NFL Draft Recap: Day 1

Six quarterbacks in the first twelve picks

The 2024 NFL Draft officially began in Detroit on Friday night. As expected, the Chicago Bears made Caleb Williams the first overall pick. This was followed by a historic flood of offensive players, including six quarterbacks in the first twelve picks. The Atlanta Falcons provided a big surprise in the process.

The surprise at the start of the draft failed to materialise: The Chicago Bears used their first-overall pick, obtained in a trade with the Carolina Panthers ahead of the 2023 draft, on Caleb Williams, USC’s star quarterback, as expected. In the Heisman winner from 2022, the Bears now hope to have finally found the permanent solution at the playmaker position – especially after the Justin Fields experiment recently failed with a bang.

There were hardly any surprises in the following picks either: The 2022 Heisman winner was followed by last season’s best college player in Jayden Daniels, who will be the Washington Commanders’ starting quarterback from now on and is expected to lead the franchise into a new era. The New England Patriots are also hoping for a fresh start, as they took the next quarterback with the third pick and selected Drake Maye from North Carolina. For those interested in gaming and betting, check out exciting Richard casino no deposit bonus codes. Discover a variety of bonuses that enhance your gaming experience without initial investment. Learn more about what Richard Casino has to offer.

NFL Draft enthusiasm everywhere: Falcons sign Penix

The “Big Three” wide receivers quickly came off the board: the Arizona Cardinals snapped up Marvin Harrison Jr, the son of Hall-of-Famer Marvin Harrison (formerly of the Indianapolis Colts), to replace Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, who had left for the Kansas City Chiefs. He is set to become the new main focal point for Kyler Murray. Then at number six, Malik Nabers went to the New York Giants, while Rome Odunze fell to the Chicago Bears.

Well, that was something! The 1st round of the NFL Draft in Detroit is over – and it’s time to review the biggest upsets. First and foremost, the Atlanta Falcons, who surprisingly selected Michael Penix Jr. at No. 8.

Before Odunze, however, the Atlanta Falcons caused a genuine surprise and astonishment among all the experts: contrary to all expectations, the Falcons did not pick up any reinforcements for the expensively signed Kirk Cousins at position eight, instead they signed his designated successor: Michael Penix Jr. became the fourth quarterback drafted in this year’s draft. Cousins’ successor in Minnesota was found shortly afterwards, although the first trade of the evening followed. The Vikings received the 10th pick of the draft from the New York Jets for picks 11, 129 and 157, securing Michigan playmaker J.J. McCarthy, who had been the pre-draft favorite to be the fourth quarterback selected.

Many trades determine the late first round

The Denver Broncos made the sixth quarterback pick in round one at number twelve, where the Broncos secured former Oregon playmaker Bo Nix, who is now set to succeed the fired Russell Wilson in Colorado. Six quarterbacks in the first twelve picks – that had never happened before in the history of the NFL Draft. Nor had there ever been offensive players going off the board at the first 14 (!) positions.

Many trades caused a lot of movement in the selection order after the last quarterback pick. The Vikings were once again active and used their pick 23, which they had received from the Houston Texans a few weeks ago, to secure edge rusher Dallas Turner at position 17 in a trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars. With the young quarterback hunter, the Vikings secured the second talent in round one that was projected as a top-10 talent by experts before the draft.

The hosts, the Detroit Lions, also caused a sensation in Detroit: the Lions secured the 24th pick in a trade with the Dallas Cowboys. The team used this pick on star wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, who had signed a lucrative contract extension shortly before the draft, for pass defender Terrion Arnold. The Buffalo Bills, on the other hand, did not want a first-round pick, and the franchise traded back twice in exchange for draft picks. Reigning champions Kansas City were able to secure the speedy pass receiver Xavier Worthy at number 28, while Buffalo then gave up the final pick of the first round to the Carolina Panthers, who also snapped up a wide receiver in Xavier Legette.

The first round at a glance

1) Chicago Bears: Caleb Williams (quarterback, USC)

2) Washington Commanders: Jayden Daniels (Quarterback, Louisiana State)

3) New England Patriots: Drake Maye (Quarterback, North Carolina)

4) Arizona Cardinals: Marvin Harrison Jr. (Wide Receiver, Ohio State)

5) Los Angeles Chargers: Joe Alt (Offensive Tackle, Notre Dame)

6) New York Giants: Malik Nabers (Wide Receiver, Louisiana State)

7) Tennessee Titans: JC Latham (Offensive Tackle, Alabama)

8) Atlanta Falcons: Michael Penix Jr. (Quarterback, Washington)

9) Chicago Bears: Rome Odunze (Wide Receiver, Washington)

10) Minnesota Vikings: J.J. McCarthy (Quarterback, Michigan)

11) New York Jets: Olumuyiwa Fashanu (Offensive-Tackle, Penn State)

12) Denver Broncos: Bo Nix (Quarterback, Oregon)

13) Las Vegas Raiders: Brock Bowers (Tight End, Georgia)

14) New Orleans Saints:  Taliese Fuaga (Offensive Tackle, Oregon State)

15) Indianapolis Colts: Laiatu Latu (Edge, UCLA)

16) Seattle Seahawks: Byron Murphy II (Defensive Tackle, Texas)

17) Minnesota Vikings: Dallas Turner (Edge, Alabama)

18) Cincinnati Bengals: Amarius Mims (Offensive Tackle, Georgia)

19) Los Angeles Rams: Jared Verse (Kante, Florida State)

20) Pittsburgh Steelers: Troy Fautanu (Offensive-Tackle, Washington)

21) Miami Dolphins: Chop Robinson (Kante, Penn State)

22) Philadelphia Eagles: Quinyon Mitchell (Cornerback, Toledo)

23) Jacksonville Jaguars: Brian Thomas Jr. (Wide Receiver, Louisiana State)

24) Detroit Lions: Terrion Arnold (Cornerback, Alabama)

25) Green Bay Packers: Jordan Morgan (Offensive Tackle, Arizona)

26) Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Graham Barton (Center, Duke)

27) Arizona Cardinals: Darius Robinson (Defensive End, Missouri)

28) Kansas City Chiefs: Xavier Worthy (Wide Receiver, Texas)

29) Dallas Cowboys: Tyler Guyton (Offensive Tackle, Oklahoma)

30) Baltimore Ravens: Nate Wiggins (Cornerback, Clemson)

31) San Francisco 49ers: Ricky Pearsall (Wide Receiver, Florida)

32) Carolina Panthers: Xavier Legette (Wide Receiver, South Carolina)

The post NFL Draft Recap: Day 1 appeared first on Russell Street Report.