2024 NFL Draft: Trade Talk, QB Plans, Tackles and More

Here’s what we know about teams moving up and down the board, where signal-callers could get selected, and Nick Saban’s favorite player.

We’re getting going with our daily NFL draft notes. So here’s what we know two days away from the big show in Detroit…

• For as much trade talk as you’ll hear over the next few days, I wouldn’t expect anything concrete in the top five of the first round until we actually get to Thursday night.

The Arizona Cardinals, sitting in a catbird seat at with the fourth pick, have told teams that have called (and as we said Monday, four teams have at least checked in with Arizona on moving up) that they don’t plan to execute a trade until they’re on the clock during the 8 p.m. ET hour Thursday. And that’s if they move it at all—teams that have talked to Arizona GM Monti Ossenfort believe it’ll be pricey to make a deal, which could be a sign he has a guy he likes (Marvin Harrison Jr.?).

Meanwhile, the New England Patriots, who have the third pick, have told teams that have called that they’ll listen until they’re on the clock. I’d still say the likelihood is New England doesn’t move the pick, and selects a quarterback.

Now, in both cases, parameters can, and will be discussed. But the uncertainty over what the Washington Commanders will do with the second pick weighs down trade talks at No. 3, and obviously how things go there will materially impact what happens at No. 4. Most likely, still, is that we’re looking at quarterbacks coming off the board with the first three picks, and then we’ll see what happens with Arizona’s choice.

• A team in the top 10 told me Monday they’d heard that any remaining issues between the Commanders and Jayden Daniels’s camp had been smoothed over. And I’m not finding many people with rival teams that don’t think the Heisman winner is D.C.-bound. 

• So if Daniels goes with the second pick, does that deflate the Las Vegas Raiders’ trade-up opportunities? I’ve heard they’ve continued to call around. But Daniels isn’t the only quarterback that Vegas has been connected to. Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. is another one that I’ve heard Antonio Pierce and his staff are high on.

Either way, it looks like the Raiders may not necessarily be content to stand pat with Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell at the position.

• The Denver Broncos’ acquisition of Zach Wilson adds another layer to their quarterback situation heading into Thursday. Denver has done its homework on the draft class—they hosted Penix on a 30 visit, and traveled to Michigan to work out J.J. McCarthy—but has other needs to address and no second-round pick. So while Denver’s sniffed around on trading up, they’ve also made calls on moving down.

The connections to Oregon’s Bo Nix have persisted. He’s a player you might be able to wait on until the second round. But, again, Denver doesn’t have a 2.

• If there are two curveball quarterback teams, they might be the Atlanta Falcons and Los Angeles Rams. Atlanta went to Seattle to work out Penix, and had a visit planned with McCarthy (that one wound up being canceled). And sitting there at No. 8, either of those two could fall right in the laps of GM Terry Fontenot and Raheem Morris, with Kirk Cousins giving them the flexibility to sit the new guy for two to three years on a Jordan Love-like plan.

As for the Rams, I’ve actually heard them connected to Nix. The Oregon quarterback’s father, Patrick, was GM Les Snead’s teammate at Auburn in the 1990s, and the two still have a relationship, so at the very least the intel the Rams have gotten on him is good. With Matthew Stafford at 36, and the Rams picking in the first round for the first time in eight years, it might make sense to put a kid in the pipeline.

• Figured this was worth mentioning—in talking with people over the past few days, another Joe’s name has come up when discussing Notre Dame LT Joe Alt. That’d be Joe Thomas. Now, it’s not the cleanest comp. Alt’s a little bigger and longer, and Thomas maybe a little more powerful. But it works for teams in that Alt’s tape can sometimes be less than spectacular because he’s so athletic.

If I had to guess right now, I’d say he becomes either a Titan or a Charger. And his best might be yet to come for this son of an NFL lineman who is still learning his position (he was a tight end in high school), and who won’t turn 22 until after the Super Bowl. One veteran evaluator I talked to had Alt behind only Harrison among the best players in this draft class.

• While we’re there, and you’ll see this in my mock on Thursday morning—I think at least seven, and maybe eight (Arizona’s Jordan Morgan would be the eighth) tackles go in the first round. I also think that could wind up knocking the second tier of receivers down the board a little on the premise that teams that need both, and there are a few, stand a way better chance of finding a really good receiver on Day 2 than they do a tackle.

• On Brandon Aiyuk, I think this nuance is important—he is the San Francisco 49ers’ best pure receiver. Deebo Samuel is more of a top-end gadget player,  George Kittle’s a great weapon as a tight end, but Aiyuk is different from both of them. So I can see why the ex-receiver Kyle Shanahan would be reluctant to let him go without a suitable replacement on the roster. Could he get that replacement at No. 31 and deal Aiyuk on Friday? While it’s not likely, maybe. 

Arnold is Nick Saban's favorite player in the draft.

Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports

• I always pay attention to who Nick Saban’s favorite player is each year, when he’s discussing his prospects with teams. Last year, it was Brian Branch. And he worked out well for the Detroit Lions. This year? It’s Terrion Arnold, who really had to work to becoming what he is now as perhaps the top corner in this year’s draft.

• My check-in on the Denver Broncos’ uniforms is a question for Nike: Why does this have to be so hard? You saw the reaction to throwbacks for the Rams, Falcons and Broncos. You saw what happened when the Jets went back to the Sack Exchange set. So what is it about not giving the fans what they want that intrigues you? Putting your own mark on it? 

(I will say that in some cases it’s the owners wanting to have their own set of uniforms, which might explain why the Miami Dolphins haven’t gone to their classic, majestic throwbacks full-time like their fan base would clearly support.)