Farbolin Mock Draft 3.0
| April 25, 2024 | Sports,
Draft Day is finally here! After months of rumors and speculation, the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft has arrived. With the draft less than an hour away,, I’m making my last mock for 10 months.
There’s always plenty of rumblings during draft season, as a player’s stock will rise or fall despite games not being played. From my experience, the 48 hours leading up to the draft are generally when legitimate intel becomes public.
We’ve heard an abundance of rumors regarding what certain teams will do tonight over the past week, so last week’s mock needs some revision.
1.Chicago Bears (from Carolina) – Caleb Williams, QB USC- Nothing changes here, Williams is the best quarterback prospect since Andrew Luck and Chicago sprints to hand in its draft card.
2.Washington Commanders- Jayden Daniels, QB LSU- While Drake Maye is my QB2, it seems all but certain that Washington is going with Daniels. The Commanders get a dual-threat passer that can put plenty of velocity on his throws.
3.New England Patriots- Drake Maye, QB North Carolina- If the Patriots are smart, they will stay put and take Maye with the third pick. Maye draws comparisons to Justin Herbert with his size and ability to use velocity and touch on his throws.
4.Arizona Cardinals- Marvin Harrison Jr., WR Ohio State- I should use this time to mention my early picks are largely the same as last week, but there will be plenty of changes later on. With that being said, Arizona takes the safest prospect in this class in ‘Maserati Marv’. Harrison is a polished route runner that tracks the ball like he’s a 10-year veteran.
5.MOCK TRADE- Minnesota Vikings (from LA Chargers) – J.J. McCarthy, QB Michigan- Minnesota could possibly get McCarthy at 11, but don’t run the risk of the Giants nabbing him. I’m not as high on McCarthy as inner league circles apparently are. Nonetheless, Minnesota gets its next franchise signal caller.
6.New York Giants- Malik Nabers, WR LSU- With McCarthy off the board, Big Blue addresses its lackluster wide receiver room. Nabers is a burner that can take the ceiling off a defense. While his route running isn’t as refined as Harrison’s, his ceiling is the best pass catcher in this class.
7.Tennessee Titans- Joe Alt, OT Notre Dame- This pick is obvious, not gonna spend too much time explaining it. Tennessee needs a franchise blindside blocker and the best in college football is here for the taking.
8.Atlanta Falcons- Dallas Turner, EDGE Alabama- The Falcons lost Calais Campbell and Bud Dupree and need to rejuvenate their pass rush. Turner is the best edge rusher in this draft and plays a major role in Atlanta returning to the playoffs for the first time since 2017.
9.Chicago Bears- Byron Murphy II, DT Texas- Many Bears fans would like Rome Odunze to be the pick here; however, the momentum is heading towards Murphy being the selection. Murphy fits well as a 3-tech in Matt Eberflus’ 4-3 defense.
10.New York Jets- Brock Bowers, TE Georgia- I said New York was going all in on 2024 last week and feel the same way now. Bowers is the best player available and I expect him to be a top five tight end as a rookie.
11.MOCK TRADE- Los Angeles Chargers (from Minnesota) – Rome Odunze, WR Washington- This is a dream scenario for GM Joe Horitz and HC Jim Harbaugh. LA trades back to get more capital and still gets an elite wide receiver prospect. Odunze is a phenomenal contested-catcher and serves as a reliable target for Justin Herbert.
12.MOCK TRADE- Green Bay Packers (from Denver) – Olu Fashanu, OT Penn State- In this scenario, Denver trades back to get the 25th and 41st pick from Green Bay to take a QB in the second round. The Packers need a left tackle after releasing David Bakhtiari, so they move up and grab Fashanu to keep Jordan Love upright for the next decade.
13.Las Vegas Raiders- Quinyon Mitchell, CB Toledo- Vegas needs help in the back end of the defense and Mitchell will likely be the first corner selected. Mitchell possesses elite make-up speed and ball skills to play corner at the next level.
14.New Orleans Saints- Taliese Fuaga, OT Oregon State- Tackle is the top priority for the Saints with Ryan Ramczyk’s injury situation and Trevor Penning’s early-career struggles. Fuaga can come in and fill the void at right tackle for NOLA.
