With less than a fortnight to go before the 2024 NFL draft, excitement is reaching a peak. Fans and pundits are busily pondering and/or pontificating on who their favorite teams will add to the roster. Mock drafts are being cranked out like sedans on an assembly line.

There's a flip side to those players being added, though, especially those selected in the early rounds. For every roster spot a first-round pick takes, another player is left on the outside looking in.

For some, it means what appeared to be a window of opportunity closes on them; for others, it's the sad acknowledgement that a one-time first-round draft pick just isn't the player teams hoped he would be.

Whatever the reason, there are plenty of veteran players around the NFL who will be watching the 2024 draft with as much dread as anticipation.

And using the most recent mock from Bleacher Report's NFL Scouting Department as a guide to the draft, you can add the following names to that list.

Sam Darnold, QB, Minnesota Vikings

Is it possible to lose something you never had? We may find out the answer to that very soon in the case of Sam Darnold and the Minnesota Vikings.

When Kirk Cousins left for the Atlanta Falcons in free agency, Darnold was brought in as a stopgap on a one-year, $10 million contract.

Despite the quarterback's disappointing NFL career to date, Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell told reporters that he believes the 2018 No. 3 overall pick can still be a successful starter in the league:

"The level of failure at this position tends to be magnified because it's for all to see. Wins or losses tend to get put on that player regardless of circumstance around them or the voice in the headset or all the things that goes into it. And I'd like to think, I'm confident in the combination of all those things for us here in Minnesota and where Sam's at in his career, that this makes this a great opportunity for both the Vikings and Sam."

However, from the moment the team acquired a second first-round pick via a trade with the Texans, the Vikings have been mentioned as a candidate to trade up for a signal-caller.

In the most recent B/R mock draft, Minnesota uses that draft capital to move up and select J.J. McCarthy.

The Michigan product only attempted 713 passes at the collegiate level, but he was a two-year starter in a pro-style offense. If the Vikings do make a move up the board to get him, he'll pass Darnold on the depth chart sooner rather than later.

Aidan O'Connell, QB, Las Vegas Raiders

Aidan O'Connell's first NFL season didn't go as expected, with the 2023 fourth-round pick making 10 starts for the Las Vegas Raiders last year.

The Purdue product won half those 10 starts, but his pedestrian passing numbers led to the Raiders being linked to just about every quarterback available this offseason.

Neither Kirk Cousins nor Justin Fields arrived in Sin City, though, as the Raiders instead signed veteran backup Gardner Minshew II, who made 13 starts for the Indianapolis Colts a year ago.

However, O'Connell welcomes the competition to see who starts under center in Vegas in 2024:

"I think especially at this level—and I thought the same thing at Purdue—but especially at this level, there's going to be competition. I mean, it's the best of the best, and so the coaches and administration want to bring in the best players possible to try to make the team better. And the best guys are going to play, and so I'm just trying to do my job. [I]t's new at this level for me, but it's nothing new in terms of the competition. It's been even since high school what I've been dealing with and working through, and so that's just part of the game. It's not unique to any one position, it's how it is at every position. Obviously, only one quarterback plays, but it's part of it."

However, Minshew may not be the 25-year-old's only problem. There's growing speculation that the Raiders could target a quarterback at No. 13 overall, with Michael Penix Jr. a trending name.

The Washington product attempted over 1,000 passes in college, and he's not a quarterback who is going to need to sit an extended period of time.

And O'Connell isn't going to beat out both Minshew and Penix.

Tyler Conklin, TE, New York Jets

Tyler Conklin may not be a household name among NFL tight ends, but he has quietly become a solid contributor for the New York Jets offense over recent years.

In each of the past three seasons, the 28-year-old has been targeted 87 times. He has averaged 60 catches over that span and surpassed 550 receiving yards in each of those campaigns.

