NFL mock drafts 2024: Compare latest from Mel Kiper, Daniel Jeremiah, & more experts

Jacob Camenker

NFL mock drafts 2024: Compare latest from Mel Kiper, Daniel Jeremiah, & more experts image

The countdown to the 2024 NFL Draft is on, and in just a couple of weeks, fans will finally know which players their teams are selecting with their coveted early-round draft picks.

Per usual, the early stages of the draft will revolve around quarterbacks. As many as six signal-callers could go in the first round, and as each draft draws nearer, the order in which they will come off the boat is becoming clearer and clearer.

There are still plenty of mysteries about the 2024 NFL Draft. Many are wondering who will be the first defensive player off the board, and others are keeping a close eye on the pecking order at offensive tackle and wide receiver.

With that in mind, Sporting News is breaking down several top mock drafts ahead of the actual draft to see how experts see the first round taking shape.

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Vinnie Iyer's mock draft (The Sporting News)

Iyer's latest mock draft was released April 1:

Pick Team Player Position School
1 Chicago Bears (from CAR) Caleb Williams QB USC
2 Washington Commanders Drake Maye QB North Carolina
3 New England Patriots Jayden Daniels QB LSU
4 Arizona Cardinals Marvin Harrison Jr. WR Ohio State
5 Los Angeles Chargers Brock Bowers TE Georgia
6 New York Giants Malik Nabers WR LSU
7 Tennessee Titans Joe Alt OT Notre Dame
8 Atlanta Falcons Dallas Turner EDGE Alabama
9 Chicago Bears Laiatu Latu EDGE UCLA
10 New York Jets Rome Odunze WR Washington
11 Minnesota Vikings J.J. McCarthy QB Michigan
12 Denver Broncos Bo Nix QB Oregon
13 Las Vegas Raiders Taliese Fuaga OL Oregon State
14 New Orleans Saints Olumuyiwa Fashanu OT Penn State
15 Indianapolis Colts Nate Wiggins CB Clemson
16 Seattle Seahawks Jared Verse EDGE Florida State
17 Jacksonville Jaguars Terrion Arnold CB Alabama
18 Cincinnati Bengals J.C. Latham OT Alabama
19 Los Angeles Rams Cooper DeJean CB Iowa
20 Pittsburgh Steelers Amarius Mims OT Georgia
21 Miami Dolphins Byron Murphy II DT Texas
22 Philadelphia Eagles Quinyon Mitchell CB Toledo
23 Minnesota Vikings (from HOU via CLE) Johnny Newton DT Illinois
24 Dallas Cowboys Jackson Powers-Johnson G Oregon
25 Green Bay Packers Tyler Guyton OT Oklahoma
26 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Kool-Aid McKinstry CB Alabama
27 Arizona Cardinals (from HOU) Troy Fautanu G Washington
28 Buffalo Bills Brian Thomas Jr. WR LSU
29 Detroit Lions Chop Robinson EDGE Penn State
30 Baltimore Ravens Graham Barton OL Duke
31 San Francisco 49ers Ennis Rakestraw Jr. CB Missi=ouri
32 Kansas City Chiefs Kingsley Suamataia OT BYU

Noteworthy: 

— Five quarterbacks go within the top 12 picks, and notably, Drake Maye comes off the board as the No. 2 quarterback. He and Jayden Daniels are expected to be the draft's second and third picks in some order, though Michigan's J.J. McCarthy is gaining momentum late as a top-three possibility.

— Speaking of McCarthy, he lands with the Vikings in this mock. That seems to be the most popular landing spot for him, and Minnesota could ultimately trade up for the national championship winner if they are smitten with him.

— Offense is expected to dominate the early portion of the 2024 NFL Draft. This mock sees just 10 defensive players selected in the first round and only two in the top 14 picks.

MORE: NFL Draft big board of top 125 players

Mel Kiper's mock draft (ESPN)

Kiper's latest mock draft was released April 10:

