2024 NFL mock draft: Latest 2-round early projections

I am depressed.

No amount of personal success can satisfy my need to be something better than I currently am. I hold myself to an impossibly high standard to the point where nothing I do is good enough. The success of others is something I envy, regardless of my own accomplishments and how they may compare to those. Not even the validation of others is enough to convince myself that I am as good as I can be.

Anyway, here’s a two-round mock draft I made for the 2024 NFL Draft. Enjoy!

Projected trade

Commanders receive: No. 1 pick

Cardinals receive: No. 6 pick, No. 39 pick, 2025 first-round pick, 2025 third-round pick, 2026 first-round pick

Caleb Williams feels like a Trevor Lawrence-esque player in that it seems extremely likely early on in the draft process he will end up as the No. 1 pick. The Cardinals don’t have a lot of flexibility to get out of Kyler Murray’s contract, and he’s still a rock-solid starting quarterback. Washington’s quarterback battle is currently between Jacoby Brissett and Sam Howell; I’d be surprised if they didn’t target a top player there in 2024, and the hype around Williams drives the price up a little bit.

Round 1

1. Washington Commanders (via Cardinals): Caleb Williams, QB, USC

Williams is a cannon-armed quarterback with impressive improvisational skills, very good athleticism and tremendous natural timing behind his throws. He fits the archetype of what the modern NFL quarterback is, and though he’s not a finished product, he’d be a definite upgrade at QB for several teams right now, the Commanders being one of them.

2. Arizona Cardinals (via Texans): Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Ohio State

The Cardinals trade back from No. 1, stock up on future draft capital and get arguably the most complete wide receiver prospect since Julio Jones in 2011. That sounds like a pretty favorable outcome.

3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Drake Maye, QB, North Carolina

Maye is a big-armed quarterback with athletic ability, a well-built frame and a pretty deep ball; he may be a No. 10 from North Carolina, but he looks much more like Justin Herbert than Mitchell Trubisky.

4. Los Angeles Rams: Joe Alt, OT, Notre Dame

Alt is an impressive athlete at offensive tackle with tremendous size at 6-foot-8 and 315 pounds, as well as top-notch length and good situational awareness in pass protection. He has the tools to develop into an All-Pro tackle at the next level, which would benefit a depleted Rams offensive line.

5. Indianapolis Colts: Jared Verse, EDGE, Florida State

Though the Colts have some young edge rushers with the likes of Kwity Paye, Samson Ebukam and Dayo Odeyingbo, they don’t have a quality pass-rusher at the level of Verse, who has a deep arsenal of techniques to get to the passer and very good athleticism off the edge.

6. Arizona Cardinals (via Commanders): Kool-Aid McKinstry, CB, Alabama

Garrett Williams was a nice addition to Arizona’s secondary in the third round, but they still need a big-bodied cornerback with the athleticism and competitive mentality to take on an opposing team’s WR1 and make plays on the ball. They would find exactly that in McKinstry.

7. Atlanta Falcons: J.T. Tuimoloau, EDGE, Ohio State

Armed with top-notch athleticism, play strength, flexibility and effort, Tuimoloau has the physical tools needed to be a star defensive end at the NFL level. If he can diversify how he wins at the point of attack, the sky is the limit.

8. Green Bay Packers: Olu Fashanu, OT, Penn State

Fashanu would have been a first-round pick with his elite mobility, prototypical size and ideal play strength had he declared for the 2023 draft. Instead, he returns to Penn State for another year, and with another strong season, it seems likely he ends up a top-10 pick for a team like the Packers, who might be in the market for a David Bakhtiari replacement sooner rather than later.

9. Tennessee Titans: Emeka Egbuka, WR, Ohio State

The Titans have Treylon Burks locked up at wide receiver, but they lack another young, high-upside weapon at the position. Egbuka is dynamic after the catch, separates well with explosive cuts and stretches the field well, whether it be in the slot or outside.

10. Chicago Bears (via Panthers): Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia

This isn’t an endorsement to let Cole Kmet walk; it’s just an endorsement of how talented Bowers is. He’s a rare athlete at tight end with elite agility, contact balance and vision after the catch, as well as a deep route tree.

11. Las Vegas Raiders: Quinn Ewers, QB, Texas

Ewers is a work in progress as a decision-maker in the pocket, but he has great arm talent with a natural sense of timing, sharp mechanics and a gamer mentality. He would be a nice candidate to develop alongside Jimmy Garoppolo in Las Vegas.

