NFL Mock Draft: Where Things Stand After 4 Weeks

The NFL season is young - here's how the draft would fall with the current dominoes in place.

Texas Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers (3) warms up ahead of the Longhorns' game against the UTSA Roadrunners at Darrell K RoyalÐTexas Memorial Stadium, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. / Sara Diggins/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

We are now a quarter through the 2024 NFL season! We are beginning to identify the good and bad teams in the league, plus the weaknesses and needs of every team are being unveiled for us to begin analyzing and assessing how to address and fix them.

There are a lot of returning faces to this mock, as the top guys heading into the year have continued to dominate. There are, however, several new names and faces to get to know with the draft showing off some depth as some players usurp others in the rankings.

The draft order comes from Tankathon, so don’t harass me if you think I’m being “disrespectful” to your team. This is simply how the draft would look if the season ended today.

That being said, let’s get this part started already!
The Jacksonville Jaguars are on the clock…

1. Jacksonville Jaguars

The pick: Kelvin Banks Jr, Offensive Tackle, Texas

The Jaguars have been nothing short of disappointing and an overhaul of the coaching staff is desperately needed. The team is bought into Trevor Lawrence, literally, so they need to make sure he’s placed in a position to succeed. The offensive line needs to be shored up with an elite blocker and Banks is just that.

2. Miami Dolphins

The pick: Mason Graham, Interior Defensive Lineman, Michigan

The Dolphins’ fall from grace to start the year is almost entirely tied to Tua Tagovailoa’s concussion and many fans and analysts are hoping he hangs up the cleats before his long history of concussions gets any worse. Does that mean the Dolphins could go quarterback here? Absolutely.
However, until the do decide to move on from Tua, who they just gave an extension to, we need to focus on building the rest of the roster. The hole left by Christian Wilkins on the defensive interior cannot be overstated. Graham is another star in this class who has an argument to be the top overall player. I can’t think of many perfect replacements, only that Miami wishes they could’ve gotten him sooner.

3. New England Patriots

The pick: Will Campbell, Offensive Tackle, LSU

Part of the reason the Patriots supposedly won’t start Drake Maye is because of the offensive line and it’s not hard to see why they think that. The Pats have to overhaul the line, and it starts with a premium draft pick on a premium player. Campbell will be debated all offseason with Banks as the draft’s top offensive lineman. The Patriots will be happy with whoever is available when they pick.

4. Cincinnati Bengals

The pick: Travis Hunter, Wide Receiver/Cornerback, Colorado

Not a single person would’ve been able to tell you that the Bengals would enter the season struggling as much as they have. The offense just isn’t the same, although it’s still very good, and the defense is atrocious. Let’s give Cincy a player who can help both sides of the ball. Hunter is simply a weapon. He’s proving to be an elite receiver while also showing the lockdown capabilities to be one of the best corners in the nation. The Bengals will take Hunter and appreciate his usefulness on both sides of the football. Whether it’s becoming Tee Higgins’ eventual replacement across from Ja’Marr Chase or becoming the team’s top cover man, it’s a win/win for Cincinnati.

5. Cleveland Browns

The pick: Tetairoa McMillan, Wide Receiver, Arizona

Deshaun Watson is terrible and the Browns’ trade for him is perhaps the worst in history across any sport. Cleveland must seriously consider a quarterback here, but for now they will address another massive weakness on this roster: Wide receiver. T-Mac was built in a lab. He’s 6’5 and 212 pounds with great long speed and a catch radius as big as any receiver could provide. McMillan looks like a clone of Mike Evans when he came out of Texas A&M. The Browns could be ready to move on from an aging Amari Cooper and they don’t have anything else worth mentioning at the position. McMillan is WR1 in the class and the new WR1 in Cleveland.

6. Tennessee Titans

The pick: Shedeur Sanders, Quarterback, Colorado

Will Levis is #NotGood and head coach Brian Callahan already seems at his wits ends with the second-year QB. Unless Levis flips a switch in a dramatic way, there’s no reason the Titans shouldn’t move on and get their guy. Plus, QB1 is available just outside the top five picks. Jackpot!

Say what you will about Sanders’ immaturity and theatrics, but he’s a damn good quarterback that can make any throw. Tennessee will gladly pull the trigger here and give Callahan his hand-picked QB. Sanders would thrive in this offense.