Pick Team Player Position School
1 Chicago Bears (from CAR) Caleb Williams QB USC
2 Washington Commanders Jayden Daniels QB LSU
3 New England Patriots Drake Maye QB North Carolina
4 Arizona Cardinals Marvin Harrison Jr. WR Ohio State
5 Minnesota Vikings (projected trade with LAC) J.J. McCarthy QB Michigan
6 New York Giants Malik Nabers WR LSUd
7 Tennessee Titans Joe Alt OT Notre Dame
8 Atlanta Falcons Dallas Turner EDGE Alabama
9 Chicago Bears Rome Odunze WR Washington
10 New York Jets Brock Bowers TE Georgia
11 Los Angeles Chargers (via MIN) JC Latham OT Alabama
12 Denver Broncos Quinyon Mitchell CB Toldeo
13 Las Vegas Raiders Taliese Fuaga OT Oregon State
14 New Orleans Saints Olumuyiwa Fashanu OT Penn State
15 Indianapolis Colts Terrion Arnold CB Alabama
16 Seattle Seahawks Troy Fautanu G Washington
17 Jacksonville Jaguars Cooper DeJean CB Iowa
18 Cincinnati Bengals Byron Murphy II DT Texas
19 Los Angeles Rams Laiatu Latu EDGE UCLA
20 Pittsburgh Steelers Graham Barton OL Duke
21 Miami Dolphins Jared Verse EDGE Florida State
22 Philadelphia Eagles Nate Wiggins CB Clemson
23 Los Angeles Chargers (proj. trade with LAC) Xavier Worthy WR Texas
24 Dallas Cowboys Tyler Guyton OT Oklahoma
25 Green Bay Packers Amarius Mims OT Georgia
26 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Chop Robinson EDGE Penn State
27 Arizona Cardinals (from HOU) Darius Robinson DL Missouri
28 Buffalo Bills Brian Thomas Jr. WR LSU
29 Detroit Lions Adonai Mitchell WR Texas
30 Baltimore Ravens Kool-Aid McKinstry CB Alabama
31 San Francisco 49ers Roger Rosengarten OT Washington
32 Kansas City Chiefs Xavier Legette WR South Carolina

Noteworthy: 

— Unlike Iyer's draft, only four quarterbacks are selected in the first round of Kiper's latest mock. Neither Michael Penix Jr. nor Box Nix make it into the first round, but four quarterbacks go in the top five. Notably, Kiper has Daniels ahead of Maye and the Vikings trading up to the No. 5 pick to get McCarthy.

— The Broncos and Raiders both pass on quarterbacks in the first round. Instead, the Broncos go with an athletic, high-upside cornerback who can partner with Patrick Surtain II in Quinyon Mitchell, and the Raiders address their weaknesses on the right side of the offensive line with physical tackle Taliese Fuaga.

— As part of their projected trade down, the Chargers get both of Minnesota's first-round picks. If Los Angeles lands JC Latham to upgrade its blocking and Xavier Worthy to add speed to its offense, that would be a successful start to the Jim Harbaugh era. 

Daniel Jeremiah's mock draft (NFL Network)

Jeremiah's latest mock draft was released on March 19:

Pick Team Player Position School
1 Chicago Bears (from CAR) Caleb Williams QB USC
2 Washington Commanders Drake Maye QB North Carolina
3 New England Patriots Jayden Daniels QB LSU
4 Minnesota Vikings (projected trade with ARI) J.J. McCarthy QB Michigan
5 New York Jets (projected trade with LAC) Marvin Harrison Jr. WR Ohio State
6 New York Giants Malik Nabers WR LSU
7 Tennessee Titans Joe Alt OT Notre Dame
8 Atlanta Falcons Dallas Turner EDGE Alabama
9 Chicago Bears Rome Odunze WR Washington
10 Los Angeles Chargers (projected trade with NYJ) Taliese Fuaga OT Oregon State
11 Arizona Cardinals (projected trade with MIN) Jared Verse EDGE Florida State
12 Denver Broncos Brock Bowers TE Georgia
13 Las Vegas Raiders Michael Penix Jr. QB Washington
14 New Orleans Saints Olumuyiwa Fashanu OT Penn State
15 Indianapolis Colts Quinyon Mitchell CB Toledo
16 Seattle Seahawks Troy Fautanu OT Washington
17 Jacksonville Jaguars Terrion Arnold CB Alabama
18 Cincinnati Bengals JC Latham OT Alabama
19 Los Angeles Rams Laiatu Latu EDGE UCLA
20 Pittsburgh Steelers Tyler Guyton OT Oklahoma
21 Miami Dolphins Graham Barton OL Duke
22 Philadelphia Eagles Nate Wiggins CB Clemson
23 Arizona Cardinals (projected trade with MIN) Brian Thomas Jr. WR LSU
24 Dallas Cowboys Jackson Powers-Johnson OL Oregon
25 Green Bay Packers Amarius Mims OT Georgia
26 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Darius Robinson EDGE Missouri
27 Arizona Cardinals (from HOU) Byron Murphy II DT Texas
28 Buffalo Bills Jer'Zhan Newton DT Illinois
29 Detroit Lions Kool-Aid McKinstry CB Alabama
30 Baltimore Ravens Cooper DeJean CB Iowa
31 San Francisco 49ers Chop Robinson EDGE Penn State
32 Kansas City Chiefs Adonai Mitchell WR Texas

Noteworthy: 

— Jeremiah gets a little crazy with this one, as he has the Vikings trading up to No. 4 to get J.J. McCarthy. Four quarterbacks have never gone consecutively to start a draft, so a trade-up from Minnesota could make history.

