This 2024 NFL Draft was crazy.
6 Quarterbacks taken in the top 12 picks of the 1st round, along with so many offensive players being drafted this draft. It was one for the books.
In reflection, here is a recap and overview of the top 32 picks from this year’s draft.
Round 1 Pick 1: The Chicago Bears select quarterback Caleb Williams out of USC. Willams has been arguably the best quarterback prospect ever and has been the best QB in college football for the last 3 years, including winning the Heisman (the MVP Award for College Football) in 2022, and passing for over 10,000 yards with over 150 total touchdowns in his college career. Williams is the most relatable prospect to Patrick Mahomes, with the ability to do magical things on the football field at a consistent rate. He heads to a stacked Bears offense that has built around him well for his rookie season.
====================================
Round 1 pick 2: The Washington Commanders select the 2023 Heisman winning Quarterback out of LSU in Jayden Daniels. Daniels is the only QB in college football history at the FBS level to have over 12,000 passing yards and 3,000 yards rushing for a career. He had historical numbers this season. The 6 foot 3, 210 pound Daniels is the best pocket and deep ball passer in the entire draft, and he has been compared to former Heisman winner Robert Griffin III, who also played for Washington in the NFL.
====================================
Round 1 Pick 3: The New England Patriots select the QB out of North Carolina in Drake Maye. Maye Had a good career on bad teams, being compared to Justin Herbert, due to his raw speed, throwing power, and size. He has a lot to improve and get better at–such as accuracy and timing on his throws. However, he heads to a Patriots’ team that has a lot of holes in its roster.
====================================
Round 1 Pick 4: The Arizona Cardinals Select Wide Receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. The son of former NFL hall of fame receiver Marvin Harrison, the 6 foot 4 WR from Ohio State is arguably the best non-Quarterback player in the entire draft. He has all the attributes of size, speed, hands, route running that a receiver needs to be a stud in the NFL. He heads to a Cardinals team that needs receiver help badly, and he is the right guy for that team.
====================================
Round 1 Pick 5: The LA Chargers select the 6 foot 9, 321 pound offensive tackle Joe Alt out of Notre Dame. The Chargers, under new head coach Jim Harbaugh, needed a tackle to protect their QB Justin Herbert, and they got that guy to do that. Alt has been the best single offensive lineman in college football these past few seasons and has all the tools to be a pro-bowl caliber player in the NFL.
====================================
Round 1 Pick 6: The NY Giants select WR, and teammate of Jayden Daniels this past season, Malik Nabers out of LSU. Nabers is 6 foot flat, and 200 pounds of pure speed. He can torch the defense on any route out the slot or on the outside. The Giants needed a weapon for their offense, and they got it in Nabers.
====================================
Round 1 Pick 7: The Tennessee Titans select the offensive tackle JC Latham out of Alabama for the 7th pick in the draft. Latham is a behemoth of a man at 6 foot 6, 342 pounds and is an incredible run blocker with a ton of upside to develop into a good pass blocker. JC is also versatile and can play guard as well as tackle on the offensive line, as is good fit for the run heavy titans offense that has now Tony Pollard at running back to replace the All-Pro running back Derrick Henry who is now on the Ravens.
====================================
Round 1 Pick 8: The Atlanta Falcons select QB Michael Penix Jr. out of Washington. Even though this is a surprise pick, because of his bad injury history, and considering the Falcons picked up a QB in Kirk Cousins for 4 years, 180 million dollars this offseason, the pick does actually make some sense. Penix was a national-championship runner up this season and was one of the best QBs in the entire country. He can learn from Cousins and develop into the future starter for the Falcons.
====================================
Round 1 Pick 9: The Bear select the teammate of Penix in WR Rome Odunze at number 9, and he is a problem. He is a dynamic play-maker, and one-on-one pass catcher that makes defenses pay if they don’t guard him well. His tall 6 foot 3 frame makes him a great target for new teammate, Caleb Williams, and he should thrive in a great Bears WR room that has the All-Pros Keenan Allen, and DJ Moore.
