With Justin Fields gone, the Bears are clearly taking a quarterback. Caleb Williams being the No. 1 projected target in the draft likely makes him the pick for Chicago. Few quarterbacks can make the throws Williams can make in college or the pros.

Jayden Daniels is a natural fit for Kliff Kingsbury’s offense, which desperately needs a quarterback to lead it. For a Heisman Trophy winner, Daniels didn’t receive the respect he deserved early in the evaluation process. But people are finally beginning to come around to the fact that he might be the best quarterback on the entire draft board.

The Patriots resist the urge to trade down and take the last remaining of the top-three quarterbacks on the draft board. Drake Maye is too talented of a prospect to pass up, even for a team with a plethora of holes left to fill at other positions. New England keeps it simple by getting the franchise quarterback and worrying about everything else later.

The Vikings have to give up a haul of picks, including their two first-rounders in 2024 to move up the board and get their quarterback of the future. J.J. McCarthy is a championship caliber quarterback that will be eager to prove naysayers wrong in Minnesota.

The Chargers basically left the cupboard bare for quarterback Justin Herbert at receiver. Keenan Allen and Mike Williams both being gone puts them in position to take one of the greatest receiving prospects to come out in years. Marvin Harrison Jr. isn’t just good, but given the right opportunity, he could have future Hall of Fame potential.

If the Vikings don’t trade up, the Giants could be a potential landing spot for J.J. McCarthy. But things didn’t fall that way in this mock draft. The Giants stick with Daniel Jones at quarterback for reasons outside of their control, and instead, they get him another receiving weapon to help prove he’s the right man for the job.

No one really knows if Will Levis is the guy or not in Tennessee, but there’s no question he’ll need pass protection for the Titans to find out. Joe Alt is the best offensive tackle prospect on the board in 2024, and Levis needs time to throw to his new one-two punch receiving duo of DeAndre Hopkins and Calvin Ridley.

The Falcons are going all in as a possible contender in 2024. They wouldn’t have given a 35-year-old Kirk Cousins a four-year, $180 million deal if that weren’t the case. Cousins already has Kyle Pitts, Bijan Robinson and Drake London. Why not add Rome Oduze to the mix to really take things over the top?

After drafting a quarterback, the Bears turn their attention to the other side of the ball on defense. Dallas Turner is a game-wrecker on the field, and the Bears are in the market for one of those kinds of defensive players. This pick makes too much sense.

The Jets addressed the offensive line in free agency. Now, it’s time to load up on weapons for legendary quarterback Aaron Rodgers. With Garrett Wilson and Mike Williams working on the perimeter, the Jets sign all-world rookie tight end Brock Bowers to clean up everything in between. Wilson, Williams and Bowers in an offense together, with Breece Hall coming out of the backfield, would be a nightmare for opposing defenses.

The Cardinals passed on Marvin Harrison Jr. to accumulate three total first-round picks in 2024. They kick-start splurging with their arsenal of picks by drafting LSU’s Brian Thomas Jr. No, it isn’t the same as having Marvin Harrison Jr., but Thomas is an exceptional wide receiver prospect with the size, speed and playmaking abilities to put a smile on quarterback Kyler Murray’s face.

The Broncos would love to get their hands on J.J. McCarthy, but he’s gone at this point. So they move on to the next options, Bo Nix or Michael Penix Jr.

They go with Penix Jr. in hopes that he can expand upon the flashes he showed before the 2023 National Championship. He’d have to do so on a rebuilding football team with fewer offensive weapons.

A quarterback falling lower than expected could push the Raiders in a different direction, but then again, it’s hard arguing against selecting a difference-maker like Olu Fashanu, who ended up falling out of the top-10 in this mock draft. At this point, he was by-and-large the best prospect left on the draft board.

The Saints need to be aggressive about addressing their holes along the offensive front. Providing some layer of protection for quarterback Derek Carr is crucial to the team’s success. They aim to do better by taking Oregon State’s Taliese Fuaga at No. 14.

This pick could go either way with Terrion Arnold or Quinyon Mitchell. However, we’re going with the latter this time for a Colts team that could use the boost defensively. Mitchell is an athletic specimen capable of covering a ton of ground fast. He also has elite ball-tracking skills.

Troy Fauntanu is a versatile offensive line with the ability to play both inside and outside. He’s listed as an offensive tackle, but he’d likely project as a guard in the NFL. It would be an excellent fit for a Seahawks front that clearly needs interior help.

