Category: 2024 NFL draft

Titans don’t have picks in 3 rounds of 2024 NFL draft

As things stand now, the Titans won’t have picks in three rounds of the 2024 NFL draft.

With the Tennessee Titans in a transition period at bare-bones minimum, the need for future draft picks becomes even more important. Unfortunately, the Titans aren’t in a great position for next year as far as that goes.

The Titans definitely have at least five picks in next year’s draft, with one in the first, second and fourth rounds, along with two in the seventh. They may have a third seventh-round selection, but that depends upon the conditional terms of the trade for Tyree Gillespie with the Las Vegas Raiders.

Tennessee doesn’t have it’s third-round pick because of their 2023 draft deal with the Arizona Cardinals to move up for Will Levis, and they don’t have their fifth- and sixth-rounders due to the trades for Dennis Daley and Ugo Amadi, respectively.

Bear in mind, Jon Robinson traded those picks away, and the return was the two seventh-round picks, a tackle (Daley) who was the league’s worst last season and a defensive back (Amadi who played in two games. Gillespie didn’t play a single snap for the Titans after being cut prior to the season.

While things are looking bleak now, there are avenues for Tennessee to add to that stable with some more mid-round picks. Unfortunately, many fans aren’t going to like how they can about it.

Tennessee’s most valuable trade assets are Ryan Tannehill, Derrick Henry and Kevin Byard, all of whom I only mentioned because each have had rumors swirling around them during the offseason.

You can also add Denico Autry to that list of candidates, as he’s in the final year of his deal and approaching the age of 33.

Another bright spot for Tennessee’s bid to build its roster moving forward is the team’s 2024 salary cap space, which stands to be at around over $100 million next offseason.

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Giants select Ja’Tavion Sanders in Draft Wire’s first 2024 mock

In the first 2024 mock from Draft Wire (yes, seriously), the New York Giants select Texas tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders.

The 2023 NFL draft is over. Now it’s time to turn our attention to the 2024 NFL draft.

We kid you not. The folks at Draft Wire have released their way-too-early first-round mock of next year’s festivities.

Here’s who draft analyst Curt Popejoy has the New York Giants taking with the 25th overall selection in Round 1: Ja’Tavion Sanders, tight end, Texas

Sanders is 6-foot-4 and 241 pounds and is entering his junior year at Texas. Some highlight from his sophomore campaign:

A first-team All-Big 12 selection by both the Big 12 Conference head coaches and the Associated Press … named a semifinalist for the John Mackey Award … played in and started all 13 games …  caught 54 passes for 613 yards and five touchdowns … the 54 receptions on the season were the most for a tight end in program history and his 613 receiving yards tied for second-most in a season by a tight end in program history.

Sounds like a top player, but the Giants are fairly well-stocked at tight end with Darren Waller and Daniel Bellinger, so it’s difficult to see them piling on at a position they have covered.

The good part of this mock draft is that they have the Giants selecting 25th, which means they’ll be a playoff team again this year.

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Texans take Iowa CB Cooper DeJean in Touchdown Wire way too early 2024 mock draft

The Houston Texans take Iowa cornerback Cooper DeJean in the Touchdown Wire’s way too early 2024 NFL mock draft.

Now that the 2023 NFL draft is over, it is time for the 2024 NFL draft.

The Houston Texans won’t have twin first-round picks next year as the Arizona Cardinals possess Houston’s proprietary selections thanks to the Will Anderson trade. As long as Anderson is elevating his game in the pros, Texans fans won’t mind too much about not having that extra first-rounder.

According to Doug Farrar from the Touchdown Wire, who released his way too early mock draft for 2024, the Cleveland Browns manage to have a decent year, which means the Texans aren’t picking until No. 19 overall. Houston uses that selection to take Iowa cornerback Cooper DeJean.

Taking DeJean would give the Texans a pair of first-round cornerbacks as Derek Stingley would be embarking upon his third season. If Stingley was continuing to struggle with injuries, Cooper could easily transition to being the defense’s dominant cornerback and Houston wouldn’t have to pick up Stingley’s fifth-year option.

If Stingley were starting to blossom and live up to his potential, then adding DeJean would be a significant upgrade if they allowed Steven Nelson to walk in free agency. Along with safety Jalen Pitre, who would also be entering his third season, the Texans would have their own version of a no-fly zone with the addition of DeJean.

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Way-too-early 2024 mock draft projects Saints to pick Washington DE Bralen Trice

This way-too-early 2024 mock draft from USA Today projects the New Orleans Saints to (eventually) pick big Washington Huskies defensive end Bralen Trice:

The ink is still drying on the 2023 NFL draft and we’re already seeing mock drafts for the 2024 cycle. What are we doing? More importantly, who are the New Orleans Saints being linked to?