Per Caroline Hendershot of the official Jets website, Conklin believes that last year's career-high of 621 receiving yards was just the beginning:

"Yeah, there's a lot of things I did on film and in the season that I am really proud of this year. I feel like I played well in the run game. I don't think it's anywhere near what I can accomplish. I do think I have a lot more to put out there and I know there's a lot of things I can get better at. But I got a career-high in yards, I'm happy about it. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't, but I do think there's a lot more meat on the bone."

The problem is that with the 10th overall pick in this year's draft, the Jets are squarely in the mix for tight end Brock Bowers.

And as Derrik Klassen noted in his B/R scouting report for the Georgia product, the 6'3", 243-pounder is a transformative talent.

"Brock Bowers is a rare, explosive play threat from the tight end position. Anytime he touches the ball, he could go for a house call," he wrote. "Bowers has exceptional burst and speed. He tears away from most defenders once he gets the angle on them, and he rarely gets caught from behind. Being a little lighter at 240 pounds certainly helps, but he can explode even compared to other guys his size."

Mack Hollins, WR, Buffalo Bills

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Mack Hollins is another example of a veteran player who could lose his starting job before he makes an appearance for his new team.

A journeyman who will be playing for his fifth NFL club, the 30-year-old didn't do much in Atlanta last season—just 18 catches for 251 yards.

However, Hollins posted a 57/690/4 line on 94 targets with the Las Vegas Raiders the previous year, and he told reporters that he's thrilled to be suiting up in Western New York this year:

"Obviously, as an offensive player, I look at the offense, and I see a quarterback that knows how to sling the rock, for sure. I see a lot of success at the wide receiver position. But then the biggest thing for me—and has always been for me—is the wins, the wins column. And there's been a lot of winning going on here. And I hope to be a part of that and hope to take that to the next level."

Hollins isn't a bad receiver, but he isn't an especially great one, either. He hasn't been as productive as Curtis Samuel and doesn't have the upside of Khalil Shakir.

The latest B/R mock draft has the Bills selecting Adonai Mitchell of Texas at No. 28, or they could attempt to swing a trade for the likes of Brandon Aiyuk of the San Francisco 49ers.

Once that happens, Hollins will be less the wideout who flirted with 100 targets two years ago and more the guy who barely averaged a catch per game in Atlanta in 2023.

Wanya Morris, OT, Kansas City Chiefs

You might be wondering who Wanya Morris is, but he was a third-round pick for the Kansas City Chiefs a year ago.

As things stand now, though, the Oklahoma product will have one of the most important jobs in the NFL in his second season: Protecting the blind side of Patrick Mahomes.

It's a job that was held by proven veterans Orlando Brown Jr. and Donovan Smith during Kansas City's run to consecutive championships the past two years.

However, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid expressed confidence that Morris was capable of taking a step forward in 2024:

"I thought it (2023) was a good introduction for him. Coming in and having that experience and playing in four games. He has an even better feel now for this offseason and what's going to be expected of him when he gets back and is put in that spot. There's got to be an improvement, there's got to be an urgency there, which I know he feels."

Morris made four starts as a rookie while Smith was out with a neck injury. In 340 snaps, the 23-year-old allowed two sacks and committed three penalties, per Pro Football Focus. He was OK at best.

The 2024 draft is loaded with talent along the offensive line, and after the team acquired wide receiver Marquise Brown, tackle is likely Kansas City's next-biggest need.

If a player such as BYU product Kingsley Suamataia is available with the final pick of Round 1, Chiefs general manager Brett Veach will likely make a move—and Morris will be relegated to a swing tackle role in 2024.

Ronald Darby, CB, Jacksonville Jaguars

Ronald Darby is a newcomer to the Jacksonville Jaguars, but 2024 will mark his 10th professional season.

When the 30-year-old has been healthy, he has been an effective player. His passer rating against last year with the Baltimore Ravens was an outstanding 63.3. It was the second year in a row that his passer rating against was less than 70, and the fifth time in the last six seasons that it has been below 100.

