Huge takeaways from the NFL draft: Luxury picks, QB moves

• Brooke Pryor, ESPN

  • Staff WriterApr 27, 2024, 07:15 PM ET Close Previously covered the Kansas City Chiefs for the Kansas City Star and Oklahoma University for the Oklahoman.The 2024 NFL draft had

whatever: a historic work on offending players, a lot more historic operate on quarterbacks, mommies obstructing their children’sweethearts from getting in on the draft night celebration, head-scratching picks and a great deal of trades.The good news after a record-setting weekend in Detroit

: Your team is going 20-0 and winning the Lombardi Trophy.The bad news: Your group lost out on your preferred X aspect prospect, and the

future is bleak.The real news: 257 players had their dreams become a reality throughout the weekend when they were selected to join an NFL team and assist their brand-new organization compete for a Super Bowl.No pressure.Here’s a look at some of the major trends of the 2024 NFL draft. The quarterback dilemma It’s excellent to be a quarterback. Or at least it’s great to be a first-round quarterback. In a league where quarterback play– particularly from young, affordable skill– is becoming progressively better, the

2024 draft saw 6 quarterbacks enter the very first 12 choices, marking just the 2nd time that 6 QBs were selected in the first round considering that 1983. It also represented the fewest choices in which 6 signal-callers have actually been drafted.Editor’s Picks 2 Related The first 3 off the board weren’t much of a surprise: Caleb Williams( Bears ), Jayden Daniels(Leaders )and Drake Maye(Patriots). Then things went sideways when the Falcons amazingly prepared Washington quarterback Michael Penix

Jr. at No. 8, despite signing quarterback Kirk Cousins to a rewarding complimentary agent deal less than 2 months ago. 2 choices later, the Minnesota Vikings made their much-anticipated trade as much as select Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy, and the Broncos rounded out the group with Oregon’s Bo Nix at No. 12. However after the boom of quarterbacks in the top 12 picks, not a single QB went up until 150th total when the New Orleans Saints picked South Carolina’s Spencer Rattler in the fifth round, setting another record of 137 straight choices without a quarterback being drafted. It also marked the third time in the common draft period that a QB wasn’t chosen in the second or third round. It was 21 picks later before the second Day 3 quarterback came off the board when the New york city Jets drafted Florida State’s Jordan Travis as a prospective beneficiary to Aaron Rodgers. Tennessee quarterback Joe Milton III was ultimately selected by the Patriots at 193 in the sixth round.The space in quarterbacks might signify one of two things: The league’s talent evaluators thought there was a massive drop-off between the top 6 quarterbacks and the rest of the class or teams are devaluing advancement prospects. Both make some sense. In a league that has actually become progressively impatient with young quarterbacks, there’s more pressure

to see an immediate positive impact from its prepared QBs. The faster a quarterback proves himself, the more time the group has to construct around him with costly weapons while its quarterback’s inexpensive novice contract is still on the books. Drake Maye was the third quarterback selected throughout a historical work on the position. Picture by John Smolek/Icon Sportswire Lives of luxury?No, this classification isn’t about the Los Angeles Rams draft house. Although, those are quite sweet digs, and the Rams really needed to do some work from there in the first round this year for the first time since 2016. Instead, let’s have a look at the groups that utilized high draft chooses to resolve positions that were currently pretty well stocked.The Atlanta Falcons started that pattern early by drafting quarterback Michael Penix

