2024 NFL Draft Live Tracker - Every First Round NFL Draft Pick & Analysis
The 2024 NFL Draft Is Here!
In the long, dark NFL offseason there are a couple beacons of hope that keep us going. The NFL Combine is one. But the NFL Draft is the big one that serves as an oasis for us football diehards. And the 2024 NFL Draft is finally here this weekend, kicking off at 8 PM ET on Thursday. We'll take a moment to track the picks here with some quick-hitting analysis on what each prospect brings to the table. Hopefully your favorite team rises to the occasion, hits on the right rookies, and sets the table for their future!
NFL Draft First Round Picks
| Pick No. | NFL Team | Player | Analysis |
| 1 | Chicago Bears | Caleb Williams - QB | It's official - the Bears have selected Caleb Williams with the first overall pick. His ability to extend plays and fire the ball down field with a quick flick of the wrist has shades of Patrick Mahomes. |
| 2 | Washington Commanders | Jayden Daniels | It wasn't long ago that folks thought mobile quarterbacks were a gimmick and that they wouldn't work in the NFL. Now some of the leagues top players are true rushing quarterbacks - like Jayden Daniels. And that offers him a level of upside that no other QB in this class has, especially in fantasy football. |
| 3 | New England Patriots | Drake Maye | The Patriots get their franchise quarterback. The 6'4" QB has prototypical size, can make all the throws, and can beat you with his legs. Consistency has been his issue and New England brought in a new staff to coach him up. |
| 4 | Arizona Cardinals | Marvin Harrison Jr | He has the size, the speed, the production, and the pedigree as the son of Hall of Fame WR Marvin Harrison). Now he has the landing spot as well - he's the WR1 in your dynasty rookie draft. |
| 5 | Los Angeles Chargers | Joe Alt | Jim Harbaugh spend 10 minutes at the combine talking about how important the offensive line is. And he put his money where his mouth is taking the top offensive linemen off the board in Joe Alt. Harbaugh and Greg Roman begin building this smash-mouth offense. |
| 6 | New York Giants | Malik Nabers | The consensus wide receiver two becomes the official wide receiver two as the Giants select Malik Nabers at overall. He has elite escapeability that you see from guys like Antonio Brown and Tyreek Hill in terms of avoiding defenders and getting extra yards with the ball in his hands. |
| 7 | Tennessee Titans | JC Latham | Titans GM Ran Carthon spent this offseason on weapons like Calvin Ridley and Tony Pollard, setting himself up for an easy job on draft day. All he had to do was set back and take the best offensive lineman available - and that's what he did here. Some even had JC Latham as the top ranked offensive linemen on their board. |
| 8 | Atlanta Falcons | Michael Penix Jr | The first BIG surprise of the draft comes off the board here at 8. The Falcons JUST signed quarternack Kirk Cousins this offseason and now double tap the QB position in the draft with Michael Penix Jr. Injuries were the big concern for him but he obviously cleared the tests for the Falcons. He has tremendous upside. |
| 9 | Chicago Bears | Rome Odunze | The Bears will have no shortage of weapons for new QB Caleb Williams. They had DJ Moore and Cole Kmet. They traded for Keenan Allen. They signed Gerald Everett. And now they have drafted a big-bodied split end in Rome Odunze. Locked and loaded. |
| 10 | Minnesota Vikings via NYJ | J.J. McCarthy | The Vikings had been tied to JJ McCarthy for weeks now and they get their guy. They trade up one spot to do it which is interesting because that tells you that other teams were calling the Jets about trading up to get McCarthy there. The Broncos or Raiders perhaps? |
| 11 | New York Jets via MIN | Olumuyiwa Fashanu | The Jets made some risky moves on the offensive line, bringing in Tyron Smith, Morgan Moses, and John Simpson. Here they make the safe play and take the best offensive lineman on the board. If things go according to plan, he might not even start right away. The best case scenario is that things work out and he's your swing tackle but, given the injury history of guys like Smith, he'll probably end up contributing sooner rather than later. |
| 12 | Denver Broncos | Bo Nix | Sean Payton wants a quarterback that can make the right presnap reads then get the ball out of his hands quickly and accurately. The Broncos with Payton and Joe Lombardi threw the most passes to the running back of any team in the league last year. They might not have Drew Brees but, between Zach Wilson and Box Nix, they should have someone that can operate the offense the way they want after moving on from Russell Wilson. |
| 13 | Las Vegas Raiders | Brock Bowers | Another curveball here as the Raiders select tight end Brock Bowers one year after selecting tight end Michael Mayer in the second round. Mayer skews more inline with Bowers playing more of a wide receiver role so that's what we can expect from them moving forward. Hopefully, they don't spend too much time rotating for fantasy football. |
