Making 100% accurate predictions about the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft can be an impossible task given the seemingly infinite amount of scenarios that can play out during the event.
That doesn’t mean we won’t take our best educated guess at answering the top 10 questions fans want answered heading into the highly anticipated upcoming draft later this week.
Top 10 Questions Heading Into the 2024 NFL Draft
10) Will 4 Straight QBs Be Selected to Start the 2024 NFL Draft?
A loaded quarterback class can always make for must-watch TV when the NFL Draft rolls along. Fortunately for NFL fans who circle this event on their calendar, there are four top quarterback prospects — Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels, and J.J. McCarthy — expected to go in Round 1.
The list of current teams who need a quarterback all happen to be sitting at No. 1 (Chicago Bears), No. 2 (Washington Commanders), and No. 3 (New England Patriots) overall. The likelihood of signal callers occupying the first three selections feels pretty high, but will a fourth team make a deal with the Arizona Cardinals to move into the No. 4 spot to select a quarterback?
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The Cardinals are loaded with draft capital and have a huge need at wide receiver, which means the organization would be surrendering their right to select Marvin Harrison Jr. if they were to trade back with a team like the Minnesota Vikings. Barring any unforeseen obnoxious offer from a team, I don’t see the Cardinals trading out of the top 10.
One outside possibility remains with the New York Giants at No. 6 overall moving up a couple of spots to select a Daniel Jones contingency plan, but the opportunity to add an elite WR prospect to pair with Kyler Murray is one I don’t see Arizona passing up.
9) Will 4 WRs Go in Round 1?
If there is a safe bet among all of these top 10 questions from NFL fans, this is the one I’d feel the most comfortable putting money on. The aforementioned Harrison is essentially a lock for a top-10 pick, but LSU’s Malik Nabers and Washington’s Rome Odunze are also going to hear their name called very early on Day 1.
The odds of another WR prospect — which includes Brian Thomas Jr., Adonai Mitchell, Xavier Worthy, and Keon Coleman, just to name a few — not joining the top three pass catchers with first-round draft capital feels close to impossible.
8) Will a Defensive Player Go in the Top 10?
The talent at the top of the board at the QB, WR, and OT positions along with a generational TE prospect in Brock Bowers certainly makes it a possibility that not a single defender will go within in the first 10 picks, but that would be an unprecedented scenario that is highly unlikely to play out.
Top prospects like CB Terrion Arnold and EDGE prospect Dallas Turner both have top-shelf abilities that warrant a top-10 pick. It is hard to imagine a scenario where the Atlanta Falcons — who are loaded with top offensive skill-position players — or Bears not taking the top defensive player on their board at No. 8 or 9 overall.
7) Will 3 OL Prospects Be Drafted in the Top 10?
The betting favorite to add an offensive lineman with top-10 draft capital this year would be the Tennessee Titans, who are currently sitting at No. 7 overall. The thing about this crop of offensive tackles is it could turn out to be the best class at the position in recent memory.
Joe Alt, Taliese Fuaga, Olu Fashanu, JC Latham, and Troy Fautanu all have a strong case to be considered as a top 10 pick for the Titans, Bears, Giants, Los Angeles Chargers, and New York Jets.
There is certainly a chance three of these top prospects could earn top 10 draft capital later this week, but I see the more likely number being two, with Alt and Fashanu joining the Titans and Jets, respectively, come draft night.
6) Will There Be a WR Taken in Back-to-Back Picks in the Top 10?
If the board stays the exact same, then my answer is yes. The Cardinals, Chargers, and Giants — who sit at No. 4, No. 5, and No. 6 overall — all have glaring needs at WR on their roster. The potential unforeseen wrinkle in play is the Vikings trading up from No. 11 overall with either the Cardinals or Chargers to select a quarterback.
If the Vikings trade up with the Chargers, then the answer will likely be no. I do see the Cardinals going with Harrison at No. 4, but I could see Jim Harbaugh trading down in an attempt to retool the roster to his vision with more draft capital.
Ultimately, I believe the Vikings acquired a second first-round pick for the exact purpose of trading up to select their franchise quarterback and see the Chargers as an ideal dance partner. My answer, ultimately, is that I don’t believe there will be consecutive receivers taken within the first 10 picks.
5) Will There Be 5+ QBs Taken in Round 1?
Now that we have established that four quarterbacks are essentially a lock for top-10 draft capital, the next top quarterback prospects available are Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. and Oregon’s Bo Nix.
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Outside of the previously mentioned Bears, Commanders, Patriots, and Vikings, the other two teams who are definitely in the market for a quarterback would be the Denver Broncos and Las Vegas Raiders. Personally, I see one of these two teams addressing the quarterback position in Round 1, but even if both pass on these prospects, I could see a team trading into the very back end of Day 1 to select Penix or Nix.
4) Will There Be 7+ OL Prospects Drafted in Round 1?
I previously mentioned the names of Alt, Fuaga, Fashanu, Latham, and Fautanu all having a chance at being a top-10 pick earlier in this piece, which means we would need just two additional offensive line prospects to hear their names called to hit this number.
Other first-round caliber talents along the offensive line include Georgia’s Amarius Mims, Duke’s Graham Barton, Oregon’s Jackson Powers-Johnson, Arizona’s Jordan Morgan, Oklahoma’s Tyler Guyton, and Yale’s Kiran Amegadjie. If the question pertained strictly to offensive tackles, I’d be a little less bullish, but I feel very comfortable saying that seven offensive linemen will be selected on Day 1 of the 2024 NFL Draft.
3) Will There Be 3+ Defensive Players Selected in the Top 16?
Assuming the top two defensive prospects previously mentioned — Turner and Arnold — both are taken in the top 16, it is hard to imagine a scenario where at least one more prospect isn’t taken in the top half of Round 1.
Yet, with six quarterback-needy teams holding a pick in the first 13 selections, and with the plethora of top talent at WR and OT and Bowers in the mix, there is a feasible scenario where players like Toledo’s Quinyon Mitchell, FSU’s Jared Verse, Iowa’s Cooper DeJean, and UCLA’s Laiatu Latu all fall out of the top 16.
Personally, I think Mitchell or DeJean will be selected in the top 16 alongside two Alabama defensive prospects to barely hit the minimum threshold of three for this question.
2) Will any RBs Be Drafted in Round 1?
In a day and age where the running back position is being undervalued during the NFL Draft, paired with the lack of a top-end consensus prospect at the position, I don’t see a scenario where FSU’s Trey Benson, Texas’ Jonathon Brooks, or Michigan’s Blake Corum sneaking into the end of Round 1 on Thursday.
1) Will 4 QBs Go in the Top 10?
As previously discussed, I strongly believe the Vikings are going to make a move into the top 10 to secure one of the top four quarterback prospects in this class, and I believe four QBs will go in the top 10.
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Even if the Patriots do something crazy and trade out of the No. 3 spot, I imagine it would be with the Vikings, Broncos, or Raiders to select a quarterback.
If McCarthy, Daniels, or Maye fall to the Vikings at No. 11 overall, then I’ll take the loss on this one. However, I just don’t see a world where a quarterback-needy team doesn’t either hop in front of the Vikings or where Minnesota doesn’t trade up themselves to land a top QB prospect.
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