Jr. at No. 8 general, in spite of

just recently signing Kirk Cousins to a four-year deal with$100 million ensured. The Falcons, however, stocked up on more pressing positions of need with their subsequent choices, taking 4 straight front-seven defenders.Just after the Penix

choice, the Chicago Bears chose to offer Caleb Williams more assistance at wide receiver, drafting Rome Odunze regardless of having Keenan Allen and DJ Moore.A number of picks later on, with the top-tier quarterbacks off the board, new Raiders general manager Tom Telesco chose Georgia tight end Brock Bowers at No. 13, regardless of the group drafting TE Michael Mayer at No. 35 overall a year earlier. Bowers, though, is a more flexible pass-catcher than Mayer and could work out of the slot or as an outdoors receiver.play 1:43 Can Caleb Williams lead the Bears to the playoffs next season?Domonique Foxworth and Dan Graziano go over the possibility of the Bears making the playoffs with Caleb Williams at quarterback.”He was really pretty [

much] a consensus guy,”Telesco stated of the group’s viewpoint of Bowers on Thursday.” Makes it a bit simpler, fully understanding that we have Michael Mayer, who is an exceptional tight end, however there’s no guideline in the NFL that you can just play one. We can play two tight ends; we can move individuals around.”The 49ers closed Round 1 by drafting Florida wide receiver RickyPearsall despite

having a stockpile of pass-catchers in WRs Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo

Samuel, TE George Kittle, RB Christian McCaffrey and FB Kyle Juszczyk. Some believed the San Francisco pick could signal an approaching trade of Aiyuk or Samuel, however when the draft closed, both were still 49ers. And GM John Lynch shot down the trade rumors in his Friday night news conference.” We didn’t amuse any of that today,” Lynch said.”We’re happy with our wide receiver group. In fact, more than pleased. We’re actually delighted with it. And enjoyed have added Ricky to that group and even make it more powerful.”Rich get richer?The Kansas City Chiefs keep winning. The back-to-back Super Bowl champions not just landed worth picks, however they grabbed two of them in trades with teams they beat in the 2023 playoffs. First, basic supervisor Brett Veach traded up in the preliminary, utilizing Buffalo’s No. 28 choice to snag quick pass receiver Xavier Worthy, matching him with another blazing wideout in free company addition Marquise”Hollywood “Brown.” Anytime you can include speed and include a guy with that kind of adaptability, I believe you’re going to be interested, “Veach stated Thursday night.” Just our ability to play vertical and have speed on the field at all times and having Xavier and Hollywood.”As the season goes on here, I believe we’ll have simply an offense that can

assault in numerous different ways

and constantly keep defenses guessing.”What to understand from the 2024 NFL draft – See all 257 picks|Choose analysis – Kiper’s draft grades|Best, worst picks – Big takeaways|Kiper’s Day 1 winners – Overreactions|Trades|Bad news, NFL: Patrick Mahomes currently won a Super Bowl without an elite receiving corps. Now, he has a track group on the outside and a physical pass-catcher with great skill in Travis Kelce on the inside.The relocation was particularly head-scratching since the Bills had a clear requirement at wideout after trading away No. 1 receiver Stefon Diggs. However GM Brandon Beane explained his team traded out of the first round– later on

trading the Panthers the No. 32 choice for their No. 33 as a part of plan– because they wished to recover a third-round pick and thought there were quality players offered at the top of the second.(Certainly, the Costs selected wideout Keon Coleman at No. 33. )In the second round, the Chiefs then worked out a deal with the 49ers, whom they beat in overtime in the Super Bowl, to get select No. 63 and draft 6-foot-5, 325-pound BYU offensive deal with Kingsley Suamataia.

“I love Veach guy!”Mahomes tweeted after the Suamataia pick.Defense postponed Mamas, don’t let your children grow up to be defensive players– a minimum of not if you’re expecting them to be picked in the top 10 choices of the NFL draft. The first defensive player– UCLA edge rusher Laiatu Latu– didn’t come off the board up until the 15th pick. And while the Latu selection didn’t precisely open the floodgates right away, 8 of the final 18 first-round choices were defensive players.After a record-setting 23 offensive players went off the board in the first round, 20 protective players were prepared in Round 2, tied for the 4th most in second round and the most there because 22 went in 2016. Amongst the protective positions most decreased the value of was linebacker. The first one didn’t come off the board up until the Packers traded up for Edgerrin Cooper with the 45th overall choice. The next linebacker, Michigan’s Junior Colson, wasn’t prepared till the third round, which proved to be one sweet spot for the position. 5 linebackers were selected in the 3rd round

