Category: Mock Draft

2024 NFL draft: Steelers snag Diontae Johnson replacement in latest ESPN mock

There’s no getting around it: The Steelers must use one of their seven picks in the upcoming NFL draft on a wide receiver.

There’s no getting around it: The Pittsburgh Steelers must use one of their seven picks in the upcoming NFL draft on a wide receiver. Not having filled the void left by the trade of leading receiver Diontae Johnson in free agency could force their hand early.

After taking Duke center Graham Barton with their first-round pick at No. 20, ESPN’s Field Yates has Pittsburgh taking Michigan receiver Roman Wilson.

The Steelers will likely target a wide receiver early in the draft, and Wilson has excellent route running skills, extremely reliable hands and elite speed (4.39 in the 40). Be it Russell Wilson or Justin Fields under center, pairing Wilson — who had 12 touchdowns in 2023 — with George Pickens would help this offense.

Johnson is one of the NFL’s better route runners, and, say what you want about him, he did improve his ball-dropping yips. Should everything Wilson boasted at the college level translate to the NFL, he could very well be an upgrade over Johnson.

If Russell Wilson wins the job this offseason, we’d hear a lot of “Wilson-to-Wilson,” which would only benefit third-year receiver George Pickens.

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Steelers grab speedy WR to pair with George Pickens in Mel Kiper’s latest mock draft

The Steelers land speedy WR Brian Thomas Jr. in Mel Kiper’s latest mock draft for ESPN.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a need. A need for speed. They’ve got it in third-year receiver Calvin Austin as a depth piece, but Matt Canada didn’t know how to use him.

But now there’s a new offensive sheriff in town, and his name is Arthur Smith. Judging from his time as coordinator in Tennessee, he’ll come up with a plan that competitively utilizes the strengths of his squad.

Part of that plan could include speedy LSU receiver Brian Thomas Jr. In the latest mock draft from ESPN’s Mel Kiper, the Steelers take him with their first overall pick at No. 20.

Thomas, who ran a 4.33-second 40-yard dash at the combine, has a tremendous blend of speed and size (6-foot-3). He caught 17 touchdown passes last season, leading the FBS. Pittsburgh had just 13 total touchdown passes in 2023. Thomas and George Pickens could form an exciting pass-catching duo.

A fast and tall receiver is great and fills a need, one that Russell Wilson would undoubtedly love. But the Steelers only have one shot in the first round and should be smarter about building the trenches with a center or tackle. Jackson Powers-Johnson, whom many fans have already declared a Steeler, is still on the board, along with Georgia tackle Amarius Mims.

Their scouts have a penchant for sniffing out receiver talent in the later rounds and it’s a deep class.

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2024 Aggregate Mock Draft: Zac Risacher, Nikola Topic, Cody Williams, Reed Sheppard rising

HoopsHype’s 2024 NBA mock draft with Nikola Topic, Cody Williams, Reed Sheppard rising with scouting reports from NBA executives and scouts.

With March Madness upon us, HoopsHype has updated where the top prospects currently stand for the 2024 NBA Draft by compiling 10 mock drafts from ESPN, The Athletic, Bleacher Report, The Ringer, NBA Big Board, Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Sports Illustrated, SB Nation, and USA TODAY’s For The Win.

HoopsHype also spoke with several NBA executives and scouts for their insight on the prospects for the third edition of the aggregate mock draft. The consensus from a majority of NBA talent evaluators is this draft class isn’t as top heavy with franchise-altering talent, but is deep with several potential sleepers to be selected.

An explanation for HoopsHype’s Draft Predictor from colleague Alberto de Roa, who contributed research to this story, can be found here.

NOTE: These rankings reflect the composite score to get a feel for the overall consensus, not our own opinion. For example, if a player was the first pick on a publication’s mock draft, he received 60 points. If a player was second, he received 59 points, and so on. We then tabulated the total number of points for each player’s consensus ranking.

POINT GUARDS / SHOOTING GUARDS /
SMALL FORWARDS / POWER FORWARDS / CENTERS

2024 NBA mock drafts: March first-round projections for OKC Thunder

2024 NBA mock drafts: March first-round projections for OKC Thunder.

While the Oklahoma City Thunder (41-18) continue to fight for the first seed as they’re set to make their first playoff run since 2020, they’ve been frequently mentioned in 2024 NBA mock drafts.

The Thunder are rich with draft assets throughout the rest of the decade due to several trades they made in their rebuild. OKC owns four 2024 first-round picks, but the two worst of the bunch will be rerouted to the Dallas Mavericks and Indiana Pacers.

The Thunder had 2024 draft picks to shed due to their surplus of young talent already on the roster. In all likelihood, they’ll have a pair of lottery picks from the Houston Rockets and Utah Jazz.

The Rockets’ pick is top-four protected and the Jazz’s pick is top-10 protected. Considering where they are in the standings, the Thunder will likely have both picks.

With that said, here’s a look at who draft experts have going to OKC (with the Houston and Utah picks) in the latest wave of mock drafts. The projected pick slot varies based on the date of each mock’s publication.

2024 NBA Mock Draft: Latest first-round projections at midway point of season

Rookie Wire took a look at the 2024 NBA draft class and where the top prospects stand as of Feb. 1.

The top NBA draft prospects worldwide have collectively reached the second halves of their respective seasons as they look to showcase themselves in front of scouts and executives.

The class this year has seen several players help their stock, while others have struggled and fallen down draft boards. Some players have also dealt with recent injuries and other factors that have prevented them from reaching their potential.

The draft is widely considered open at the top of the board, with several prospects in the conversation to be the first selection. Unlike last year, when Victor Wembanyama was the consensus No. 1 pick, there is no clear-cut choice this year.

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Prospects will continue to see their standing fluctuate over the remaining two-plus months of action on the court as scouts have more time to evaluate them. The sheer unknown atop the draft board should create plenty of storylines to follow over the remainder of the season.

The NBA announced on Wednesday that the draft will be expanded to a two-night format, with the first round set to take place on June 26 at the Barclays Center. The second round will be at ESPN’s Seaport District Studios in New York the following night.

Rookie Wire looked at the class and where the top prospects stand at this point of the season. The order was determined by the reverse order of the NBA standings as of Feb. 1.

Note: Player fit wasn’t necessarily taken into account with each pick. Pick protections and other notes courtesy of Tankathon.