A look ahead to the top half of the 2024 NFL Draft

We’ve arrived at Thanksgiving week in the 2023 NFL season and since I’m in a generous, giving mood, I decided to give something to look forward to for fanbases of teams not currently projected to be factors in the playoff picture.

This includes a couple of teams from the NFC South that could ultimately still host a playoff game due to the division they’re in and two .500 teams from the AFC. When you look at the list of teams, they all still lack certain elements and the best way to acquire those is with high draft picks.

I will start by quickly listing the current draft order (if the season ended today) then share my general bird's-eye view of the upcoming class before we work our way through each team.

The cut-off for the teams discussed here is pick 16, which makes sense considering the next teams up would be the Cincinnati Bengals and Buffalo Bills. Cincinnati has a couple of uncomfortable decisions to make in free agency but was on pace to be one of the most dangerous groups in the AFC, while Buffalo is very much in the thick of things being just half a game back from the seventh seed.

Tankathon's 2024 NFL draft order picks 1-16

General thoughts on the 2024 NFL Draft class

2024 NFL Draft: Caleb Williams, Olu Fashanu, Drake Maye and Marvin Harrison Jr.

I’m glad to be ahead of schedule at this point of the calendar year compared to the past in terms of my draft evaluations. I know the type of effort it takes every year to get to a point where I feel like I can talk about 85-90% of drafted players in an educated fashion.

This past April, I made it exactly through the first five rounds until a name was announced that I hadn’t studied on tape. Right now, I have extended notes on close to 150 prospects expected to be part of this upcoming class.

I haven’t done in-depth studies on them to where I’d feel comfortable ranking them in order, particularly considering many of them still have key conference championships and potentially even playoff games to evaluate. However, I have a good grasp on the top-end talent and depth at every position group, players I feel will transition well to the next level, and mostly how the NFL will look at them, pending medical reports.

Therefore, in terms of those top-16 selections I’ve referenced, here are the players I’m pretty certain will be part of that group:

Quarterbacks (2) – Caleb Williams (USC) and Drake Maye (North Carolina)

Wide receivers (3) – Marvin Harrison Jr. (Ohio State), Malik Nabers (LSU) and Keon Coleman (Florida State)

Tight-end (1) – Brock Bowers (Georgia)

Offensive tackles (3) – Olu Fashanu (Penn State), Joe Alt (Notre Dame) and J.C. Latham (Alabama)

Edge defenders (2) – Dallas Turner (Alabama) and Chop Robinson (Penn State)

Interior D-line (1) – Jer’Zhan Newton (Illinois)

Cornerback (1) – Kool-Aid McKinstry (Alabama)

Other players in consideration right now: EDGE Jared Verse (Florida State), DB Cooper DeJean (Iowa), WR Rome Odunze (Washington), CB Nate Wiggins (Clemson), OT Amarius Mims (Georgia), CB Kalen King (Penn State) and multiple quarterbacks.

We’ve got a long process in front of us, I have a hard time imagining a situation where the first two players off the board aren’t those two QBs unless the Cardinals stick at number two overall and don’t find a trade partner. At this point, the pendulum has swung too far regarding the public perception of Caleb Williams with regard to the rest of the class.

I have seen him operate effectively in structure as part of an Air Raid offense when his protection hasn’t been atrocious, plus then he adds a play-making component to the table that is second to none who I’ve ever studied.

Yet, I can equally see many teams fall in love with Drake Maye, who plays the position more by the book but has incredible arm talent and athletic skills (very reminiscent of Justin Herbert to me, although, we actually have gotten to see him read the full field and make more NFL-type of throws at UNC, compared to Herbert at Oregon).

To me, it’s a true 1A and 1B situation. Where it becomes interesting is if a team falls in love with one of the following four names I’d say – Michael Penix Jr. (Washington), Bo Nix (Oregon), J.J. McCarthy (Michigan), or Jayden Daniels (LSU).

Depending on who ultimately declares, this could be one of the deepest groups of signal-callers we’ve ever seen, but at that position, you don’t wait around on “your guy” typically.

After the top two QBs, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Olu Fashanu are true blue-chip players, who I believe will be treated as such by the league. Both wide receiver and offensive tackle appear very exciting and we could see two or three other names at those respective spots come off the board over the front half of the first round.

Harrison and Fashanu separate themselves due to their combination of insane natural talent and technical prowess at this stage of their careers, in particular the Ohio State pass-catcher when it comes to the latter part.

