Tag: 2024 NFL Draft

Steelers land elite CB in new mock draft

The Steelers select a starting center and a starting cornerback in this new mock draft.

When the Pittsburgh Steelers go on the clock in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft, it could come down to whether they want a center or a cornerback. We’ve seen mock drafts that opt for a center in the first round, and in our own Steelers mock, that’s the move.

But Pro Football Focus went the other way in their new two-round mock draft. They had top center Jackson Powers-Johnson going No. 17 overall to the Jacksonville Jaguars, so the Steelers opted for Toledo cornerback Quinyon Mitchell.

Here’s what PFF’s Trevor Sikkema has to say about the pick:

The Steelers got a good one in Joey Porter Jr. at the top of the second round last year, but their investment in cornerbacks must continue. Mitchell was dominant at the Senior Bowl. He is scheme-versatile in both skill and athleticism. He could easily be picked higher than this, but he will be high on Pittsburgh’s board if he makes it this far.

If JPJ is off the board, a lockdown cornerback like Mitchell makes perfect sense. Especially when you consider in the second round, the Steelers land West Virginia center Zach Frazier. There are lots of directions the Steelers could go early in the draft, including selecting a quarterback, but cornerback and center in some order feels like the safer strategy.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Browns 2024 NFL draft Profile: Clemson DT Ruke Orhorhoro is an elite run defender

The Clemson product would be a great additions to Cleveland’s defensive front

Could a 2024 NFL draft prospect like Clemson’s Ruke Orhorhoro give the interior defensive line a huge boost for the Cleveland Browns?

With the Super Bowl now in the rearview, every team around the NFL has turned their focus solely on free agency and the 2024 NFL draft as both are just weeks away. The Cleveland Browns have an interesting decision to make about the defensive tackle room as only one of their best contributors at the position is under contract for the 2024 season.

It would be a shock if the Browns didn’t at least back two of those pending free agents but it might not be on a long-term contract. It makes sense for the Browns to look towards the draft to add another potential long-term solution in the middle of their defensive front.

Clemson’s Ruke Orhorhoro is a player that I liked a ton last year before he returned to college for his fifth season with the Tigers. He is a very intriguing option who likely will be on the board in the third or even fourth round.

2024 NFL mock draft, post-Super Bowl edition: The Bears dilemma ends with a new QB

And the 49ers and Chiefs patch Super Bowl holes at the end of round one.

The Chicago Bears have a good problem.

They have a young quarterback, Justin Fields, who has shown flashes of brilliance in an uneven career. He wrapped up his third season as a pro with a 4-3 record in his final seven games, averaging more than 250 total yards a week thanks to competent passing and an electric run game.

The Bears also have the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, which features a pair of electric quarterback prospects jumping into the league after accomplished college careers. Caleb Williams won the 2022 Heisman Trophy. Drake Maye threw for nearly 8,000 yards over the last two seasons.

Both could be upgrades over Fields. Either would be cheaper to roster than a player whose salary jumps to $22 million if Chicago picks up his 2025 option. But neither is a sure thing, and the price of a trade down the draft board could encompass all the pieces needed to make Fields a Pro Bowl quarterback and his Bears a playoff team.

So there’s the conundrum. Does Chicago risk its future on Williams’ electric playmaking? Opt for Maye’s steadier play? Keep Fields and auction the pick off for a treasure chest? See if another team will give up premium assets for the opportunity to unlock Fields’ potential?

For our first mock draft of the 2024 offseason, the Bears are keeping the pick. But they may not be drafting who you’d expect.

Draft Wire reveals top 5 QB rankings for 2024 NFL draft

Draft Wire has released its initial rankings of the top five quarterbacks in the 2024 NFL draft.

It’s officially draft season.

With the NFL combine set to begin later this month, attention has turned to the 2024 NFL draft. It’s still a little more than two months away, but the draft will be on the minds of all football fans in the coming weeks.

As we inch closer to Round 1 (April 25), pundits will begin releasing their rankings of prospects in this year’s class. Last week, Natalie Miller of Draft Wire revealed her rankings of the top five quarterbacks in the 2024 draft.

