2024 NFL Mock Draft: It’s Caleb Williams and Drake Maye at the top. Then what?

Needs: QB, LB, OL, CB

Justin Fields has struggled in 2023. He’s also shown flashes of greatness. Unfortunately, that’s the same script Bears fans have been reading for the past three years and, with head coach Matt Eberflus likely on the chopping block, a fresh start lurks on the horizon in Chicago.

This spring’s top overall pick will come down to Maye and Caleb Williams, two five-star NFL prospects who do most everything well. Maye, with his prototypical NFL size and useful scrambling, gets the edge here as a guy who’ll likely wow scouts in the pre-draft process. But either way, the Bears will be happy with whomever they draft first overall.

Needs: EDGE, WR, CB, LB, QB

Kyler Murray is slated to return from a torn ACL soon, but the temptation of drafting Williams may be too much for a team that’s run hot and cold on its franchise quarterback to pass up. Williams is the kind of dual threat passer who could theoretically slide into a Murray-based offense with ease. He’s been even more efficient in 2023 than he was in 2022’s Heisman-winning campaign, averaging a devastating 9.5 yards per throw and averaging a touchdown per game … on the ground.

Needs: QB, WR, OG, CB, LB

Brutal luck for the Giants here, as they’re bad enough to slide to a top draft pick but not quite putrid enough to secure one of the top two quarterbacks in the class of 2024. Instead, they can run it back with Daniel Jones and see if a massive upgrade at wideout helps return him to 2022 form (or, ideally, exceed it. It’s not exactly a high bar).

Harrison Jr. frequently looks like a man among boys in the Big Ten, showcasing preternatural separation skills and the ability to know exactly where the soft spots in zone coverage are coming. Jones needs someone who can bail him out in big moments; there’s no one better in this year’s crop of wideouts than MHJ.

Needs: QB, LB, OL, CB

The Bears would have loved to take a shot at Harrison Jr. here — trading up is always an option, especially considering all the Giants’ flaws — but instead plug another hole in their offense. Braxton Jones has been a useful starter, but Fashanu has the blue chip bonafides to vastly upgrade the Chicago offensive line. He’d pair with Darnell Wright to give Maye two young, athletic and explosive bookends who can keep his pockets clean as well as get out and block for him in space when it’s time to scramble.

Matching up with
Olumuyiwa Fashanu looks like a bad time pic.twitter.com/CSjbQrHV09

— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) September 24, 2023

Needs: CB, LB, WR, EDGE, QB

Yeeeaaaaaah, let’s overreact to on-field results and throw Latu up where his numbers say he should be rather than where the pre-draft process may slot him.

Next year will be all about erasing Josh McDaniels’ mistakes. While a quarterback will be on the top of that list, finding Maxx Crosby a capable partner in crime is up there as well. Signing Chandler Jones went about as poorly as it could have and last year’s top-10 draft pick, Tyree Wilson, has yet to make a significant impact.

Latu, however, has been an absolute wrecking ball on the edge after transferring to UCLA. He’s got 21.5 sacks in 22 games as a Bruin and, at 6-foot-4 and 265 pounds, has the strength and athleticism to be a difference maker at end or linebacker depending on the shape of next season’s Las Vegas defense.

Needs: QB, WR, OT, TE, CB

Yes, quarterback is a concern. So is wideout, and tight end, and just about every position on the offensive side of the ball.

Alt is the kind of safe pick that will help each one of the team’s underwhelming holdovers perform better. He’s a mountain of a man (6-foot-8, 322 pounds) whose physical profile matches up nicely with another Bill Belichick first round tackle, Nate Solder. Starting tackles Trent Brown and Mike Onwenu are both free agents after the season; drafting Alt would be a boon not only to the lineup but be a cost-effective starter at an expensive position.

PFF’s @TampaBayTre has the #Patriots taking Notre Dame LT Joe Alt (#76) with the 5th overall pick in his latest mock draft.

Alt is 6-foot-8, 322lbs and has allowed just one sack this season per @PFF. pic.twitter.com/CoXxOuydPi

— Mike Kadlick (@mikekadlick) November 6, 2023

Needs: OL, S, EDGE, QB, DT

The Rams understand better than anyone the value of a player who can absolutely take over games from the defensive line. Aaron Donald remains great, but he’s 32 years old and has flirted with retirement.

