2024 NFL mock draft: Quinn Ewers to Vikings, Shedeur Sanders to surprise team
- Bears still have 1-2 picks after first win in nearly a year
- Vikings replace Kirk Cousins with an all-tools QB
- Shedeur Sanders lands in Round 1 with surprise team
Jared Verse. 18. . EDGE. Jared Verse. 51. Rams 18. . Florida State. player
When you look at the majority of the Rams roster, it’s basically carte-blanche on where they could go here. However, with Aaron Donald not getting any younger, they need to start adding more difference-makers to the defensive side of the ball. Picking in the first round again for the first time in almost a decade, they make that happen with Jared Verse.
The Florida State standout isn’t the most exceptional athlete, but he’s plenty explosive and savvy as a rusher off of the edge. He’s been incredibly productive with sacks and tackles for loss with the Seminoles and could be an immediate-impact type of player for the Rams defensive front.
QB. Washington. Michael Penix Jr.. 19. 44. Michael Penix Jr.. player. Falcons 19. .
Desmond Ridder ain’t it. Not trying to be hyperbolic with a still small sample size for the former Cincinnati Bearcats quarterback, but it’s looking abundantly clear that he’s just not a starting-caliber quarterback at this level. That’s where Michael Penix Jr. could come into the fold and change things quite a bit.
Penix has been crazy productive in now a year and a half at Washington in the juiced-up Huskies offense. He has great arm strength but has continued to show improvement in his accuracy and ball placement. ACL injuries in his career and the need to prove himself outside of this system remain concerns, but the tools look that of a QB1 in the NFL.
Penn State. Kalen King. player. 46. . 20. Colts 20. CB. . Kalen King
While Joey Porter Jr. was putting fear into opposing QBs last season for Penn State’s defense, they were left to throw at Kalen King. That turned out to be a bad idea and the cornerback now looks like a better NFL prospect than his former teammate, something the Colts and a leaky defense could benefit greatly from drafting.
King has the fluidity and smarts in coverage to play at the pro level right away, but he also already expresses the high-end physicality – without many of the negative, penalty-ridden effects some prospects show – too. He could come to Indianapolis and immediately be a stalwart for their secondary.