2024 NFL Draft Rumors: Roundup of Latest Buzz Around the League

NFL teams have roughly two more weeks to finalize their plans for the 2024 draft.

The annual talent grab is officially close enough to start hearing rumblings of what those plans might be.

Join us, then, for a trip to the rumor mill as we break down the latest NFL draft buzz.

Barely a year has passed since the New York Giants gave quarterback Daniel Jones a four-year, $160 million extension. That hefty commitment, though, may not prevent them from addressing the league’s marquee position early in this draft.

The Giants are reportedly “showing strong interest at the QB position,” per The Athletic’s Dianna Russini. “Either (1) They want to draft a quarterback, or (2) They want teams to think they need to trade with the Giants if they want one.”

New York holds the No. 6 selection, so it’s possible this could all hinge on what happens with the first five picks. If those selections are mostly spent on quarterbacks, the Giants’ draft decision could be made for them.

Still, it feels notable that they feel legitimately interested in this quarterback crop—they’ve worked out Drake Maye, Michael Penix Jr. and J.J. McCarthy recently, per Russini—since that could prove quite revealing about Jones’ future in Gotham. The 26-year-old is coming off a torn ACL and didn’t look good before going down, managing just two touchdown passes against six interceptions over his six starts.

It might be time for mock-drafters to rethink their hypothetical picks.

More specifically, they might have to bump J.J. McCarthy up their boards. While his consensus mock draft selection is only No. 11, per NFL Mock Draft Database, ESPN’s Matt Miller reported there’s been plenty of chatter of McCarthy being the second quarterback off the board, if not the second prospect taken overall.

“If this was one or two people saying it, I’d probably dismiss it as the usual April draft buzz that doesn’t come to fruition,” Miller wrote. “But enough sources around the NFL are whispering that McCarthy could very well be the second quarterback off the board that it has to be considered possible at this point.”

The Washington Commanders hold the No. 2 pick, and the quarterback-needy club has typically been mocked to spend it on Drake Maye or Jayden Daniels. Still, it seems like there is real interest in McCarthy, who landed 33rd overall and fourth among quarterbacks on Bleacher Report’s latest 2024 big board.

Alabama edge-rusher Dallas Turner is typically mocked as the first player at his position, often landing with the Atlanta Falcons at No. 8. Things can change behind him, though, with players like Florida State’s Jared Verse and UCLA’s Laiatu Latu vying for the No. 2 ranking at the position.

One name that might need more mentioning in that discussion, though? Penn State’s Chop Robinson, who wowed at the combine while putting his explosive athleticism on full display. NFL teams apparently took notice, and it’s possible some of them now see him as the second-best edge-rusher in this class.

“I believe he has a real chance to be the second edge-rusher taken based on conversations with multiple people around the scouting community,” ESPN’s Field Yates reported.

B/R’s NFL scouting department has Robinson 19th overall and fourth at the position. Verse (ninth), Turner (12th) and Latu (14th) are the three edge-rushers ranked ahead of Robinson.