The first round of the 2024 NFL Draft is in the books. Let’s just say it was nothing short of record-breaking night in Detroit. There were 275,000 fans in attendance. Wait, huh? That’s like the population of a small American city. That said, people LOVE football and those fans were able to experience the top college football players from all over the nation get called to their favorite teams. Here are a handful of takeaways from what became a night to remember in during the opening round.
Falcons Shock the World by Drafting Michael Penix Jr.
No one saw this coming. Some pundits didn’t even have Penix Jr. being drafted in the first round, let alone being a top 10 pick, ahead of players to the likes of J.J. McCarthy. The Falcons just spent $180 million in the offseason on Kirk Cousins with $90 million guaranteed. I get Cousins is 35 off an achilles injury but to take another QB in the top-10 is wild.
Patriots, Cardinals, Chargers and Giants Hold Off
For the last few weeks, there was plenty of chatter about trades that involved picks No. 3 through No. 6. Instead of crazy deal making, there were no trades until No. 10 overall. That happened with he Jets moving back just one spot. Bleh. The Patriots went after a quarterback, albeit for the future, and the Cardinals made a less surprising decision in electing to draft Marvin Harrison Jr., Jim Harbaugh took Joe Alt and the Giants may have found a playmaking receiver.
Six quarterbacks Taken in the Top 12
Everyone knew this would be a quarterback heavy draft for this class, but this was crazy. By the 10th pick, J.J. McCarthy was the fifth QB taken on his way to the Vikings. This marked the fastest ever that five signal callers were drafted that soon, beating out 2021’s record. Broncos may have found their QB in Bo Nix, making it the fastest the NFL took six QBs off the board.
Raiders Change Plans with Brock Bowers
Nobody saw six quarterbacks gone before the Raiders 13th pick so what next for Las Vegas? Drafting Bowers seems like it made sense. Scouts consider him a top playmaker who can run the ball, helping LV there also. That said, the Raiders need an o-line and help in the secondary. So let’s see what they do next.
