Seven-round NFL mock draft, Round 5: Building a win-now team from active players for 2024 season

Whether in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia or San Francisco, Hargrave has been an issue for interior offensive linemen as a pass rusher (with 44.5 career sacks) and run-stopper.

Judon is coming off a torn biceps that shortened his 2023 campaign to four games. Still, the Patriots — for whom he’s racked up 32 sacks over the past three seasons — would value his production and leadership more than any other franchise.

New England found excellent value in Barmore in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft. The Cardinals do the same at this spot, picking up an interior force who had 8.5 sacks last season.

Hall played well for the Jets last year, logging 994 rushing yards, 76 receptions and nine total scores in 17 games despite coming off a 2022 ACL tear. So expect him to be among the top backs in the league in 2024.

The Chargers will pound the ball effectively with Henry, who turned 30 in January but should have at least two or three more years in the tank.

McNeill posted 32 tackles with five sacks in 13 games as a third-year pro for the Lions in 2023. Look for the former third-round pick to excel in a contract season.

Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter recently said he would love to clone James because the safety can “do it all.” James is the only player in the NFL to have totaled 350-plus tackles, 15-plus passes defensed, eight-plus sacks and at least five forced fumbles over the past three seasons.

Barkley’s numbers dropped in 2023 (962 rushing yards, 280 receiving yards) compared to what he put up in 2022 (1,312 rushing yards, 338 receiving yards), but the Falcons take a shot on a rebound by the seventh-year pro.

The Bears favor youth over experience at left tackle by selecting the 2024 first-round pick to lead their O-line. Alt is strong and agile.

Since missing his rookie season due to a Lisfranc injury, Etienne’s put up two 1,000-yard campaigns for Jacksonville. The former first-round pick scored 11 times on the ground last season while catching 58 passes.

It feels like Pittman has been in the league forever, but he’s just 26 years old and entering his fifth pro season, having signed a three-year extension with the Colts in March. He would be a strong No. 1 receiver for Matthew Stafford to lean on in this simulation.

Fuller has been an underappreciated defender over the past four seasons. Since 2020, the 29-year-old intercepted 10 passes for the Commanders, tied for 20th-most in the NFL in that span — but he’s never made the Pro Bowl or earned first-team All-Pro honors. (Though he did ink a two-year, $16.5 million pact with the Dolphins in the offseason.)

In this imaginary scenario, the Raiders miss out on their real-life edge rusher, Maxx Crosby, who comes off the board in Round 1, shortly after Las Vegas takes QB Jordan Love. So in Round 5, they turn to Granderson, a sixth-year pro who has the strength and length to get double-digit sacks in 2024 after piling up 8.5 in his first season as a full-time starter with the Saints.

Vea returns to the state where he played college football for the Washington Huskies. The former first-round pick (drafted 12th overall by the Bucs in 2018) eats up running backs and gets more pressure on the quarterback than you’d expect for a 347-pounder, having logged 12 total sacks in the past two seasons.

In real life, Higgins is set to play 2024 for Cincinnati on the franchise tag. In our scenario, he escapes the shadow of Ja’Marr Chase to become a true No. 1 option with the Saints.

Williams missed five games in 2022 but was a rock in 2023, when he became the first NFL player since 1930 to suit up in 18 regular-season games, with the timing of his midseason trade from the Giants to the Seahawks causing him to miss both teams’ bye weeks.

Mosley won’t slow down at age 32. The five-time Pro Bowler provides strength between the tackles for Jacksonville, while also chasing down ball-carriers trying to get outside.

Cincinnati brings in the big-bodied Thomas in the hopes that the former first-round pick bounces back from 2023, when he missed seven games due to a hamstring injury.

Cook’s speed and receiving ability were on full display for the Bills in 2023, when he led the team in rushing yards (1,122) and scrimmage yards (1,567). The former Georgia Bulldog should be even better in Year 3.

Samuel has averaged 46 rushing attempts over the past three seasons in San Francisco, topping 1,000 receiving yards just once (in 2021). In Pittsburgh, he becomes a receiver-only player, likely spiking his catch numbers — and, perhaps, lengthening his career in this mythical world.

Williams looks like a slot corner but is most effective on the outside, where he challenges larger receivers with attitude and athleticism. Over the past two seasons, he collected 35 passes defensed in Jacksonville, more than any other NFL player in that span, then signed a deal to return to the Rams, with whom he first made a name for himself as a pro.

The Browns get a beast on the line with Nelson, a six-time Pro Bowler and three-time first-team All-Pro who sets the tone for the offense.

Miller’s a solid left tackle. Until a shoulder injury cost him four games with the Raiders in 2023, he’d never missed more than two games in any of his previous five pro seasons.

Anyone concerned about the 6-foot, 170-pound Smith’s lack of bulk when he was coming into the NFL should be worried no longer. In three seasons with the Eagles, Smith has averaged 80 catches for 1,059 yards and six scores.

Rousseau’s large frame (6-6, 266 pounds) fits Green Bay’s new 4-3 scheme under coordinator Jeff Hafley. In this scenario, the Packers hope he converts more sack opportunities in 2024 after logging eight for the Bills in 2022 and five in 2023.

It doesn’t work as well with his name as “Scary Terry,” but if he wanted a moniker based on his production, McLaurin could go by “Steady Eddie” instead. He’s played in every game the past three years for Washington, catching 77, 77 and 79 passes for over 1,000 yards in each of those seasons.

Latham’s combination of pure size (6-6, 342 pounds) and nimble feet could make him a star at left or right tackle. Don’t be surprised if the player taken seventh overall by the Titans in April becomes a Pro Bowler before too long.

The Bills take McBride after watching him improve greatly in Arizona last season. He’d be a fine target for QB Drake Maye to lean on as one of the better two-way tight ends in the league in 2024.

Chubb suffered a torn ACL in Week 17 last season — but before then, he showed what he could do when healthy, reaching the 16-start benchmark for the first time since his rookie season in Denver, putting up 11 sacks and forcing six fumbles (tied for most in the NFL). Presuming he’s able to recover, Chubb’s versatility fits in the Lions’ multiple scheme.

Taylor has only played in 21 games over the past two years — but he still logged 69-plus rushing yards in 13 of those appearances. This late in the mock, the Ravens select him in case Taylor returns to the form exhibited while leading the NFL with 1,811 yards and 18 scores on the ground in 2021.

Gary is heading into his sixth NFL season, but he still hasn’t played his best football. If he’s fully healthy throughout 2024, he should be able to log 10 or more sacks and grow as a run defender.

OK, so Moses changed teams for the third time in his NFL career this offseason, heading from the Ravens back to the Jets via trade. He was still one of the most consistent right tackles in the game as a pass- and run-blocker in 2023.