2024 NFL Mock Draft: Predictions for Nation's Elite Prospects

We are just days away from the first 18 picks of the NFL draft being finalized. The regular season ends on Sunday, which will lock in draft positions for teams that did not make the playoffs.

That will kick mock draft intrigue into a higher gear as hope springs eternal for fans looking for collegiate prospects to reshape franchise fates.

This year has no shortage on elite talent at numerous positions. Of course, quarterback leads the way with a trio standing atop the list in USC's Caleb Williams, UNC's Drake Maye and reigning Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels of LSU.

However, the best prospect of them all may be Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., who sports an eye-popping grade of 9.7 out of 10 on B/R's latest big board.

Elsewhere, there's a pair of offensive tackles (Penn State's Olumuyiwa Fashanu and Notre Dame's Joe Alt) at the top of the list right now, as well as a blue-chip tight end prospect (Brock Bowers) and a host of edge-rushers who will go Round 1 as well.

We're still nearly four months away from the start of the NFL draft, which will take place from April 25-27 in Detroit. In the meantime, here's a look at a mock with some trades and notes on elite prospects.

2024 NFL Mock Draft

1. New England Patriots (via trade with Chicago): USC QB Caleb Williams

2. Washington Commanders: UNC QB Drake Maye

3. Chicago Bears (via trade with New England): Ohio State WR Marvin Harrison Jr.

4. New York Giants (via trade with Arizona): LSU QB Jayden Daniels

5. Arizona Cardinals (via trade with Giants): LSU WR Malik Nabers

6. Atlanta Falcons (via trade with Chargers): Washington QB Michael Penix Jr.

7. Tennessee Titans: Penn State OT Olumuyiwa Fashanu

8. New York Jets: Notre Dame OT Joe Alt

9. Los Angeles Chargers (via trade with Atlanta): UGA TE Brock Bowers

10. Denver Broncos (trade with Chicago Bears): Oregon QB Bo Nix

11. Las Vegas Raiders: Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy

12. Minnesota Vikings: UCLA EDGE Laiatu Latu

13. New Orleans Saints: Alabama EDGE Dallas Turner

14. Chicago Bears (via trade with Denver): Florida State EDGE Jared Verse

15. Seattle Seahawks: Illinois DL Jer'Zhan Newton

16. Cincinnati Bengals: Alabama OT JC Latham

17. Arizona Cardinals: Alabama CB Kool-Aid McKinstry

18. Pittsburgh Steelers: Clemson CB Nate Wiggins

19. Green Bay Packers: Iowa CB Cooper DeJean

20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Washington EDGE Bralen Trice

21. Indianapolis Colts: Washington WR Rome Odunze

22. Jacksonville Jaguars: Georgia CB Kamari Lassiter

23. Los Angeles Rams: Georgia OT Amarius Mims

24. Buffalo Bills: Penn State EDGE Chop Robinson

25. Kansas City Chiefs: Florida State WR Keon Coleman

26. Philadelphia Eagles: Alabama CB Terrion Arnold

27. Detroit Lions: Duke IOL Graham Barton

28. Houston Texans: Oregon State OL Taliese Fuaga

29. Miami Dolphins: Ohio State EDGE JT Tuimoloau

30. Dallas Cowboys: Oregon WR Troy Franklin

31. San Francisco 49ers: Washington OL Troy Fautanu

32. Baltimore Ravens: Miami DL Leonard Taylor III

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Notes on Elite Prospects

The Chicago Bears hold all the cards with the No. 1 overall pick. They can either reset their quarterback clock and take a rookie, or they can hang onto Justin Fields into his fourth NFL season.

Given how well Fields and the Bears are ending their season, the guess is general manager Ryan Poles rolls with Fields and trades down just enough to still have a shot at Harrison, who would could form the best pass-catching duo in football alongside DJ Moore.

Chicago has plenty of holes on its roster, and trading down makes too much sense if the Bears are going to roll with Fields. Harrison is the safest and best prospect in this class and makes the Bears an immediate Super Bowl dark-horse team next year. The Heisman finalist is simply that good.

Elsewhere, there's a host of quarterback-needy teams that will grab signal-callers early.

Sam Howell's time as QB1 in Washington appears to have hit its end after a late-season benching, and with the Commanders positioned in the No. 2 spot, picking an elite prospect makes sense.

You can more or less replace Howell with Mac Jones, the Commanders with the New England Patriots and the No. 2 pick with No. 3, and it's the same exact situation. The Pats need a new quarterback, and they should be able to find a great one given where they are.

At this time, it appears Maye and Williams are jostling for the QB1 spot with Daniels a step behind. If the Pats feel Maye and Williams are cut above, they could cut a deal with the Bears to assure themselves of their top choice there. Washington would then get whomever is left from that duo.

Don't expect Daniels to slip very far, though. The New York Giants signed Daniel Jones to a four-year, $160 million contract last offseason, but he unfortunately suffered a season-ending torn ACL last November. At his best, he's a dangerous dual threat who can fire lasers downfield. At his worst, he's commits too many turnovers and takes too many sacks.

A porous offensive line didn't help matters, but fans saw the latter Jones more than the former in the six games he played this year. Ultimately, it may be best for the Giants to take the top quarterback available this year and part ways with Jones in 2025 when he has no guaranteed money left and his contract has a far less severe impact on the cap.

In this case, Daniels is there at No. 4, and the Giants move up with the Arizona Cardinals, who have publicly committed to Kyler Murray as their QB1 for 2024.