What happened in the leadup to the 2024 NFL Draft

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — His plan for the NFL Draft remains the same. Brett Veach, the Kansas City Chiefs’ general manager, wants to make another deal, a splashy trade that he hopes will allow the reigning champions to acquire another star player.

Veach, who is known for his aggressiveness this time of year, has made a trade during or before the draft almost every year since he was promoted to his role after the draft in 2017. That year, of course, Veach had a prominent role in the Chiefs pulling off the greatest trade in franchise history: The team moved up 17 spots in the first round via a trade with the Buffalo Bills to acquire the 10th pick to select quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

This year, the Chiefs’ draft could start in the middle of the first round, perhaps as early as the 14th pick, which the New Orleans Saints possess. If Veach can move the Chiefs to the 20th pick or even higher, it will be the highest pick he’s ever had as general manager.

“I can envision myself (doing that), but you’ve got to get the owner’s approval on that,” Veach said with a smile Friday during his pre-draft news conference. “We have a pretty good plan this upcoming week, but every situation is unique. I certainly could see something like that, but a lot of things have to fall in place.”

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As expected, Raiders general manager Tom Telesco kept things close to the vest today. He maintained the status quo that they're open to adding players at every position and moving up and down the draft board. The only clear takeaway is that building through the draft is his focus.

In our first Broncos mock draft in early February, Denver nabbed All-American tight end Brock Bowers and addressed the quarterback position with late-round flyer Joe Milton of Tennessee. In our second mock draft in March, the Broncos traded back in the first round, selected edge rusher Jared Verse with the 17th pick and punted the task of finding a franchise quarterback to 2025.

Our third mock draft, dropping with the real event only four days away, reflects a greater urgency to find the permanent answer at quarterback. It reflects an aggressiveness I believe 60-year-old coach Sean Payton will have as he enters his second season in Denver, knowing his hope of rebuilding a downtrodden franchise hinges on him finding an answer at the most important position. It also reflects the dash of luck the Broncos might need to land a top-ranked passer as a handful of other QB-needy teams jostle for position.

Round 1, No. 8: J.J. McCarthy, QB, Michigan

Trade: Broncos send No. 12, No. 76 (third round), No. 203 (sixth) and a 2025 second-round pick to the Atlanta Falcons for No. 8 and No. 109 (fourth)

You can find plenty of mock exercises that put quarterbacks in the first four slots of the draft, which would be an NFL record. I’m counting on precedent to give Denver a chance. Here’s how it would look:

The Patriots at No. 3 would make sense as a trade-back candidate given that both the lead front office figure (Eliot Wolf) and head coach (Jerod Mayo) are in their first seasons on the job and the team has significant building to do in the post-Bill Belichick era. Collecting a trove of picks for the No. 3 selection, and waiting to start the clock on a franchise quarterback, would be a prudent move. The Vikings, with the two first-round picks, are well-equipped to jump into New England’s spot and take the quarterback of their choice. If Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels go first and second to the Bears and Commanders, respectively, it’s possible the Vikings could be after McCarthy. But there has been enough connecting the dots between Minnesota and Drake Maye to believe the North Carolina quarterback could be their choice.

The question from there: How far would the Broncos need to climb to get McCarthy? Following a run of three straight quarterbacks, I think three straight wide receivers will come off the board — Marvin Harrison to the Cardinals at No. 4; Malik Nabers to the Chargers at No. 5; Rome Odunze to the Giants at No. 6 — and the Titans will take Notre Dame offensive tackle Joe Alt with the No. 7 pick.

The No. 8 spot presents an opportunity for the Broncos to make a jump and hold off competition from teams like the Patriots (remember, they moved back in this scenario) or Raiders — and do so while preserving their first-round pick in next year’s draft.

Continue reading for the full seven-round Broncos mock draft.

So what does this mean for Denver in this upcoming draft?

Expect the Broncos to continue working behind the scenes to see if they have enough to move up in the draft for a quarterback. Otherwise, all other options are on the table.

