Updated 2024 NFL Draft Order
Two different teams have held the No. 1 overall pick in consecutive years since 2017. Amid a radical rebuild effort, the Browns carried the top pick into the 2017 and ’18 drafts. The Jaguars did the same in 2021 and ’22. It is possible the Bears will follow that up in back-to-back years. The big difference here would be the Bears traded the 2023 top choice and may unload the 2024 top pick for another windfall, depending on their evaluation of Justin Fields.
The Bears and Panthers’ March trade, giving Carolina access to Bryce Young, has become a seminal moment for both teams. As it stands now, Chicago holds two top-five picks. The Panthers are 1-12, giving the Bears a two-game lead on the Patriots and Cardinals for the top slot with four games left. Chicago finishing with the first overall selection, providing access to the quarterback of its choice, would create a big-picture decision for a Bears team that already passed on the 2023 quarterback class to stick with Fields — a QB the Ryan Poles regime did not draft. North Carolina’s Drake Maye has declared for the draft, while USC’s Caleb Williams is widely expected to follow suit.
A new Cardinals regime is also evaluating its QB, though Kyler Murray‘s $46.1MM-per-year contract (which runs through 2028) will be much harder to escape compared to Fields’. This creates an interesting scenario that will have teams who do not land two-two draft slots monitoring how Chicago and Arizona proceed. The Patriots are widely expected to pursue a quarterback in the draft, and they are likely to do so without Bill Belichick.
With gridlock forming in the AFC and NFC wild-card races, considerable movement will take place over the next month. The winner of the NFC South will likely lose several spots in the ’24 draft, as the Buccaneers did this year by winning the ’22 division title at 8-9. Here is how the draft order looks going into Week 15:
- Chicago Bears (via Panthers)
- New England Patriots: 3-10
- Arizona Cardinals: 3-10
- Washington Commanders: 4-9
- Chicago Bears: 5-8
- Las Vegas Raiders: 5-8
- New York Jets: 5-8
- New York Giants: 5-8
- Tennessee Titans: 5-8
- Los Angeles Chargers: 5-8
- Atlanta Falcons: 6-7
- New Orleans Saints: 6-7
- Seattle Seahawks: 6-7
- Los Angeles Rams: 6-7
- Denver Broncos: 7-6
- Arizona Cardinals (via Texans)
- Buffalo Bills: 7-6
- Cincinnati Bengals: 7-6
- Green Bay Packers: 6-7
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 6-7
- Indianapolis Colts: 7-6
- Minnesota Vikings: 7-6
- Pittsburgh Steelers: 7-6
- Houston Texans (via Browns)
- Kansas City Chiefs: 8-5
- Jacksonville Jaguars: 8-5
- Detroit Lions: 9-4
- Philadelphia Eagles: 10-3
- Miami Dolphins: 9-4
- Dallas Cowboys: 10-3
- San Francisco 49ers: 10-3
- Baltimore Ravens: 10-3
Browns Place S Grant Delpit On IR; DE Ogbo Okoronkwo Out For Season
Grant Delpit will become the latest Browns starter set to miss significant time due to injury. Hours after agreeing to an extension, Grant Delpit sustained a groin injury. That will lead the Browns to make a roster move.
The Browns placed Delpit on IR on Wednesday; this transaction will sideline the fourth-year safety for the rest of the regular season. Joining a host of starters out of the mix for the regular season’s remainder, Delpit has already undergone surgery, Jake Trotter of ESPN.com notes. Kevin Stefanski said Delpit will be in play to come back if the Browns make the playoffs.
Cleveland is already without its starting quarterback (Deshaun Watson), running back (Nick Chubb) and top three tackles (Jedrick Wills, Jack Conklin, Dawand Jones). Its defense has been a bit healthier this season, leading to a No. 1 ranking in yards allowed. But Delpit will be out of the mix for the time being. To replace him on their 53-man roster, the Browns signed safety Duron Harmon from the practice squad. The Browns now have 13 players on IR.