However, the issue with the cornerback is availability. He has torn his ACL twice, missed time in eight of nine seasons and at least five games in five of those campaigns. He's a stopgap for whom 2024 will mark the fifth time in six years that he has laced them up for a new team.

Cornerback was a serious area of weakness during a disappointing second half of the season for the Jaguars, and the B/R Scouting Department expects them to address it with the No. 17 pick by adding Toledo's Quinyon Mitchell.

"Mitchell is one player who has constantly risen up the board," Cory Giddings wrote. "A twitchy athlete, he shows to be a sticky cover man with the ability to play the ball through the catch point. With the press-heavy scheme being instituted by the Jacksonville Jaguars defense, Mitchell can be an early starter and hold that position for years to come."

Assuming Tyson Campbell can rebound from an injury-marred 2023, that starting spot will come at Darby's expense.

Baron Browning, Edge, Denver Broncos

Gone are the days of Von Miller and Bradley Chubb with the Denver Broncos, and it showed last season. Denver's 42 sacks ranked outside the top 20, and no player on the team logged more than 8.5.

Last season was supposed to be Baron Browning's coming-out party—after five sacks in his second season, he drew comparisons to Miller from some of his then-teammates.

"Von is a one-of-one player ... [but] it's Von-esque,'' safety Justin Simmons said. "[Browning] has that bend and he has that athleticism to be able to put himself in the upper echelon of pass rushers and what makes a lot of guys special in our league in terms of getting the ball from an edge rush standpoint. Baron definitely has that."

However, offseason knee surgery wiped out a chunk of Browning's season, and he finished with 4.5 sacks in 10 games. Nik Bonitto, who filled in for the 25-year-old while he was sidelined, nearly doubled that total.

And if that wasn't cause for concern enough, B/R's most recent mock has the Broncos taking Alabama edge-rusher Dallas Turner 12th overall.

"The Broncos' defensive line has a few quality interior defenders in Zach Allen, D.J. Jones and Malcolm Roach, but they could use a difference-maker off the edge," Matt Holder wrote. "If Denver can't get the quarterback it wants with the 12th overall pick, look for it to invest in the Alabama product, who runs a 4.46-second 40-yard dash at nearly 250 pounds and has 34⅜-inch arms."

After pacing the team with 8.5 sacks in 2023, Jonathon Cooper's job is likely safe. But if the Broncos go this route, Browning could find himself relegated to a complementary role in short order.

Quentin Johnston, WR, Los Angeles Chargers

We're going to close this out by diverting from B/R's mock draft. There, the Chargers use their two first-rounders after trading back to address the offensive and defensive lines. It's a plausible scenario.

However, after releasing Mike Williams and trading Keenan Allen in the offseason, the Bolts drafting a wide receiver is equally possible.

It would be the second year in a row that L.A. used a first-rounder on a wideout after it selected Quentin Johnston 21st overall in 2023.

The TCU product's first professional season was a disappointment, though. He caught just 38 passes and barely averaged 11 yards per reception.

The 22-year-old told reporters that he's keen to get back on the field and prove his rookie struggles were an aberration:

"There's a lot more media attention. I'm real eager to (prove the doubters wrong) and get back on the field. The media, that's honestly their job and a lot of people on (social) media are just on the couch and don't have anything to do all day but go around joking about it. It's always funny when it's about somebody else and not about you, it comes with the territory. I'm not too mad about it, I don't be on social media like that anyways. But I feel like with my next chance I'm going to show out."

Several other mock drafts have the Chargers going with a wideout at No. 5, whether it's Malik Nabers of LSU, Rome Odunze of Washington or even Marvin Harrison Jr. of Ohio State.

Joshua Palmer isn't a world-beater, but he has shown something that Johnston has not: the ability to be a productive NFL receiver.

If the first draft pick of the Jim Harbaugh era is a receiver, Johnston's status in two-wide receiver sets is going to be in trouble.