"The Big Dog" Mitch Vosburg

With the 2023 NFL season officially over, the journey to the beginning of the 2024 campaign is officially underway. With the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine happening this week, the NFL off-season is starting.

This is the time of the year where a lot of people in my profession take guesses at what’s going to happen during the next two months leading up to the NFL Draft in Detroit April 25-27.

Today, I reveal my first of three mock drafts leading up to the draft. Version 1.0 (this one) drops at the beginning of the NFL Combine. Version 2.0 will drop on April 1. Version 3.0 will drop on April 25.

The ground rules are as follows: I will explain my thoughts behind picks 1-10 and selections made by the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions. Trade scenarios will happen starting in Version 2.0. I will make a fun game out of Version 3.0 to see how close I actually am.

Here’s how I see the 2024 NFL draft happening:

1. Chicago Bears (from Carolina Panthers) – Caleb Williams, QB, USC: I believe the Bears should keep Justin Fields, but Williams is this good of a prospect to pass up on, and I don’t see a team paying the asking price for the No. 1 pick.

Williams is everything you want out of an NFL QB in 2024. While the comparisons to Patrick Mahomes are 100% unfair, and quite frankly inaccurate, I see him as what former Washington Commanders QB Robert Griffin III could have been if he stayed healthy. This will change down the road, but Williams at No. 1 is all but a lock on Feb. 26, 2024.

2. Washington Commanders – Drake Maye, QB, North Carolina: While I believe the biggest need is on an offensive line which allowed 65 sacks this season, Washington hasn’t had a steady presence at QB since either Kirk Cousins or Joe Theismann. Maye also has all the tools you need for a QB in 2024. Maye reminds me of Pittsburgh Steelers’ legend Ben Roethlisberger, except Maye can move faster than a John Deere 3010 tractor missing a rear wheel.

3. New England Patriots – Joe Alt, OT, Notre Dame: Let’s be honest with the Patriots here. This organization is starting from the ground up. In order to win in the NFL, you have to find success in the trenches.

It’s going to be hard for any rookie QB to build confidence with the Patriots’ current receiving crops. That’s why finding a franchise tackle makes sense here, especially one of Alt’s caliber.

4. Arizona Cardinals – Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Ohio State: This is the best overall player in the 2024 class. This is the guy who has the best chance of making it into the Pro Football Hall of Fame when all is said and done.

The 2024 class of wide receivers is deep. You will see a lot of players in this position from this particular class appear in the first round. But MHJ is above them all. He and Kyler Murray are about to create magic.

5. Los Angeles Chargers – Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia: This is going to be where the first trade of the draft happens, especially with the Chargers plethora of needs on defense. But for now, it’s the best available player on the board, which is Bowers.

At 6-foot 4, 240 pounds, Bowers could’ve been a first-round pick after 2021, when he was merely a freshman for the Bulldogs. Bowers gives Chargers QB Justin Herbert a quality receiving option in short yardage and redzone scenarios.

6. New York Giants – Rome Odunze, WR, Washington: Name me one wide receiver on the Giants roster. I’ll wait…

At 6-foot 3, Odunze has a similar skill set to Cincinnati Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chase. The Giants have lacked a reliable No. 1 receiving option since Odell Beckham Jr.. Odunze can be that guy for the Giants, and the value of selecting him at No. 6 is spot on.

7. Tennessee Titans – Malik Nabers, WR, LSU: The Titans as an organization are still recovering from the decision to trade AJ Brown to Philadelphia in 2022. While choosing an offensive lineman or EDGE rusher makes sense here, the need for a receiver is greater.

Ironically enough, Nabers reminds me of Brown, especially as a deep threat, albeit slightly smaller. Regardless, the Titans fill a need and give QB Will Levis a No. 1 receiving option he desperately needs.

8. Atlanta Falcons – JJ McCarthy, QB, Michigan: Surprised? Don’t be, because all this guy did at Michigan was win football games.

