2024 NFL Mock Draft: Bucs replace Baker Mayfield as five QBs go in Round 1; Brock Bowers falls outside top 15

With the Commanders hiring Kliff Kingsbury as offensive coordinator, you have to think they’ll make a run at the No. 1 overall pick to select Caleb Williams. Chicago, however, keeps the top selection this year, taking Williams and trading the electric yet inconsistent Justin Fields.

Just because the Commanders miss out on Caleb Williams doesn’t mean they’re passing on a QB. Washington opts for Jayden Daniels to work with Kingsbury, who has experience working with dual-threat playmakers from when he coached Kyler Murray in Arizona.

Marvin Harrison Jr. is certainly intriguing, but the Patriots badly need a franchise QB, and Drake Maye is certainly worthy of a top-3 selection. The Jerod Mayo era in New England begins with a rookie signal-caller.

This is a no-brainer: Cardinals take the best NFL wide receiver prospect in recent memory in Marvin Harrison Jr.

Jim Harbaugh’s teams are predicated on physicality, which begins in the trenches with the offensive and defensive lines. The Chargers get more physical with the selection of Penn State offensive tackle Olumuyiwa Fashanu, whose athletic gifts give him one of the highest ceilings in this class at his position.

For Daniel Jones to have a chance to reprove himself as the Giants franchise QB coming back from a torn ACL, he needs a legitimate No. 1 pass-catcher. Malik Nabers is the latest LSU wideout who should star at the next level.

Then rookie-QB Will Levis was sacked 28 times in nine starts last season. That can’t happen if he’s going to reach his potential as being the franchise guy in Tennessee. To better protect Levis, the Titans take Joe Alt, who’s everything you want in an NFL left tackle.

The Falcons need to get better off the edge, and Laiatu Latu was dominant not only during the season for UCLA, but also at the Senior Bowl going against some top offensive line prospects. He needs to improve setting the edge in the run game, but he can be a Day 1 disruptor of the QB for new HC Raheem Morris. Plus, Latu has a connection to new DC Jimmy Lake, who served as his DC and then HC when Latu was at Washington from 2019-21.

The Bears got their QB, and now they have someone to complement recently acquired Montez Sweat. Dallas Turner isn’t quite NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Will Anderson Jr., whom the Texans traded up to No. 3 to select in 2023, but he’s the latest talented edge rusher to come out of Alabama and has the length and athleticism to disrupt NFC North QBs.

Jets GM Joe Douglas reportedly had his sights set on Taliese Fuaga entering Senior Bowl week, and the Oregon State offensive tackle only helped his stock with his impressive performance in Mobile. New York gets much-needed protection for Aaron Rodgers.

The Vikings defense definitely showed improvement under first-year defensive coordinator Brian Flores, but it could definitely use another top-flight cornerback to pair with Byron Murphy. Terrion Arnold, having arrived at Alabama as one of the top safety prospects in the nation, has only been playing cornerback for a few years, but he has the versatility, athleticism and ball skills (five interceptions, 17 pass breakups in 2023) to elevate the Minnesota secondary for years to come.

Staring at salary cap problems regardless of what happens with Russell Wilson, the Broncos may look to trade some higher-priced players with the hope of getting some compensation instead of just cutting them. Two potential candidates? Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton. That’s the scenario in this mock draft, with the Broncos getting younger at wide receiver with the explosive Rome Odunze and looking to deal the other pass-catchers.

Jimmy Garoppolo wasn’t the answer at QB, and while Aidan O’Connell performed admirably as a rookie, he doesn’t appear to be the long-term solution. In need of a signal-caller, the Raiders make J.J. McCarthy the fourth QB taken in the top 13 picks. The reigning national champion is athletic, has a strong arm and knows how to win — all of which head coach Antonio Pierce will appreciate.

Right tackle Ryan Ramczyk’s NFL future is uncertain as he deals with a knee condition, and the Saints ended up moving guard Andrus Peat to left tackle midseason after Trevor Penning performed poorly and James Hurst got hurt. All that to say this: New Orleans needs a star-studded tackle. JC Latham is a huge body (6-foot-6, 359 pounds) who played right tackle at Alabama but should be able to handle moving over to the left side if necessary.

The Colts need cornerback help if they’re going to limit intradivisional QBs C.J. Stroud and Trevor Lawrence. Indianapolis will love the length, physicality, competitiveness and ball skills of Quinyon Mitchell, whose domination at the Senior Bowl puts him squarely in the CB1 conversation.