I was told this front office is exploring it all.

In his latest mock draft, The Athletic's Vikings writer Alec Lewis has Minnesota trading with the New England Patriots to move up to No. 3 and select North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye.

The Vikings want a quarterback. Ownership has been and will continue to be involved in the conversations leading up to this pick.

Moving up to select Maye at No. 3 is dependent on multiple factors. First, the Commanders would have to prefer LSU’s Jayden Daniels or Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy at No. 2. Second, the Patriots would have to value the pick allotment more than any available player. And third, the Vikings’ offer would have to trump that of the Denver Broncos or Las Vegas Raiders.

None of these is a given, which is why predicting this is so difficult. Washington could take Maye. The Patriots could prefer Maye to a package of picks. And a team like the Broncos could swing massively with a package that could even include star cornerback Patrick Surtain.

If the Commanders take Maye at No. 2, the Patriots could stick and pick Daniels at No. 3. That would likely leave the Vikings and Broncos in a standoff for McCarthy. Miss there and the Vikings would look at a defensive player at No. 11 and potentially a quarterback like Michael Penix Jr. at No. 23. These are all possibilities. But the one that makes the biggest statement is aggressively moving up the board for Maye, who understands the advantages of Minnesota’s infrastructure.

Projected trade with the Patriots: No. 11, No. 23 and a 2025 first-rounder for No. 3, a 2024 sixth-rounder (No. 180) and a 2025 fifth-rounder.

Continue reading for a full seven-round Vikings mock draft.

As for the Cardinals, like last year’s draft, teams looking to trade up for the No. 4 pick may have to wait it out.

General manager Monti Ossenfort won’t do a trade until they are on the clock.

Why? Arizona wants to maximize the pick's value to squeeze the competition as much as possible.

The New England Patriots are listening and taking calls from teams looking to move into No. 3.

While general manager Eliot Wolf is running point, I’m told Patriots President Jonathan Kraft is heavily involved in the decision making.

The NFL Draft is just three days away, which means teams are preparing to infuse their rosters with some young, exciting talent.

Some rosters (Washington, Carolina) desperately need such an infusion, while others (Kansas City, San Francisco) are seeking players who can help them return to the Super Bowl. But what about all of the teams in between?

I’ve used my NFL Projection Model to rank each roster ahead of next week’s draft. The model takes into account an array of metrics and tries to put a “value” on every player. This value is essentially how many points above average a player brings to his team in a typical NFL game. Positional value weighs heavily when calculating that total. So the best running back or linebacker in the league will not be worth as much as the best wide receiver or edge rusher. After summing up all the values, each team was ranked 1-32. Here’s how the rosters stack up entering the draft.

The top five:

1. 49ers
2. Chiefs
3. Ravens
4. Bills
5. Eagles

Continue reading for team Nos. 6-32.

The Ringer’s Ben Solak and Danny Kelly join The Athletic's Robert Mays for an intense pre-draft competition among fellow football podcasters.

Via a snake draft, each participant selects a team of 10 players eligible in this year’s draft, trying to build a squad with the lowest combined draft slots (No. 1 is best, etc.). Game on.

Three teams are on the verge of injecting an explosive dimension to their offense Thursday night in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft as a trio of potential superstar wide receivers are expected to fly off the board in a hurry.

Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr., LSU’s Malik Nabers and Washington’s Rome Odunze are viewed as near-locks to become top-10 picks. But because they’re different types of players, there’s league-wide intrigue surrounding where they’ll land and in which order they’ll be selected.

“You have to look at: What does your receiver room look like?” a personnel executive told The Athletic. “Then figure out which element you’re missing. They’re all No. 1s. It’s like picking your favorite flavor of ice cream.”

The Athletic anonymously polled eight NFL executives, coaches and scouts to rank their top three receivers in the draft as a way to figure out how the group is generally viewed around the NFL. Harrison, Nabers and Odunze were listed on all eight ballots.