The sheer amount of WR names as usual exceeds OTs and there is a certain element of scarcity by position that could to teams feeling like they can wait a little bit on pass-catchers. However, I believe this group includes talents that are worthy of overlooking that aspect.

That includes Georgia TE Brock Bowers, who is easily in a tier of his own and should hear his name called early, despite positional value elements that may go against him.

Edge defender is a very interesting group because I don’t believe there are as many high-end prospects in this discussion. There are plenty of day two and especially day three guys to consider, but after the top-six names I’d say, there’s a pretty significant drop-off.

I did not include UCLA edge defender Laiatu Latu as part of the list above, due to a lack of knowledge on his medical situation, considering he was once forced to retire from the sport temporarily based on a neck injury. However, in terms of the best right now, I think he’s the alpha of the group, even though Dallas Turner and Chop Robinson have more freakish athletic traits, which the NFL covets.

Jared Verse has lost some shine, but I think in a vacuum, if you didn’t compare him to the 2022 version of himself – which I expected to enter this past draft – he still is certainly part of this conversation. I’ll also throw in Illinois DT “Johnny” Newton here, who provides the type of quick-twitch ability you see from the elite interior pass-rushers around the league, along with being a consistent disruptor in the run game.

At cornerback, Kool-Aid McKinstry seems to be the one name locked in for the top 10, considering how good his tape is, while having the size measurables any defensive coordinator dreams of. Kalen King unfortunately has regressed a little bit from the guy I loved watching in the summer, who would just attack downhill as the ball comes out or he was asked to support the run.

Cooper DeJean was announced to miss the rest of Iowa’s season last week, but he’ll be an intriguing name, with the size to play safety and legit punt return skills, but also quality film covering receivers inside and out.

The name to really keep an eye on is Nate Wiggins, who is a super-twitched-up, aggressive player. He showed off his long speed on an unbelievable chase-down tackle this past Saturday against North Carolina, where he turned what should’ve been a touchdown into a fumble and touchback for his Tigers. I could see another 12 corners come off the board within the top 100 picks ultimately.

I don’t have a linebacker or safety as part of this discussion currently. Two Clemson linebackers (Jeremiah Trotter Jr. and Barrett Carter) are in contention for later first-round picks, plus I think a guy that could have a meteoric rise at that spot is Texas A&M’s Edgerrin Cooper (when he blows up the combine and people go back to his tape, since not many people are yet really paying attention to an underperforming Aggies program).

On the back end, Miami’s Kamren Kinchens and Minnesota’s Tyler Nubin bring the combination of range, football IQ, and ball skills that the NFL is looking for at the position to address early. However, I’d say somewhere in the 20s feels more appropriate in general and we haven’t seen teams really target those guys earlier than that in recent years.

Let’s now get to the specific landing spots and where all these teams may be looking to go!

2024 NFL Draft picks 1-16

#1. Chicago Bears – via Carolina Panthers

After “earning” the first overall pick last year and trading it to the Panthers (who ultimately used it on Alabama quarterback Bryce Young), the Bears will once again be the defining team and the ones who control the upcoming draft the most.

Carolina certainly didn’t expect to hand over the same draft capital plus D.J. Moore ultimately for moving up eight spots in April, but being a game below Arizona with zero compared to two wins in-conference, this likely appears to be the case. Even if the Panthers were to win a couple more games, Chicago has all the ammo to make an offer to who’d move ahead of them that those guys almost can’t refuse.

What’ll be interesting with them is if Justin Fields can show them enough down the stretch that his recent improvements make them double-guess if they should go quarterback again. Then, depending on how high their selection will be, they could target another blue-chip player (something they desperately need), or another team could come up and send even more draft capital to Chicago.

Considering they just traded a high second-round pick for a player on his rookie contract for the second year in a row with Montez Sweat, they may prefer the former. Yet, here’s a world in which they end up with Marvin Harrison Jr., and Olu Fashanu and receive an extra pick via trade if Fields shows out the final seven weeks here.

That would obviously be insane, however, if they love Caleb Williams or Drake Maye, that may not matter. And you have to question if this coaching staff will be trusted with making those enormous decisions, particularly if both selections remain in the top four or five, and even Ryan Poles has made some questionable decisions during his short stint as general manager.