The top three — USC’s Caleb Williams, UNC’s Drake Maye and LSU’s Jayden Daniels — seem to be consensus picks among pundits. Miller’s next two QBs are Oregon’s Bo Nix and Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy.

Williams is ranked No. 2 overall on Miller’s big board of top 50 prospects, followed by Maye (No. 3) and Daniels (No. 6). Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. did not make the top-five list, but he is No. 50 on the big board.

The Denver Broncos hold six draft picks this year, including the 12th overall pick in the first round.

Giants land a game-changing receiver in latest ESPN mock draft

In the latest mock draft from ESPN’s Field Yates, the New York Giants stand pat and select a game-changing wide receiver for Daniel Jones.

A trend appears to be developing in most new mock drafts — at least as it relates to the New York Giants.

Despite rampant speculation that general manager Joe Schoen will select a quarterback, most expert mock drafts have the Giants going in a different direction. Some have them targeting an offensive lineman but the vast majority have them going with a wide receiver.

That’s the route ESPN’s Field Yates took in his most recent mock draft, projecting a top-tier, game-changing receiver to Big Blue at No. 6 overall.

Malik Nabers, WR, LSU

The Giants can land the most explosive player in the draft with Nabers, the former LSU star who plays at a warp speed that no defender can match. This would provide a huge boost to a Giants offense that had the second-fewest passing yards in the NFL last season and just 44 passing plays of 20-plus yards (better than just six other teams in the league).

Nabers is a massive play waiting to happen, with his vertical speed to stretch the field on deep shots and with his run-after-catch ability. He averaged 120.7 yards per game last season and caught 14 TDs. Daniel Jones needs that kind of production outside.

Malik Nabers is a name we’ve seen connected more and more to the Giants in recent days and weeks.

The 6-foot, 201-pound Nabers is arguably the No. 2 wide receiver available in the draft behind Marvin Harrison Jr. and just ahead of Rome Odunze, who has also been mocked to the Giants at a high rate.

[lawrence-related id=724033,724026,724025]

Lots of new names in this huge 2-round mock draft update after the Super Bowl

We sneak an extra quarterback in the first round of our new two-round mock draft.

Well, now that the Kansas City Chiefs have won the Super Bowl, every other NFL team sees just how high the bar has been set. This means every team has to take a close look at their rosters and hope they can strike gold in the 2024 NFL draft.

With the Super Bowl in the rearview mirror, we have updated our big two-round mock draft that includes a lot of new faces in the first round.

Steelers land QB in new ESPN mock draft

Pittsburgh opts for Bo Nix in this new mock draft.

The Pittsburgh Steelers seem to have hitched their wagon to quarterback Kenny Pickett for the upcoming season. Mitch Trubisky has been released, Mason Rudolph is headed to free agency and the endorsement of his head coach has Pickett on top at the start of the offseason.

But Pittsburgh needs more quarterbacks. You just cannot rule out the Steelers going after one of the top signal callers in the 2024 NFL draft. Pickett needs competition that won’t let him be complacent.

In the new mock draft by ESPN writer Field Yates, he decides that competition comes in the first round and comes in the form of Oregon’s Bo Nix.

Here’s what Yates had to say about the pick:

This one might be a surprise, as the Steelers have backed Kenny Pickett — whom they took at No. 20 two years ago — this offseason. But they also said they plan to add competition for him in the quarterback room. Quarterback picks in this range are often polarizing, but my fundamental mindset is the Steelers’ ceiling with Pickett under center is too low for a franchise with a standard that is not simply making the playoffs but making deep runs. Pittsburgh has lost five straight playoff games.
Nix blends sharp accuracy with some razzle-dazzle (something he has refined during his college career after transferring from Auburn) and an ability to quickly scan the field to deliver the right read. He set the FBS single-season record for completion percentage in 2023 at 77.4% while throwing 45 touchdown passes to three interceptions.
As a prospect, Nix checks most of the boxes. He’s a great athlete, had a strong arm and has been highly productive. However, the Oregon offense wasn’t exactly NFL caliber and Nix hasn’t really shown much in terms of going through reads and progressions.
We’ve talked about the Steelers bringing in a developmental quarterback via the draft and adding a veteran for the serious competition. If Pittsburgh can’t add a guy like Kirk Cousins or Justin Fields prior to the draft, look for the Steelers to focus on quarterback early.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Bengals go interesting route in expert’s first 2024 NFL mock draft

The Bengals get Joe Burrow some help in a new mock draft.