Newton wouldn’t be a 1:1 replacement, but he’s the kind of inside-out disruptor who can anchor a team in the trenches and create the kind of chaos upon which his teammates can feast. There’s no better indicator of his value than Illinois’ performance against Wisconsin before and after Newton was ejected for targeting. The man is a monster, even if he’s a bit undersized, and LA can get behind that.

Needs: QB, WR, OT, OG, S

Wow, just look at all the great offensive skill players on the board for the Packers to ignore. Picking Green Bay to address its defense in the first round is one of the safest bets in sports and, after picking up two Day 2 tight ends last year, it means Brock Bowers will have to wait to hear his name called.

Instead, the call goes to DeJean, a player with video game athleticism and the strength and experience to overcome whatever his frustrating, disappointing offense throws at him. He’d pair with Darnell Savage to give Green Bay an electric duo at safety or slide to cornerback to provide some scary playmaking help alongside Jaire Alexander and Eric Stokes.

Needs: CB, LB, EDGE, S, TE

Denver has a world class corner in Patrick Surtain II, but still ranks dead last in the NFL when it comes to passer rating allowed (106.3). There are plenty of reasons for that, and punching up a pass rush that has only 17 sacks in eight games wouldn’t be a bad decision at No. 9.

Instead, the Broncos take the first cornerback off the board to create a fearsome young duo of boundary defenders who can be trusted in space — reducing the lift for a weak safety rotation. McKinstry is a bundle of NFL athletic traits and a fast processing brain, capable of making adjustments that bait quarterbacks into throws they shouldn’t be making. He had 15 passes defensed in 2022, effectively turning opposing QBs away from his side of the field in 2023 unless absolutely necessary.

Needs: CB, OT, EDGE, LB, WR

Indianapolis has some good tight end prospects between Kylen Granson and Jelani Woods. Bowers would give them a great one. The massive, athletic tight end is a devastating route runner who can torch linebackers and bully defensive backs. Now he’d get to pair with Anthony Richardson to take the pressure off a rising young receiving corps and keep AFC South defensive coordinators up at night.

Needs: WR, CB, S, LB, OT

DeAndre Hopkins is 31 years old and Treylon Burks hasn’t been the high-value target Tennessee expected. If Will Levis is going to emerge as a franchise quarterback, he’ll need wideouts who can lift his game.

That’s what Nabers is, a productive, quick and powerful wideout who has twice gone into matchups against a McKinstry-led secondary and twice torched Alabama for big yardage (10 catches, 171 yards this November). He combines crisp routes with extreme explosiveness, making him a nightmare for even the highest-caliber cornerbacks to shadow.

Needs: QB, IOL, OT, S, EDGE

There are plenty of options available to punch up a pass rush that ranks fourth-worst in pressure rate (17.2 percent) halfway through the 2023 season. Turner, the *other6-foot-4, 240-ish pound wrecking ball in the Crimson Tide 2022 defense, may be best among them.

Will Anderson’s departure has freed him for a career year, posting 10.5 tackles for loss and seven sacks in nine games with a pair of fumbles forced. He has the size and athleticism befitting an Alabama five-star starter, and those traits should translate well to a Tampa Bay roster that’s gotten diminishing returns out of Shaq Barrett the past two seasons.

Tip Drill! 👏@ArnoldTerrion

📺 CBS pic.twitter.com/2eKmSZy1OS

— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) November 5, 2023

Needs: OT, QB, EDGE, CB

Washington sold its young pass rushing stars at the trade deadline, making the position a priority next spring. Fortunately, there’s a perfect Montez Sweat/Chase Young replacement lingering at No. 13.

Verse hasn’t been able to live up to 2022’s breakout in Tallahassee, but he’s a wrecking ball defensive end who would work perfectly in the team’s four-man front. His quick, powerful hands give him the opportunity to dump opposing tackles even if he’s well shadowed around the edge or inside.

Needs: EDGE, DT, QB, CB

The Falcons complete a run on pass rushers, finding a Day 1 starter who can contribute in every phase of the game as an outside linebacker or slide up to the line of scrimmage when needed. He’s a vicious, endless defender who gets upfield in a hurry thanks to an explosive first step, but he’s strong enough to push linemen backwards and slice inside to provide more than just edge coverage. Now he’d get to join fellow Penn State alum Arnold Ebiketie as Atlanta’s quarterback-terrorizing duo of the future.

