Advertisement

Tennessee Titans NFL mock draft 2.0: Is OL still the choice after Brian Callahan hire?

Now that this year's NFL hiring cycle is complete, it's a little easier to tell which directions teams like the Tennessee Titans will be looking in the 2024 NFL Draft.

The Titans own the No. 7 pick in the draft, which begins April 25 in Detroit. With coach Brian Callahan hired and working with scouts and front office personnel, the Titans can set their agenda for the upcoming rebuild. But so can the three teams with new coaches picking ahead of them — as well as the three teams with new coaches picking after them who might be interested in trading up.

Still, with two months before the beginning of free agency, it's a little early to start projecting trades. So let's predict the first 32 picks in the 2024 draft as they stand today, with a little extra emphasis on what new coaching hires mean for the draft.

FAN OF THE HOUR: Meet the Tennessee Titans fan who went viral with Derrick Henry jersey at AFC title game.

1. Chicago Bears pick USC QB Caleb Williams

The Bears could hold onto QB Justin Fields and trade back here, accumulating a huge haul. But for now, let's stick with the likeliest possibility that the Bears take their chance on the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner.

2. Washington Commanders pick North Carolina QB Drake Maye

New coach: Former Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn

Quinn never had to draft a franchise QB in six years as the Atlanta Falcons' coach. In fact, his first three first-round picks were defenders. This time, he starts a rebuild on offense, nabbing the uber-talented Maye to pair with offensive coordinator and former Arizona Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury.

3. New England Patriots pick Ohio State WR Marvin Harrison Jr.

New coach: Former Patriots inside linebackers coach Jerod Mayo

Williams and Maye feel like locks to go No. 1 and No. 2. Jayden Daniels, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, would be a solid pick for a QB-needy team at No. 3. But until the Bears make their decision about Fields and free agent Kirk Cousins lands somewhere, it's tough to say if the QB market will demand three passers in the top three. With Mayo's first pick, the Patriots move on from the Bill Belichick era not by reaching for a QB but by grabbing one of the highest-rated receiver prospects in recent memory to give the offense the kind of target it desperately needs.

4. Arizona Cardinals pick Washington WR Rome Odunze

The Cardinals would love to land Harrison here. But Odunze is hardly a consolation prize. The 6-foot-3 Odunze led college football in receiving last season in Washington's run to the national title game, showcasing remarkable consistency by surpassing 100 yards in 10 games.

5. Los Angeles Chargers pick Georgia TE Brock Bowers

New coach: Former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh

Hiring Harbaugh is a move made by a team trying to win now. So though the Chargers could take more of a rebuilding tact and trade down to grab a different maker on defense, they instead opt for the player who makes them best in the short term, giving quarterback Justin Herbert a target unlike any other in the productive, consistent and athletic Bowers.

6. New York Giants pick LSU WR Malik Nabers

The run on pass catchers continues as the Giants grab a field-stretcher to reinvigorate an offense that went stale last season, and perhaps their first true No. 1 threat since trading Odell Beckham Jr.

7. Tennessee Titans pick Notre Dame OT Joe Alt

New coach: Former Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan

If Callahan's years with the Cincinnati Bengals proved anything, it's that top-tier passing offenses can make do even with a struggling offensive line. But with the top-four pass catchers off the board, Callahan builds from the inside-out here and grabs the top-rated left tackle prospect in the draft to pair with 2023 first-round pick Peter Skoronski on the left side of the offensive line.

8. Atlanta Falcons pick LSU QB Jayden Daniels

New coach: Former Rams DC Raheem Morris

Morris could easily grab a defensive player like edge rusher Dallas Turner here. But this team is aching for a quarterback, and Daniels' unique blend of game-breaking speed and precision passing lends a Falcons offense already stacked with young skill players exactly what it needs. Daniels' skill set will be an adjustment for this Falcons staff led by former Sean McVay assistants more accustomed to building around pro-style passers. But that talent is tough to pass up after years of shoddy quarterback play.

9. Chicago Bears pick Alabama OLB Dallas Turner

The Bears have had a bottom-two pass rush two years in a row. For as much focus as the Williams vs. Fields debate gets, the team's real need is a catalyst who can pressure quarterbacks and create havoc plays for the defense. Turner is an easy choice here.

10. New York Jets pick Penn State OT Olu Fashanu

The Jets also could be in the receiver sweepstakes here, or hoping that Bowers' lower positional value means he drops a little bit. But offensive line is their big need, and in Fashanu the Jets can grab one of the best pass blocking prospects in a long time.

11. Minnesota Vikings pick UCLA DE Laiatu Latu

Depending on what happens with Cousins, it wouldn't be a shock to see the Vikings figure in the quarterback carousel. Until Cousins makes his choice, though, it makes the most sense to pair the Vikings with a talented edge rusher like Latu who can reinvigorate a Vikings pass rush that could lose Danielle Hunter to free agency as well.

12. Denver Broncos pick Illinois DT Jer'Zhan Newton

Another team, another uncertain quarterback situation. Picking someone like Washington's Michael Penix Jr., Oregon's Bo Nix or Michigan's J.J. McCarthy here is probably a bit of a reach. Trading back could make sense, especially if the Broncos are limited in free agency by Russell Wilson's salary. But all that said, they need help up the middle, and Newton is this year's difference maker on the interior.