12. Chicago Bears: Dallas Turner, EDGE, Alabama

Turner is an explosive athlete off the edge with quick hands, ideal flexibility off the edge and impressive weight distribution at the point of attack. The Bears desperately need help rushing the passer, and a player with his ceiling would be much appreciated in Chicago.

13. Denver Broncos: Maason Smith, DL, LSU

Smith has dealt with injury issues at the NFL level, but he’s a dominant 3-technique defensive tackle who can push the pocket, rush the passer and physically impose his will against opposing offensive linemen.

14. New England Patriots: J.C. Latham, OT, Alabama

The Patriots could be a sleeper team to look for a quarterback in the 2024 draft — come at me, New Englanders — but I think they look to give Mac Jones a better shot to turn them into a playoff team yet again. Latham is a powerful offensive tackle who lands his strikes accurately and plays with a high football IQ and mean streak.

15. Pittsburgh Steelers: Michael Hall Jr., DL, Ohio State

Pittsburgh drafted a pro-ready 1-tech in the form of Keeanu Benton this year, but they could double-dip with an explosive 3-tech in Hall, who has the pass-rushing upside to dominate as Cameron Heyward’s eventual replacement.

16. Minnesota Vikings: Bralen Trice, EDGE, Washington

With Danielle Hunter the subject of trade rumors and Marcus Davenport only on a one-year deal, Minnesota could find a powerful, polished and tenacious edge rusher like Trice appealing in Round 1.

17. Houston Texans (via Browns): Xavier Worthy, WR, Texas

C.J. Stroud could use a bonafide WR1 in Houston, and a dynamic athlete with length and elite agility after the catch like Worthy could help transform the Texans’ offense.

18. Los Angeles Chargers: Jer’Zhan Newton, DL, Illinois

Newton is a quick-twitched defensive tackle with a deep bag of tricks to get into opposing backfields, and he has the gap awareness needed to be a high-quality starter at the next level. He could have been an early-round pick in 2023, but a team like the Chargers could take a shot on him because of his extremely high floor.

19. New Orleans Saints: Rome Odunze, WR, Washington

It seems like a massive stretch that Michael Thomas gets back to his old, pre-injury self, so the Saints could be in the market for another wide receiver to pair with Chris Olave. Odunze has size, ball skills and fluidity that could make him a solid boundary weapon at the next level.

20. New York Giants: Malik Nabers, WR, LSU

While the Saints opt for a more fluid mover across the middle of the field in Odunze, Nabers brings superior deep speed and creativity after the catch and could end up as a quality weapon in New York’s offense in this hypothetical.

21. Detroit Lions: Leonard Taylor, DL, Miami (FL)

The Lions didn’t do much to address their pass-rushing along the interior. While their defensive tackle group seems like it could be a solid unit against the run, they could really use an explosive defensive tackle who can beat blockers with quickness like Taylor.

22. Miami Dolphins: Ja’Tavion Sanders, TE, Texas

Sanders is an athletic pass-catching tight end with ideal ball skills and the deep speed needed to stretch the field vertically out of the slot, out wide or in an in-line role. The Dolphins already have a talented group of weapons, but drafting an uber-athlete at tight end could help them take their offense to an even higher level.

23. Jacksonville Jaguars: Kalen King, CB, Penn State

Though he doesn’t have elite size or physicality, King is an intelligent cover corner with some of the quickest processing and most fluid hips you’ll see of any cornerback in college football this upcoming season.

24. Green Bay Packers (via Jets): Javon Bullard, S, Georgia

The Packers restructured Darnell Savage’s contract and doesn’t have a contract extended in the long run, and Adrian Amos is no longer in the secondary. A rangy safety like Bullard could be a welcomed addition to their talented defense.

25. Seattle Seahawks: J.J. McCarthy, QB, Michigan

Will Geno Smith’s early-season success from 2022 be sustainable? Even if it does, he turns 33 in October. McCarthy is a tad raw but is an elite athlete at quarterback with an elastic arm and some tremendous flashes of playmaking ability on tape.