In addition to Delpit, the Browns’ defense will take a hit up front. Ogbonnia Okoronkwo suffered a pectoral injury that cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot indicates will knock him out for the rest of the season. The former Rams and Texans defensive end sustained a torn pec, per Cabot. Signed this offseason, Okoronkwo has been a key rotational rusher for the Browns. The fifth-year edge defender has registered 4.5 sacks coming off the bench behind Myles Garrett and Za’Darius Smith.
For Delpit, this injury makes his extension timing rather important. The LSU alum and the Browns completed a rare gameday-morning agreement Sunday, locking the fourth-year defender into a three-year, $36MM deal. Delpit will receive $14.9MM guaranteed at signing, per OverTheCap, and $23.6MM guaranteed for injury. The latter guarantee number only comes into play if Delpit cannot pass a physical once a new league year starts, but locking in nearly $15MM at signing now proves pivotal considering Jessie Bates was the only free agent safety to score a contract worth more than $8MM per year this offseason.
Okoronkwo signed a three-year, $19MM accord in March, coming to Cleveland two months before the Browns traded for Smith. On that contract, Okoronkwo collected $10.8MM fully guaranteed. Given the void years attached, Okoronkwo is prohibitive to release in 2024. With Smith set to become a free agent once again, Okoronkwo moving into the Browns’ 2024 starting lineup alongside Garrett could be in play. But he will need to complete a rehab journey first.
Behind Garrett and Smith, the Browns also have 2022 third-round pick Alex Wright, rookie fourth-rounder Isaiah McGuire and third-year UDFA Sam Kamara. No Browns player behind Garrett has collected more than five sacks. Of the healthy DE options behind the starters, only Wright has even registered one. The Browns also lost defensive tackle Maurice Hurst Jr. for the season this week, completing a rough span on the injury front for the 8-5 team.
Bears DE Yannick Ngakoue Out For Season
The Bears will be without one of their starting defensive ends for the season’s remainder. Yannick Ngakoue, who signed a one-year deal to join the team this summer, will not return this season due to the ankle injury he suffered Sunday.
Matt Eberflus said Wednesday the veteran defensive end sustained a broken ankle and will need surgery, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune tweets. This marks an unfortunate end to Ngakoue’s latest contract year, and it strips the Bears of a key defensive option as they make a late run toward a possible wild-card berth in the NFC.
Ngakoue, 28, is already on team No. 6. Though, a Bears team that ranked last in sacks in 2022 ponied up a $10.5MM contract for the former Jaguars, Vikings, Ravens, Raiders and Colts sack artist. Ngakoue has not missed a game this season. Despite Ngakoue suffering a late-game injury Sunday, Eberflus indicated he played through it. Given the severity of this malady, it is understandable that plan will not continue.
This will also end Ngakoue’s impressive sack streak. The ex-Jaguars third-round pick entered this season as the only active player to have posted at least eight sacks in each of the past seven seasons. The NFL nomad will fall short of that benchmark now, having totaled four sacks in his first Bears season. Ngakoue will also finish with a career-low seven quarterback hits; he had never previously finished with fewer than 11. The eighth-year vet had also displayed durability with his other teams; he has never missed more than two games in a season and has been sidelined for only four throughout his career. The Maryland alum will soon match that total.
The Bears, who traded Khalil Mack and Robert Quinn in 2022, finished with just 20 sacks last season. They have 21 through 13 games this year. That total still ranks 31st, though Chicago upped the ante at the trade deadline by acquiring Montez Sweat. Outflanking the Falcons’ offer, the Bears sent the Commanders a second-round pick for Sweat. The recently extended pass rusher has 3.5 sacks as a Bear and 10 overall this season. While Ngakoue led the Bears in sacks, the Sweat trade reduced his standing with the team. Sweat will now get in early work as the team’s pass-rushing anchor.