CHOP 🪓

Chop Robinson sacks his former QB

We sure are glad you made Happy Valley your new home 🦁#WeAre | @chopyoungbull pic.twitter.com/VHtRP8NS3g

— White Out Weekly (@whiteoutweekly) November 12, 2022

Needs: QB, EDGE, LB, CB

Minnesota’s last three first round cornerbacks: Jeff Gladney, Mike Hughes, Trae Waynes. That’s a frustrating lineup, but King has the chops to easily exceed that standard — even if his NFL audition against Marvin Harrison Jr. didn’t go as planned.

He replaced Joey Porter Jr. as the Nittany Lions’ CB1 and while he hasn’t been quite as good as he was in ’22, he remains a high impact deterrent who plays bigger than his size and who closes on the ball faster than his 40 time might suggest come February. He’s got great instincts and the uncanny ability to pester wideouts to the brink of pass interference without getting flagged.

Kalen King with the diving INT for Penn State at the Rose Bowl‼️

📺: ESPN pic.twitter.com/uiOywV4UE0

— ESPN (@espn) January 2, 2023

Needs: QB, OL, CB, LB

Hell yeah, let’s get a little weird. This wouldn’t be a terrible place for the Steelers to snag extra blocking help or a do-it-all linebacker. But Kenny Pickett, despite his penchant for fourth quarter heroics, is untenable. Pittsburgh is in position to take a high-upside swing in the middle of the first round. And while guys like J.J. McCarthy and Shedeur Sanders are on the board, the playmaking ability of Penix is enough of a trump card to earn a (possibly unlikely) spot in the top half of Day 1.

Penix is electric, a star capable of turning chicken crap into chicken salad and gleaning the most from his playmakers. That’s a big bonus for a Steeler team with viable skill players and deficient blocking. And he seems to share the clutch gene Pickett has leaned on to get this team, amazingly, above .500 at the halfway point of the 2023 season. So yeah, probably won’t happen … but could be a whole lot of fun.

Needs: IOL, EDGE, DT, TE, WR

Egbuka has been unable to follow up on a breakout 2022 thanks to injury, but he has the sheer talent to make an immediate NFL impact. His combination of size (6-foot-1, 206 pounds) and speed (likely to run in the 4.3-second 40 range) make him look like a leaner AJ Brown.

He plays angry, running with bruising efficiency and providing an asset as a downfield blocker. He still needs to prove he can be a consistent downfield threat, but he can be a viable over-the-middle presence who creates options for C.J. Stroud and helps his fellow wideouts like Tank Dell and Nico Collins thrive.

Needs: EDGE, WR, CB, LB, QB

Getting Williams some help is important here. But it’s too soon to take an interior lineman from a “just OK” class and Arizona doesn’t necessarily need another high profile tackle.

Instead, the Cardinals add size to their receiving corps with the 6-foot-4 Coleman, a field-stretching presence with three multiple-touchdown performances in just eight games as a Florida State Seminole. He gets downfield in a hurry and, paired with solid leaping and timing, provides the kind of catch radius that would help ease Williams’ transition to the pros — or help restore Kyler Murray’s value, if the Cards are so inclined.

Needs: OT, IOL, TE, WR, EDGE, LB

Andrus Peat has struggled at left tackle and Trevor Penning looks as if he may never live up to his first round pedigree. Landing the 6-foot-6, 360-pound Latham would bring stability to Derek Carr’s blindside, an enormous pass blocker who plays quicker than he looks to shadow edge rushers and keep his quarterback upright. The question remains whether he’d be as effective moving from the right side to the left, but a player with his traits should translate well to Sundays regardless of where he’s lined up.

#Alabama RT JC Latham is such a stout pass protector at 360 pounds. Moves effortlessly mirroring pass rushers and once he gets his hands inside and locks out, the rep is over.

Absolutely stonewalled Tennessee’s pass rushing duo 2 weeks ago. Love watching him operate in pass pro. pic.twitter.com/bSLbLB4Nq1

— Devin Jackson (@RealD_Jackson) October 31, 2023

Needs: CB, DT, IOL, LB, TE

The J.C. Jackson signing went about as poorly as it could have, leaving a gaping need at corner. Wiggins, at 6-foot-2, has the size and speed to track NFL deep threats down the sideline. He’s been an absolute lockdown beast despite Clemson’s struggles this fall.

Nate Wiggins: 2.8 Passer Rating Allowed this season

Lowest in College Football🔒 pic.twitter.com/slhzrZLPjC

— PFF College (@PFF_College) October 18, 2023

With fluid hips, he can run with just about anyone at the college ranks, mirroring routes and erasing plays with heady closing ability.

