Tag: 2024 nfl mock draft

Minnesota bolsters defense in three-round mock draft

Minnesota forgoes the quarterback for a pair of defensive lineman in the latest three-round mock draft.

Sports Illustrated’s Luke Easterling put out the first of many three-round mock drafts with the end of the NFL regular season inching closer.

With the 22nd pick in this hypothetical, the Minnesota Vikings take defensive lineman Leonard Taylor, III from Miami.

This entire defensive front needs reinforcements, so this pick is about finding the best value, either along the interior or on the edge. In this scenario, it’s the former for Minnesota, as they land an explosive and disruptive presence at the point of attack in Taylor. His attacking style of play would be put to good use by defensive coordinator Brian Flores.

Easterling continued adding to the defense. With the next pick at number 53, the Vikings took Jack Sawyer, a fleet-footed, explosive edge rusher out of Ohio State.

Minnesota’s third-round pick was a part of the deal for tight end T.J. Hockenson.

Immediately, questions will arise over the quarterback position. That’s fair. With this hypothetical, it’s safe to assume that Kirk Cousins has a chance to finish what he started in the beginning phases of this season. Another assumption is that Flores does not take a head coaching position and stays to help continue to build Minnesota’s defense.

This scenario is not a far-fetched reality. The defense has been playing at a stellar pace thus far. With how Kirk played before he was injured, it does make one wonder how much this team could have accomplished with him at the helm. Next year would be a chance to find out. It would be a chance to make that deep playoff run that has alluded Vikings fans since 2017.

There’s also the dark side of these decisions. What if this is just a fantasy that the front office is chasing? What if Cousins never looks the same again after a ruptured Achilles at the age of 35?

These are all questions that Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and the Vikings front office must mull over before the 2024 NFL draft in April.

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Vikings make interesting selection in ESPN mock draft

Cornerback isn’t going to be a popular pick, but it could be a likely one for the Vikings

Mock drafts are going to be coming fast and furious throughout the next few months, especially with some teams being out of the playoff race already with four weeks to go.

The Minnesota Vikings are still in the thick of the playoff race but it’s still a good time to take a look at mock drafts. ESPN’s Matt Miller released a mock draft on Tuesday morning and he has the Vikings selecting Clemson cornerback Nate Wiggins.

The Vikings are desperate for a franchise quarterback but probably won’t be picking high enough to get a top passer in this class. Maybe they bring back Kirk Cousins? Maybe they sign someone else or address it further down the board? Either way, I like them adding a top-flight cornerback here at No. 22 if QB isn’t an option. People at Clemson say Wiggins is the fastest player on the Tigers’ roster, and he does it at 6-foot-2. He played his best football down the stretch of the 2023 regular season before declaring for the draft and has true CB1 traits.

A cornerback in the first round after spending numerous resources on a solid cornerback room with a top defense? Feels like the Mike Zimmer era doesn’t it? This would feel like a luxury pick, especially with a player like UCLA EDGE Laiatu Latu going a pick later to the Buffalo Bills.

In a vacuum, Wiggins is a good football player with size, length and aggressiveness that would be a good fit for the Vikings defense. Is it a pick that they should make? I wouldn’t quite go that far, but it’s a possibility that should be considered a possibility.

2024 NFL draft: Browns land underrated wide receiver in latest 2024 NFL mock draft

The Browns are still in need of adding a WR in the 2024 NFL draft, landing Georgia’s Ladd McConkey in a new 2024 NFL mock draft.

The college football season is winding down, and 2024 NFL mock drafts are trending in an upward direction. While the Cleveland Browns do not own a first round pick in the 2024 NFL draft, they do still own a plethora of draft picks. In Draft Wire’s latest mock draft, the Browns utilize their top pick, the projected 56th overall pick in the draft, to land an underrated wide receiver in the form of Georgia’s Ladd McConkey.

While he has not officially declared for the 2024 NFL draft yet, McConkey has been a three-year contributor for the Bulldogs. He currently sits with 456 yards and two touchdowns on 29 catches this season.