| 14 | New Orleans Saints | Taliese Fuaga | You can never have too many good offensive linemen and the Saints get a great one here. Fuaga and Fashanu have been interchangeable in many mock drafts so you have to feel good about having the second one fall to you. He's versatile enough to play tackle or guard at the next level so they'll find a spot for him to play right away. |
| 15 | Indianapolis Colts | Laiatu Latu | Latu took games over as an edge rusher at times in college and adds a much needed element to the Colts defense. The only questions on him were a medical issue that caused him to transfer from Washington to UCLA but clearly he's been cleared by the Colts staff. |
| 16 | Seattle Seahawks | Byron Murphy II | The league has put a premium recently on interior pass rush with guys like Javon Hargrave and Christian Wilkins getting paid big money and Jalen Carter going last year at nine overall. The Seahawks take the first defensive player off the board here and it's a defensive tackle with Byron Murphy II out of Texas. |
| 17 | Minnesota Vikings via JAX | Dallas Turner | Many had Dallas Turner as the top defensive player on their board. And the most popular spot was eight overall. The Vikings clearly were high on the edge rusher and felt he slid enough so they traded up to take him as the second defensive player draft tonight. |
| 18 | Cincinnati Bengals |
| The Bengals have struggled with offensive line for years so they're using the 18th overall pick on a lineman. It will be interesting to see what they do with Mims as they have Orlando Brown Jr. and Trent Brown at tackle - some scouts have said that Mims isn't really the kind of player to kick inside and play guard but he might need to do that if he's going to contribute right away. |
| 19 | Los Angeles Rams | Jared Verse | Verse might as well be short for versatile because he's just as good in the run game as he is at pass rush. This is an every down player off the outside for the Rams - who haven't had a first round pick in awhile. |
| 20 | Pittsburgh Steelers | Troy Fautanu | The Steelers were expected to take an offensive linemen for weeks now, the only question was who. Fautanu was the best available on our board and it seems he is on the Steelers as well. It even sounds like a Pittsburgh Steeler name. |
| 21 | Miami Dolphins | Chop Robinson | The Dolphins lost a lot of players in free agency, none bigger than Christian Wilkins. Chop Robinson will hopefully help ease that loss in the front seven. Defensive players have slid in this first round so the Dolphins got a deal here. |
| 22 | Philadelphia Eagles | Quinyon Mitchell | The Eagles had their choice of any cornerback on the board here. There are some hybrid safety or slot guys but Philly went with the best pure outside option in Mitchell. |
| 23 | Jacksonville Jaguars via MIN | Brian Thomas Jr. | The Jaguars lost Calvin Ridley in free agency this year so they’ll attempt to replace the outside wide receiver with a rookie. His stats weren’t incredible in college but he was sharing targets with Malik Nabers at LSU. |
| 24 | Detroit Lions via DAL | Terrion Arnold | So much for the Cowboys being “all in” as they trade out with the Lions in the first. Detroit takes the second corner off the board in Terron Arnold who can also operate out of the slot. |
| 25 | Green Bay Packers | Jordan Morgan | The Packers are absolutely loaded with offensive weapons so expect a lot of work done on defense and the offensive line in this draft. They go best player available with offensive line here in the first. |
| 26 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Graham Barton | folks love the idea of a “tackle that could play guard” but there is something to be said about taking the best actual guard in the draft. Barton is polished and ready to help from day one. |
| 27 | Arizona Cardinals | Darius Robinson | This is the first pick that wasn’t really on our radar as a first rounder but he absolutely fits a need for this Cardinals team. And Jonathan Gannon knows defense so we trust him here. |
| 28 | Kansas City Chiefs via BUF | Xavier Worthy | The Chiefs obviously had success with the speedy Tyreek Hill in the pastl and it doesn’t get much faster than Xavier Worthy, who holds the combine record for wide receiver in forty time. He‘ll add a deep element for Patrick Mahomes. |
| 29 | Dallas Cowboys via DET | Tyler Guyton | Our own Jim Bowden called this one -and the Cowboys surely needed offensive line help with the departures of Tyron S,8th and Tyler Biadisz. They picked up some capital Too in the trade back. |
| 30 | Baltimore Ravens | Nate Wiggins | At the end of the first round you often find teams taking best player available that they may have had much higher grades on. It just so happens this one is also a need for the Ravens. |
| 31 | San Francisco 49ers | Ricky Pearsall | With the future uncertain for Brandon Aiyuk, the 49ers needed to play it safe at WR. At the very least he can play slot WR for the short term like many young wideouts do. |
| 32 | Carolina Panthers via KC | Xavier Leggette | Leggette was a late breakout but, when he did breakout, he did so in a big way. The Panthers believe the player we saw last year is the true version of what we are getting at the NFL level. |