Watch Nick Wright of FS1's First Things First release his first NFL mock Draft of the off-season with the 2024 NFL Draft less than a month away.
The most eye-opening prediction on Wright’s big board is the Minnesota Vikings moving up from pick 11 all the way to pick number three in a trade with the New England Patriots to draft Michigan quarterback JJ McCarthy.
McCarthy, once thought of as late-first round afterthought, has become the Draft’s biggest rise after a 15-0 perfect season for the National Championship-winning Wolverines. Despite throwing for under 3,000 yards in his final season in college and tossing just 22 touchdowns, McCarthy did rank 3rd nationally in QBR.
Just last week, Wright told Colin Cowherd on The Herd that he ‘didn’t understand’ why McCarthy was vaulting so high on NFL mocks:
"At no point was I watching Michigan and was like ‘OH, MAN, AND THEY’VE GOT A TOP 5 PICK AT QUARTERBACK?!’ I’m not saying he can’t be a pro, but never in my adult life watching college football has there been a quarterback that I watched more that I was more confident on what their draft evaluation, which is a Day 2 pick.”
Even though Wright says he wouldn’t draft McCarthy in the first round, he does believe a quarterback-starved team like the Vikings, Broncos, or Giants will.
In the trade the Vikings would get the #3 pick while the Patriots would receive picks #11, #23, and #157 of the fifth-round.
With the Vikings taking McCarthy, Wright has the Patriots taking LSU wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. at 23.
The next big trade on Wright’s mock was the Raiders trading up from no. 13 in a trade with the Chargers to get the fifth overall pick to draft LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels.
The last trade of Wright’s first round mock has the Patriots acquiring the no. 29 pick from the Detroit Lions to draft Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. The Lions would receive picks #34, #103 of the fourth round, and #231 of the six round.
The Chargers would get the 13th pick, pick #77 of the third round, and a first-round pick in next year’s Draft.
Check out the full segment above.
1. Chicago Bears – Caleb Williams, QB, Southern California
2. Washington Commanders – Drake Maye, QB, North Carolina
3. Minnesota Vikings **[trade with Patriots]** – J.J. McCarthy, QB, Michigan
4. Arizona Cardinals – Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Ohio State
5. Las Vegas Raiders **[trade with Chargers]** – Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU
6. New York Giants – Malik Nabers, WR, LSU
7. Tennessee Titans – Joe Alt, LT, Notre Dame
8. Atlanta Falcons – Dallas Turner, DE, Alabama
9. Chicago Bears – Rome Odunze, WR, Washington
10. New York Jets – Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia
11. New England Patriots **[trade with Vikings]** – Taliese Fuaga, RT, Oregon State
12. Denver Broncos – Bo Nix, QB, Oregon
13. Los Angeles Chargers **[trade with Raiders]** – Byron Murphy II, DT, Texas
14. New Orleans Saints – Jared Verse, DE, Florida State
15. Indianapolis Colts – Cooper DeJean, CB, Iowa
16. Seattle Seahawks – Troy Fautanu, LT, Washington
17. Jacksonville Jaguars – Quinyon Mitchell, CB, Toledo
18. Cincinnati Bengals -- Olumuyiwa Fashanu, LT, Penn State
19. Los Angeles Rams – Jer'Zhan Newton, DT, Illinois
20. Pittsburgh Steelers – Jackson Powers-Johnson, C, Oregon
21. Miami Dolphins – Laiatu Latu, DE, UCLA
22. Philadelphia Eagles – Nate Wiggins, CB, Clemson
23. New England Patriots **[trade with Lions]** – Brian Thomas Jr., WR, LSU
24. Dallas Cowboys – Graham Barton, C, Duke
25. Green Bay Packers – JC Latham, RT, Alabama
26. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Terrion Arnold, CB, Alabama
27. Arizona Cardinals – Amarius Mims, RT, Georgia
28. Buffalo Bills – Tyler Nubin, S, Minnesota
29. New England Patriots **[trade with Vikings]** – Michael Penix Jr., QB, Washington
30. Baltimore Ravens – Kool-Aid McKinstry, CB, Alabama
31. San Francisco 49ers – Tyler Guyton, RT, Oklahoma
32. Kansas City Chiefs – Ladd McConkey, WR, Georgia
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