the league’s best and most dynamic trios of pass-catchers. The pick also gives the team some security at the position given Higgins’ reported desire to be traded out of Cincinnati.
19. Detroit Lions: Laiatu Latu, EDGE, UCLA
PROJECTED TRADE WITH THE LA RAMS
Recognizing they are in win-now mode, Detroit general manager Brad Holmes calls up his old boss in LA’s Les Snead to move up from pick no. 29 and grab the draft’s most polished and technically adept pass rusher in UCLA’s Laiatu Latu. Latu pairs up with Aidan Hutchinson to give Detroit a truly vaunted edge duo that the Lions hope will terrorize quarterbacks come playoff time.
20. Pittsburgh Steelers: Cooper DeJean, CB, Iowa
Pittsburgh will covet DeJean’s ball skills, aggressiveness in run support and abilities on special teams. He will starts in the slot and as a return man for the Steelers from day one.
21. Miami Dolphins: Byron Murphy II, DT, Texas
The Dolphins sprint to the podium with this pick as they grab their replacement for Christian Wilkins in Texas’ Byron Murphy II, who may very well go ten or more picks higher than this come draft day.
22. Philadelphia Eagles: Nate Wiggins, CB, Clemson
Clemson’s Wiggins is one of the best man-cover corners in the draft; however, he has been knocked for being undersized and lackluster as a tackler. The Eagles throw him into a cornerback room with disciplined veterans in James Bradberry and Darius Slay and start the development of an impressive talent into a future starter.
23. Indianapolis Colts: Payton Wilson, LB, NC State
PROJECTED TRADE WITH THE ARIZONA CARDINALS
Payton Wilson had a laundry list of injuries during his time at NC State; had that not been the case, he likely would be in serious consideration for a top-ten selection in this draft. Wilson was celebrated as the best defensive player in all of college football last season, winning both the Chuck Bednarik Award for best collegiate defender and the Butkus Award for best linebacker. He has the athleticism Colts general manager Chris Ballard covets and takes Shaquille Leonard’s old spot as an explosive, run-and-chase weakside linebacker in Indianapolis.
24. Dallas Cowboys: Graham Barton, IOL, Duke
The Cowboys offensive line is in rough shape; Duke’s Graham Barton adds versatility and athleticism to the interior, plugging in at center or left guard.
25. Green Bay Packers: JC Latham, OT, Alabama
The Packers sprint this card up to the podium, adding depth to their tackle group with Alabama’s hulking 6-foot-6 and 342-pound Latham.
26. Buffalo Bills: Adonai Mitchell, WR, Texas
PROJECTED TRADE WITH THE TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS
After losing Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis this offseason, the Bills need to add playmakers to their offense to support Josh Allen. Texas’ AD Mitchell is a big-body, big-play threat with 4.33 speed; the Bills move up here to make sure they grab him as the last of the top five receivers in the class.
27. Arizona Cardinals: Jer’Zhan Newton, DT, Illinois
Ossenfort pulls off the coup of the draft by picking the top three defensive players on many analysts’ big boards, spending their third first-round pick on Illinois’ disruptive defensive tackle Jer’Zhan ‘Johnny’ Newton. The Cardinals defensive line gets meaningfully younger and more explosive with the additions of both Dallas Turner and Newton.
28: Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Jackson Powers-Johnson, C, Oregon
What Oregon’s Powers-Johnson lacks in athleticism he makes up for in size and physicality. He’s reminiscent of former Bucs star Ryan Jensen — broad, gritty and powerful, and boasting the versatility to play any of the three positions on Tampa Bay’s interior offensive line.
PROJECTED TRADE WITH THE BUFFALO BILLS
29: Los Angeles Rams: Amarius Mims, OT, Georgia
Perhaps the toolsiest prospect in the entire draft, Georgia’s Mims boasts over 91st percentile height, wingspan, arm length and hand size while weighing in at 340 pounds. He will struggle for his first year or two as the Rams’ left tackle, but has the potential to be all-world if he can get his tools to work for him.
30: Baltimore Ravens: Kool-Aid McKinstry, CB, Alabama
As usual, the Ravens stick and pick a player that likely should have gone much earlier; they add another experienced Alabama corner here in Kool-Aid McKinstry to line up opposite All-Pro Marlon Humphrey. McKinstry is smart and technically sound; his experience locking up wideouts for the past few years in the SEC will translate quickly to the NFL level.
31: San Francisco 49ers: Ladd McConkey, WR, Georgia
Brock Purdy will love throwing slants to the reliable, sharp route runner out of Georgia; McConkey gives the 49ers offense a dependable weapon in the midst of Brandon Aiyuk’s rumored discontent in San Francisco.
32: Kansas City Chiefs: Roman Wilson, WR, Michigan
The Chiefs are seriously struggling at the receiver position; they add depth and explosiveness here with Michigan’s Roman Wilson, who boasts rare speed and strong hands. He would have put up ridiculous numbers in any offense outside of Michigan’s run-focused system and proves this by hitting the ground running as Patrick Mahomes’ newest favorite outside receiving threat.
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