By Eddie Young, Tyler Morello, Aidan Mastandrea, Joseph Caruso and Joey Bachich
Sports Editor and Staff Writers
The 2024 NFL Draft, a spectacle beloved by fans, will begin on April 25 in Detroit. At this early point in the NFL year, about five months before the regular season begins, all fans share one aspect that is highlighted at the draft: hope. Every single football fan is filled with the hope that the picks made by their favorite team will save the franchise for years to come. Our sports staff at The Signal have come together to build a mock for the first 10 picks at the upcoming draft.
1. Chicago Bears - Caleb Williams, quarterback, Southern California
Pick by Tyler Morello
The Bears traded Justin Fields to the Steelers earlier in the offseason, opening up the quarterback position for the draft. They also traded for veteran receiver Keenan Allen and signed running back D’Andre Swift to add to a potentially explosive offense with their quarterback of the future. Williams is the best quarterback and best overall prospect in this draft class. This decision should be a no-brainer.
2. Washington Commanders - Drake Maye, quarterback, North Carolina
Pick by Aidan Mastandrea
It is quite clear that new owner Josh Harris wants to start fresh and get his guy at the quarterback position. After trading away Sam Howell earlier this off season, Maye will be a fresh start for an organization that desperately needs it.
3. New England Patriots - Jayden Daniels, quarterback, Louisiana State
Pick by Joseph Caruso
Desperately needing a quarterback, the Patriots will stray away from the pocket passer archetype that they have come to know so well. Instead, they will select the dynamic Daniels, who will try to make something out of nothing with this pathetic Patriots roster and new-look coaching staff that no longer has Bill Belichick.
4. Arizona Cardinals - Marvin Harrison Jr., wide receiver, Ohio State
Pick by Eddie Young
The Cardinals have been rumored to trade out of this spot, but they will be in prime position to draft one of the best receiver prospects available in recent memory. They moved off of Marquise Brown and Rondale Moore earlier in the offseason, creating space for Harrison in the receiver room. This will be an easy pick for the Cardinals to make.
5. Minnesota Vikings (via Los Angeles Chargers) - J.J. McCarthy, quarterback, Michigan Pick by Eddie Young
The Vikings have two first round picks in this draft, and will definitely package them in a deal to move up from the 11th pick. The Chargers have a lot of team needs, but quarterback is not one, so they are a trade down candidate. A trade between the Chargers and the Vikings for this pick seems too perfect. McCarthy has been the most controversial prospect in the draft process, as scouts praise him as one of the better quarterbacks in this draft while fans just do not see the hype. The Vikings will listen to their scouts on this one, and trade up to select McCarthy at five.
6. New York Giants - Malik Nabers, wide receiver, Louisiana State
Pick by Aidan Mastandrea
There isn’t a pick that the Giants can make here that will bring them success this coming year. With Daniel Jones signed to a massive contract, the best option is taking the best receiver available and planning for the future while giving Jones a weapon for this season.
7. Tennessee Titans - Joe Alt, offensive tackle, Notre Dame
Pick by Joseph Caruso
Now in his second offseason as Titans general manager, Ran Carthon has made a splash on offense with many new skill position player acquisitions over his past two years. The Titans allowed the third most sacks last season, and without better protection for their young quarterback Will Levis, their other signings will be proven useless, as they will select mammoth left tackle Alt to protect Levis’s blind side.
8. Atlanta Falcons - JC Latham, offensive tackle, Alabama
Pick by Tyler Morello
Kirk Cousins is set to be the Falcons' new quarterback for the next few years, and he is coming off a torn achilles he suffered this past season. In order to protect Cousins, the Falcons are going to want to stock up on offensive linemen, and Latham has proven in college to be an elite pass protector. The front office has made it a point this offseason that they want to have a more dynamic offensive attack. They already have the skill position weapons to do this, and adding a tackle can help put these plans in motion.
9. Chicago Bears - Rome Odunze, wide receiver, Washington
Pick by Joey Bachich
Here at nine, the Bears have a few different options to maneuver around the board or stick and pick. With the Jets picking at 10 and looking for an offensive tackle, the Bears will get phone calls about potential buyers of the pick. Moving back and acquiring assets is in the cards for the Bears. While defensive end is a need, don’t expect to see a reach for Alabama’s Dallas Turner or Florida State's Jared Verse. Wide receiver is somewhere that the Bears could look at with the possible availability of Washington’s Odunze. The 6-foot-3-inch powerhouse might be the perfect young receiver for their future quarterback Caleb Williams. He is one of the best deep ball receivers in the class and has the height and speed that is rarely seen in the NFL. With D.J. Moore being a cornerstone piece of the offense and Keenan Allen joining in the offseason, Odunze could be the perfect fit to surround the quarterback with as much talent as possible.
10. New York Jets - Olu Fashanu, offensive tackle, Pennsylvania State
Pick by Joey Bachich
The New York Jets are in win now mode with the 40-year-old Aaron Rodgers at the helm in possibly his final year. The Jets have signed a few older players like Mike Williams and traded for Haason Reddick to have a quick rebuild for a push for the playoffs. The Jets will most likely stick and pick with likely no quarterbacks left and no need to acquire more picks with their newfound win now mode. The offensive line has been historically poor, allowing 64 sacks last season along with the least amount of offensive touchdowns in the league with 22. With the receiver room becoming impressive with Garrett Wilson and a top 10 running back in Breece Hall, the offensive line should be the pick here. Oregon State’s Taliese Fuaga would be the safer pick, a five-position player who is really solid, but lacks that high-end upside. Fashanu, on the other hand, is the highest ceiling lineman in the draft with his pure athleticism and perfect size. The Jets love to choose the higher ceiling player, so Fashanu might be the pick here. He lacks some polish on the line and with the newly signed veteran lineman for the Jets, he will have some time behind those two players to learn. The veterans are Tyron Smith and Morgan Moses, who will both most likely start the season over Fashanu, but with their lingering injury history (Smith with his neck and Moses with his shoulder), Fashanu could be seen sooner in the season rather than later.
