2024 NFL Draft: CBS Sports predicts 5 QBs go in 1st round in first post-Super Bowl mock

The NFL season has come to an end, with Kansas City beating San Francisco in the Super Bowl. Now, the league can turn its attention to its next marquee event, the NFL Draft.

Now, with the order of the draft known, with the exception of how future trades could impact things, CBS Sports released a new 2024 NFL mock draft. Within it, there were more than a few interesting decisions, including having five different quarterbacks taken in the first round. On top of that, CBS came up with plenty of surprising players rising into the top 10 while others have slipped out.

With that, here is a look at CBS Sports’ most recent mock draft, coming shortly following the Super Bowl.

1. Chicago Bears: USC QB Caleb Williams

The Chicago Bears have a decision to make. Do they take a quarterback for the future or do they stick with Justin Fields? If they do choose to go with a quarterback, the consensus pick for the time being is still Caleb Williams out of USC and that’s what CBS Sports is predicting for this mock draft.

Williams won the Heisman Trophy in 2022, showing an amazing ability to create under pressure with excellent arm talent. Even with USC struggling at the end of the 2023 season, Williams was largely not the issue and still flashed incredible amounts of talent.

2. Washington Commanders: LSU QB Jayden Daniels

The Washington Commanders are in the market for a quarterback as the team starts a new era with Dan Quinn as the team’s head coach. With Williams off the board in this mock draft, Washington will have its choice of the rest of the quarterbacks. In this case, they’re set to go with Jayden Daniels.

Daniels is coming off his own Heisman Trophy season where he was incredible for the LSU Tigers. Throughout the season, he put up massive numbers with both his arms and his legs, finishing with 4,946 yards passing and rushing combined, as well as 50 total touchdowns. After five years of college, he’ll bring plenty of experience to a team as a rookie.

3. New England Patriots: North Carolina QB Drake Maye

The Patriots did a little too much winning to get their first or second choice at quarterback. However, New England also did enough losing, largely on the back of poor offensive efforts, to prove that it was time for a change. That came with Jerod Mayo replacing Bill Belichick as head coach and looks to be coming at the quarterback position as well.

Drake Maye has, for some time now, been one of the more interesting quarterbacks available in the 2024 NFL Draft. He put up excellent numbers at North Carolina, including 63 touchdown passes and 16 rushing touchdowns during his college career.

4. Arizona Cardinals: Ohio State WR Marvin Harrison Jr.

The first non-quarterback that CBS Sports has coming off the board is Marvin Harrison Jr. A star wide receiver at Ohio State, he has all the talent in the world and the ability to actually become the best player in the entirety of this draft class. That comes after a phenomenal career for the Buckeyes where he had 31 career touchdown receptions.

Harrison also makes a lot of sense for Arizona. It looks like the Cardinals are going to be with Kyler Murray for the foreseeable future, so putting weapons around him is a good idea. In that sense, this is a best case scenario for Arizona.

5. Los Angeles Chargers: Penn State OL Olu Fashanu

The Los Angeles Chargers and new head coach Jim Harbaugh are going to be looking for ways to build around quarterback Justin Herbert. That could mean going with a skill player. However, as CBS Sports predicted, it could also mean going with an offensive lineman.

This mock draft has Olu Fashanu of Penn State coming off the board to Los Angeles as the first offensive lineman off the board. A left tackle who was excellent in pass protection and run blocking for the Nittany Lions, he’s one of several tackles who are getting ready to go in the first round and who could make an impact early in their careers.

6. New York Giants: LSU WR Malik Nabers

The New York Giants are in an interesting position. They have some quarterback questions, but aren’t in an ideal spot to draft a quarterback while also having plenty of money invested in Daniel Jones. So, instead, CBS Sports predicts New York will give them a weapon to work with on offense.

Malik Nabers becomes the second LSU Tiger off the board in this mock draft, the first team to get two players selected in this mock. Nabers was a key piece of the puzzle for LSU this season, becoming a favorite target of Daniels. In the end, he had 1,569 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns in 13 games played.