Chicago added DeMarcus Walker and Rasheem Green this offseason. Walker worked as a starter before the Sweat trade, and the $7MM-per-year player stands to return to a first-string role now. The Bears sit one game out of the No. 7 spot in the NFC playoff race, though the pursuit is littered with teams tied at 6-7 alongside the Packers, who currently hold the final wild-card slot. Chicago will hope to see Walker and Green effectively complement Sweat going forward.
Falcons Unlikely To Fire HC Arthur Smith
In recent NFL annals, the list of HCs to go 0-for-3 in playoff berths to start a tenure and then be brought back for a fourth year is not long. While Robert Saleh is on track to buck this trend and be brought back after (in all likelihood) three non-playoff seasons in New York, the Falcons are also not expected to shake up their staff.
Although Atlanta is tied for the NFC South lead, the team may not need to make the playoffs for Arthur Smith to keep his job. The Falcons are not expected to, barring a collapse, fire Smith in 2024, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler notes. This differs from a status report on this job last month, which indicated Smith was more likely to go than stay in 2024.
After their loss to the Buccaneers, the Falcons are 6-7. The team finished 7-10 in each of Smith’s first two seasons. The Falcons launched a bit of a rebuild under Smith and GM Terry Fontenot, taking on considerable dead money to move the Julio Jones, Matt Ryan and Deion Jones contracts. But the team is looking likely to exit Year 3 without the quarterback position being solved. Desmond Ridder has submitted an inconsistent season, being benched for Taylor Heinicke at one point, after the Falcons backed the 2022 third-round pick throughout the offseason.
Ridder ranks 24th in QBR and, despite the Falcons choosing pass catchers in the top 10 in 2021 (Kyle Pitts) and 2022 (Drake London), has thrown just nine touchdown passes (compared to nine INTs) this season. The Falcons, who were in position to trade for Deshaun Watson had the Browns not come through with the astonishing $230MM guarantee offer last year, joined the rest of the NFL in not pursuing Lamar Jackson this offseason. Arthur Blank expressed an interest in building around Ridder’s rookie contract, but the Falcons may need to explore an upgrade in 2024.
The Falcons ranked third in rushing last season but struggled mightily through the air in the largely Marcus Mariota-quarterbacked campaign. After ranking 15th in points scored last season, Atlanta sits 24th in Ridder’s first full year as a starter. Active in adding defenders this offseason, the team has improved from 23rd to 12th under new DC Ryan Nielsen. But Smith was hired to jumpstart Atlanta’s offense. For the most part, that has not happened.
The NFC South has produced one of the worst two-year periods of any division in NFL history, as it could potentially send a second straight sub-.500 team to the playoffs once again. Every coach in the division has either ventured to a hot seat or already been fired (Frank Reich). The Falcons close the season with only one team (the 7-6 Colts) left on their schedule with a winning record. This could give Smith a final platform to convince ownership he deserves a fourth season. Should the Falcons retain Smith for 2024, he will certainly enter the season on a scorching seat.
T Joe Alt To Enter 2024 NFL Draft
Expected to follow in his father’s footsteps as a first-round NFL draft choice, Notre Dame tackle Joe Alt made his NFL timeline official Wednesday morning. The high-end offensive line prospect announced he will enter the 2024 draft.
The son of former Chiefs first-round pick and longtime left tackle starter John Alt, Joe is viewed as one of the best O-linemen available in the 2024 prospect pool. Mel Kiper Jr.’s most recent ESPN.com big board lists Alt 15th overall and as the third-best O-line prospect.
A two-year starter for the Fighting Irish at left tackle, Alt has secured back-to-back first-team All-American honors. Alt joins Penn State’s Olu Fashanu, Kiper’s No. 7 overall prospect, as the Associated Press’ first-team tackles.
Alt started at Notre Dame for the past two seasons, and although this period in college football is flooded with players who have used their additional year of eligibility brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, Alt will take the traditional route to the NFL (for top prospects, at least). The 2021 recruit will exit college after three years.