====================================
Round 1 Pick 10: The Minnesota Viking Select QB JJ McCarthy out of the National Championship winning Michigan Wolverines. McCarthy is mobile and a very accurate passer. He is a great winner, going 27-1 as the starter. The Vikings are getting a great leader who can develop in a very good, and stacked Minnesota offense. He is the perfect fit for them.
====================================
Round 1 Pick 11: The Seattle Seahawks select 6 foot 6 offensive tackle Olu Fashanu out of Penn State. Olu is a great tackle with incredible footspeed and pass blocking skills to be an effective tackle for a Seahawks offense that needed a tackle badly. He still needs to improve in run blocking but is a great pick for Seattle.
====================================
Round 1 Pick 12: The Denver Broncos select QB Bo Nix out of Oregon. Nix has the highest pass completion percentage in a season in FBS College football history at almost 80% and has the most college starts ever with 61 over 6 seasons. Nix is the perfect fit pick up for a Broncos team that had to cut the previous QB Russell Wilson. He is a great play-action passer who has great mobility.
====================================
Round 1 Pick 13: The Las Vegas Raiders Select the TE out of Georgia in Brock Bowers. Bowers is the best TE prospect maybe ever, and he has speed, size, blocking, and game changing ability to wreak havoc on teams in the NFL. The Raiders got a really good player here.
====================================
Round 1 Pick 14: The New Orleans Saints select the 6 foot 6 tackle out of Oregon State in Taliese Fuaga. This man is a game wrecker in the run game and is a nasty finisher as a blocker. He can improve as a pass blocker, but Saints fans will love who they got.
====================================
Round 1 Pick 15: The Indianapolis Colts select the first defensive player of the draft in defensive end Laiatu Latu. Latu has had at least 10 QB sacks the last 2 seasons and is an explosive pass rusher. He has medical concerns, but Latu will help the defense of the Colts improve much better.
====================================
Round 1 Pick 16: The Seahawks make their 2nd pick of the 1st round, and select Defensive Tackle Byron Murphy out of Texas. The 6 foot 1, 300 pounder is an explosive player, with great low-center of gravity to help in the run and pass situations. He is a great pick-up for Seattle, since they needed to bolster their interior D-line.
====================================
Round 1 Pick 17: The Vikings select DE Dallas Turner out of Alabama. Minnesota needed to replace all-pro DE Danille Hunter, and they did with the best DE in the draft. He is an explosive power with a 4.46 40. He is a speed-type rusher who can destroy unsuspecting offensive lineman and is perfect for the heavy blitz defense the Viking run.
====================================
Round 1 Pick 18: The Cincinnati Bengals get an offensive tackle to protect their star QB Joe Burrow in Amarius Mims out of Georgia. The 6 foot 8 monster is a dominant tackle that wreck teams in the run game and is improving as a pass protector every year. He will help protect Burrow for sure.
====================================
Round 1 Pick 19: The LA Rams select DE Jared Verse out of Florida State. This dude is a tank, being a strong and powerful d-lineman that can wreck games and get off blocks in a hurry. The Rams hope he fills the void left by Hall of Famer DT Aaron Donald who retired this offseason.
====================================
Round 1 Pick 20: The Pittsburgh Steelers select Tackle Troy Fautanu out of Washington. Fautanu is an athletic tackler who is really good in the screen passing game and has great body control as a pass blocker. The Steelers needed pass blocking help, and they got that in Fautanu.
====================================
Round 1 Pick 21: The Miami Dolphins select DE Chop Robinson out of Penn State. This young man is the best pure pass rusher in the draft. Period. Chop runs a 4.44 4O Yard Dash and can just dominate teams with his speed and pursuit off the edge. He struggles in the run game, but that is not why he was drafted to this team. The Dolphins needed pass rush help alongside Bradley Chubb, and they got that in Chop Robinson.