#2. Arizona Cardinals

While the Cardinals were the odds-on favorites to pick first overall before the season started, this is starting to very much feel like the 2019 Dolphins or 2021 Lions. They play hard for their coaching staff and can win a couple of games down the stretch, but still end up with a high pick of their own and excess draft capital, to where they can turn things around fairly quickly.

So this could be a true win-win situation. How exactly they approach this stage of the rebuild under GM Monti Ossenfort and HC Jonathan Gannon is still very much in the air though. The biggest determining factor of course is their decision at quarterback.

For a while, it seemed like they were likely shopping Kyler Murray during the offseason and selecting one of the top two signal-callers. Yet, even if they looked at this as a showcase for the former number one pick from 2019 originally, with the play-making abilities he’s shown in just his first two games back from the torn ACL, he may play well enough to take Arizona out of the Caleb-Drake sweepstakes and get this regime on board anyway.

They’ve proven they’re not the worst roster in the league, but you could argue the only other cornerstone players they have are most recent first-rounder Paris Johnson Jr. at offensive tackle and safety Budda Baker.

What dictates that decision is the fact that Murray will carry an average cap hit of 49 million dollars, while they’re at a stage of their life cycle where they still need to hit on a lot of moves before they can compete with the 49ers and the rest of the NFC West. With book-ends offensively under contract, Marquise Brown being a free agent, may tilt them towards Marvin Harrison Jr. if they have their choice of non-QBs.

#3. New England Patriots

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. I was pretty much right there with the sportsbooks, who had the Patriots' win total set at 7.5 when I predicted they’d go 8-9. While I saw the shortcomings this offense may have again, I thought under Bill O’Brien they would at least not be abysmal, while the defense had a chance to end up as a top-five unit in the NFL.

However, the lack of difference-making skill-position players, injuries on the O-line, still rather uninspiring offensive designs, and Mac Jones at times actively rebelling against the offense it seems like, has that unit ranked 29th in EPA per play. The defense has been marked by injury, but even special teams have been a major problem, with only one team below them in DVOA.

I never thought we’d get here, but at this point, it’s fair to ask if Bill Belichick will even be the one in control of this entire organization for a 25th season. So we may not have a clue who ultimately makes those decisions in New England. With that being said, as it pertains to what they’ll do with this selection, it may not make a difference.

I’m not ready to totally rule out Mac Jones being a franchise quarterback, because not a ton has changed about the guy who was an Offensive Rookie of the Year finalist (other than how he’s dealt with his frustrations on and off the field over the last two years). Of course, if New England does end up with a top-two pick, it’s a no-brainer to take one of the top-tier QBs.

If they stick here at three though, going Marvin Harrison Jr. is an even bigger lay-up. He adds the dynamism this WR group desperately needs, but Bill – and any other coach – will love his hard-working mentality and attention to detail as a route-runner.

#4. Chicago Bears

See number one overall.

#5. New York Giants

The biggest movers of this past week were the Giants, who “dropped” down three spots in terms of draft order with their win at Washington, while the teams now ahead of them all either lost or had a bye week.

As fun as it probably was for New Yorkers to see the lovable Tommy DeVito hit a couple of deep bombs to beat a divisional rival, this could end up having massive effects on what their future looks like.

Of course, they did lock up quarterback Daniel Jones on a four-year, 160-million-dollar contract, but if they ended up owning the second pick in the draft, I think they would’ve been willing to worst case eat a 22.2-million dead cap hit after the 2024 season and build around Williams/Maye.

While we haven’t seen much of left tackle Andrew Thomas this season, I believe between him and DT Dexter Lawrence, they have a legit All-Pro level player on each side of the ball. Kayvon Thibodeaux is really coming on and they could still revisit a potential extension for Saquon Barkley, who is playing the RB position as well as he arguably ever has done.

Beyond that, they hope some of their recent draft picks end up turning into plus starters and there’s still a lot to like about the Daboll-Kafka-Martindale coaching trio. With all three of their wins coming against the NFC and some more winnable games on the slate – especially if the Eagles end up sitting starters in week 18 – I think they’ve taken themselves out of the QB sweepstakes.

So this decision will likely come down to whether they want to take on another project, where they convert Olu Fashanu or Notre Dame’s Joe Alt from the left to the right side and move Evan Neal inside – who they so far absolutely failed at doing the same. Even if WR1 is off the board, I could see them fall in love with LSU’s Malik Nabers ability to detach vertically and create after the catch, to complement their 17 different slot receivers.

