We are officially less than a week away from the 2024 NFL Combine. With the NFL Draft just two months away, not only are the Chicago Bears, who hold the No. 1 overall pick, on the clock, but so is Daniel Jeremiah.
As the lead draft analyst for NFL Network, Jeremiah is entering his busiest time of the year. On Thursday, he spoke with the media to discuss the upcoming combine and his latest mock draft, the second iteration he’s released so far this year.
To no surprise, Jeremiah starts out his mock draft with the obvious: USC quarterback Caleb Williams going No. 1 overall to Chicago. Williams has been projected as the top pick for over a year now, and even though the Trojans struggled in 2023, that has not changed much over the past 12+ months.
“Caleb to me is a top guy,” said Jeremiah of Williams. “When you look at him specifically and his evaluation trying to stack him up with guys from the past, I think just talent…you can put him up there with really any of the guys we’ve had just in terms of arm strength, athleticism, the creativity that he has, the play-making ability.”
“I think there’s still some more growth and some cleaning up to do with Caleb’s game, but talent-wise it’s pretty special.”
Jeremiah also has three other quarterbacks going in the top ten: North Carolina’s Drake Maye at No. 2 to Washington, LSU’s Jayden Daniels at No. 6 to the New York Giants, and Michigan’s JJ McCarthy at No. 8 to Atlanta.
Interestingly, despite giving high praise to both Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. and Oregon’s Bo Nix, Jeremiah did not include either of them in the first round.
“People can talk about where the ceiling is for these guys or how much growth there is,” said Jeremiah of Penix and Nix. “These guys are ready to play. They’re going to step in and have a chance to start right away, and it’s not going to be too big for them because of all the experience that they have. That’s kind of one of the trends I would say that’s come up a lot lately.”
“We’ve seen so many examples of guys shining at their second stop [in college], and I actually think [Nix] and Penix, both those guys going through adversity in their first stop I think is good for them wherever they land.”
Quarterback is not the only offensive position heavily featured in Jeremiah’s mock draft. He currently has 22 offensive players going in the first round, including the first ten picks. Included in that group are the four aforementioned quarterback’s, three wide receivers (Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr., LSU’s Malik Nabers and Washington’s Rome Odunze), and three offensive tackles (Notre Dame’s Joe Alt, Penn State’s Olumuyiwa Fashanu and Oregon State’s Taliese Fuaga).
This offense-heavy draft class marks a stark departure from two years ago, when the top five picks were all on the defensive side of the ball. By contrast, Jeremiah has the first defender off the board this year being Alabama edge rusher Dallas Turner to Minnesota at No. 11.
Fans will be able to see all of these players, and many others, in action when the combine opens next week in Indianapolis. The entire event will be televised on NFL Network, with Jeremiah, Rich Eisen and others providing commentary.
“It almost feels like Christmas when we do this call every year because this is really happening,” Jeremiah said. “We’re really getting into the thick of it.”
The NFL Combine’s Media Availability opens next Tuesday, Feb. 27. On-field drills will begin Thursday, Feb. 29 at 3:00 p.m. EST/12:00 p.m. PST and run through Sunday, March 3. Stay tuned to the Talk of Troy next week for live updates from Indianapolis by managing editor Sullivan Maley.