It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Jaguars go hunting for another receiver after losing Calvin Ridley in free agency. But Terrion Arnold still being on the board this late at a position of need was too hard to pass up. The former Alabama defensive back could help bring the fear element back to the Jaguars’ defense.

Tee Higgins is technically still a Bengal, even though there has been talks of him potentially being on the trade block after being franchise tagged. If he’s no longer on the roster, the Bengals could shift their focus towards adding another receiver, but if he stays, their focus needs to remain on building the offensive line and keeping quarterback Joe Burrow upright. They do that here by drafting Alabama’s JC Latham.

With Aaron Donald hanging up the cleats, it’s time for a new era along the defensive front in Los Angeles. Jer’Zhan Newton is built similarly to the future Hall of Famer, and he brings the right kind of attitude for a potential replacement. Make no mistake, there is no replacing a player like Donald, but Newton could make the transition in attempting to do so much easier.

Trading for Russell Wilson and Justin Fields would be senseless if the quarterbacks are running for their lives in games. The offensive line in Pittsburgh needs help, and Georgia’s Amarius Mims can help calm things in the pocket for the veteran signal-callers.

The interior offensive line is the primary focus for the Dolphins early in the draft. They provide a significant boost to the unit by selecting Oregon’s Jackson Powers-Johnson at No. 21 overall. Powers-Johnson is nasty in the trenches and a legitimate game-changer along the offensive front.

The Eagles’ passing defense was a mess last season. They need to get better in the defensive backfield and they aim to do so by taking Nate Wiggins in the first round. The former Clemson standout corner has the physicality and size to match up well on the outside.

After addressing the wide receiver position, the Cardinals turn their attention to their porous defense. The first order of business is adding playmakers along the defensive front. One of the best defensive playmakers in this entire draft is UCLA’s Laiatu Latu, who makes opposing quarterbacks cry uncle in his sleep.

With Tyron Smith gone, it’s time for the Cowboys to get younger at tackle. Oklahoma’s Tyler Guyton has the skill set to be a longtime fixture along Dallas’ offensive front. Dallas is the perfect destination for a talented offensive lineman considering their great track record of developing at those positions.

Kool-Aid McKinstry could possibly go higher than this pick, but fortunately for the cornerback-needy Packers, he’s there for the taking at pick No. 25. McKinstry plays with supreme confidence regardless of the matchup, and that could translate into something special at the next level.

The Patriots still have time to trade for a top-tier veteran receiver, but we’re working under the assumption that doesn’t happen. So the team gets aggressive late in the first round and pulls off a trade with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to move back up into the Day 1 draft picture for a receiver. They come away with one of the most talented wideouts on the board in Texas’ Adonai Mitchell, who has the size and playmaking abilities the Patriots desperately need.

The Cardinals finish up their trio of picks by taking Texas defensive lineman Byron Murphy. Adding two disruptive forces in Laiatu Latu and Murphy on the defensive front is a game-changer for Arizona, who also got quarterback Kyler Murray a new No. 1 receiving weapon while doing so.

The Bills should be looking for a complement and maybe even an eventual replacement for Stefon Diggs. Xavier Legette was initially viewed as a third-round pick, but his stock is on the rise. There aren’t many receivers built like him physically, and his athleticism is off the charts. This is the Bills’ chance to get Josh Allen another possible top-tier weapon, and they don’t blink in doing so.

There’s a chance the Lions might consider trading down, but they stay put in this mock draft and decide to boost their pass rush by selecting Florida State edge defender Jared Verse. A powerful, young defender like Verse flying off the edge would benefit the entire unit as a whole.

The Ravens already have Zay Flowers working out of the slot. They could use a big-bodied perimeter receiver to attack defenses on the outside. Florida State’s Keon Coleman, who stands at 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, could be a tremendous complementary option across from Flowers.

Getting better on the offensive front is a no-brainer for a 49ers team with a run-heavy scheme. Graham Barton is a versatile offensive lineman that wouldn’t just open up running lanes, but he would be a major boost to the team’s overall pass protection, which struggled at times last season.

An offensive tackle could be the play here for the Chiefs, or they could give Patrick Mahomes another weapon to torch opposing defenses with in games. They go with the latter in this mock draft by adding the fastest man in the NFL Scouting Combine, Texas’ Xavier Worthy.