You're going to see a lot of mock drafts over the next week, as everyone gears up for the 2024 NFL draft. My final set of projections drops next Wednesday. But did you know NFL teams do their own mocks, assigning staffers to rival teams in Round 1 and trying to project what could happen at each slot in preparation? That gave us an idea.
I asked 10 anonymous scouts from around the league to each serve as the decision-maker for a team picking in the top 10, letting them make the pick based on that roster's needs and how they evaluate this intriguing class. A couple of rules:
The scouts are unaffiliated with the teams they were assigned here. In fact, none work for a franchise even in the same division as the one they were assigned, and in most cases, we gave them a team from the other conference. They were asked make their selections based on how they'd approach that pick and who was already off the board.
Because the scouts are all anonymous and did not collaborate on the exercise, we didn't allow any trades. So while many mock drafts might have the Vikings jumping up the board for a QB, no picks changed hands here.
Here is how things played out in the top 10, starting with an evaluator from the NFC East making the call for the Bears at No. 1 overall:
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