Notre Dame’s stamp on the current NFL O-line landscape will only help Alt’s cause. Ex-Fighting Irish left tackles Zack Martin and Mike McGlinchey became instant starters, albeit at different NFL positions, and former Notre Dame guard Quenton Nelson became an instant All-Pro after going off the 2018 draft board sixth overall. Aaron Banks, Liam Eichenberg, Robert Hainsey and Ronnie Stanley reside as O-line starters chosen from the Division I-FBS independent.
The Chiefs chose John Alt in the 1984 first round, and he became one of the team’s anchors during Marty Schottenheimer’s successful stay during the 1990s. John played 13 NFL seasons. It appears a near-certainty Joe Alt, who checks in at 6-foot-8 and 315 pounds, will become a first-rounder as well.
Texans To Release K Matt Ammendola; K Ka’imi Fairbairn Returns To Practice
DECEMBER 13: Fairbairn will indeed return to practice Wednesday, per Wilson. After five missed games, the seventh-year Texans kicker is on track to return to his post in Week 15.
DECEMBER 12: The Texans look to be making preparations for their standard kicker setup to be back in place. After Matt Ammendola kicked for the team for the past five games, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson notes Houston is releasing the young specialist from its practice squad.
This will clear the way for Ka’imi Fairbairn, whom Wilson adds is expected to be activated from IR this week. Fairbairn has missed more than the IR-mandated minimum game count due to a quad strain, but the playoff-contending team is on track to have him back in Week 15.
A third-year kicker, Ammendola worked as a fill-in option for the Chiefs and Cardinals last season. He kicked in 11 games for the Jets as a rookie in 2021. This season, the 27-year-old specialist has missed three field goals — one a 58-yard game-tying attempt at the end of a three-point Texans loss to the Jaguars — and an extra point.
Fairbairn has been Houston’s kicker since he arrived as a 2017 UDFA. The 29-year-old Hawaiian made 93.5% of his field goal tries last season — by far a career-high for a full campaign. Prior to the quad injury, Fairbairn had gotten off to a strong start this season. Through eight games, Fairbairn had made 18 of 19 field goal attempts and was 14-for-14 on extra points.
Although Fairbairn has not been officially designated for return, he should be expected to both begin practicing and return to action this week. The Texans also used an IR activation on their punter, Cameron Johnston, earlier this year.
Dolphins To Bring Back DE Melvin Ingram
Unable to secure as several veteran edge rushers came off the free agency board this summer, Melvin Ingram paid a visit to one of his former teams. This will lead to the Dolphins bolstering their edge-rushing contingent.
The Dolphins brought in the former Pro Bowler for a Tuesday workout, ESPN.com’s Field Yates tweets. This will lead to a quick agreement, per Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz, who reports the Dolphins and Ingram have a deal in place.
[RELATED: Dolphins C Connor Williams Out For Season]
Miami has been without top sack artist Jaelan Phillips for the past two games; Phillips suffered an Achilles tear in Week 12. Ingram operated as a rotational edge rusher for the Dolphins last season. The team used Ingram as a three-game starter in 2022, doing so after signing him to a one-year deal worth $4MM. Ingram, who recorded six sacks (his most since 2019) last season, discussed a contract with the Browns this offseason. But Cleveland completed a trade with Minnesota for Za’Darius Smith.
As players like Leonard Floyd, Frank Clark, Yannick Ngakoue and Jadeveon Clowney signed between May and August, Ingram has been in free agency since his Dolphins contract expired. But the 11-year veteran will make a late-season return to an NFL roster.
Now 34, Ingram is a three-time Pro Bowler who spent his best years with the Chargers. After a 2021 separation from the Bolts, Ingram has bounced around the AFC. The former first-round pick caught on with the Steelers as a third rusher, but he ended up dissatisfied with the role. Pittsburgh traded Ingram to Kansas City before the 2021 deadline, and the veteran’s arrival helped the Chiefs abandon an ill-fated effort to slide Chris Jones to defensive end. Ingram started six games for the Chiefs, forcing a key fumble that helped the Chiefs to a Week 18 win.