Missing the first four weeks of the season and one game in November limited McConkey’s production in 2023. Make no mistake, however, the film on the Georgia wideout is phenomenal. Despite his size, McConkey is strong off of the line of scrimmage, plays through contact at a high level, and is a dynamic route runner.

Despite acquiring Elijah Moore via a trade and drafting Cedric Tillman in the third round a year ago, the Browns find themselves in a position to prioritize the wide receiver position once again. Amari Cooper is set to take on a $20 million cap hit, and outside of these three mentioned, there is not a long-term contributor in the room.

McConkey fits both a need and the talent matches where he was selected in this 2024 NFL mock draft.

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3-round mock draft: Patriots land star QB, while doubling down on OL renovation project

In this three-round 2024 NFL mock draft, the Patriots get aggressive by selecting their next franchise QB and loading up with two offensive tackles.

The New England Patriots have a lot of holes to fix, and it’s clearly going to take more than one offseason to do it, regardless of who is in charge.

First and foremost, the team must show a dramatic shift in philosophy when it comes to building an offensive roster. Coach Bill Belichick was spoiled with Tom Brady under center for so long that even he forgot what it was like to run a team without a legitimate franchise quarterback captaining the ship.

None of the problems in New England go away without the right quarterback in the system. They also have to do a better job of finding the right pieces on the offensive line and at the skilled positions to give the quarterback a chance for success,

This is where serious lessons need to be learned from the Mac Jones situation. The Patriots never put the former Alabama standout in a position to succeed, which ultimately led to the broken version of the once promising player we see today.

In this three-round mock 2024 NFL draft, we’re building the roster with the quarterback and offense in mind. Here’s who the Patriots landed with their first three picks:

Vikings defense gets a boost in latest mock draft

Draft Wire’s Jeff Risdon gives the Vikings defense a boost in his latest mock draft.

Draft Wire’s Jeff Risdon unveiled his latest mock draft as the college football regular season has officially ended.

As it currently stands, the Minnesota Vikings are firmly in the playoffs and picking 20th. According to Risdon, that’s the perfect spot for UCLA EDGE Laiatu Latu to come off the board.

If his medical evaluations continue to check out, Latu figures to be long gone by this point. With Danielle Hunter and Jonathan Bullard both headed for free agency, taking a shot at the best pressure generator in the draft class makes a ton of sense.

The Danielle Hunter situation is one to monitor for Minnesota, especially with him having an actual argument for Defensive Player of the Year this season. Good teams don’t allow guys like that to walk.


The allure of a player like Latu is intoxicating. He’s physical, relentless and has an impressive repotoire of pass rush moves.

His concerns stem from a neck injury where the medical team at Washington forced him to medically retire. But his resurgence at UCLA has him back in first-round talks and possibly in the purple and gold next season.

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Bengals replace Tee Higgins in new 2024 NFL mock draft

The Bengals replace a fan favorite in a new mock draft.

The Cincinnati Bengals still have an eye on the AFC playoff standings, though some of the focus for fans has understandably shifted to the 2024 NFL draft.

There, the Bengals are again one of the harder teams in the league to project. But one of the more common things that comes up is the Tee Higgins conversation and how the team might look to replace him if he leaves in free agency.

A new mock draft from The Athletic’s Dane Brugler hits this point again by having the team take Washington wideout Rome Odunze at 15th overall:

Bengals fans will be understandably dejected if Tee Higgins departs this offseason, but drafting Odunze as a replacement might be the best-case scenario among the realistic options. At 6-3, 217 with 4.4 speed, the Washington pass catcher can create his own spacing mid-route and is also one of the best contested-catch receivers in college football.

Besides Bengals fans wincing at the idea of another first-round Washington wideout, Odunze is clearly one of the best prospects in the draft and so far has 73 catches for 1,326 yards and 13 scores this year.

But it’s hard to say if the Bengals will actually lose Higgins. In his contract year, he’s only been able to suit up for seven games so far. The team could easily apply a franchise tag in an effort to extend this contention window.

And if they don’t, perhaps they end up seeing something they really like from current rookies Charlie Jones and Andrei Iosivas down the stretch during developmental snaps that steer them in another direction in Round 1 next year.