The Seahawks just fully guaranteed Geno Smith $12.7 million for 2024, and while that doesn’t mean he’ll definitely be on the roster — he could still be traded — it seems as though new head coach Mike Macdonald will be rolling with the veteran QB. Now he needs better protection, as the Seattle offensive line was among the worst in the NFL last season in quarterback pressure percentage and pass-blocking grade. Plus, all three of the team’s interior offensive linemen are set to become free agents. Seattle addresses one of those needs with another Senior Bowl standout in Oregon center Jackson-Powers Johnson.

Wide receiver could be an option here, but let’s assume the Jaguars bring back Calvin Ridley. The entire Jaguars defensive line combined for 4.5 sacks last season, and three of those came from Roy Robertson-Harris. Jer’Zhan Newton, meanwhile, combined for 13 sacks in his past two seasons at Illinois. He may be undersized, but he’d be able to provide consistent pressure up the middle.

Brock Bowers is certainly a top-10 talent, but he has a wider draft range due to his position (and also that it’s a better quarterback and wide receiver class than in years past). This scenario would be a nightmare for the rest of the NFL, as Bowers would provide a whole new dimension to the Bengals’ high-flying attack.

Third-round rookie Byron Young was a pleasant surprise off the edge in 2023, but the Rams need another reliable pass-rusher on the other side. Enter Jared Verse, a powerful specimen who racked up nine sacks in each of the past two seasons for Florida State.

A year ago, the Steelers selected a player from Georgia in the first round (Broderick Jones) to be one of their starting offensive tackles. In this mock draft, they take another player from Georgia (Amarius Mims) to start at the other tackle spot. Much-needed protection for whomever is under center for Pittsburgh in 2024.

With several high-priced stars, the Dolphins need to get younger and cheaper at a multitude of positions. They opt for the interior offensive line here with Troy Fautanu, who played left tackle at Oregon but is expected to kick inside as a pro.

In 2013, the Eagles drafted a first-round offensive tackle out of Oklahoma. His name was Lane Johnson, and he’s one of the most decorated offensive linemen in franchise history (five-time Pro Bowler, two-time First Team All-Pro, two-time Second Team All-Pro, Super Bowl champion). Just over a decade later, they draft another first-round OT out of Oklahoma in Tyler Guyton. What Guyton lacks in experience (15 combined starts across four years at Oklahoma at TCU), he makes up for in athleticism and technique.

The Texans were a below-average pass defense a year ago aside from second-year standout Derek Stingley, and now three of their contributors in the defensive backfield are set to become free agents. Houston addresses this need by selecting Ennis Rakestraw, who will endear himself to head coach DeMeco Ryans with his toughness, aggressiveness and energy.

Tyron Smith is 33 years old, and Terrance Steele had an up-and-down season. And with the Cowboys set to commit to Dak Prescott long term once again, he needs to be adequately protected. Jordan Morgan can step in and fill one of those tackle spots.

The Packers have used 12 of their past 13 first-round picks on the defensive side of the ball — with the lone offensive player being Jordan Love — and I expect that to continue this year. Green Bay grabs an Iowa player for the second straight year in cornerback Cooper DeJean, who reunites with the team’s 2023 first-round pick, edge rusher Lukas Van Ness.

Bruce Arians is no longer the head coach in Tampa Bay, but he still holds a lot of power as a senior adviser to GM Jason Licht. And one QB who he has gushed over is Michael Penix Jr. In this mock, the Buccaneers get the all clear about Penix’s medicals and draft the Washington signal-caller to replace Baker Mayfield in 2024.

Despite being undersized, Byron Murphy has all of the skills needed to serve as the anchor in the middle of the Cardinals defensive front.

The Bills need a WR other than Stefon Diggs who can make plays consistently, and Brian Thomas Jr. can be that guy. Overshadowed by Malik Nabers, Thomas has the size, explosiveness and production (FBS-leading 17 TD catches in 2023) to contribute in a big way.

If the Lions want to make their first Super Bowl appearance, they’ll need their pass defense to be better. (It was third-worst in the NFL in opponent yards per pass attempt in 2023.) Nate Wiggins, with his 6-foot-2 frame and lightning speed, would be a great start toward improving the secondary.

Ravens go best player available here, and that just so happens to be another Penn State pass rusher in Chop Robinson. He reunites with Odafe Oweh as Baltimore improves its pass-rush depth.

Three of the 49ers’ top-four edge rushers are set to become free agents, leaving Nick Bosa as the only proven pass rusher for the reigning NFC champions. San Francisco fixes that by adding Bralen Trice, who racked up 16 sacks over the past two seasons at Washington.

Patrick Mahomes gets another playmaker as the Chiefs pair yards-after-catch-machine Rashee Rice with contested-catch savant Adonai Mitchell.