2024 NFL Mock Draft: Picks 1-4 by the DBN Community

This year’s DBN Community Mock Draft is underway.

It’s time to kick off the 2024 DBN Community NFL Mock Draft! We are releasing four picks at a time in one post to give you more substance to digest how the draft is unfolding.

No. 1 – Bears – Caleb Williams, QB, USC

The selection and write-up were made by COSP:

Photo by David Crane/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images

In a draft full of quarterbacks with a lot of question marks, Caleb Williams is the surest bet to become elite at the next level. The Bears need to hit on this pick and he is their best chance to do so. They traded away a very popular Justin Fields for next to nothing. Williams is a superior passer who processes quickly. He also gets rid of the ball much faster than Fields.

No. 2 – Commanders – Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU

The selection and write-up were made by ghenry518:

Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

This is the most difficult selection in the entire 2024 NFL Draft and will be the pick most scrutinized in years to come. The Commanders take the 2023 Heisman Trophy Winner off the board based primarily on his schematic fit with Kliff Kingsbury’s deep ball offense and one of the best seasons in college football history, eclipsing multiple records set by Joe Burrow.

For the 2024 season, Marcus Mariota will likely start out of the gate but Daniels will quickly make his Commanders debut sometime in the first half of the season. Daniels to McLaurin could become one of the elite connections in the NFL, but Daniels upside will be limited by the Commanders’ offensive line’s poor pass blocking. Jayden Daniels will be asked to do much more than he is ready for, but Daniels will flash talent the second he walks on the field. With five more picks inside the top 102, the Commanders have plenty of draft capital to set their new QB up for success.

No. 3 – Patriots – Marvin Harrison Jr, WR, Ohio State

The selection and write-up were made by fjblessi:

Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images

With the 3rd pick in the 2024 NFL draft, the New England Patriots take Marvin Harrison Jr., wide receiver from the Ohio State University. Browns fans are all familiar with Harrison’s skill set so I’m not going to go into what he brings to the roster. While most have the Patriots taking a quarterback at this spot, their roster just isn’t ready to take that person at #3 when the available quarterbacks all have question marks.

What the Patriots will do is build the roster up this year, while still not winning a ton of games, in order to be ready to get their franchise quarterback in 2025. Harrison will be the piece that moves the Patriots from an OK wide receiver corps to a top-notch one. With their picks at 34 and 68 they will address offensive tackle and the defense filling 3 holes in this draft. With significant cap space to rollover (~$47M before signing draft picks) they can then fill the other holes on the roster in the 2025 off-season and have a team that can develop a quarterback, not ruin one that doesn’t have every tool in the toolbox.

No. 4 – Cardinals – Joe Alt, OT, Notre Dame

The selection and write-up were made by Crawford_T:

Photo by Brandon Sloter/Image Of Sport/Getty Images

The Arizona Cardinals are a team bereft of NFL level talent; they have needs at most positions. In this scenario, with Marvin Harrison off the board, the Cardinals would probably look to trade down a few spots and collect extra picks. Unable to do so, the Cardinals decide to secure the offensive line and further protect QB Kyler Murray, selecting OT Joe Alt.

Paris Johnson had an up and down, but promising, rookie season at RT for the Cardinals last year, while DJ Humphries and Kelvin Beachum filled in adequately at LT, but Humphries suffered an ACL tear at the end of the season and was released in the offseason. Drafting Joe Alt would solidify the left tackle position with one of the better pass blocking prospects in recent years and let the Cardinals begin building their team with the tried and true method of from the trenches out. With Murray’s blindside protector established, the Cardinals will look for WR and defensive help later in the draft, including their second first round pick at 27.

Up next will be the 5-8 picks in the 2024 DBN Community Mock Draft.