One projection comes from USA Today’s Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz, who likes the Saints to end up with Washington Huskies defensive end Bralen Trice. Here’s what he wrote of the player, using the current Super Bowl odds to determine draft order (putting the Saints at No. 19):

Despite using a second-rounder on Notre Dame defensive end Isaiah Foskey, the Saints should keep mulling their pass-rush plans, especially with Cameron Jordan turning 34 in July. The 6-4, 267-pound Trice led all Power Five edge rushers last season with 70 pressures, according to Pro Football Focus, while notching nine sacks.

Trice is one of the top pass rushers eligible for next year’s draft, and if he builds on his momentum he’ll have no problem securing a spot in the first round of selections. The Saints have a clear long-term need at defensive end with only Foskey (once he formally signs), Tanoh Kpassagnon, and Payton Turner under contract through 2024, so they’ll likely be replacing either Jordan or Carl Granderson in the near future. Trice fits the athletic prototype they value with a big frame and real power off the edge, so he’s someone to watch when the college football season kicks off in the fall.

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Jaguars projected to target CBs in way-too-early 2024 mock drafts

The Jaguars didn’t take a cornerback early in the 2023 NFL draft. So how about next year?

Most expected cornerback to be a top priority for the Jacksonville Jaguars during the 2023 NFL draft. Not only did the Jaguars not address the position in the first round, they didn’t pick a cornerback until taking Christian Braswell at No. 202 overall.

So it’s not surprising that experts think that need will still be a pressing one in 2024.

For now, the Jaguars have Tyson Campbell and Darious Williams both under contract until the 2025 offseason. But the depth behind that duo is just a few underwhelming veterans with some late-round picks from the 2022 and 2023 drafts.

Even with a free agent acquisition or a breakout year from a young player already on the roster, cornerback stands to be a big need again next year.

In way-too-early 2024 mock drafts published this weekend, many experts think that’ll be the position the Jaguars target when they’re on the clock in the first round next year:

Jaguars currently projected to have 11 picks in 2024 NFL draft

The Jaguars are expected to have a lot of draft picks to work with in 2024, as well.

The Jacksonville Jaguars set a franchise record over the weekend with a 13-player draft class, the largest ever for the team. The Jaguars are set to have a ton of draft ammunition in 2024, as well.

As of right now, the Jaguars own nine picks in next year’s draft — their original seven selections as well as extra fourth- and sixth-round picks they acquired from the New Orleans and Carolina Panthers, respectively.

Barring an outrageous scenario where Calvin Ridley doesn’t make the 53-man roster in the fall, one of those nine picks (a second-, third-, or fourth-rounder) will be sent to the Atlanta Falcons.

But two or three picks will be headed back into Jacksonville’s stockpile next spring when the league announces compensatory picks. A third-rounder for Jawaan Taylor seems like a guarantee and a sixth-rounder for Arden Key looks highly likely.

The question mark is whether the Jaguars will get a seventh-round pick for losing Marvin Jones Jr after he got a contract from the Detroit Lions that is teetering on the edge of being not enough. For now, Over The Cap projects the loss of Jones to net the Jaguars the Mr. Irrelevant selection next year.

Here are the Jaguars’ projected picks in the 2024 NFL draft

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For now, the New Orleans Saints only own 5 picks for 2024 NFL draft

How many picks will the New Orleans Saints have in the 2024 NFL draft? They’ve already traded some future picks away, but more changes are on the way:

Yeesh. At first glance, it looks like the New Orleans Saints won’t be big players in the 2024 NFL draft. The Saints have already traded three of their initial seven picks in the 2024 draft to facilitate moves with other teams. But more changes are on the way.

For one thing, the Saints are projected to receive at least three compensatory draft picks in 2024 for losing high-profile free agents in 2023: defensive tackle David Onyemata (fourth round) and defensive end Marcus Davenport (fourth round), as well as linebacker Kaden Elliss (sixth round). Depending on how things shake out with the comp picks formula, they could get another sixth rounder, but that doesn’t appear very likely. We won’t find out until March 2024 anyway.

But the knowledge that those extra picks are coming down the pipeline helped the Saints justify their decisions to spend a little more recklessly. They sent a third-round pick in 2024 to the Denver Broncos so they could get a second rounder back while trading former head coach Sean Payton.

Then they spent a 2024 fourth-round pick to upgrade one of their seventh rounders in 2023 to a fourth rounder, targeting Fresno State quarterback Jake Haener. Depending on where the Saints slot into next year’s draft order, they could essentially get that pick back as a compensatory selection for Davenport or Onyemata. Not a bad move.

If there’s an egregious trade involving one of their 2024 picks, it was the decision to send a seventh-round selection to the Houston Texans a few years back so they could bring running back Mark Ingram II back to New Orleans. But come on. Seventh rounders are little more than lottery scratch-off tickets, and the Saints haven’t hit on one of those since they picked Marques Colston back in 2006.

