The 2024 NFL Draft was one of the most anticipated drafts of all time, and it didn’t disappoint. With huge offensive line, wide receiver, and quarterback prospects, it is no surprise that this was the most attended draft of all time with 700,000 people attending this NFL draft in Detroit, shattering attendance levels for past drafts.
Ms. Brunk, English teacher and Lions fan says “The draft being held in Detroit was very exciting. It felt rewarding of all of Detroit’s progress in the past year and it feels like the league is recognizing the hard work of Dan Campbell and the Lions.”
Record Broken
The biggest history-making moment from this draft was that no defensive players were picked until pick 15 shattering the previous record of none picked until 8. Due to the biggest prospects being offensive, defense seemed to have been forgotten about until halfway through the first round.
Quarterbacks
The first overall pick in the draft was a no-brainer, as everyone and their mother knew the Chicago Bears were going to take Caleb Williams out of USC, making him their franchise QB.
“I mean after we traded Justin Fields it was the only direction we could take so I’m happy about it.” Zach Blejski, 10th grade Bears fan said. The quarterback taken second overall was Jayden Daniels out of LSU by the Commanders.
This was a sigh of relief for many locals, for the Commanders had struggled to maintain a franchise quarterback for decades, and with new management and coaching, fans are hopeful that drafting Jayden Daniels will make the team relevant again.
With the Commanders taking Daniels, The Patriots wasted no time drafting their franchise hopeful, Drake Maye out of UNC. This NFL draft marked the 4th time in history where three quarterbacks were drafted first, second, and third.
Giancarlo Patarrryo, freshman, Commanders fan, said, “Jayden Daniels coming to Washington is great. He’s going to be good for us. He could be the new RGIII.”
Surprisingly, outside of the top three there were three more quarterbacks drafted in the top 12. The next quarterback drafted was the biggest surprise of the draft in which the Atlanta Falcons selected Michael Penix Jr. out of Washington at pick eight. The Falcons had just recently signed former Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins to a four year, 180 million dollar deal, yet they still selected a quarterback at pick eight.
The Vikings traded up one spot with the Jets to draft JJ Mcarthy out of Michigan at pick 10 and the Broncos drafted Oregon’s Bo Nix at pick 12 making it the first time six quarterbacks were drafted in the top 12. Some of these quarterbacks were projected to be drafted in the late first or early second rounds, but due to the league being very quarterback hungry, they went earlier than expected.
Offensive Line
This draft was very offensive line heavy, so it was no surprise that there were nine linemen drafted in the first round. The most prominent prospect for linemen was Joe Alt out of Notre Dame who was picked 5th overall to the Chargers. This pick was a bit surprising to fans because the Chargers had just released and traded their receivers, leading people to expect them to draft a generational wide receiver talent, but Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh decided to draft an offensive lineman.
The second offensive tackle prospect drafted was JC Latham out of Alabama by the Titans. Lots of mock drafts had the Titans selecting Joe Alt, but since the Chargers took him, this was their second choice in mind.
The third offensive tackle prospect selected at 11 by the Jets was Olumuyiwa (Olu) Fashanu out of Penn State. The Jets traded down one pick with the Vikings to draft him.
Another history-making moment from this draft was that no defensive players were picked until pick 15 shattering the previous record of none picked until 8. Due to the biggest prospects being offensive, defense seemed to have been forgotten about until halfway through the first round.
Wide Receivers
The position with debatably the most talent in this draft were the wide receivers. The first wide receiver drafted to the Arizona Cardinals at pick four was Marvin Harrison Jr. out of Ohio State. He’s a generational talent who is projected to shatter records in the NFL. Part of the reason he is looked so highly on is not just his raw talent, but the people that came before him. His father was the hall of fame wide receiver Marvin Harrison Sr. of the Indianapolis Colts.
Marvin Harrison Jr. may have had all of the buzz for wide receivers in the draft, but there is still lots of other talent in this draft. The second biggest prospect out of this draft for wide receivers was Malik Nabers out of LSU. He was drafted two picks after Marvin Harrison Jr. to the New York Giants at pick six. Giants QB Daniels Jones is currently coming off of an injury, and when he comes back, he is gonna need a receiver to throw too so that is why they selected Malik Nabers at six.
The next wide receiver prospect drafted was by the Chicago Bears being Rome Odunze out of Washington at pick nine. The Bears selected Caleb Williams at pick one to be their QB of the future, and drafting Rome Odunze made their offense more stacked than it already was.
Quite possibly one of the most baffling decisions of the first round was when the Buffalo Bills traded back with the Kansas City Chiefs, allowing them to take the wide receiver that broke the 40 yard dash record at the NFL combine, Xavier Worthy. This was quite strange considering that the Bills just traded the best receiver on the team in Stefon Diggs and needed another great one badly.
Glenn Lobo, Freshman, Bills fan says “I don’t think we were going to take Worthy anyways. Although he’s fast I don’t think he would fit what our team needed.”
Nothing too out of the ordinary happened outside of the first round, every team made their picks, got their guys, and are looking forward to the upcoming season.
