How college football teams will replace every first-round draft pick in 2024

It is always easier said than done, but why not give it the old college try? With 32 players hearing their names called first last weekend in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, that means there are at least 32 high-profile starting positions to fill across major college football. The bulk of the first-rounders starred at Power Five universities last year, or at a high-end Group of Five program such as a Toledo...

Either way, guys like Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye aren't walking through that door at places like USC, LSU and North Carolina, respectively. While we pretty much know who will be replacing the first three quarterbacks taken in the 2024 NFL Draft, that would probably be Miller Moss, Garrett Nussmeier and Max Johnson, some of the other 29 available jobs are still up in the air.

So what I am going to do today is take a look the likeliest candidates to replace each first-round pick from the 2024 NFL Draft on the college football field. I used Ourlads to do much of the heavy lifting, taking a some combination of veteran leaders or up-and-coming prospects who could fill the role. Obviously, it is not always a one-for-one type of deal when dealing with certain position groups, too.

I did the best I could, but we will not know for certain who each replacement will be until the fall.

Who could replace every first-round pick taken in the 2024 NFL Draft?

Here is every first-round pick in order he was drafted, followed by my projected successor to him.

1. Chicago Bears: USC QB Caleb Williams -> Miller Moss
2. Washington Commanders: LSU QB Jayden Daniels -> Garrett Nussmeier
3. New England Patriots: North Carolina QB Drake Maye -> Max Johnson
4. Arizona Cardinals: Ohio State WR Marvin Harrison Jr. -> Emeka Egbuka
5. Los Angeles Chargers: Notre Dame OT Joe Alt -> Charles Jagusah
6. New York Giants: LSU WR Malik Nabers -> CJ Daniels
7. Tennessee Titans: Alabama OT JC Latham -> Elijah Pritchett
8. Atlanta Falcons: Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. -> Will Rogers
9. Chicago Bears: Washington WR Rome Odunze -> Jeremiah Hunter
10. Minnesota Vikings: Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy -> Alex Orji
11. New York Jets: Penn State OT Olu Fashanu -> Drew Shelton
12. Denver Broncos: Oregon QB Bo Nix -> Dillon Gabriel
13. Las Vegas Raiders: Georgia TE Brock Bowers -> Oscar Delp
14. New Orleans Saints: Oregon State OT Tailese Fuaga -> Jacob Strand
15. Indianapolis Colts: UCLA DE Laiatu Latu -> Devin Aupiu
16. Seattle Seahawks: Texas DT Byron Murphy II -> Tiaoalii Savea
17. Minnesota Vikings: Alabama DE Dallas Turner -> Jah-Marien Latham
18. Cincinnati Bengals: Georgia OT Amarius Mims -> Earnest Greene III
19. Los Angeles Rams: Florida State DE Jared Verse -> Sione Lolohea
20. Pittsburgh Steelers: Washington OT Troy Fautanu -> Soane Faasolo
21. Miami Dolphins: Penn State DE Chop Robinson -> Abdul Carter
22. Philadelphia Eagles: Toledo CB Quinyon Mitchell -> Avery Smith
23. Jacksonville Jaguars: LSU WR Brian Thomas Jr. -> Zavion Thomas
24. Detroit Lions: Alabama CB Terrion Arnold -> Domani Jackson
25. Green Bay Packers: Arizona OT Jordan Morgan -> Raymond Pulido
26. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Duke C Graham Barton -> Matt Craycraft
27. Arizona Cardinals: Missouri DE Darius Robinson -> Johnny Walker Jr.
28. Kansas City Chiefs: Texas WR Xavier Worthy -> Isaiah Bond
29. Dallas Cowboys: Oklahoma OT Tyler Guyton -> Jacob Sexton
30. Baltimore Ravens: Clemson CB Nate Wiggins -> Jeadyn Lukus
31. San Francisco 49ers: Florida WR Ricky Pearsall -> Kahleil Jackson
32. Carolina Panthers: South Carolina WR Xavier Legette -> Nyck Harbor

What I found the most interesting in this is that while I knew a lot of these guys off the top of my head (Emeka Egbuka, Will Rogers, Oscar Delp, Adbul Carter, Isaiah Bond, etc.), I had to do some heavy digging to find other guys that spoke to me. In most cases with offensive linemen, I went with a grad transfer who is coming in projected to be a starter, even if I do not know what position he will be filling.

What you have to remember in this is many of these generational talents are not truly replaceable. For example, Moss should be an incredible quarterback for this year and next at USC, but he is not likely the talent of Williams, and everybody knows this. That is totally fine, but I think players like he and Nussmeier at LSU should be able to carve out great college careers nevertheless at their universities.

Ultimately, this is merely a snapshot into what the future could look like. Some programs that had first-round picks such as Alabama, Arizona and Washington will all have new head coaches this season. While teams like Clemson, Georgia and Ohio State retained theirs, we should expect for these College Football Playoff contenders to send more people to next year's draft than this one.

Remember this: Just because a guy is easily replaceable does not mean his loss will not be felt either.