2024 NFL Mock Draft: Michael Penix Jr. to Vikings, J.J. McCarthy to AFC West

There are 14 teams and their fan bases who have most of their attention on Wild Card Weekend and the NFL Playoffs starting this week. But the other 18 teams (and maybe even some of the 14 as well) now turn their attention to the offseason. Most importantly, they're starting to look ahead to April and the 2024 NFL Draft now that the order for the first 18 picks has been set with the regular season done.

So what better way to celebrate that than with a 2024 NFL Mock Draft?

Even better, we have the two quarterbacks playing in Monday night's College Football Playoff National Championship Game going off of the board inside the first two picks. But what happens in the rest of the first round? Here's where things could end up now that the end of the regular season has come and gone as we go through the first 32 selections in this 2024 NFL Mock Draft.

2024 NFL mock draft: Michael Penix Jr. to Vikings, J.J. McCarthy to Raiders

(Pick via Carolina) - The big debate for the 2024 NFL Draft starts at the top with whether or not the Chicago Bears should retain Justin Fields and trade out of the No. 1 pick for more capital, or take one of the top quarterbacks in this year’s draft class at the top. Based on the value of a rookie QB contract and the fact that the Bears have another Top 10 pick, my gut tells me that they’ll end up moving on as Fields is still not a finished product in his own right. 

Maybe that’s wrong, but when you look at the upside of Caleb Williams out of USC, it’s hard not to think about the possibility of what he could develop into. Yes, he’s not without the need for polish, especially learning to take the easy throws and keep his footwork clean. At the same time, though, his arm talent, athleticism, and ability to thrive out of structure are second to none. He could be the game-changer the Bears have long been waiting for at quarterback.

Drake Maye is one helluva consolation prize if you’re the Washington Commanders. It’s ironic for Sam Howell, who made the majority of the starts this season in the nation’s capital, to make way for the man who also succeeded him at North Carolina, but Maye is an upgrade for the Commanders in the same way he was for the Tar Heels. 

The UNC product has a more prototypical frame than Williams but does lack perhaps the highs of arm talent and athleticism. Make no mistake, though, he possesses plenty in each category with the ability to create. His production dropped off slightly, as it did with Williams too, from 2022 to 2023, but the changes to the offense around him had a big effect on that. His ability should not be questioned and he could be another long-awaited franchise QB for Washington.