— Jeremiah is also the only analyst to have Michael Penix Jr. in the first round of his mock draft. He has the Washington product going to the Raiders at 13 because he thinks Penix "is a unique fit for the Raiders’ style of play."

— Bo Nix doesn't make the cut in this mock draft despite Penix's inclusion. That's partially because the Broncos — one of Nix's top projected landing spots — went with tight end Brock Bowers at 12 overall rather than a quarterback.

Todd McShay's mock draft

McShay has not yet released his first full mock draft for 2024.

Dane Brugler's mock draft (The Athletic)

Brugler's latest mock draft was released on March 5:

Pick Team Player Position School
1 Chicago Bears (from CAR) Caleb Williams QB USC
2 Washington Commanders Drake Maye QB North Carolina
3 Atlanta Falcons (from NEP) Jayden Daniels QB LSU
4 Arizona Cardinals Marvin Harrison Jr. WR Ohio State
5 Chicago Bears (from LAC) Rome Odunze WR Washington
6 New York Giants Malik Nabers WR LSU
7 Minnesota Vikings (from TEN) J.J. McCarthy QB Michigan
8 New England Patriots (from ATL) Joe Alt OT Notre Dame
9 Los Angeles Chargers (from CHI) Taliese Fuaga OT Oregon State
10 New York Jets Olumuyiwa Fashanu OT Penn State
11 Tennessee Titans (from MIN) J.C. Latham OT Alabama
12 Denver Broncos Brock Bowers TE Georgia
13 Las Vegas Raiders Quinyon Mitchell CB Toledo
14 New Orleans Saints Dallas Turner EDGE Alabama
15 Indianapolis Colts Brian Thomas Jr. WR LSU
16 Pittsburgh Steelers (from SEA) Amarius Mims OT Georgia
17 Philadelphia Eagles (from JAX) Terrion Arnold CB Alabama
18 Cincinnati Bengals Byron Murphy DT Texas
19 Los Angeles Rams Jared Verse EDGE Florida State
20 Seattle Seahawks (from PIT) Jackson Powers-Johnson G/C Oregon
21 Miami Dolphins Troy Fautanu G Washington
22 Jacksonville Jaguars (from PHI) Nate Wiggins CB Clemson
23 Houston Texans (from CLE) Laiatu Latu EDGE UCLA
24 Buffalo Bills (from DAL) Adonai Mitchell WR Texas
25 Green Bay Packers Cooper DeJean CB Iowa
26 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Graham Barton G/C Duke
27 Arizona Cardinals (from HOU) Darius Robinson DL Missouri
28 Dallas Cowboys (from BUF) Tyler Guyton OT Oklahoma
29 Detroit Lions Chop Robinson EDGE Penn State
30 Carolina Panthers (from BAL) Ladd McConkey WR Georgia
31 San Francisco 49ers Jordan Morgan OT/G Arizona
32 Kansas City Chiefs Xavier Worthy WR Texas

Noteworthy: 

— Brugler's projecting a trade-filled first-round. There are seven trades made in the draft, including the Falcons moving up to third overall and the Panthers moving into the first round by dealing with the Ravens.

— The runs on quarterbacks, receivers, and offensive tackles ensure that a defensive player doesn't come off the board until the 13th pick. That would be Toledo's Quinyon Mitchell, who seems increasingly likely to be the first cornerback selected after his stellar showing at the NFL Combine.

— This is another mock that has McCarthy going in the top 10. He goes at No. 7 overall to the Vikings, who trade up to get him. That jump isn't as high as the leap the Vikings make in Jeremiah's mock, but clearly, draft analysts believe that Minnesota likes McCarthy.

Jacob Camenker

Jacob Camenker Photo

Jacob Camenker first joined The Sporting News as a fantasy football intern in 2018 after his graduation from UMass. He became a full-time employee with TSN in 2021 and now serves as a senior content producer with a particular focus on the NFL. Jacob worked at NBC Sports Boston as a content producer from 2019 to 2021. He is an avid fan of the NFL Draft and ranked 10th in FantasyPros’ Mock Draft Accuracy metric in both 2021 and 2022.