2024 NFL Mock Draft: ESPN’s early Round 1 projections include 8 SEC players

The 2023 college football season is still over 1 month away, but mock draft season never sleeps.

ESPN’s Jordan Reid recently shared an early projection of first-round picks. Reid based his draft order on projected finishes from ESPN’s Football Power Index and matched prospects according to team needs.

If Reid’s projections prove true, it will be a different kind of draft night for SEC fans. While 8 first-round picks would be a respectable showing for the conference, Reid doesn’t have an SEC player coming off the board in the top 5. He doesn’t have a non-Alabama player hearing their name called in the top 10.

Here are the SEC standouts featured in Reid’s early first-round mock for 2024:

• No. 6 — JC Latham, OT, Alabama — Tennessee Titans
• No. 9 – Kool-Aid McKinstry, CB, Alabama – Las Vegas Raiders
• No. 10 – Dallas Turner, EDGE, Alabama – Chicago Bears
• No. 12 – Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia – New England Patriots
• No. 14 – Maason Smith, DT, LSU – Pittsburgh Steelers
• No. 26 – Kamari Lassiter, CB, Georgia – Jacksonville Jaguars
• No. 27 – Jason Marshall Jr., CB, Florida – Dallas Cowboys
• No. 31 – Javon Bullard, S, Georgia – Philadelphia Eagles

The 2024 NFL Draft will be held in Detroit from April 25-27.

Andrew Olson

Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.