#6. Tennessee Titans

Another team that wasn’t quite expected to pick this high up – even though I personally had them going 7-10 this season – is the Titans. They actually started the season 2-2 and could’ve easily been 3-1, if not for a likely fumble return touchdown whistled dead in week one at the Saints.

However, since then they’ve been outscored 144-to-96, with their only other win coming in rookie quarterback Will Levis’ spectacular debut. The excitement since that day has certainly worn off, with two touchdowns and interceptions each, following the four TD and zero INT performance.

I considered Levis worthy of a mid-to-late first-round pick rather than falling to the early second. Reasonable expectations in year one were that he would take over if the Titans fell out of playoff contention mid-way through the season and that he would likely struggle.

That’s in part due to some of the decision-making on his part, but even more based around the fact that they had no proven commodities along the O-line. adding to that, Derrick Henry was starting to slow down a little bit and DeAndre Hopkins in year 11 was the only reliable pass-catcher on the team.

While they’ll be forced to make some tough decisions along their aging defense – which already included trading away perennial All-Pro safety Kevin Byard to Philadelphia for a bag of peanuts – that’s where I think they need to go with this selection.

Tennessee’s brass was very happy about Peter Skoronski falling to them at 11th overall this past April and with his inside-out flexibility, he’ll be a corner-stone piece up front for them for a decade probably.

While they could certainly go with another OT in case Joe Alt makes it to them, I think they just need a difference-maker at wide receiver and they’ll likely take the highest-drafted one since they took Corey Davis fifth overall back in 2017. So this probably comes down to LSU’s Malik Nabers or FSU’s Keon Coleman, especially considering Treylon Burks simply hasn’t been able to stay healthy and produce for them.

#7. Washington Commanders

This Washington franchise just seems to be stuck in the mud. While Ron Rivera currently still holds the title of head coach, when they traded away edge defenders Montez Sweat and Chase Young it was a clear indication that new ownership wants to bring in “their guys” this offseason. The current regime of Rivera, defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio and general manager Martin Mayhew appear to be dead men walking.

What will be interesting is how this group at the top views current OC Eric Bienemy, who has done a solid job I’d say considering the circumstances, and helped quarterback Sam Howell to at least be functional. Depending on the circumstances, I could see EB sticking around, although Howell at the very least will be competing with somebody else.

That brings us to our first conversation around the extremely tough question “Who is QB3 in this class?”. Based on consensus boards, Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy and Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. are projected to go in the early 20s, while LSU’s Jayden Daniels and Oregon’s Bo Nix find themselves in the early 30s.

Keep in mind, these are general rankings and don’t fully weigh positional value, although we’ve seen teams recently wait on a quarterback if they didn’t go really early. I would love to see Penix air it out to those Commander receivers, but with his injury history and certain accuracy questions, I don’t believe any of these guys are quite worthy of going this highly.

I wouldn’t be shocked at all if this crew wants to complete the trifecta of new GM, HC and QB, but after trading away Sweat and Young, Washington seems primed to take their top edge defenders on the board. Penn State’s Chop Robinson certainly could be a target, but if you made me bet today, this organization has an affinity for Alabama players and Dallas Turner may have the highest ceiling of the bunch.

#8. Atlanta Falcons

This is the first team that just really feels off to me being here. Once again, if I had to put money on who will ultimately win the NFC South, Atlanta would still be my pick and they already beat the two teams just below them here.

Their three consecutive losses have come by a combined score of 10 points despite switching back and forth between quarterbacks and they were 4-3 before it, despite now being tied for the third-worst turnover differential in the league (-6).

Until recently, I had been pretty impressed by their defense and while the fantasy community would tell you Arthur Smith is the worst coach in the league, I’m very happy to see them hand the reigns back over to second-year signal caller Desmond Ridder.

When he was in the lineup, this offense actually moved the ball pretty efficiently. What has killed them has simply been turnovers, which I hope the time on the bench will lead to him and the team as a whole taking better care of the ball, especially in the red zone.

With that being said, he certainly hasn’t performed up to a standard that excludes the Falcons from considering taking another shot at the position (especially if they do end up picking closer to the mid-teens and feel like the value is right).

Considering how they want to run the offense, there are a few names that could give them similar positives to Ridder, with more consistency in ball placement and avoiding turnover-worthy plays.