7. Carolina Panthers

The pick: The pick: Emery Jones Jr, Offensive Tackle, LSU

Bryce Young may not be a Panthers quarterback next season, which would mean they need a quarterback. However, until that happens, we will continue to build around the former number one overall pick. Jones is an elite athlete for his position and can easily be slated in at right tackle opposite Ickey Ekwonu and give Carolina a much more stable front to keep Young upright.

8. Los Angeles Rams

The pick: Will Johnson, Cornerback, Michigan

Do you think the Rams regret trading Jalen Ramsey? I certainly do, and it’s time they get an elite player to replace him. Johnson is the definition of a “lockdown” cornerback with elite size at 6’2 and a ton of accolades to support his case as CB1 in the class. Even Johnson’s bad games are still good days for most corners and nearly everything he does is teach-tape for youngsters. The Rams are reloading this defense. The front-seven looks great, now it’s time to get an ace cover man. 

9. Arizona Cardinals

The pick: James Pearce Jr, Edge Rusher, Tennessee

Pearce hasn’t exploded the way we hoped and thought he would this year, but a huge reason for that has been the massive rotation the Vols have been doing in non-conference play. With SEC opponents coming up, I imagine he’ll get much busier and more productive. Even without the stats, Pearce is everything you want from an edge rusher. The Cardinals have been able to manufacture a pass rush, but that defense will get figured out sooner rather than later, and it might have already been exposed by the Commanders. Lining up Pearce opposite a healthy Darius Robinson plus the return of B.J. Ojulari next year will dramatically improve the Cards’ ability to get after the quarterback

10. New York Giants

The pick: Carson Beck, Quarterback, Georgia

Daniel Jones is bad at quarterback. Ok, maybe that is a huge understatement, but the Giants absolutely need to move on and get a competent guy under center. Beck has his issues for sure and Alabama exposed some of them this past weekend. However, Beck also carved up Bama’s secondary and showed why he is still talked about as QB1 for this class. Grabbing Beck at 10 feels like a steal for a team that needs a quarterback worse than any team in the NFL.

11. Indianapolis Colts

The pick: Benjamin Morrison, Cornerback, Notre Dame

The Colts could really use an alpha in the secondary. There are several stud players back there, notably Kenny Moore, but they need a young buck with an attitude who can lockup his assignment for 60 minutes. Morrison fits that bill perfectly and has ball skills to go with his coverage abilities.

12. Los Angeles Chargers

The pick: Colston Loveland, Tight End, Michigan

This pick makes sense because Loveland played for Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh, right? Sure, but it makes more sense when you consider the importance of a tight end in Greg Roman’s offense and that the Bolts haven’t had a standout tight end since Antonio Gates. Loveland is a terrific receiver and all-around player who already has familiarity with Harbaugh. Justin Herbert will be thrilled to have a consistent option to target and in an offense historically favored to the tight end spot.

13. New Orleans Saints

The pick: Luther Burden III, Wide Receiver, Missouri

Chris Olave is elite. Rashid Shaheed is explosive but as hot and cold as the come. Nothing else at wide receiver is good enough in the Big Easy and the Saints can’t expect their offense to get back on track without someone across from Olave. Burden has been compared to Deebo Samuel as a player who you just put the ball in his hands and let him make plays. He hasn’t had a breakout in the first month of the year, but that’s far from his problem.

For what it’s worth, the Saints could look at a quarterback here, but Derek Carr is good enough for them to continue rebuilding this roster before the pull the trigger on a new signal caller. Plus, they seem to like Spencer Rattler anyways… right, wrong, or indifferent.

14. Dallas Cowboys

The pick: Ashton Jeanty, Running Back, Boise State

The Cowboys have to be bashing their head against the wall that they didn’t shovel out the cash to bring in Derrick Henry. Instead, they have one of the worst rushing attacks in the NFL with Ezekiel Elliott and Rico Dowdle. The Cowboys are at their best when they have a weapon out of the backfield. Jeanty is a Heisman Trophy front runner even playing at a G5 school thanks to his historic numbers to start the season. He sheds contact as if he’s 250 pounds, has the contact balance of a player who’s 80 pounds lighter than that, and blends it all with natural receiving abilities. He’s arguably the best offensive player in the draft. Jeanty with Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb would feed families in Dallas.

15. Chicago Bears

The pick: Aireontae Ersery, Offensive Tackle, Minnesota

Caleb Williams has been running for his life all season behind perhaps the worst offensive line in football. They could seriously blow it up with five new starters and it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. The 2025 draft has tons of depth at varying positions, but offensive line is not one of them. Thankfully, Chicago gets a stud offensive tackle that is getting better as the weeks progress. Ersery could be the best offensive lineman for Chicago from the moment they announce his name on draft day.

