2024 Off-Season Mock Draft: Post-Combine 1QB Rookie Draft
In this edition of the Off-Season Mock Draft series, I wanted to look at a single-quarterback mock following the NFL Scouting Combine. I recently covered a post-combine superflex rookie draft and wanted to see how things went in the 1QB world. I was randomly assigned the 12th pick in this mock, which I have become accustomed to picking this off-season. So, I had an idea regarding where I would go with my picks based on my pre-combine mocks, but I was curious to see if there would be any shake-ups following the combine.
Round One
Right out of the gate, Brock Bowers going 1.03 ahead of Rome Odunze was a bit of a surprise, especially after Odunze looked great at the combine. Without any sort of TE premium, there is absolutely no way Bowers could ever crack the top three for me. The second big shocker was Keon Coleman at 1.06. While he was WR6 before the combine, he is now WR9, and this draft was a clear outlier for the month of March. The earliest Coleman went in any other draft was 11th, and he went as late as 19th in one mock, too. He was one of the biggest fallers following the combine, but not here.
Nothing else was particularly shocking the rest of the way in round one. Receivers Xavier Worthy, Adonai Mitchell, and Troy Franklin have settled into this range, and Caleb Williams has been a first-round pick in single QB leagues 90% of the time, too. I knew picking at the end of the first round – unless one of the top wide receivers had an epic fall – I was going to go with a running back at 1.12, and my top RB was there, so Trey Benson was an easy selection for me. Had Benson been selected before my pick, I would have taken Jaylen Wright (who went 2.07), my current RB2, in the 2024 class.
Round Two
In round two, I love seeing Ladd McConkey go 2.01. I’m happy to see him get the love, but I hate where his ADP is headed, as it will limit my ability to grab him in drafts. MarShawn Lloyd went just ahead of Blake Corum for only the second time in all of March, but they have gone back-to-back multiple times, and their ADP is inching closer together.
Ja’Lynn Polk at 17 was the earliest he went all month, and I love to see it. Another player I’m higher on than most, Polk’s post-combine ADP is 25.8, and he has fallen into the third round in 70% of drafts, but not here. Another surprise was Devontez Walker at 2.06. Walker had a bad week at the senior bowl and saw his ADP drop a bit, but the team drafting sixth picked up their second overdrafted receiver in this mock, as this was also the highest we saw Walker get drafted in the entire month.
JJ McCarthy went at 2.09, well ahead of Drake Maye, which has only happened a few times, but I suspect that momentum might continue into next month. But with my pick, I got Roman Wilson at 2.12, right on pace with his ADP of 23.3. If this draft were to take place today, I might have gone with Ricky Pearsall instead, but I was happy with my selection of Wilson at the time.
Round Three
The third round was fairly standard, although as I participate in more mocks, I’m still wowed by the amount of talent lingering deep into the third and fourth rounds. Malachi Corley, Javon Baker, and Jalen McMillan are all probably early second-round picks in any other year, and I already professed my love for Pearsall, too.
Ray Davis was a steal at 3.10, and I think he is a significantly better option at running back than Will Shipley, Bucky Irving, and Audric Estime – all of whom went ahead of him. But in the end, I went with Jacob Cowing. I liked the pick better when I made it more than I do now as I look back at it. And that isn’t a knock on Cowing. I like the player, but there were a few players who went after him that have grown on me a bit more as time has passed.
Round Four
As we get into the final round of this mock, Jermaine Burton, Luke McCaffrey, and Brenden Rice would all have been options for me ahead of Cowing at 3.12. These are all really outstanding options this late in rookie drafts – especially when you factor in their cost. It is wild to me to see what kind of value there is late in drafts this year.
Moving away from receivers for a minute, Jase McClellan, Dillon Johnson, and Dylan Laube are decent running back prospects, too – and we’re still seeing them available as late as pick 4.06, and they’ve all gone undrafted at least once. It’s simply craziness this year when you look at the caliber of prospect that can potentially be had even in the fifth round or as a waiver wire pickup following your draft.
With the draft’s final pick, I went with my TE2, Ben Sinnott. I believe he is one of the biggest sleepers in this draft, and I have my fingers crossed that he finds himself in a fantasy-friendly system for tight ends. He’s gone undrafted multiple times, and although I prefer not to burn my rookie picks on tight ends, he has such high upside that pick 48 could make him one of the draft’s biggest steals.
Overall, I was happy with how this draft played out. Picking 12th and imagining I have a championship-level roster in place already, I think I added pieces to help keep me in contention again in 2024. Benson, Wilson, Cowing, and Sinnott is a solid quartet, although If I were swinging for the fences, and drafted today, I might have gone with Wright, Pearsall, Rice, and Sinnott instead. Either way, I was happy with the way this turned out and again came away stunned by the depth of this year’s crop of rookies.
- 2024 Off-Season Mock Drafts: Rookie Fallout From an NFL Mock Draft - April 20, 2024
- 2024 Dynasty Fantasy Football Rookie Drafts: A View from the 1.07 - April 17, 2024
- 2024 Off-Season Mock Drafts: Recent Rookie Risers and Fallers - April 13, 2024
