THE OFFICIAL KECK THOUGHTS 2024 NFL MOCK DRAFT

Getting it in right under the wire so I didn't have time to do full write-ups for my thinking behind various picks, but here is the Official Keck Thoughts 2024 Mock Draft! 

As always these are my predictions for where I think teams will pick players. I don't typically project trades, but for a second straight year I will. I'm sure there will be more trades than I have projected, but these are ones I felt made the most sense. 

I did better in 2022 than I did in 2023 with correctly predicting players to teams, but last year I still had about 5 or 6 correct. Hoping to do better this year, but we'll see!

KECK THOUGHTS 2024 NFL MOCK DRAFT 

#1.) Chicago Bears - Caleb Williams, QB, USC

#2.) Washington Commanders - Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU

#3.) New England Patriots - Drake Maye, QB, North Carolina

#4.) Arizona Cardinals - Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Ohio State

#5.) Los Angeles Chargers - JC Latham, OT, Alabama

#6.) New York Giants - Malik Nabers, WR, LSU

#7.) Tennessee Titans - Joe Alt, OT, Notre Dame

#8.) Minnesota Vikings (trade with Atlanta) - J.J. McCarthy, QB, Michigan

#9.) Chicago Bears – Rome Odunze, WR, Washington

#10.) New York Jets - Taliese Fuaga, OT, Oregon State

#11.) Atlanta Falcons (trade with Minnesota) – Dallas Turner, Edge, Alabama

#12.) Denver Broncos - Bo Nix, QB, Oregon

#13.) Oakland Raiders - Michael Penix, Jr., QB, Washington

#14.) New Orleans Saints - Olu Fashanu, OT, Penn State

#15.) Indianapolis Colts - Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia

#16.) Philadelphia Eagles (trade with Seattle) - Terrion Arnold, CB, Alabama

#17.) Jacksonville Jaguars - Quinyon Mitchell, CB, Toledo

#18.) Cincinnati Bengals - Byron Murphy II, DT, Texas

#19.) Los Angeles Rams - Johnny Newton, DT, Illinois

#20.) Pittsburgh Steelers - Graham Barton, OT, Duke

#21.) Miami Dolphins - Troy Fautanu, OT, Washington

#22.) Seattle Seahawks - Amarius Mims, OT, Georgia

#23.) Detroit Lions (trade with Minnesota) - Jared Verse, Edge, Florida State

#24.) Dallas Cowboys - Tyler Guyton, OT, Oklahoma

#25.) Green Bay Packers - Cooper DeJean, CB, Iowa

#26.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Chop Robinson, Edge, Penn State

#27.) Arizona Cardinals - Nate Wiggins, CB, Clemson

#28.) Buffalo Bills - Brian Thomas Jr., WR, LSU

#29.) Minnesota Vikings (trade with Detroit) - Kool-Aid McKinstry, CB, Alabama 

#30.) Baltimore Ravens - Laiatu Latu, Edge, UCLA

#31.) San Francisco 49ers - Adonai Mitchell, WR, Texas

#32.) Kansas City Chiefs - Jordan Morgan, OT, Arizona

Hope you've enjoyed the Mocking the Detroit Lions 2024 Draft series and this, the Keck Thoughts Official 2024 NFL Mock Draft. And enjoy the draft!

MOCKING THE DETROIT LIONS' 2024 NFL DRAFT: TRADE DOWN SCENARIO

We are just one day away from the 2024 NFL Draft, and we are at the end of our Mocking the Detroit Lions' 2024 NFL Draft series here at Keck Thoughts.

In our previous scenario we explored a potential trade up in Round 1. This time we're going to try to trade down likely out of the first round and see how our draft plays out.

Per usual, an explanation for how I typically handle mock draft simulations for these posts:

• I try to think along the lines of Lions GM Brad Holmes and Head Coach Dan Campbell...but ultimately I'll be making a lot of picks with what I think just makes sense given the circumstances.

• Due to the nature of mock draft simulators being an algorithm and subject to randomness, we must keep in mind that some players may fall in these simulations and be available to me when they probably won't be available for Detroit in real life. Each site also has their own rankings for the players in the draft, so there will be some variance in that alone. This time I opted for Pro Football Network's because I prefer how their draft simulator actually calls you with trade offers, whereas Pro Football Focus' does not.

As I always mention, this is more of a thought exercise to see who the Lions might have available to them and who they might draft in reality. Three years I did three different exercises, three different scenarios, and at various points in those exercises I had Detroit draft Levi Onwuzurike, Alim McNeil, and Amon-Ra St. Brown, all of whom Detroit actually did draft that year. Last year I also had Hendon Hooker and Jahmyr Gibbs to the Lions at various points. So again, that's the kind of thing we're talking about here. 

The draft results are right below this sentence if you just want to take a glance at the actual picks, and after the jump/below the picks is a full recap and breakdown of the simulation and my thinking behind each pick. Enjoy!

DETROIT LIONS MOCK DRAFT SCENARIO: Post-Free Agency Edition

Team Needs: Cornerback, Defensive Line, Interior Offensive Line, Wide Receiver, Safety, Offensive Tackle, Place Kicker, Tight End, Linebacker, Quarterback, Running Back

DRAFT RESULTS

MOCKING THE DETROIT LIONS' 2024 NFL DRAFT: TRADE UP SCENARIO

We are just 8 days away from the 2024 NFL Draft, so let's keep it going with another entry in our Mocking the Detroit Lions' 2024 NFL Draft series here at Keck Thoughts.

In our last scenario we didn't move off of any of Detroit's actual draft positions. This time in an effort to experiment with possible scenarios and to keep learning about other players, we're going to try to trade up in the first round and see how our draft plays out.

Per usual, an explanation for how I typically handle mock draft simulations for these posts:

• I try to think along the lines of Lions GM Brad Holmes and Head Coach Dan Campbell...but ultimately I'll be making a lot of picks with what I think just makes sense given the circumstances.

• Due to the nature of mock draft simulators being an algorithm and subject to randomness, we must keep in mind that some players may fall in these simulations and be available to me when they probably won't be available for Detroit in real life. Each site also has their own rankings for the players in the draft, so there will be some variance in that alone. This time I opted for Pro Football Focus' draft simulator to change things up and because they now allow you to change the slider on which draft board you want to go off of.

As I always mention, this is more of a thought exercise to see who the Lions might have available to them and who they might draft in reality. Three years I did three different exercises, three different scenarios, and at various points in those exercises I had Detroit draft Levi Onwuzurike, Alim McNeil, and Amon-Ra St. Brown, all of whom Detroit actually did draft that year. Last year I also had Hendon Hooker and Jahmyr Gibbs to the Lions at various points. So again, that's the kind of thing we're talking about here. 

The draft results are right below this sentence if you just want to take a glance at the actual picks, and after the jump/below the picks is a full recap and breakdown of the simulation and my thinking behind each pick. Enjoy!

DETROIT LIONS MOCK DRAFT SCENARIO: Post-Free Agency Edition

Team Needs: Cornerback, Defensive Line, Interior Offensive Line, Wide Receiver, Safety, Offensive Tackle, Place Kicker, Tight End, Linebacker, Quarterback, Running Back

DRAFT RESULTS