15.Indianapolis Colts- Terrion Arnold, CB Alabama- It seems likely that Indy is taking a corner tonight, it’s just a matter of it being Mitchell or Arnold. With the former already off the board, the Colts take Alabama’s breakout star to fortify the secondary.
16.Seattle Seahawks- Troy Fautanu, OT Washington- No changes here, as Seattle takes the local product Fautanu to improve its interior line. Fautanu is a technically sound and smart player, however moves to guard under his college offensive coordinator, Ryan Grubb.
17.Jacksonville Jaguars- Brian Thomas Jr., WR LSU- Jacksonville gets a true X-receiver in Thomas who caught 17 touchdowns in 2023 for the Tigers.
18.Cincinnati Bengals- Jared Verse, EDGE Florida State- With Chicago opting to take Murphy with the ninth pick, Verse falls to Cincy who gets a steal. Trey Hendrickson has requested a trade, so the Bengals replace him with a power rusher in Verse.
19.Los Angeles Rams- Johnny Newton, DT Illinois- The Rams’ first first round pick since Jared Goff is used to help replace the recently retired Aaron Donald. While I’m not anticipating Newton to be the next Donald, he helps make up for the loss of the three-time Defensive Player of the Year.
20.Pittsburgh Steelers- Graham Barton, C Duke- Pittsburgh improves the interior offensive line with Barton, who has experience at left tackle and center. This move brings elite run blocking ability to an offense that will do a lot of that this fall.
21.Miami Dolphins- Jackson Powers-Johnson, C Oregon- Miami would like to take a defensive tackle with the 21st pick. However, the two first round caliber ones are already gone. Instead, the Dolphins take Powers-Johnson to anchor the center position.
22.Philadelphia Eagles- Cooper DeJean S Iowa- DeJean has been a riser during the draft process and hears his name called by the Eagles. DeJean is a versatile playmaker that Philly’s secondary could *really* use.
23.MOCK TRADE- Los Angeles Chargers (from Minnesota) – Zach Frazier, C West Virginia – Corey Linsley is probably retiring due to medical concerns, so center is a need for LA. Frazier has plenty of experience at the position and is an under-the-radar name to be called tonight.
24.Dallas Cowboys- JC Latham, OT Alabama- Tyron Smith left in free agency for the Jets so Dallas takes Latham to pair with 2022 first round pick, Tyler Smith. I wouldn’t be surprised if Latham goes much earlier.
25.MOCK TRADE- Denver Broncos (from Green Bay) – Laiatu Latu, EDGE UCLA- Denver addresses quarterback with its new acquired second round pick. With the 25th pick, the Broncos take Latu who had 23.5 sacks over the past two seasons but falls due to injury history.
26.Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Nate Wiggins, CB Clemson- I really wanted to have Tampa select Iowa State CB T.J. Tampa for obvious reasons, but went with Wiggins here. After trading Carlton Davis, the Bucs get their replacement with Wiggins.
27.Arizona Cardinals (from Houston) – Chop Robinson, EDGE Penn State- Arizona double dips in the Big Ten for the first round. With WR already accounted for, the Cardinals improve their pass rush with Robinson.
28.Buffalo Bills- Adonai Mitchell, WR Texas- There’s talk that Mitchell could fall out of the first round. However, Buffalo needs an outside WR and Mitchell fits that billing. The trio of Mitchell, Curtis Samuel, and Khalil Shakir gives Buffalo a shot to contend in the AFC.
29.Detroit Lions- Xavier Legette, WR South Carolina- Amon-Ra St. Brown got a bag, but Detroit still needs an X-receiver. The host city’s team takes Legette, who has the prototypical size to fight press coverage from NFL corners.
30.Baltimore Ravens- Amarius Mims, OT Georgia- Right tackle is a need for the Ravens, so they take Mims, who has the talent, just not the reps. Mims reunites with offensive coordinator Todd Monken to block for Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry.
31.San Francisco 49ers- Kool-Aid McKinstry, CB Alabama- Starting corners Charvarius Ward, Issac Yiadom, and Deommodore Lenoir are free agents after this season. John Lynch prepares in advance and selects McKinstry who was viewed as the best corner in this class until fairly recently.
32.Kansas City Chiefs- Tyler Guyton, OT Oklahoma- The champs bolster the offensive line after losing Donovan Smith. It sounds like KC will go tackle with the 32nd pick and Guyton is there for the taking.