With my second mock of each draft cycle over the past few years, I’ve made a habit of projecting a few trades and taking some bolder swings than I did in Version 1.0.
I think I like this approach.
If the first effort is for trying to match players with range and reasonable (pre-free agency) needs of teams, then the second mock draft should be about sticking your neck out there a little bit. Hey, if you’re wrong, there’s always Mock 3.0 to help clean up the mess.
With that in mind, I’ve projected three hot trades below, including one for a quarterback. I was prepared to add another one involving QB Jaxson Dart but couldn’t find the right combination.
I will admit this simulation’s not as spicy — or QB-dominant — as my colleague Charles Davis’ first mock, which had passers going 1-2-3. And that makes me nervous. Why? Despite that mock being a few weeks old — in fact, Charles just dropped his own 2.0 — I bring it up because, well, look how close Charles was with the quarterbacks in his first 2024 mock, even nailing Bo Nix to the Broncos at 12 and J.J. McCarthy being a top-10 pick. Those weren’t universally held beliefs back when CD tossed them out, but the mindset supported a general notion that quarterbacks ultimately tend to go higher than we anticipate.
With that in mind, there’s a chance I might have to go even harder in the paint on my third try. This’ll have to do for now.