Here’s how it shook out, along with insight on each player.

The bright lights and quarterback debates will be there as always when the NFL Draft starts Thursday night. But something’s different this year, which will become more evident as the rounds turn and we get into Day 3 on Saturday.

Only 58 underclassmen have declared for this week’s draft — down from 130 players in 2021 and the smallest number of underclassmen since 2011. For those in NFL circles, the introduction of NIL money is a clear factor.

“It’s crazy to fathom that some of these guys made more money in college than they will in the NFL,” Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur said.

Players started signing marketing deals after the Supreme Court’s 2021 ruling that collegiate athletes are entitled to payment for their “name, image and likeness.” The pandemic-shortened season in 2020 has also played a part in players staying in school, as they were granted an extra year of eligibility. And then the NCAA allowed players to transfer without sitting out a year.

NIL payments are not public figures, but most players who will be selected in the top three rounds this week have money in the bank now. USC quarterback Caleb Williams, the projected top pick to the Chicago Bears, has been estimated to have earned around $10 million while in school. He may be an outlier, but NFL coaches are noticing a difference in their interactions with draft prospects in the NIL era.

“You look for the guys that have that look in their eye,” Las Vegas Raiders coach Antonio Pierce said. “You can really feel it, and you can also see the guys that are entitled, that have NIL money, which is an issue because they come in privileged. They have money in the bank.

“When I came in the league, I was broke. These guys already got goddamn jewelry on and the Louis Vuitton rocking already.”

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Patriots scouting director and de facto general manager Eliot Wolf said he’s heard the criticisms of the team’s roster. He is also familiar with the notion that New England should trade back from No. 3 for more picks to bolster the rest of the roster before adding a rookie quarterback. The idea is that a young QB might not be set up to succeed without sufficient weapons around him.

But Wolf doesn’t see it that way. He said the public is underestimating what a rookie quarterback would have to work with on the Patriots.

“We have NFL receivers, we have NFL tight ends, we have NFL running backs, we have NFL offensive linemen,” Wolf said. “We feel good about where we are, and we feel through free agency — on the offensive side, in particular — that we’ve been able to supplement our roster properly so we’re not having to draft for need as much offensively.”

Wolf added that the Patriots have had preliminary talks with other teams about potentially acquiring wide receivers via trade but stressed New England has a good enough setup to drop a rookie quarterback into.

“We’re going to have the support that’s needed for that quarterback — if we draft one,” Wolf said. “We’re going to have a situation where they’re supported in every way possible to make them succeed.”

While Wolf said the Patriots don’t feel they have to take a quarterback at No. 3, he said they’ll “be comfortable with” any of the top options that fall to them there, presumably Jayden Daniels or Drake Maye.

That’s not a shock. We’ve known for months that the Patriots want a quarterback at No. 3. But it’s still noteworthy that he said it on the record.

Wolf added that it’s a “unique” year with six quarterbacks graded near the top of the draft.

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Most NFL teams’ draft boards are 125 or 150 players deep — some smaller, maybe a few larger. Each front office has its own criteria at certain positions that will eliminate a lot of players from consideration.

Without having a specific scheme or culture, compiling a top-300 draft board is definitely a flawed exercise. But it is interesting to stack the players based on general draft grades (from “The Beast”) to see who makes the cut.

The top 10:

1. Caleb Williams, USC QB
2. Marvin Harrison Jr., Ohio State WR
3. Malik Nabers, LSU WR
4. Drake Maye, North Carolina QB
5. Joe Alt, Notre Dame OT
6. Rome Odunze, Washington WR
7. Brock Bowers, Georgia TE
8. Jayden Daniels, LSU QB
9. Troy Fautanu, Washington OG
10. Terrion Arnold, Alabama CB

Continue reading for the full list.

The Athletic's Dane Brugler, Robert Mays and Nate Tice come together to discuss their favorite players of the 2024 NFL Draft, from those in the top 10 to the ones slightly outside the top 100.