With Jeff Okudah being just a one-year rental, Atlanta could be looking for a long-term running mate to A.J. Terrell at the corner with somebody like Alabama’s Kool-Aid McKinstry. While they’ve been applying pressure more regularly, they could still be targeting one of those guys we’ve discussed already, who can consistently win rushing off the edge.

#9. Green Bay Packers

These Packers are kind of another team that could be ascending and at least making a run at the number seven seed in the NFC, which the Vikings currently own at 6-5. Following a calendar month filled with losses – with their bye week in between – they’ve now sandwiched that stretch by winning two of three games.

The most important piece of this has been Jordan Love re-gaining his confidence and just having a career day against the Chargers. Considering he signed that rather odd contract extension in the offseason and that they may not be in range for a quarterback of their liking, I’d say the most likely outcome is that they give him another year (pending any significant setbacks this season) and they give him some help when they are on the clock.

The long-term status of former All-Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari is very much in the air still. He looked like himself in the season-opener this year, but with just 13 total games played since the start of 2021, I’m just not sure if they can depend on anything from him going forward.

Depending on if they believe Zach Tom can flip over to the blind side, it may give them the option to address offensive tackle somewhere between picks eight and 18 or so. Alabama’s J.C. Latham, Oregon State’s Taliese Fuaga, and Georgia’s Amarius Mims all excel on the right side, but they bring different things to the table.

Latham is already an advanced pass-protector who can put edge defenders in a cage with his snatch-and-trap technique. Fuaga is a violent, mean road-grader in the run game with impressive athleticism at about 340 pounds and Mims is the most talented of the bunch.

However, Mims only just returned from injury two weeks ago after missing extended and if he does declare as a true junior, he’ll do so with only 8.5 starts plus whatever playoff games he may be part of.

#10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

After shockingly starting the year 3-1, the Bucs have crashed down to earth, losing five of their next six – including four straight following their week four bye. This is a franchise I’m not sure what to make of for the future.

Baker Mayfield has played well enough to make this a competitive team, but this always felt more like a one-year project and if they exist in mediocrity, he’s not the guy to base anything around. It’s also probably time to say goodbye to some of these well-compensated veterans.

Mike Evans has played as if he’s just pissed off and trying to show he’s still one of the league’s best receivers. While not enough is made of how flawless Tristan Wirfs' transition to the blind side has been up until this past Sunday at least, safety Antoine Winfield Jr. has played at an All-Pro level, constantly being around the ball.

Outside of those proven commodities, what has been encouraging is seeing how quickly some of these rookie defenders have acclimated themselves. Calijah Kancey and Yaya Diaby are true disruptors up front and Christian Izien looks like a quality starting nickel, after I predicted him to make an impact as an undrafted free agent.

Realistic expectations from this ownership group should’ve been all along that after going all-out for this window with Tom Brady, they’d be taking some time to re-group and trying to keep the band together mostly didn’t work. With both starting linebackers and safeties becoming free agents this offseason, they’ll be addressing those positions at some point in the draft, but not if they end up picking this high.

Unless GM Jason Licht is pushed by ownership to attack quarterback early on, he’s probably working with a new head coach on transitioning this roster and depending if Big Mike is part of that plan, they may look at Florida State’s Keon Coleman as a younger version of that alpha receiver or they target one of those three right tackles I just discussed.

#11. New York Jets

This is certainly not what Jets fans expected their season to look like. Of course, those dreams came crashing down early on, when the supposed savior Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles just four snaps into his time in the Big Apple.

While Zach Wilson did have some positive moments during Rodgers’ absence, they have not gotten any consistent quarterback play. They announced a couple of days ago that they were making the switch to an even lesser-proven commodity in Tim Boyle.

With that being said, this Jets brass still appears all-in on the possibility of having a Hall of Fame QB for another year or two and maximizing the window they have with him.

Their defense is better than the numbers would indicate as they’re being dragged down by an offense that can’t take pressure off them, putting them on the field for the fourth-longest time per game (27:38 minutes). However, they have rarely looked like a truly elite unit to me and it’ll be interesting how many pending free agents on the D-line they can bring back or how they decide to reload.

For all his flaws, it’s pretty obvious that without Alijah Vera-Tucker on the O-line, Zach Wilson didn’t have a whole lot to rely on. Breece Hall and Garrett Wilson are the only two difference-makers and the the only QB with multiple starts who has been pressured at a higher rate (28.3%) is Daniel Jones.

