With more than two months remaining until the 2024 NFL Draft kicks off, analysts have plenty of time to create all types of scenarios in mock drafts. On Tuesday, NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah released his mock draft 2.0 which included two former members of the Washington Huskies.
The first is wide receiver Rome Odunze, who Jeremiah gave to the Chicago Bears with the No. 9 overall pick. Whether the Bears decide to select a quarterback with the No. 1 overall pick, which they also hold, or continue to roll with Justin Fields at the position, this is a great value for general manager Ryan Poles.
Jeremiah has Odunze ranked as his No. 4 overall player and said the pick would transform Chicago’s offense as he would be a perfect compliment alongside wide receiver D.J. Moore and tight end Cole Kmet.
In this mock draft installment, Odunze is the third wide receiver off the board behind Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr., who was taken at No. 3 by the New England Patriots and LSU’s Malik Nabers, who went at No. 4 to the Arizona Cardinals.
The only other Husky taken is offensive lineman Troy Fautanu, who came off the board at No. 20 overall to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Most draft experts are in consensus that Washington’s left tackle will probably move to the interior at the next level and could play multiple different positions for head coach Mike Tomlin.
Jeremiah acknowledged Fautanu’s positional versatility and said he would fit best at left guard alongside Pittsburgh’s 2023 first-round pick, Broderick Jones.
The landing spots for both Odunze and Fautanu are four spots lower than where they fell in Jeremiah’s first mock draft, which placed Odunze at No. 5 overall to the Los Angeles Chargers and Fautanu at No. 16 overall to the Seattle Seahawks.
As teams continue to evaluate prospects with the NFL combine just over a week away, quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and edge rusher Bralen Trice could find their way into the first round of later installments of Jeremiah’s mock drafts.