Lance Zierlein’s mock draft: Giants trade up for Drake Maye in 2024 NFL mock draft

The 2024 NFL Draft will be begin on Thursday, April 25. This will be the culmination of month’s of research, film study and analysis as we finally get to see how the first round of the NFL Draft shapes out. Pro days are finished and NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein is back with his third mock draft. Let’s take a look at what he thinks will happen come April.

Quarterbacks

1.01 — Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears
1.02 — Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders
1.03 — Drake Maye, New York Giants via trade
1.04 — J.J. McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings via trade

The order may vary, as well as the landing spot, but this quartet of quarterbacks seem to be the consensus top four options. Williams is considered the top prospect by the masses so really the conversation begins at who will be selected No. 2 overall. Maye long held the spot, but recently, Daniels has overtaken Maye as the projected second quarterback.

When it comes to Zierlein’s thoughts, he only alludes to what the trades could include, without giving a full possible trade package including draft picks and/or players. Still, any move up will cost a pretty penny, which is why I don’t think New England moves. They need a quarterback and a wide receiver and this mock draft assumes that the Patriots are willing to pass on Marvin Harrison Jr. falling into their laps. Malik Nabers is very good, but MHJ has long been considered the best wide receiver in the class. Unless the Pats are interested in the rebuilding aspect and want the extra picks, they should stay put and either take Harrison Jr. or a quarterback if they feel that strongly.

New York drafting a quarterback is also a reach in the first. The have Daniel Jones with two years left on his extension, granted there is an out after the 2024 season where they would eat a good amount of dead cap. Still, drafting a QB that high — not even taking into account trading up for one — would suggest to Jones that he is done. I think there are teams that will trade up, but New York should be happy with the wide receiver that could fall to them at No. 6. Personally, I don’t think that the Vikings need to move up to get J.J. McCarthy, but they seem to and more and more analysts are predicting this.

First defensive player taken

1.08 — Jared Verse, Atlanta Falcons

Verse had a brief collegiate career, playing just two seasons at Florida State and one at FCS Albany. He played in only 25 games, but that didn’t stop him from making an impact. Verse ended his career with 89 total tackles, 18 sacks, and 29.5 tackles for a loss. Bleacher Report compares him to Ryan Kerrigan, while Zierlein compares him to LaMar Woodley.

Best pick

1.28 — Adonai Mitchell, Buffalo Bills
1.29 — Cooper DeJean, Detroit Lions

I’m torn on which pick is my favorite, but I have narrowed it down to these two. Both players have clear roles that they can fill in Week 1 of the 2024 season. Mitchell would have a chance of taking over for Gabe Davis, who signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars in free agency. DeJean would slot in for the Lions as former cornerback Cameron Sutton was released following off-the-field issues.

Worst pick

1.16 — Brian Thomas Jr., Arizona Cardinals

Zierlein has Arizona moving back out of the No. 4 spot — where they would have had Marvin Harrison Jr. — and then trading back up to No. 16 and selecting Thomas Jr. Because he doesn’t include the full projected trade packages, it is impossible to see how Arizona fares with the move. Zierlein has them taking Dallas Turner at No. 11 and then Thomas Jr. at No. 16, and without being able to see which draft picks would be left over, I’d much rather have MHJ for quarterback Kyler Murray.

Final thoughts

The picks make sense when you consider addressing team needs. Not knowing what the trade packages are for the moves back makes them harder to see, so while I get the one for McCarthy, I don’t think it makes sense for Arizona to move back and then move up how it is presented. If anything, this mock draft shows that the first nine picks are going to be the most exciting, and a lot of fans on draft night have to go ahead and mentally prepare for their team to select an offensive tackle or a corner which aren’t always seen as the most “exciting” choices.