MORE TARGETS: 5 potential Tennessee Titans draft targets who stood out at Senior Bowl practices Tuesday

13. Las Vegas Raiders pick Alabama CB Kool-Aid McKinstry

New coach: Former interim coach Antonio Pierce

Promoting Pierce means the Raiders have a leader who already knows his roster. And although it would make sense for them to chase a passer here as well, it makes even more sense for the defensive-minded Pierce to pick the athletic, long McKinstry, who proved dominant at times against top SEC competition.

14. New Orleans Saints pick Florida State DE Jared Verse

Here they go again. The Saints tried to find star edge rushers in 2018 and 2021 with first-round picks Marcus Davenport and Payton Turner. Neither was particularly fruitful, and the need persists. So here's another crack at it in Verse, an experienced rusher who probably would've been a first-round pick last year had he come out for the draft.

15. Indianapolis Colts pick Florida State WR Keon Coleman

There really isn't that wide of a gap separating Coleman from Harrison, Odunze and Nabers. The Colts get a big-bodied, physical receiver here, either to pair with or replace pending free agent Michael Pittman Jr.

16. Seattle Seahawks pick Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy

New coach: Former Ravens DC Mike Macdonald

Macdonald was Michigan's defensive coordinator in 2021 when McCarthy was a freshman. There's familiarity there, and Seattle's situation with Geno Smith means it won't have to rush a rookie quarterback into a tough situation early. Macdonald gets to draft a passer he's familiar with without having to hurry his development. Win-win for a first-year coach.

17. Jacksonville Jaguars pick Clemson CB Nate Wiggins

The Jaguars need help in the secondary, and they've never been shy about picking players from Clemson. Easy marriage here.

18. Cincinnati Bengals pick Oregon State OT Taliese Fuaga

Fuaga can take over for free agent right tackle Jonah Williams, giving the Bengals a boost in the process. Plus he's already used to wearing orange and black from his time in Corvallis.

19. Los Angeles Rams pick Alabama CB Terrion Arnold

The Rams haven't made a first-round pick in so long, it only feels right that they do so by sticking with the best player left on the board. Arnold could be in the mix for the first cornerback picked, so snagging him at No. 19 is a win.

20. Pittsburgh Steelers pick Alabama OT J.C. Latham

It's a little too soon to use a first-round pick to replace QB Kenny Pickett. So the Steelers get a little bit more protection help as they continue to strengthen a roster already good enough to make the playoffs.

21. Miami Dolphins pick Washington OL Troy Fautanu

A tackle by trade with some guard experience, Fautanu would give the Dolphins a blocker with experience playing in a high-octane college offense, and he would get a spot on their high-octane professional offense, inside or out.

22. Philadelphia Eagles pick Toledo CB Quinyon Mitchell

A rapidly rising cornerback prospect who wowed at the Senior Bowl, Mitchell helps the Eagles get younger in the secondary as Philadelphia plots a soft relaunch after a disappointing 2023.

23. Houston Texans pick Penn State OLB Chop Robinson

After picking Will Anderson in the first round last year, the Texans grab another young pass rusher to pair him with, giving coach DeMeco Ryans even more talent up front.

24. Dallas Cowboys pick Georgia OT Amarius Mims

The Cowboys weren't exactly bad in the trenches last season. But with veteran Tyron Smith heading into free agency, this could be the year they move on from the franchise cornerstone and get younger on the blind side.

25. Green Bay Packers pick Duke OL Graham Barton

A Brentwood native, Barton profiles as an interior lineman at the next level, and steps in to help the Packers build around young quarterback Jordan Love.

26. Tampa Bay Buccaneers pick LSU WR Brian Thomas Jr.

The Bucs need a succession plan as Mike Evans and Chris Godwin get older. Maybe Thomas gets a few years to play alongside the veteran targets. Either way, quarterback Baker Mayfield gets another toy to play with.

27. Arizona Cardinals pick Iowa CB Cooper DeJean

The Cardinals need a little bit of help just about everywhere. Here they grab a multi-talented defensive back who can play on the outside or in the slot and has athleticism in bounds.

28. Buffalo Bills pick Texas DT Byron Murphy

The Bills add some heft in the middle of their defense with Murphy, a big interior lineman who also has the quick feet and pass rushing instincts to be more than a space eater.

29. Detroit Lions pick Georgia CB Kamari Lassiter

The Lions' secondary was a bit of a weakness down the stretch. So they reinforce the group with a talented defender who showed his skills in one of college football's best defenses year after year at Georgia.

30. Baltimore Ravens pick Texas WR Adonai Mitchell

Lamar Jackson gets some help on the perimeter in the form of the tall, speedy Mitchell, a top competitor who showed up with big moments year after year in the College Football Playoff at Georgia and Texas.

TITANS TALK: What Tennessee Titans coach Brian Callahan says about Derrick Henry's future

31. Kansas City Chiefs pick Oregon WR Troy Franklin

The seventh receiver off the board here is Franklin, a target brought in to stabilize the often-shaky Chiefs receiving corps and give Patrick Mahomes another asset.

32. San Francisco 49ers pick Oklahoma OT Tyler Guyton

The 49ers aren't exactly a roster in crisis. But getting a little bit of help for the right side of the offensive line pays off here, especially if Guyton becomes someone who can bump over to the left side later in his career as Trent Williams ages out of the role.

Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @nicksuss.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Titans mock draft 2.0: Is OL still the move after Brian Callahan hire?