Optimally, you’d certainly prefer Allen Lazard be your WR3, but reports emerged this past weekend about how the Jets already approached the Raiders to reunite Rodgers with Davante Adams. They will continue to be in this discussion during the offseason.

So with how injury-prone the O-line has been on top of question marks we already had coming into the year, that seems at least written in pen for them already as the plan here. That’s why I’ll never be convinced that the Jets didn’t get sniped by the Steelers for Georgia OT Broderick Jones this past April.

#12. Los Angeles Chargers

There’s not a more frustrating team in the NFL right now than the Chargers. They have a $52.5 million quarterback in terms of average annual value, are among the top spenders overall and have a coaching staff in place for year three, while having replaced the one squeaky wheel calling plays on offense.

Yet they’re only two games above 0.500 over the past three seasons and have not cracked the top 20 in scoring defense in any of those. Their rushing success has decreased in each of them, now down to 31st overall.

You can blame a lot of factors in why they consistently underperform, but the two biggest points are Brandon Staley being one of the worst late-game managers across the league and their big-ticket names simply not living up to the billing (outside of Herbert).

In particular, you can look at a defense with Joey Bosa, Khalil Mack, Derwin James, and J.C. Jackson (who didn’t even play a full season for them of his original four-year deal) combining for a $53.5 million cap hit this year. Outside of a random six-sack performance from Mack, they simply haven’t made enough big plays.

We’ll have to see how many of those guys they’re going to part ways with, as the Staley era probably comes to an end unless we see a massive turnaround here. You’d like to see the Chargers be able to run the ball more effectively, but as long as Mike Williams was healthy, they were mostly lighting up teams with their offense.

That’s where drafting Jordan Addison or Zay Flowers over Quentin Johnston this past April, coming off a brutal drop that probably cost them a win this past Sunday at Green Bay, would be massive right now. With Gerald Everett about to be off the books, I’d love to see Herbert throw to Georgia TE Brock Bowers though, to finally give them a reliable YAC threat.

Yet, I’d think with Asante Samuel Jr. as the only corner of note under contract past this season, that’s a position to target in a pretty strong class. Getting another DB with versatility like Iowa’s Cooper DeJean could make a lot of sense and so would finally addressing the interior D-line early on in the draft with Illinois’ Jer’Zhan Newton.

#13. Los Angeles Rams

On one hand, the Rams are fairly close to where they were expected to be before the season and if for just slightly better late-game management by the Seahawks, they could pick be picking six spots higher than this right now. On the other, I can envision a path where they make it to 9-8 and compete for that final Wild Card spot as I look through their remaining schedule.

Looking at this roster, you saw a quarterback coming off yet another significant back injury, one proven pass-catcher, an offensive line that surrendered 59 sacks last season (third-most in the NFL), and a defense that consisted of Aaron Donald and zero other players drafted within the top-75 in those respective years.

With the emergence of rookies like Puka Nacua and Byron Young, Matt Stafford is playing like a borderline elite quarterback when his thumb isn’t bothering him. Play-callers on both sides of the ball, Sean McVay and Raheem Morris, have elevated the individual pieces at hand and they can challenge pretty much any team in the league.

So LA is in a position where assuming Stafford comes back for another year, they can see if a promising young QB falls to them somewhere on day two and focus on getting the best player available in the first round.

Preferably that would be on the defensive side of the ball as they can’t rely on Ahkello Witherspoon to be responsible. He has a nearly bottom-10 passer rating (69.4) among corners after being a liability on the perimeter for the majority of his first five seasons in the league.

I just mentioned Cooper DeJean for the other LA team, but someone like Clemson’s Nate Wiggins could become Raheem Morris’ new version of Jalen Ramsey, as a long, twitchy guy they can stick to the boundary and structure their coverages around him.

#14. Las Vegas Raiders

The vibes around the Silver and Black have been significantly better since they fired the combination of Josh McDaniels and Dave Ziegler, naming Antonio Pierce interim head coach.

Following a 3-5 start, they annihilated the Giants, beat the Jets in a close game, and had four offensive drives to potentially tie up the Dolphins in a 20-13 loss this past Sunday. Miami was expected to blow them out in their first game off the bye week. Having said that, I was somewhat confused about where the Raiders saw themselves coming into the season already.

While it took a while to get them in-house, they brought back the reigning rusher leader in Josh Jacobs, have a star veteran receiver in Davante Adams, one of the elite defensive players in the game Maxx Crosby and all they did during the offseason was sign more veterans to fill out the rest of the roster.