Needs: OL, QB, WR, S, DT

Keeping Aaron Rodgers protected and happy are the priorities in New York. Mims can do both, giving him greater utility than another pass catcher at this point in the draft. At 6-foot-7 and 340 pounds, he’s a beast of a human whose pass blocking currently rates out higher than his impact in the run game.

Georgia OT Amarius Mims in Week 1:

🐶 39 Pass Block Snaps
🐶 Zero Pressures Allowed pic.twitter.com/VxyFRC2UaW

— PFF College (@PFF_College) September 5, 2023

He’s got long arms and a powerful chest to drive edge rushers away. While he may be a bit of a reach here, he fills a position of need for a team that can’t afford to waste another year with an injured quarterback.

Needs: WR, CB, S, EDGE

Rasul Douglas is under contract through 2024, lessening the need to take a cornerback here. A wideout like Washington’s Rome Odunze makes sense, but Kinchens would be an infusion of youth at a position whose starters, while still effective, are each on the wrong side of 30.

Kinchens excels at diagnosing a quarterback’s route tree, using that anticipation and solid closing speed to break up plays and provide valuable help over the top. He’s got 10 interceptions in his last 19 games, including one each in the Hurricanes’ last three matchups. While his measureables may not blow you away, his play on the field and instincts in coverage might.

Needs: OT, DT, EDGE, S

Jacksonville needs some youth up front on both sides of the ball, but Burke’s upside and coverage abilities in an AFC filled with great quarterbacks is too tempting to pass up. After a “mostly fine” 2022, he’s returned to lockdown status, knocking down nine passes in seven games to go with a forced fumble and an interception.

At 6-foot-1 he’s big enough to challenge for jump balls and runs with antelope efficiency on deep routes and cobra quickness when asked to strike. Now he’d get to pair with Tyson Campbell and, as a rookie, serve as vital Darious Williams insurance behind the soon-to-be 31-year-old starter.

Needs: EDGE, IOL, LB, DT

The Seahawks stay local to replenish their edge rushing rotation. While Boye Mafe is on the cusp of a breakout, more depth is needed to make a solid pass rush terrifying again.

Trice could be that guy. The 274-pound defensive end is a chaos engine who is a deterrent against both the run and pass. While his 2023 hasn’t lived up his 2022 star turn, he’s been a vital component for a top-five team.

Needs: OT, IOL, S, EDGE, CB

Miami’s blocking has been a concern, ranking out in the middle of the NFL’s pack even when Terron Armstead has been healthy. Barton, who has played both center and tackle at Duke, would be a versatile fix who can fill multiple roles depending on the shape of the Dolphins’ depth chart. He’s an explosive edge protector who slings rushers past the pocket and a powerful line-pusher when called upon to clear running lanes.

Needs: CB, S, OT, RB

A big problem with the Cowboys’ offense is the lack of a proper running mate alongside CeeDee Lamb. Odunze would remedy that.

The 6-foot-3 wideout has been Michael Penix Jr.’s huckleberry, emerging as the top option for one of the NCAA’s most explosive offenses. The Husky star combines power and grace that allow him to explode through contact and coverage to finish big plays — and, in this case, thrive in the wake of the defensive focus Lamb commands.

Needs: OT, IOL, S, CB, EDGE

Trent Williams is great, but the right side of the Niners’ offensive line is a bit of a mess. Fuaga would be an immediate upgrade, a Hulk-strength space-clearer who uses long arms to defuse edge rusher’s moves at the point of contact. He has yet to give up a sack at right tackle in his Oregon State career.

In a loaded 2024 tackle class, Taliese Fuaga of Oregon State has been a massive riser. Terrific blend of power and athleticism at 6-6, 330. 📈📈 pic.twitter.com/rB8E5Fac46

— Jordan Reid (@Jordan_Reid) November 6, 2023

Needs: OT, DL, EDGE, RB, TE

Tuimaloau is an imperfect prospect, but a proper risk at the back end of Day 1. The Ohio State end has the size and strength to fit properly in Lou Anarumo’s 4-3 lineup and the athleticism to be a stud on Sundays.

While he hasn’t produced big numbers with the Buckeyes, he’s a tone-setter who shrinks pockets and bullies opposing tackles, making life more difficult for everyone. He’d give Cincinnati a young edge rusher who can eventually succeed Trey Hendrickson and Sam Hubbard.

Needs: CB, WR, EDGE, LB

The Lions’ secondary has improved