He possesses every trait/tool a QB needs in 2024. The only knock on McCarthy is he wasn’t asked to drop back and dissect a defense because Jim harbaugh’s offense is built around a physical run game.

With the Falcons already boasting skill players like running back Bijan Robinson, receiver Drake London and tight end Kyle Pitts, McCarthy is inserted into a situation where he can find success in a division that, to put it nicely, is lackluster.

9. Chicago Bears – Jared Verse, EDGE, Florida State: Adding Montez Sweat from Washington mid-season was a game changer for the Bears. But who lines up opposite of him?

Enter Verse, a 6-foot 4, 260-pound monster who can get after the quarterback and thrives against the run.

His biggest trait is his work ethic. He received no Division 1 offers and started as a tight end at the University of Albany. Now he’s a top-10 pick as a defensive end.

10. New York Jets – Olumuyiwa Fashanu, OT, Penn State: Enough of the Jets taking a receiver here, especially when their offensive line is below average at best.

New York needs a left tackle desperately, and in a deep class of tackles there’s a case for Fashanu being the No. 1 guy in this class. No matter how you slice it this is a match made for success in 2024, especially if the Jets want to keep Aaron Rodgers off his back.

11. Minnesota Vikings – Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU

12. Denver Broncos – Bo Nix, QB, Oregon

13. Las Vegas Raiders – Jer’Zhan Newton, DT, Illinois

14. New Orleans Saints – Dallas Turner, EDGE, Alabama

15. Indianapolis Colts – Keon Coleman, WR, Florida State

16. Seattle Seahawks – Kris Jenkins Jr., DT, Michigan

17. Jacksonville Jaguars – Laiatu Latu, EDGE, UCLA

18. Cincinnati Bengals – Taliese Fuaga, OT, Oregon State

19. Los Angeles Rams – Quinyon Mitchell, CB, Toledo

20. Pittsburgh Steelers – Jackson Powers-Johnson, Center, Oregon

21. Miami Dolphins – Cooper Beebe, Guard, Kansas State

22. Philadelphia Eagles: Terrion Arnold, CB, Alabama

23. Houston Texans (from Cleveland Browns) – JC Latham, OT, Alabama

24. Dallas Cowboys – Trey Benson, RB, Florida State

25. Green Bay Packers – Cooper DeJean, DB, Iowa: When I take an honest look at the Packers, I see a glaring hole on the back end of the defense. Primarily, I see the need for a playmaker opposite of Johnathan Owens.

Enter Cooper DeJean, one of the most explosive and athletic defensive backs in this year’s class. DeJean can play corner, safety, nickel corner, wide receiver and can return punts and kicks.

Primarily, he can be a ball hawk that the Packers honestly lack right now. And when he gets the ball in his hands, there’s a good chance Todd Rundgren’s “Bang one the Drum All Day” is going to play at Lambeau Field a few seconds later.

26. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Amarius Mims, OT, Georgia

27. Arizona Cardinals – Chop Robinson, EDGE, Penn State

28. Buffalo Bills – Byron Murphy II, DT, Texas

29. Detroit Lions – Kool-Aid McKinstry, CB, Alabama: There’s four ways this is going to go for the Lions at No. 29. This so happens to be one of them (I’ll discuss the other three down the road.)

But after all this talking of drinking the Honolulu Blue Kool-Aid and a need for a No. 1 corner, this pairing makes too much sense. McKinstry was one of the best cornerbacks in the nation for the last two years. Plus, if you look at Holmes’ track record with Alabama players, it appears to be a match made in heaven.

30. Baltimore Ravens – Bucky Irving, RB, Oregon

31. San Francisco 49ers – Nate Wigging, CB, Clemson

32. Kansas City Chiefs – Troy Franklin, WR, Oregon: I’ll throw a bonus explanation for y’all.

Kansas City needs one more receiving option. It’s missing someone who can take the top off a defense, or what I call “a burner.” Troy Franklin is that guy.

Not to mention, he’s also 6-foot 3 and will have one of, if not, the fastest 40-yard dash times this week if he runs.