7. Tennessee Titans: Notre Dame OL Joe Alt

The Tennessee Titans are another team that has a new coach coming in and plenty of things that are worth working on. So, CBS Sports predicted that Tennessee will look for a new offensive line anchor, in Notre Dame tackle Joe Alt. If this is the choice, it would be the second year in a row the Titans go offensive line in the first round as they look to build a unit for the future.

Joe Alt was phenomenal during his time at Notre Dame, starting eight games as a freshman and never giving up that spot in the starting lineup for the Irish. By his junior and final season in South Bend, he was an All-American and a team captain. Alt could easily be the first offensive lineman selected.

8. Atlanta Falcons: Alabama Edge Dallas Turner

The Alabama Crimson Tide have consistently produced excellent edge rushers in recent seasons. Last year, that was Will Anderson. This season, the top edge rusher from Alabama looks to be Dallas Turner, who had 10 sacks this past season.

The Atlanta Falcons are, like so many other teams, selecting high in the NFL Draft. Also, like so many other teams in that position, they have plenty to work on, with Turner making a lot of sense in this spot as the best value available at a position of need to Atlanta.

9. Chicago Bears: Washington WR Rome Odunze

The third wide receiver of the top 10, according to this mock draft, is set to be Rome Odunze out of Washington. He also becomes the second pick in the top 10 of the Chicago Bears, who have the first overall pick thanks to a trade. Odunze also ends up making a lot of sense for Chicago, who is trying to spark life in its offense and pair someone with Caleb Williams.

Odunze put up massive numbers in college. Over four seasons, which was more like three seasons by only playing four games in 2020, Odunze finished with 214 receptions, 3,272 yards, and 24 touchdowns. In the process, he was key to the Huskies making the College Football Playoff this past season.

10. New York Jets: Oregon State OL Taliese Fuaga

The New York Jets had a disastrous 2023 season, starting with Aaron Rodgers‘ injury in the first game. That wasn’t due to poor offensive line play. However, poor offensive line play became a major reason why New York struggled to run the ball or protect Rodgers’ backups throughout the season. So, with this pick, New York will look to correct that.

Taliese Fuaga has perhaps been overlooked to this point. However, he is an excellent offensive lineman who is starting to turn a lot of heads in the pre-draft process. He spent four seasons with the Beavers, consistently playing his entire time at Oregon State. By 2023, he was one of the best tackles in the college game, helping the Beavers to have an excellent season.

11. Minnesota Vikings: Toledo DB Quinyon Mitchell
12. Denver Broncos: Florida State Edge Jared Verse
13. Las Vegas Raiders: Michigan QB JJ McCarthy
14. New Orleans Saints: Georgia TE Brock Bowers
15. Indianapolis Colts: Alabama DB Terrion Arnold
16. Seattle Seahawks: Illinois DL Jer’Zhan Newton
17. Jacksonville Jaguars: UCLA Edge Laiatu Latu
18. Cincinnati Bengals: Alabama OL JC Latham
19. Los Angeles Rams: Clemson DB Nate Wiggins
20. Pittsburgh Steelers: Washington QB Michael Penix Jr.
21. Miami Dolphins: Oregon OL Jackson Powers-Johnson
22. Philadelphia Eagles: Florida State WR Keon Coleman
23. Houston Texans: Penn State Edge Chop Robinson
24. Dallas Cowboys: Iowa DB Cooper DeJean
25. Green Bay Packers: Alabama DB Kool-Aid McKinstry
26. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: LSU WR Brian Thomas Jr.
27. Arizona Cardinals: Missouri DL Darius Robinson
28. Buffalo Bills: Texas WR Adonai Mitchell
29. Detroit Lions: Texas DL Byron Murphy II
30. Baltimore Ravens: Georgia OL Amarius Mims
31. San Francisco 49ers: Washington OL Troy Fautanu
32. Kansas City Chiefs: Oklahoma OL Tyler Guyton

The 2024 NFL Draft is set to take place in Detroit from April 25th through the 27th. Along the way to get to that point, there are going to be numerous events like the scouting combine and pro days that could impact draft order. For now, though, this is how CBS Sports sees the draft shaking out.