16. Green Bay Packers

The pick: Deone Walker, Interior Defensive Lineman, Kentucky

The Packers are a great team even without a litany of All-Pro players which makes nailing down a true position of need a tad difficult. Green Bay’s defensive line is quality but needs reinforcements and some more youth. Walker is a freak. At 6’5 and 345 pounds, Walker shouldn’t be able to move around and dominate the line of scrimmage like he does, yet he does it every weekend. Rotating him with Kenny Clark and Devonte Wyatt would be a ton of fun to watch.

17. San Francisco 49ers

The pick: Jonah Savaiinaea, Interior Offensive Lineman, Arizona

If you take Trent Williams off the 49ers offensive line, you’d quickly realize how mediocre at best they are. Williams did sign a new deal this summer, but that doesn’t mean he’ll play forever or that the rest of the offensive line will be able to keep up. Savaiinaea is a terrific player who projects better at guard than tackle at the next level, but he’s simply a plug and play starter on the line. The Niners will happily take him, throw him somewhere, and watch him become a household name.

18. Baltimore Ravens

The pick: Tyler Booker, Interior Offensive Lineman, Alabama

The Ravens offensive line is what I would describe as an island of misfit toys with no true stars and lots of rotation to make things work. Baltimore has gotten some things figured out as the season has progressed, but they still don’t have anyone on the line that you look at and call a cornerstone. Like Savaiinaea, Booker projects better inside at the next level and like the 49ers, the Ravens will happily take him, plug him in somewhere, and watch him dominate. You’d think Derrick Henry would approve of a road grader in the interior. 

19. Philadelphia Eagles

The pick: Mykel Williams, Edge Rusher, Georgia

What do we do with Williams? The Georgia standout is elite across the board, but he’s been banged up this year and has yet to harness is potential. Even with that said, he’s a phenomenal player and Georgia is 100x better when he’s on the field. When everything finally comes together, Williams will be no worse than a top 10 player in the draft class entirely.

The Eagles pass rush hasn’t lived up to expectations and the pass rush needs major help. Philadelphia has loved drafting Georgia football players in recent years, but Williams could have the highest ceiling of any of the Bulldogs they drafted… and that says A LOT about Williams.

20. New York Jets

The pick: Malaki Starks, Safety, Georgia

Starks is too good of a player to last to the 20th overall pick, but he slips because of team needs and because the safety position isn’t valued nearly as much as the players who went before him. No worries, the Jets will make their great defense even better by adding a superstar to their elite secondary. The Bulldog has the range to be a ball hawk when he wants to be and to shutdown the deep part of the field at all times. A secondary with Starks, Sauce Gardner, and D.J. Reed will be as difficult to throw on as any in the league.

21. Las Vegas Raiders

The pick: Quinn Ewers, Quarterback, Texas

The Raiders are outperforming expectations for now, but they’re going to come back down to earth eventually now that their quarterbacks are getting exposed for what they are. The Raiders cannot compete in the AFC West, let alone the rest of the conference until they get a franchise quarterback. There are injury concerns with Ewers, however he’s too good to pass up at 21. You could justify a top 10 pick on him; the mock just so happened to work out to where Las Vegas got him at 21 instead.

22. Denver Broncos

The pick: Kenneth Grant, Interior Defensive Lineman, Michigan

The Broncos are a weird team. Are they good enough or are they terrible? We’ve seen both sides of this coin in the first month of the year. The best thing they can do is continue to add talent via the “best player available” strategy. Grant is a big dude at 6’3 and 339 pounds with some pass rushing prowess and gap plugging expertise. Grant would be a welcome addition to a lack luster Broncos defense that has to find a way to keep up with the rest of the AFC’s top offenses.

23. Atlanta Falcons

The pick: Nic Scourton, Edge Rusher, Texas A&M

Scourton is someone I’ve legitimately seen go first overall in some mock drafts and perhaps I am underrating him a bit. However, I simply believe he’s a step or two behind the edge rushers who went ahead of him and the rest of the picks made were based more on need. That said, the Falcons need an edge rusher and Scourton is perfect for them. Atlanta has been trying to find their ace pass rusher for over a decade now. Hopefully Scourton can be the answer, but he’s a damn good option to try out whether it’s at 23 on inside the top 10 picks for Atlanta.