. Then 6 more entered the fifth.The only protective position group that needed to wait longer to get its very first choice was safety. Minnesota’s Tyler Nubin went two picks after Cooper to the New York City Giants, followed by two more from the position in that round.While the majority of teams stockpiled on offending players, two prioritized defense through the very first three rounds. Neither the Eagles nor the Lions took an offending player in the first three rounds.The offense still ended up ahead of the

defense by the end of Day 2, with 54 offensive players chosen to 46 defensive players.Trade Eagles, trade Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman surpassed himself. Notorious for wheeling and dealing, Roseman orchestrated nine sell

the draft, the most by any group considering that 1990. The next closest were the 2018 Patriots and the 2023 Texans, with eight trades each.Not only did Roseman trade up with the Washington Commanders to land cornerback Cooper DeJean in the second round, but on Day 3, the Eagles traded the No. 164 overall pick and a sixth-rounder to the Indianapolis Colts to pick legacy linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. with the No. 155

choice in general. Trotter’s father was picked by the exact same company in the third round of the 1998 draft and became a four-time Pro Bowler over a 12-year career. Prior to the trade that landed Trotter, Roseman went wild in the 4th round with 3 trades.(Jets GM Joe Douglas also participated the action and made 3 trades of his own in that round. )In the first round, though, Roseman didn’t need to pull off any deals to land a star player.

Since of the work on offending players, the board established perfectly for the Eagles to choose Toledo cornerback Quinyon Mitchell at No. 22.

Mitchell, commonly considered the very best cornerback in the class, designs his game after veteran Eagles cornerback Darius Slay, providing the group a ready-made successor apparent for the CB1 task whenever Kill, entering his 12th season, moves on.Best of NFL Country – Greatest post-draft questions for all 32 – Packers get their’leading’ players – Bryce Young got the required assistance – How Brian Thomas impacts Jags – Can rookies replace Aaron Donald?”Certainly, he’s got a lot to prove as a small-school player, “Roseman informed Philadelphia media.” The MAC is not the National Football League. We understand that. We’ve had remarkable success with huge schools. To take a player like this from the MAC, he needs to be special. “The Eagles’preliminary, uncharacteristic since Roseman stuck to the initial decided on a player from a small school, caused instantaneous distress for Cowboys protective end Micah Parsons, who was viewing the draft on a livestream.”I’m truthfully absolutely disgusted on how fortunate the Eagles are, “Parsons said of the Mitchell tease a Bleacher Report livestream.”I do not know how he fell that far; with the run of offending deals with and quarterbacks, that’s the only thing that makes good sense. I thought he was a top-15, top-12 skill, and he just fell right into their laps.”

Deep and broad (receiver class)All the pre-draft buzz of deep wide receiver and offending line classes was shown throughout the weekend. There were a combined 50 wideout and
O-lineman selections through the very first 4 rounds, setting a typical draft age record.Twenty-five offensive linemen entered the very first 3 rounds, and of those, 17 were noted at offensive deal with– both records for the most drafted in the very first 3 rounds in the typical draft era.The Steelers were among the groups who took advantage of the deep offensive line class, drafting 3 linemen with their very first 5 choices, marking the very first time the Steelers have selected 3 O-linemen within their first 5 picks in the typical draft era.In that very same three-round span, 16 receivers were chosen, one shy of tying the record.

In reality, the very first non-quarterback chosen Thursday night was Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr., who went to the Arizona Cardinals. Fittingly, the next player prepared stank take on Joe Alt followed by LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers to the New York Giants.play 1:50 Tannenbaum: Giants made a big error handing down J.J. McCarthy Mike Tannenbaum was confused by the Giants drafting WR Malik Nabers over QB J.J. McCarthy thinking about Daniel Jones’injury history. “I do think it’s a deep receiver draft,”Giants general supervisor Joe Schoen said prior to the draft.” They can be found in different sizes and shapes and speeds, however I do believe it’s a deep pass receiver draft from top to bottom, depending upon