But the point here is that fans shouldn’t panic over seeing so few picks lined up in next year’s draft. The Saints are expecting to get back multiple compensatory picks which will do a lot to help them reload. They’re finally valuing those extra picks in free agency the way they should have been doing in years past. Hopefully they make the most of them.

With that said, here are the picks the Saints are currently scheduled to own in 2024:

  • Round 1 (own)
  • Round 2 (via Denver Broncos)
  • Round 5 (own)
  • Round 6 (own)
  • Round 6 (via Philadelphia Eagles, either from Eagles or Tennessee Titans)

One other variable we don’t know about is whether that sixth rounder coming back from the Eagles (as part of the C.J. Gardner-Johnson trade last summer) will be the lower of their two selections, depending on where Philadelphia and Tennessee end up picking in the draft order.

Additionally, here are the picks they’re currently scheduled to make in the following years:

  • 2025: Rounds 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
  • 2026: Rounds 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7

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Sports Illustrated lists Titans as team that should tank in 2023

A Sports Illustrated writer named the Titans among teams he thinks should tank in 2023.

As the Tennessee Titans continue to toe the line between a retool and a rebuild, one writer believes the team should tank in order to put itself in position to grab the No. 1 overall pick — and, in turn, USC quarterback Caleb Williams — in the 2024 NFL draft.

In an article listing five teams who should tank in 2023 with an eye on 2024, Sports Illustrated’s Conor Orr names the Titans as one of them, along with the Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Los Angeles Rams.

Here’s some of what he had to say:

If you’re the Titans, can you honestly look at the roster as presently constructed and think that a Super Bowl is in the cards? Or would you rather reload now, before the Jaguars pull away and the Texans start properly using all the capital they received for Watson?

Another factor I’m considering here is the tenure and survivability of a coach. Vrabel is one of the best coaches in the NFL. He just had his first losing season. The Titans have a GM at the beginning of a brand-new contract. While there is always pressure to win, they can afford a strategic gap year. 

As currently constituted, the Titans are heading for a mediocre season in which they’ll probably hover somewhere around seven to eight wins, mostly because Mike Vrabel and the defense will keep them competitive.

Now, things can change if the Titans decide to blow it up and rebuild by selling off key players like Derrick Henry, Jeffery Simmons and Kevin Byard, but I don’t see that happening on Vrabel’s watch.

Instead, the Titans will likely use 2023 as a transition year with an eye on 2024 when the team will have a lot of cap space to work. As a result, they’ll almost certainly miss out on Williams in 2024.

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Where Titans stand with 2024 comp picks after recent FA moves

The Titans are currently projected for one 2024 compensatory pick after recent free-agent moves.

With free agency in full swing, we are starting to get an idea of the compensatory picks the Tennessee Titans might have in 2024.

Of course, this will remain a fluid situation until free agency dies down, but as of right now the Titans are set to have one compensatory pick in the fourth round in 2024, per Nick Korte of Over the Cap.

Tennessee signing offensive tackle Andre Dillard and edge rusher Arden Key negated the sixth-round picks they would have received for losing both David Long and DeMarcus Walker.

However, Nate Davis signing with the Chicago Bears put the fourth-rounder in Tennessee’s column. The signings of Azeez Al-Shaair and Daniel Brunskill do not factor into the compensatory pick formula.

Here’s a basic explanation at how comp picks are determined, per Over the Cap. Click the link if you’re interested in a deeper dive.

In plain English, if a team loses more players that qualify as CFAs than it signs during free agency, that team is eligible to be awarded compensatory picks in the following NFL draft.

It is important to note that only certain players qualify for the compensatory formula. Those are only players whose contracts expire. Players who are cut are the most common example of free agents ineligible to become CFAs, but other methods of disqualification, such as a Restricted Free Agent not given a tender, also exist. In its most general sense, players only become Compensatory Free Agents if they are free to leave their old team against that team’s will.

Follow along with our tracker for all of the latest free-agent moves and more from the Titans.

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Titans’ updated 2024 comp pick situation after signing Dillard, losing Long

After agreeing to terms with Andre Dillard, and with David Long leaving for Miami, the Titans’ comp pick situation has changed.

Earlier in the day when the Tennessee Titans lost right guard Nate Davis in free agency to the Chicago Bears, the Titans were in line for a fifth-round compensatory pick, but as is the case with most things, it was a fluid situation.

Well, since that signing, things have indeed changed. Now, with the Titans signing offensive tackle Andre Dillard and losing David Long to the Miami Dolphins, Tennessee is in line for a sixth-round compensatory pick.

This comes from Over the Cap’s Nick Korte, who notes that the Dillard deal cancels out the comp pick from the Davis deal, but Long agreeing with Miami puts Tennessee back on the board for a sixth-rounder instead.

The reason this remains a fluid situation for now is because the final tally of comp picks is based on how many eligible players a team signs and loses in free agency.

For more information on how comp picks are figured out, check out Over the Cap.

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