The Cincinnati Bengals attempt to fix the offensive line in front of Joe Burrow in the first mock draft of the year from a top expert.

Said expert is ESPN’s Field Yates, who has the Bengals going with Oregon offensive tackle Taliese Fuaga in an effort to fix the likely departure of Jonah Williams at right tackle:

Incumbent starter Jonah Williams will hit free agency in a month, and it’s no surprise the Bengals will continue to address the offensive line this offseason. If you want to get tougher and impose your will more in the run game — and I think the Bengals could use more explosive runs — Fuaga is the man for you. He’s a tone-setter with overwhelming strength at the point of attack and enough suddenness to react in the passing game as a strongside protector for Joe Burrow.

Williams’ trip to free agency is one of the more interesting storylines to watch around the team this offseason. Given his ability to play left or right tackle after his strong showing on the latter side this past season, teams might pay up big, beyond what the Bengals can afford.

But that would leave the Bengals starting a rookie on the right side with Burrow coming off another season-ending injury. Fuaga is an ideal prospect, but whether the Bengals want to plug in a rookie is hard to say, so perhaps in this scenario, they pay up for a stopgap veteran on the market, too.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1]

ESPN Insider sends Jared Verse to Minnesota in latest mock draft

ESPN Insider Field Yates has dropped his first mock draft of the season and has the Minnesota Vikings taking Florida State EDGE Jared Verse.

Across the NFL draft landscape there are many “insiders” whose thoughts on the process hold a little more weight than the average NFL draft pundit. One of those insiders is ESPN’s Field Yates, who dropped his first mock draft of the 2024 NFL draft season.

Yates is one of the more plugged-in individuals in NFL draft circles, so keeping an eye on who he sends where, and how those picks evolve during the draft season can provided some valuable insights. In his first mock of the season, he has the Minnesota Vikings skipping out on a quarterback and instead getting Florida State EDGE Jared Verse. Here is Yates’ breakdown:

Retaining Danielle Hunter — soon to be a free agent — would change the outlook on this pick, but losing Hunter, D.J. Wonnum and/or Marcus Davenport in free agency would leave Minnesota razor thin at pass-rusher. Verse is long, has great in-line power and shows a growing set of pass-rush moves to get home. After surprising many and returning to Florida State for the 2023 season, he helped catalyze what was on the short list for the best defense in college football last season, racking up nine sacks.

Verse and UCLA EDGE Laiatu Latu have become popular selections across the mock draft landscape for the Vikings, and with the amount of talent potentially leaving in free agency, the picks make a lot of sense. Even if the Vikings are able to retain Danielle Hunter, if both Davenport and Wonnum leave, there is a massive depth issue at the position that Verse (or Latu) would immediately help shore up.

[lawrence-related id=90652,90656,90633,90642,90618,90575,90615,90549,90604,90592]

The Real Forno Show: Tyler’s top 10 2024 NFL quarterbacks

The 2024 NFL Draft is jsut over two months away and Tyler Forness has his top 10 quarterbacks ready to break down on The Real Forno Show.

The NFL draft is fast approaching and the scouting combine is now just two weeks away. With the combine being so key for most positions, one where the drills don’t matter as much is the quarterback position.

Why doesn’t it matter as much for quarterbacks? Unless you are a dynamite runner, your 40-yard dash time doesn’t matter much and you only need to be a good athlete to truly thrive. Being a great one does help, but it’s more about what you do with the ball in your hand. Will the Minnesota Vikings view things the same way? We will find out come April.

With that being said, Tyler Forness’ preliminary top 10 quarterbacks for the 2024 NFL draft are set!

We are here to break it all down and more on the latest episode of The Real Forno Show, airing Monday and Wednesday nights at 6 pm central on the Vikings 1st & SKOL YouTube channel.

[lawrence-related id=90656,90633,90642,90618,90575,90615,90549,90604,90592,90534]