Ingram will rejoin Bradley Chubb, Emmanuel Ogbah and Andrew Van Ginkel in Miami. Christian Wilkins is also having a strong contract year, leading the team with 7.5 sacks. Post-Phillips, however, the Dolphins obviously feature a less potent pass rush. They will bring in Ingram to help compensate for the key loss.
Making the Pro Bowl from 2017-19, Ingram excelled both before and after Joey Bosa‘s Southern California arrival. He posted 10.5-sack seasons in 2015 and ’17, signing a big-ticket extension in between. Last season, Ingram recovered two fumbles — returning one for a score — and forced one. This will not be as smooth a transition as it would appear, as the Dolphins hired a new defensive coordinator — Vic Fangio — this offseason. Ingram has managed to fit into a few defenses in his career, so it would surprise if he is not on the field for the AFC East leaders soon.
NFL, NFLPA Reviewing Steelers’ Handling Of T.J. Watt Concussion
T.J. Watt left the Steelers’ Week 14 game after taking a knee to the head from Patriots running back Ezekiel Elliott. Watt returned to action soon after but reported concussion-like symptoms a day later. The Steelers then placed their top defender in concussion protocol.
Watt was briefly checked for a concussion before being cleared to return on the same drive. The Steelers’ medical staff also took an extended look at Watt’s jaw/mouth, and Watt was spotted wearing a tinted visor later in the game. The NFL and NFLPA have since launched a joint investigation into the Steelers’ handling of this injury, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets.
Mike Tomlin said Monday he was unaware Watt had switched to a tinted visor upon returning to action. The switch certainly looks to be a red flag, with an investigation underway.
“I assume that he was, but again I’m managing the game,” Tomlin said (via Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio) when asked if he knew Watt was evaluated for a concussion during the game. “I leave that to the medical experts. They essentially tell me whether someone is out, whether they’re subject to return, or whether they’re back. I got a report that he was subject to return and then I got a report that he was back and that was just my knowledge of the details of what transpired with him during the time that he was out in game.”
The investigation will involve interviews with Watt and both team-affiliated and independent medical personnel involved, according to CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones. Both Watt and Alex Highsmith, who did not return to action after exiting Thursday’s game early, are in concussion protocol.
Dolphins C Connor Williams Out For Season
The Dolphins continue to absorb blows along their offensive line. They will lose a second starter to a significant malady. Connor Williams is set to miss the rest of the season due to a torn ACL, Mike McDaniel said Tuesday.
Williams will join left guard Isaiah Wynn as Miami blockers set to rehab long-term injuries. It is not known if Wynn is done for the season, but early indications have signaled that is the case. Williams, who is in a contract year, left Monday night’s game early.
This is a brutal setback for Williams, who was playing out a two-year, $14MM contract. The former Cowboys draftee had angled for a raise this offseason, but the Dolphins did not buckle. Williams missed offseason time but ultimately returned on the deal he signed in 2022. Going down with a severe knee injury this late in the season will undoubtedly affect the former second-round pick’s 2024 market, as the Texas alum’s rehab effort will run up to, and potentially beyond, Week 1 of next season.
McDaniel said (via the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson) the Dolphins will consider signing a center. Liam Eichenberg, who has bounced across the Dolphins’ offensive front during his three-year career, is set to move into the role on a fill-in basis. Eichenberg, whom Wynn beat out for the left guard job in training camp, has worked as a utility player this season — for a Miami O-line unable to keep its starting five healthy — before becoming a full-time starter once again.