====================================
Round 1 Pick 22: The Philadelphia Eagles got Cornerback Quinton Mitchell out of Toledo. Mitchell is a playmaker on defense and can lock up anybody with his 4.33 speed and great coverage skills. The Eagles needed corner help, and they got that in Q.M.
====================================
Round 1 Pick 23: The Jacksonville Jaguars select Malik Nabers’ running mate Brian Thomas out of LSU. He is a great vertical threat as a receiver, being 6 foot 4, and having 4.33 speed. He still needs to improve as a route runner but is a great weapon for this team that is already loaded at the WR position.
====================================
Round 1 Pick 24: The Detroit Lions Select CB Terrion Arnold out of Alabama. Arnold has a flashy personality and a great game to top it off. Ball skills and versatility make him a great player for Detroit, who had the worst pass defense in the NFL last season, and they needed some corner help which they now have with Arnold.
====================================
Round 1 Pick 25: The Green Bay Packer selects offensive tackle Jordan Morgan out of Arizona. Morgan has big hands and is very technically sound as a blocker, but he has a lot of work to improve and be the new replacement at tackle this season for Green Bay.
====================================
Round 1 Pick 26: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers select Center Graham Barton out of Duke. Ryan Jansen, the former center, retired, so the Bucs got his replacement in Barton. Barton is explosive off the ball, and has great hands and footwork to help in pass and run pros.
====================================
Round 1 Pick 27: The Arizona Cardinals select the DE Darius Robinson out of Missouri. Robinson at 6 foot 5, 285 pounds, is a handful on the edge, and inside at DT. His versatility to play in or out, and length with strength combo is a problem for defenses. The Cards needed a d-lineman, and they got a good one in Darius.
====================================
Round 1 Pick 28: The Super Bowl winning Kansas City Chiefs got the man who ran the fastest 40 yard dash time ever this year in WR Xavier Worthy out of Texas. At 5 foot 11, 165 pounds, he can absolutely fly down the field and is great in the screen passing game, which the Chiefs love to run. Expect him to be a great weapon for Patrick Mahomes to throw to this year, for sure.
====================================
Round 1 Pick 29: The Dallas Cowboys select an offensive tackle out of Oklahoma in Tyler Guyton. The huge 6 foot 8 1/2 tackle is very good footwork for his size, helping him block in run and pass situations. However, he is still a raw prospect and has a lot he can improve upon as he plays in the NFL. He’ll plug and start right away, considering the Cowboys lost All-Pro Tackle Tyron Smith in Free Agency this offseason to the NY Jets.
====================================
Round 1 Pick 30: The Baltimore Ravens select the 4.28 speed corner out of Clemson in Nate Wiggins. His speed is insane, and he doesn’t get burnt by receivers often. His ability to start and stop on a dime makes him a hard corner to throw against in zone or off man coverage, and Wiggins is also very good in 50/50 ball situations against taller receivers, as well. He will fit right into the Ravens’ defense as a great key contributor.
====================================
Round 1 pick 31: The San Francisco 49ers select the slot WR out of Florida in Ricky Pearsall at pick #31. Pearsall has a great skill set of speed and hands. He is really good at route running out of the slot and can also go down the field on vertical routes on the outside, if need be. The 49ers’ future at WR is uncertain, considering there are rumors that All Pros Deebo Samuel, and Brandon Aiuk are in trade conversations. But, Persall will be a contributor on day one for San Francisco for sure this upcoming season.
====================================
Round 1 Pick 32: The Carolina Panthers selected the athletic freakazoid at WR in Xavier Legette out of South Carolina with the last pick in the 1st round, and they didn’t miss on this guy at all. The 6 foot 2, 220 pounds of 4.39 speed is a problem for any defense because of his one on one catching ability on vertical routes and being a threat in the return game. Legette, however, does need to improve his overall route running, and catch in traffic skills. All in all, the Panthers needed to get their young QB in Bryce Young a weapon, and they got a good one.
Keep watch on these guys. They could be busts, or franchise caliber players.
They also could just be really good, or average at best.