what you’re trying to find. “[ There is] some included worth with guys, the brand-new kickoff rules, the guys that can likewise do returns. I think there’s an included element there too, and there’s some receivers that can use numerous hats, not simply as a receiver but also as a returner. Yeah, I do believe it’s a great draft. … However people have them ranked, I think it is a great draft from the receiver position.”WR Ja’Lynn Polk, picked at No. 37 general by the New England Patriots was

the 10th wide receiver picked, making the 2024 draft the fastest that 10 wideouts came off the board in the typical draft era. Prior to this year, the fastest that 10 pass receivers had actually been prepared was by choice No. 45 in 1994. Draft of runs Not only did the draft start with an operate on quarterbacks, however that streaky nature continued all weekend. 4 wide receivers went off the board consecutively between the last two picks of the first round and the very first two of the

2nd. Right after, four cornerbacks flew off the board in a row,

from No. 40 to No. 43. By the end of the round, 10 protective backs came off the board as compared to simply three in the first round.In the fourth

round, running backs began to fly off the board, consisting of 3 in a row, to the Eagles, Bills and 49ers. By the time the 4th finished up, six running backs were selected, the most in a single round considering that 7 entered the sixth round of the 2019 draft. Prior to the 4th round, just four running backs had actually been selected.And in the period of 11 picks in the sixth round, three kickers came off the board: Alabama’s Will Reichard(Vikings), Stanford’s Joshua Karty(Rams)and Arkansas ‘Cam Little(Jaguars ). Ducks fly together… and they get prepared together. Oregon players were a popular pick this year, and when running back Bucky Irving became the seventh Duck off the board by early Day 3, it set a school record for the

most choices in the typical draft era.Three Oregon selects flew off the board in the middle of the fourth round when CB Khyree Jackson went No. 108 general to the Minnesota Vikings, followed by DL Brandon Dorlus to the Falcons with the next pick and, 2 selections later, security Evan Williams to the Green Bay Packers after they made a trade with

the Jets.What to know for the 2024 NFL offseason – Tracking offers, cuts, trades|Key dates – Best remaining complimentary agents (ESPN+ )- Grading the most significant moves(ESPN+) – Every coach working with|Franchise tags – NFL draft order |

Leading draft potential customers The Broncos landed two Ducks, trading up 19 areas to open Day 3 to snag wide receiver Troy Franklin, reuniting him with colleague Bo Nix, who was the Broncos ‘first-round pick. The Broncos brass was plenty familiar with Franklin, who took part in a personal workout with Nix for the Broncos in March. And Franklin loved Nix tossing him the ball, setting Oregon single-season records last season in receiving yards( 1,383 ), receiving touchdowns (14)and 100-yard getting games (eight). “He makes the receiver’s task easier,”Franklin said of Nix.

“That’s my guy right there.”Ducks center Jackson Powers-Johnson also was drafted, going to the Las Vegas Raiders at No. 44 overall.Oregon, however, wasn’t the most represented program in this year’s draft, eclipsed by College Football Playoff national champion Michigan(13 ), runner-up Washington(10 )and semifinalists Texas (11)and Alabama(10 ). The Wolverines’ 13 draft choices likewise set a program record for a lot of picked in a single draft.The Big D No, not Dallas. Detroit put on a show hosting the 2024 NFL draft, breaking the all-time presence record with 700,000 fans over the three-day event, shattering the previous mark of 600,000 set by fans in Nashville at the 2019 draft

. Detroit likewise broke attendance records on

Day 1 and Day 2. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer made the announcement to the fans early on Day 3 of the draft.”We
have actually revealed the world what the Motor City
has to do with,” Whitmer told the crowd.While the fans had a good time flooding Detroit’s downtown for the draft, back at the Lions’center, the group’s

staffers also were having a good time by using black No. 89 Dan Campbell jerseys on the final day of the NFL draft– a celebratory move after Campbell won a bet to restore the black jerseys by winning the NFC North in 2023.