Yet, then they turned around and put this supposedly ready-to-compete team in the hands of Jimmy G. This unsurprisingly turned out horribly, after a couple of solid weeks early on, when they were able to mostly operate on schedule.

They didn’t make any reinforcements to an O-line that had massive issues in pass-protections in 2022 and outside of seventh overall pick Tyree Wilson (who has a combined 1.5 sacks and TFLs up to this point) Marcus Epps was the only defensive addition of note.

We’ve since heard Antonio Pierce describe linebacker Robert Spillane as “the guy they want to center things around” and he’s played exceptionally well. But while the defense has performed above expectations, DC Patrick Graham is making the best of the pieces he has.

I’d say if one of those three offensive tackles I mentioned after Fashanu and Alt is available here, that’s worth consideration as a replacement for Thayer Munford on the right side. Otherwise, a play-wrecker on the interior like Jer’Zhan Newton or their top corner on the board (which may very well be the feisty Kalen King from Penn State), if they keep this staff in place, sounds like logical alternatives.

#15. Indianapolis Colts

I think if you had told Colts fans they’d be .500 10 games into the season, they’d take it, regardless of context. Now, if you add that fourth overall pick Anthony Richardson only played two full games (three if you combine the two halves he’s played in the others), seeing him suffer a concussion and then a shoulder injury that requires season-ending surgery obviously sucks big-time.

However, it also shows that there’s more in place from a roster and coaching infrastructure standpoint than last year’s record would indicate. After a highly disappointing season by the offensive line, they’re now up to number three in PFF’s O-line rankings. The defense ranks top-15 in both EPA per play and DVOA and this entire rookie class looks like a massive hit, if their young quarterback can stay healthy beyond this year.

Where they ultimately go with this pick that’ll ultimately end up somewhere in the teens will heavily depend on how they approach their pending free agents. Wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr., nose-tackle Grover Stewart, nickelback Kenny Moore are all key to this operation and will be priorities to retain.

Being on the rookie QB clock should allow them to do so, as they’re currently seventh in projected effective cap space for 2024 ($66 million), but ownership may push GM Chris Ballard to also go outside of his realm and add a couple more pieces in free agency, after what AR-5 showed during his limited sample size.

A player they won’t be able to acquire otherwise and might fall to them if they move up a few spots still and teams overthink the “TE” tag/label is Georgia’s Brock Bowers. His ability to work the middle of the field and create easy yardage after the catch to complement those sky-scrapers on the outside would be a welcome addition for head coach Shane Steichen to play around with.

Depending on if one of my draft crushes JuJu Brents can continue to excel, finding him at running mate at corner is certainly on the table here as well.

#16. Denver Broncos

Finally, the Broncos at this point feel out of place here. They’re currently the hottest team in football, having won a league-best four consecutive games and while the turnovers certainly helped this past Sunday night against the Vikings, nothing about those has been fluky.

So if they can stay on this trajectory, being just one game behind the Steelers and Texans as well as the Bills by half a game (already having won at Buffalo and a trip to Houston two weeks away), they’ll fight to stay in the hunt for that seven-seed. With that out of the way, let’s now forget what this franchise felt like about a month ago when the defense was on a historically bad pace and they struggled with giving the ball away.

The truth may be somewhere in the middle of that, but what’s funny about this is that it felt like a divorce between Russell Wilson and head coach Sean Payton was sort of pre-determined. Yet, Russ suddenly is now up to third league-wide in passer rating, behind only Brock Purdy and Tua Tagovailoa.

How he continues to fare will make a massive difference in how Denver approaches the offseason, as Payton won’t have something to point at to base a switch under center around.

It’s still not a great offense, but they can move the ball well enough with Javonte Williams regaining his health to add balance on the ground. Depending on what rookie Marvin Mims shows down the stretch, they may be closer to adding another piece to that group, such as Washington’s Rome Odunze or Ohio State’s Emeka Egbuka.

Looking at the defense, with their young edge rushers starting to step up, what you’re probably looking at is adding another piece to the secondary. You’d hope Caden Sterns comes back 100% from the torn patellar tendon and you don’t have to call Kareem Jackson off his couch for the third year in a row, but I think Iowa’s Cooper DeJean would be a perfect addition.

They probably are already pretty familiar with the tape, considering how determined they were to go after Hawkeye teammate Riley Moss this past April.

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