24. Detroit Lions

The pick: Abdul Carter, Edge Rusher, Penn State

There’s still no consensus as to whether Carter should move back to linebacker full time or continue developing him as an edge rusher. I personally lean toward the latter and his athleticism and size profile backup that side of the argument well. The Lions defense is clever enough to utilize Carter in multiple different ways, but lining him up opposite of Aidan Hutchinson would give Detroit bookend pass rushers to go with a beefed up interior defensive line. Add in their linebacker room and a young secondary and you could see the Lions defense take a massive step forward in 2025.

25. Washington Commanders

The pick: Isaiah Bond, Wide Receiver, Texas

Jayden Daniels might be him. With his big arm and elite running ability, the Commanders have seemingly found their franchise quarterback that can get them back to relevance. A wide-open NFC East also gives them a chance to compete this year. Moving forward, the offense needs more weapons for Daniels. Terry McLaurin is elite, but he’s needed a running mate for far too long. Bond is a stupidly fast receiver that has playmaking skills out the wazoo. Having Bond stretch the field in this offense  feels like a dream come true for Commanders fans.

26. Buffalo Bills

The pick: Shavon Revel Jr, Cornerback, East Carolina

Revel’s senior year came to an end after he tore his ACL about two weeks ago. Revel was quickly making a name for himself and seemed destined to become a top 15 pick. While he likely won’t get taken that high, it would be a shock for someone to not grab him on day one and be patient for him to be 100% ready. The Bills need help in their secondary and Revel is instantly their best defensive back. Once he’s fully recovered, he’ll waste little time making himself a household name.

27. Seattle Seahawks

The pick: Jalen Milroe, Quarterback, Alabama

Geno Smith is only under contract for one more year an while the Seahawks could decide to extend the veteran quarterback, they may be better off finding his heir. Milroe is a superstar in college and one of the front runners for the Heisman Trophy tanks to his big arm and elite running ability. With the weapons already on this offense, Milroe can dominate immediately, but Seattle can also sit him behind Smith to get acclimated to the next level.

28. Pittsburgh Steelers

The pick: Cam Ward, Quarterback, Miami

Justin Fields is getting it done for now, but the Steelers must start thinking about the future and both Fields and Russell Wilson are set to be free agents after this year anyways. Instead of paying one of the two average quarterbacks, why not roll the dice on a youngster who is firmly in the Heisman Trophy race? Ward has highs and lows, but his highs make him one of the most exciting QB prospects in the class. Pittsburgh would be ecstatic to add the high-ceiling gun slinger and catch up with the rest of the AFC quarterbacks.

29. Houston Texans

The pick: Harold Perkins Jr, Linebacker, LSU

I’ll keep making this pick in my mocks until I’m blue in the face. Perkins is a perfect fit for this Texans defense and DeMeco Ryans can find an instant role for him to play like a Defensive Rookie of the Year player. Perkins doesn’t have a perfect position since he’s undersized, but his pass rushing prowess is too good to ignore. Give him to Ryans and watch him explode.

30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The pick: Emeka Egbuka, Wide Receiver, Ohio State

Chris Godwin is an all-timer for the Bucs, but he’s a free agent after this season and the team may be better off letting him go and drafting a younger and cheaper player to replace him. Egbuka went back to Ohio State for his senior season to prove he’s still a star and his injury plagued 2023 season was an outlier. Thus far, mission accomplished. Egbuka is a perfect WR2 for an offense and across from Mike Evans he will flourish.

31. Minnesota Vikings

The pick: Walter Nolen, Interior Defensive Line, Ole Miss

The former number one overall recruit has found his groove in Oxford after transferring from Texas A&M and he seems to begetting better as the weeks go by. Nolen could be drafted significantly higher by the time the draft rolls around, but there’s no way a team could let him fall out of the first round. The Vikings will gladly add him to their defense and get some more juice from their defensive line.

32. Kansas City Chiefs

The pick: Tre Harris, Wide Receiver, Ole Miss

Remember when the Chiefs finally rebuilt their wide receiver room after signing Marquise Brown and drafting Xavier Worthy to join Rashee Rice? Well, Brown is set to miss the whole year, and Rice is now injured indefinitely. Pressure is on Worthy to perform, but it will once again be up to Mahomes to make this air attack work. Let’s give them Harris, who has been arguably the best receiver in college football this year. Harris is a perfect X-receiver especially if Rice gets suspended next season for his off-the-field troubles.