The Athletic released a mock draft on Thursday in which each NFL team’s beat writer took on the role of representing the team they cover. The writers were allowed to make trades with each other. The top 10 picks saw four quarterbacks and three wide receivers taken, with offensive tackles filling out the last three spots. Here’s our review.
Quarterbacks
This draft has the Bears keep that top overall pick and use it on Caleb Williams out of USC, the consensus first pick of the 2024 Draft. Drake Maye goes second to the Commanders, and the Falcons trade up to the third overall pick in this mock for LSU’s Jayden Daniels, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner.
JJ McCarthy goes to the Broncos at No. 9, where they trade with Chicago for the top-10 pick.
Wide receivers
This draft class has one of the most talented wide receiver groups we’ve seen in recent years. Marvin Harrison is the first to go out of Ohio State. In this draft, he gets selected fourth overall by the Cardinals. LSU’s Malik Nabers and Washington’s Rome Odunze then go in quick succession to the Chargers at No. 5 and the Giants at No. 6.
Later in the first round, the Bills take Brian Thomas Jr. out of LSU at No. 21 after trading for the spot with Miami. Finally, the Chiefs select Georgia’s Adonai Mitchell with the final pick of the first round. This draft also projects the Panthers to take Georgia’s Ladd McConkey with their first pick, which won’t come until the second round.
Best pick
Texans select CB Cooper Dejean at No. 23
The Texans built their 2023 success largely off the backs of rookies CJ Stroud, Tank Dell, and Will Anderson. DeMeco Ryans clearly knows how to get the best out of newcomers, and DeJean would be a much-needed bolster in Houston’s secondary. The Texans’ rise is upon us, and this would only speed things up as the Texans eye another playoff run.
Worst pick
Giants select WR Rome Odunze at No. 6
The Giants frankly have a lot more urgent needs in this draft than wide receiver. They have issues at pass protection and a huge question mark at quarterback partially caused by the OL’s shortcomings. With Joe Alt and Olu Fashanu still on the board in this mock, the Giants make a mistake to pass up that kind of talent.
Final thoughts
The wide receivers are going to go early this season, but perhaps at the cost of filling greater needs for some teams. If you look back on the Ja’Marr Chase/Penei Sewell debate of the 2021 NFL Draft, the Bengals likely wouldn’t regret their choice to go with Chase, but they had a former teammate and elite QB in Joe Burrow to pass to him. Not every team has that Burrow figure.
Drake Maye is an interesting choice for the Commanders, and this is far from the first mock draft that has him headed to Washington. This has all of the signs of a repeat of the Sam Howell days — a UNC quarterback with a bigger build and a great arm looks good on paper, but can he translate to the big leagues?
This is a strong class of cornerbacks, and The Athletic sends the CBs across the board to the Texans, Packers, Lions, Jaguars, and Eagles, all of which make sense. The Eagles could frankly use some offensive tools, as well, particularly with Jason Kelce’s potential retirement looming over Philadelphia.
The Falcons place a lot of draft stock in Jayden Daniels in this mock trade. They do need a quarterback, but are they willing to hang back for JJ McCarthy? The Patriots also pick up Justin Fields in a trade in this draft, which does not seem like the right answer to their current quarterback problems.