26. Baltimore Ravens: Kamari Lassiter, CB, Georgia

Lassiter is a fluid athlete at cornerback who plays with good instincts through a wide receiver’s stems, and he has a well-rounded skill set. The Ravens have had a revolving door in the secondary over the years, and a pro-ready talent like him could help them achieve long-term stability.

27. Dallas Cowboys: Cooper DeJean, CB, Iowa

Armed with top-notch speed and ball skills, DeJean is a bonafide playmaker at cornerback with tremendous size and length. He and Trevon Diggs would form an impressive young duo in Dallas’ secondary.

28. Buffalo Bills: TreVeyon Henderson, RB, Ohio State

It feels cheap to draft a running back to the Bills early, but they didn’t do it this year, and Henderson is an elusive ball-carrier who makes smart decisions out of the backfield and offers legit big-play value.

29. San Francisco 49ers: Kingsley Suamataia, OT, BYU

A mobile athlete with ideal length at offensive tackle like Suamataia would make a good Mike McGlinchey replacement, as well as someone who could improve the intricacies of playing the position from a future Hall of Famer in Trent Williams.

30. Cincinnati Bengals: Donovan Jackson, OG, Ohio State

Though Jackson’s pad level and strike placement could improve a bit, he has a high ceiling with very good body control, nice mobility in space and a nasty demeanor along the interior.

31. Philadelphia Eagles: Denzel Burke, CB, Ohio State

The Eagles would jump all over the chance to draft someone like Burke, whose physicality, size and fluidity give him a high ceiling at cornerback, especially with a dominant Eagles defensive line in front of him.

32. Kansas City Chiefs: Brandon Dorlus, DL, Oregon

Dorlus has inside-outside versatility along the defensive line with an intriguing combination of anchor strength, first-step acceleration and a diverse pass-rushing arsenal at his disposal.

Round 2

33. Arizona Cardinals: Cooper Beebe, OG, Kansas State

34. Houston Texans: Jason Marshall Jr., CB, Florida

35. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Jeremiah Trotter Jr., LB, Clemson

36. Los Angeles Rams: Bo Nix, QB, Oregon

37. Indianapolis Colts: Kris Abrams-Draine, CB, Missouri

38. Arizona Cardinals (via Commanders): Laiatu Latu, EDGE, UCLA

39. Atlanta Falcons: Tyleik Williams, DL, Ohio State

40. Green Bay Packers: Ruke Orhorhoro, DL, Clemson

41. Tennessee Titans: Amarius Mims, OT, Georgia

42. Carolina Panthers: Jack Sawyer, EDGE, Ohio State

43. Las Vegas Raiders: Nate Wiggins, CB, Clemson

44. Chicago Bears: Sedrick Van Pran, OC, Georgia

A high-motored center prospect with pro-ready athleticism and play strength, Van Pran likely would have been a Day 2 pick in the 2023 draft had he declared. He would be a quality replacement for Cody Whitehair should the Bears look for a younger option at center.

45. New Orleans Saints (via Broncos): Chop Robinson, EDGE, Penn State

46. New England Patriots: Johnny Wilson, WR, Florida State

47. Pittsburgh Steelers: Barrett Carter, LB, Clemson

48. Minnesota Vikings: Calen Bullock, S, USC

49. Cleveland Browns: Tommy Eichenberg, LB, Ohio State

50. Los Angeles Chargers: Raheim Sanders, RB, Arkansas

51. Philadelphia Eagles (via Saints): Jack Nelson, OT, Wisconsin

52. New York Giants: Kamren Kinchens, S, Miami (FL)

53. Detroit Lions: Troy Franklin, WR, Oregon

54. Miami Dolphins: Zach Frazier, OC, West Virginia

55. Jacksonville Jaguars: Andrew Mukuba, S, Clemson

56. New York Jets: Blake Fisher, OT, Notre Dame

57. Seattle Seahawks: Princely Umanmielen, EDGE, Florida

58. Baltimore Ravens: Braelon Allen, RB, Wisconsin

59. Dallas Cowboys: Christian Mahogany, OG, Boston College

60. Buffalo Bills: Jacob Cowing, WR, Arizona

61. San Francisco 49ers: Bryce Foster, OC, Texas A&M

62. Cincinnati Bengals: Mekhi Wingo, DL, LSU

63. Philadelphia Eagles: Rod Moore, S, Michigan

64. Kansas City Chiefs: Quinyon Mitchell, CB, Toledo