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2024 NFL mock draft: Browns overhaul WR room, add talented Ohio State DT

In this 7-round 2024 NFL mock draft, the Browns improve their roster with Ja’Lynn Polk and Tyleik Williams

We have hit cold weather, so that means it is time to start firing up the 2024 NFL mock drafts. And for the 7-4 Cleveland Browns, they have one more season with no first round picks, but that does not stop them from adding talents like wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk and defensive tackle Tyleik Williams here.

When looking ahead to April for the Browns, their team needs remain relatively the same as they were a year ago. Last year, we knew they needed to target a wide receiver, a defensive tackle, another defensive end, and thought that offensive tackle could be the wildcard. And they drafted just those four positions with their first four picks in the draft.

This year, the Browns are playing rentals at defensive tackle in Maurice Hurst (please re-sign him!) and Shelby Harris and Jordan Elliott is about to see his rookie contract expire. The wide receiver room is lacking outside of Amari Cooper still, and another defensive end could be on the menu with Za’Darius Smith set to hit free agency after this season.

What can the Browns do with the seven picks they currently hold in the 2024 NFL draft? Find out here in this 2024 NFL mock draft.

Bengals go back to the trenches in new 2024 NFL mock draft

A new 2024 NFL mock draft for the Bengals.

The Cincinnati Bengals haven’t thrown in the proverbial towel on the season, but it sure doesn’t hurt to look ahead toward draft season given recent happenings.

In a new 2024 NFL mock draft, the Bengals refocus on the offensive line by taking Oregon State’s Taliese Fuaga at 17th overall, via Draft Wire’s Curt Popejoy:

The Bengals could lose their starting right tackle in the offseason and Fuaga is plug and play as a starter.

They follow that up with Oregon defensive lineman Brandon Dorlus at No. 49.

On the offensive side, it will be interesting to see if the Bengals get an extension done with Jonah Williams now that he’s had a breakthrough of sorts at right tackle. If so, likely at the expense of Tee Higgins, they could use that 17th spot on an interior player.

Defensively, the line needs help across the board, so the best-player-available approach would make a lot of sense there. Dorlus would help, considering he’s got a career-high five sacks through 12 games.

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2024 NFL mock draft: Patriots land franchise-altering playmaker

The Patriots’ 2024 rebuild gets off to a strong start with this first-round mock draft pick.

The 2023 regular season is hurtling to the final stretch, and the New England Patriots are battling for the highest pick possible in the 2024 NFL draft.

There are three clear needs for the team at this point: quarterback, wide receiver and offensive line.

There are a bunch of scenarios that could play out for the Patriots, depending on where they finish this season and how the board unfolds at the draft. Keep in mind, things can change with any of these projected picks

So nothing is etched in stone here.

These selections are being made as if the season ended today. The Patriots are currently slotted as the No. 3 overall pick of the draft, and in this mock version, they get to address the largest need on their roster. Also, five quarterbacks end up going in the first round.

Here’s how this latest mock draft turned out:

Browns upgrade defensive trenches in new 2024 NFL mock draft

The Browns get Jim Schwartz a new weapon in a new Draft Wire 2-round mock

As we turn to colder weather, the amount of 2024 NFL mock drafts will begin to uptick. And while the Cleveland Browns do not have a first round pick for one more year, Draft Wire’s latest two-round mock draft gets them in on the action. They are currently sitting with the no. 56 pick on the board, the Browns addressed the defensive trenches again, adding LSU’s talented defensive tackle Maason Smith.

After a dynamic freshman season in 2021, the LSU Tiger missed most of his sophomore season. While Smith got off to a slow start this season, the 6-foot-6 and 300-pound defensive tackle has seen his production take an uptick.

Thus far in 2023, Smith has only racked up one sack but sits with 14 pressures on the season. For his hype coming into the season, however, Smith has not had the season many anticipated. He is built like a first round defensive tackle and will test well at the combine.

With just Dalvin Tomlinson and rookie Siaki Ika as the only defensive tackles under contract beyond the 2023 season, it makes sense for the Browns to give defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz another interior big man.

The draft is far from here, but Smith would be a bit of a letdown.

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