USC

My guess is the Bears will look to trade Justin Fields and build around a new franchise QB. Either of Jayden Daniels or Drake Maye could make a play to be taken here, but I’ll slot Caleb Williams into this spot for now. He makes throws that Patrick Mahomes can make. His desire for the spectacular play sometimes gets him in trouble, something he’ll need to correct.

LSU

Washington would be the floor for Caleb Williams given the hiring of Kliff Kingsbury. With Caleb gone, Jayden Daniels may be more of a Kingsbury guy than Drake Maye. The reigning Heisman winner has a very good deep ball and is an electric runner in the open field.

North Carolina

Some pundits have New England passing on a QB and drafting Marvin Harrison Jr. It’d be an interesting direction, but I believe the Pats are more likely to draft the remaining of the top three QBs still available. With his strong arm that can make any NFL throw and solid mobility, Drake Maye draws a few comparisons to Justin Herbert of the Chargers.

Ohio State

In a scenario where the top three QBs are off the board, Marvin Harrison Jr. to the Cardinals feels close to a lock to happening. Myles Garrett and Von Miller were the two best pass rushers coming out of college that I’d seen. MHJ is the wide receiver version of them. He’ll give Kyler Murray a true #1 wide receiver right away.

LSU

Bears get: Pick 5
Chargers get: Pick 9 and a 2025 2nd round pick

LA wants some extra draft ammo, and the Bears deal their second round pick next year to move up for the electric Malik Nabers, who some teams may rank ahead of Marvin Harrison Jr. if you believe some reports. Either way, pairing Nabers with D.J. Moore would give the Bears and Caleb Williams one of the best wide receiver duos in the league.

Washington

Whoever the long-term QB is for the Giants needs a true #1 wideout to throw to. Washington’s Rome Odunze isn’t quite the athletic marvel Harrison and Nabers are, but he’s one of the best route runners in the class and offers a huge catch radius with his excellent size.

Oregon State

Abject disaster would be a good description of the Titans offensive line. Oregon State’s Taliese Fuaga is hunting the #1 OT spot in this draft class with his outstanding showing at the Senior Bowl, and I’ll give him the nod for now because of it. This guy is a tone setter and a foundational piece to build any offensive line around.

Alabama

Since I have the Falcons signing Kirk Cousins in free agency, we’ll turn our attention to fixing the lousy pass rush for them here at 8. Dallas Turner could remind new head coach Raheem Morris some of Byron Young, a third round stud who the Rams drafted out of Tennessee a year ago.

Georgia

Jim Harbaugh strikes me as a guy who could easily go with a tackle, edge rusher or even a corner, but Brock Bowers would be an excellent fit. He’d be new offensive coordinator Greg Roman’s Vernon Davis/Mark Andrews, except I think Bowers could be even better. Bowers is a unicorn at the tight end position, and he’d be Justin Herbert’s new best friend on a football field.

Notre Dame

To give Aaron Rodgers a chance to succeed, major improvements at offensive tackle are needed for Gang Green. Luckily for them, this is an outstanding draft to improve at that spot. Joe Alt is definitely in play to be the first offensive tackle off the board and is a plug-and-play starter at left tackle.

Florida State

Whether Danielle Hunter is brought back or not, the Vikings could use some extra juice at pass rusher. Jared Verse didn’t quite have the 2023 he was hoping for, but he’ll still be a guaranteed first round pick with his power, athleticism, technique and nonstop motor.

Michigan

Ideally, the Broncos could trade down and draft McCarthy. Without a second round pick and with the Raiders behind them, they may have to draft him (or any QB they’d want) at 12 if they can’t move up for one of the top 3. McCarthy has a very strong arm and can make things happen with his legs, but he’ll need to improve his accuracy at the NFL level. Pairing him with Sean Payton could be great for his career.

Alabama

Vegas passes on a QB here and adds talent to its secondary. Terrion Arnold is not as refined as teammate Kool-Aid McKinstry, but his ceiling is through the roof and he’ll be well coached coming from Alabama and the recently retired Nick Sabin.

Penn State

Olu Fashanu is reportedly now seen as more of a solid left tackle prospect instead of an elite one like he was a year ago, but he won’t fall out of the teens. Potentially being short both tackles from 2023, it would make a lot of sense for the Saints to snag one of the remaining top tackles here at 14.

Iowa

This pick remains the same as last time. Cooper DeJean is a versatile chess piece that can play anywhere needed in the Indianapolis secondary. He played mostly boundary corner at Iowa, though he may spend most of his time at the NFL level playing safety.

Alabama

Bengals get: Pick 16
Seahawks get: Picks 18 and 115 (R4)

Here’s a major upgrade for the Bengals at right tackle in J.C. Latham, who would replace the incumbent Jonah Williams. In time, it wouldn’t surprise me if Latham overtook Orlando Brown and became the long-term left tackle.