Williams, 26, had missed four games earlier this season but had started the past five. Converted from Texas tackle to Cowboys guard to Dolphins center, Williams had become an important part of Miami’s top-flight offense. The Dolphins finished their Week 14 game without four of their original O-line starters, with Robert Hunt out after aggravating a hamstring injury and Terron Armstead nursing his latest ailment. Armstead, who suffered a quad injury during the Dolphins’ Black Friday game, returned for the team’s Week 13 matchup against the Commanders; the Dolphins held him out Monday due to knee and ankle injuries. Armstead, whom the team already activated from IR, has missed eight games this season. Miami’s second-stringer-laden front allowed five sacks in a 28-27 loss.
The recently extended Austin Jackson, who has settled in at right tackle, has been the only Dolphin O-lineman to start every game this season. Jackson entered the season after missing 15 games last year. Kendall Lamm started in place of Armstead, while Lester Cotton was in for Hunt. Cotton has a direct path to the starting lineup at guard, while McDaniel said he is the team’s backup center presently. Eichenberg has made one career start at center — in Week 4 of this season — but has played every position up front for the Dolphins since being drafted in the 2021 second round.
Centers who either just retired (Chase Roullier, Justin Britt) or have been connected to doing so (Rodney Hudson, Ben Jones) represent the biggest names available in free agency. The Cardinals and Titans, respectively, released Hudson and Jones this offseason. Jones, 34, had signed four contracts with the Titans and had missed just one game in his 11-year career before a two-concussion 2022 stalled his career. Hudson, 34, made three Pro Bowls as a Raider but was linked to retiring before the 2022 season; he missed 13 games last year. The injury-prone Roullier, 30, retired this summer but had worked out for the Cardinals shortly before making that decision. The Texans released Britt, 32, after he spent almost all of last season on the reserve/NFI list.
Chargers Activate Josh Palmer From IR
DECEMBER 12: The Chargers will use the roster spot opened by Herbert’s IR placement to activate Palmer. While the landscape between Palmer’s return to practice and his return to the Bolts’ active roster has changed significantly, the third-year wideout will be set to make his return Thursday night. Their reputation as perhaps the NFL’s most injury-prone team notwithstanding, this is the Bolts’ first IR activation this season.
DECEMBER 6: Justin Herbert has operated without two of his top three receivers over the past several weeks, leaving Keenan Allen as the team’s lone reliable target. This has been a steady issue for the star quarterback, as the Chargers have sunk to 5-7.
While the Bolts will face an uphill battle to return to the playoffs, they may soon have one of Herbert’s primary weapons back in uniform. The team will designate Josh Palmer for return Wednesday, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets. The former third-round pick has been out with a knee sprain.
Palmer has been required to play a bigger role over the past two seasons. A nagging Allen hamstring injury forced him into the WR2 role for Los Angeles’ AFC team, and Mike Williams going down with a season-ending ACL tear in September forced another Bolts adjustment. While the Chargers drafted Quentin Johnston in the first round, the TCU product has not proven dependable just yet. With Johnston struggling to establish consistency, Palmer’s absence has been felt over the past five weeks.
Regularly needed in an injury-prone receiving corps, the Canadian wideout caught 72 passes for 769 yards and three touchdowns last season. OC Kellen Moore‘s arrival has resulted in longer-range Palmer targets, with the third-year pass catcher’s yards-per-catch number moving north by nearly six yards. Palmer is averaging 16.4 yards per grab (23/377) this season.
The Bolts have used Johnston and Jalen Guyton as Allen complementary cogs, with the latter coming back after an ACL tear sidelined him for more than a year. Johnston has caught 26 passes for 242 yards, but the 6-foot-4 target — who had worked behind Palmer in the Chargers’ aerial pecking order earlier this season — has been slow to develop thus far. A Johnston fourth-quarter drop proved costly for the Bolts in a close loss to the Packers last month.
Allen, 31, has done well to pick up the slack. His 102 receptions lead the NFL, and the 11th-year veteran has posted 1,175 yards. He is on pace to eclipse his career high (1,393, from 2017) this season. But the Bolts will aim to give Allen more help as they attempt a last-ditch wild-card push. Los Angeles sits two games back in a crowded AFC playoff race.