Five Oregon Ducks appear in 2024 NFL mock draft
We’re still a little over a week away from the 2023 NFL Draft, but that isn’t stopping one analyst from taking an early look at the 2024 draft class.
Earlier this week, Ian Cummings of Pro Football Network unveiled a three-round mock draft.
The Oregon Ducks were well-represented.
In total, Cummings projected that five Oregon players will be selected within the first 97 picks next spring — including two first-rounders.
Ducks’ quarterback Bo Nix is projected to be selected No. 19 overall by the Minnesota Vikings. The only quarterbacks Cummings has listed ahead of Nix are USC’s Caleb Williams (No. 1 overall), North Carolina’s Drake Maye (No. 4 overall), Texas’s Quinn Ewers (No. 5 overall), and Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy (No. 7 overall)
Here’s his explanation behind Nix’s projected landing spot:
“The Vikings are keeping Kirk Cousins at arm’s length heading into a contract year, and it’s entirely likely they move on in the near future. If Bo Nix sustains his play in 2023, he could field mid-to-late first-round consideration. He quietly has high-level creation capacity and arm talent, and he’s become much more measured and accurate as a pocket operator.”
Later in the first round, Cummings projected that defensive lineman Brandon Dorlus will be selected 30th overall by the Buffalo Bills.
“As a prospect, Brandon Dorlus has some Travon Walker-lite appeal,” Cummings wrote. “He’s 6’3″, 285 pounds, with elite proportional length, and the power capacity to line up inside. But he’s also athletic, agile, and explosive enough to line up at 5-tech or outside the tackle and work around the apex with active hands. That violent brand of versatility is what Buffalo needs.”
In 2022, Dorlus received all-conference recognition for the second consecutive season after leading the Ducks with 9.5 tackles for loss. However, he was hindered by nagging injuries throughout the year and surprised many by opting to return for his fifth season in Eugene.
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In the second round, the Cleveland Browns are projected to select Oregon wideout Troy Franklin with the No. 52 overall pick.
During a breakout sophomore campaign, Franklin led the Ducks with 61 catches for 891 yards and nine touchdowns.
Later in the draft, Cummings predicted that a pair of Oregon transfer portal additions — EDGE Jordan Burch and linebacker Jestin Jacobs — will be selected.
Burch, who transferred to Oregon last offseason after beginning his career at South Carolina, is projected to go No. 60 overall to the San Francisco 49ers.
Jacobs, a former Iowa standout, is projected to be selected by the Bills with the No. 62 overall pick.
