We are just under three weeks away from the 2024 NFL Draft, a time of the sports calendar that’s filled with hope. NFL teams will look to find talented prospects, diamonds in the rough and draft steals to complete their rosters and build toward the future. The 1st round in particular provides an opportunity for teams to find superstars and foundational pieces on which to build Super Bowl-contending teams.
Here at The Sports Hour, we love the NFL Draft. So we decided to do a full 1st round mock draft to discuss some of our favorite fits in the draft and prospects that we love. We’ve selected all 32 picks, alternating with odds and evens. Mitch-Mo will be selecting for the odd number picks and Dallen the even. We are drafting players as if we are the GM of that respective team, and for the sake of simplicity we are not doing any trades.
Let’s not waste any time, here is our 2024 NFL Mock Draft!
The Sports Hour 2024 NFL Mock Draft
1) Chicago Bears (via Carolina)
Caleb Williams, QB (USC)
2) Washington Commanders
Drake Maye, QB (North Carolina)
3) New England Patriots
Joe Alt, OT (Notre Dame)
4) Arizona Cardinals
Marvin Harrison Jr, WR (Ohio State)
5) Los Angeles Chargers
Malik Nabers, WR (LSU)
Quarterbacks go no. 1 & 2 again in the NFL Draft, with Caleb Williams getting selected by the Bears at the top of the draft. Draft analysts, fans and others are overthinking Drake Maye. Don’t get caught up in the shiny, new thing that is Jayden Daniels or JJ McCarthy, Maye is QB2 in this draft.
Two wide receivers go in the Top 5, with MHJ as the clear top prospect at the position and arguably the entire draft. Nabers is twitchy and brings a dynamic element to the Chargers offense that is severely lacking.
6) New York Giants
Jayden Daniels, QB (LSU)
7) Tennessee Titans
Dallas Turner, EDGE (Alabama)
8) Atlanta Falcons
Quinyon Mitchell, CB (Toledo)
9) Chicago Bears
Taliese Fuaga, OT (Oregon State)
10) New York Jets
Rome Odunze, WR (Washington)
The Giants made a big mistake last offseason by signing quarterback Daniel Jones to an extension. They hedge their bet here with Jayden Daniels, who will be best served not going into a situation where he is immediately the guy. Brian Daboll should be able to build a potent offense around his skillsets for the coming years.
Two defensive players go in the Top 10, with Dallas Turner bolstering the Titans defense and Quinyon Mitchell adding to the Falcons secondary. The Jets, meanwhile, are gifted with wide receiver Rome Odunze, who could be selected in the Top 6 picks but falls to them at no. 10.
11) Minnesota Vikings
Terrion Arnold, CB (Alabama)
12) Denver Broncos
JJ McCarthy, QB (Michigan)
13) Las Vegas Raiders
Jared Verse, EDGE (Florida State)
14) New Orleans Saints
Olu Fashanu, OT (Penn State)
15) Indianapolis Colts
JC Latham, OT (Alabama)
The Vikings pass on the opportunity to draft a quarterback and address the secondary with the talented Terrion Arnold. Denver, however, finds themselves in a more desperate situation. Sean Payton is not a patient guy, and gets a quarterback in JJ McCarthy who will fit into his offensive system.
The Saints & Colts address their offensive lines with two talented prospects in Olu Fashanu and JC Latham, respectively. Both will add much needed youth and physical presence to those offensive fronts.
16) Seattle Seahawks
Byron Murphy, IDL (Texas)
17) Jacksonville Jaguars
Laiatu Latu, EDGE (UCLA)
18) Cincinnati Bengals
Amarius Mims, OT (Georgia)
19) Los Angeles Rams
Johnny Newton, IDL (Illinois)
20) Pittsburgh Steelers
Troy Fautanu, OL (Washington)
Seattle snags some much-needed help on the interior defensive line with riser Byron Murphy. He will compliment the defensive front and add juice to their pass rush.
Meanwhile, the Rams look to fill the enormous hole left by the Aaron Donald retirement with Johnny Newton. Those are large shoes to fill, but drafting Newton is a good place to start. Pittsburgh adds the versatile and physical Troy Fautanu, who already feels like a Steeler.
21) Miami Dolphins
Brock Bowers, TE (Georgia)
22) Philadelphia Eagles
Cooper DeJean, CB (Iowa)
23) Minnesota Vikings (from Houston via Cleveland)
Bo Nix, QB (Oregon)
24) Dallas Cowboys
Jackson Powers-Johnson, C/G (Oregon)
25) Green Bay Packers
Kool-Aid McKinstry, CB (Alabama)
The Dolphins have a stellar pass-catching duo already, but everything after Hill & Waddle is suspect at best. They add arguably the steal of this mock draft in Brock Bowers. Don’t overthink the positional label, he’s a tight end that can do everything. Mike McDaniel would be foaming at the mouth to add a player like that to the offense.
After passing on the position earlier in the first round, Minnesota finds their quarterback of the future at no. 23 with Bo Nix. Nix was incredible in two seasons at Oregon and should be able to come in right away and compete with Sam Darnold for the starting role.
26) Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Chop Robinson, EDGE (Penn State)
27) Arizona Cardinals (via Houston)
Graham Barton, G/C (Duke)
28) Buffalo Bills
Brian Thomas Jr, WR (LSU)
29) Detroit Lions
Tyler Nubin, S (Minnesota)
30) Baltimore Ravens
Kingsley Suamataia, OL (BYU)
31) San Francisco 49ers
Troy Franklin, WR (Oregon)
32) Kansas City Chiefs
Nate Wiggins, CB (Clemson)
The Bills will need to address the receiving corp after trading Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans. Brian Thomas Jr falls into their lap; the draft board could not have worked out better in their favor. The 49ers look ahead to the future by drafting Troy Franklin, who works well in space and should have plenty of it in that Niners offense.
One of our favorite fits among the last few picks includes Kingsley Suamataia to Baltimore. Suamataia is a raw athlete with experience at both tackle positions. He fits the Ravens well and can be molded into a future stud on their offensive line.
33) Carolina Panthers
Adonai Mitchell, WR (Texas)
And yes, we know that there’s 33 picks in this mock draft. But since Dallen’s Carolina Panthers don’t have a first round pick, we threw them in here for good measure. They secure a potential WR1 in Adonai Mitchell. Mitchell tested very well at the NFL combine and has perhaps the highest ceiling of the available wideouts on the board.
Follow Dallen Graff on X.
The Sports Hour with Mitch-Mo & Dallen 