Detroit, Mich. (WGR 550) - Round 1 of the 2024 NFL Draft is in the books, and while it may not have provided the fireworks some expected, it was still an evening with plenty of action in Detroit.
The Chicago Bears kicked off the evening with the expected selection of quarterback Caleb Williams first overall in the draft. Williams was one of the most touted prospects to come out of the NFL Draft over the last several years.
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From there, the Washington Commanders and New England Patriots followed with two more quarterbacks going off the board. Washington went with the recent Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels with the second overall selection, while New England wound up taking Drake Maye with the third pick.
It marks the fourth time in NFL history where the top-three picks of the draft were all quarterbacks. It's also the second time since 2021 the league has seen the first three picks off the board being signal callers.
The first non-quarterback off the board comes with the fourth overall selection in Round 1, as the Arizona Cardinals went with wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., son of Hall-of-Famer Marvin Harrison, out of Ohio State University.
The next wide receiver off the board ended up being Malik Nabers out of LSU, who went sixth overall to the New York Giants.
The first big surprise of the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft came with the eighth overall pick and the Atlanta Falcons, who elected to select quarterback Michael Penix Jr. out of the University of Washington. This after signing veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins to a massive four-year contract in free agency.
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With the ninth overall selection, the Bears added another top weapon for Williams under center with the selection of wideout Rome Odunze out of the University of Washington. He goes off the board as the third wide receiver in the 2024 class.
We saw our first trade at the draft with the Minnesota Vikings trading up one spot to the 10th overall pick in order to select their new franchise quarterback in J.J. McCarthy out of the University of Michigan.
Then another two picks later, the Denver Broncos joined the quarterback carousel by selecting Bo Nix out of the University of Oregon, making it six quarterbacks taken in the first dozen picks in the draft. It marks just the second time since the NFL had six quarterbacks drafted in the first round, with the only other time happening in 1983.
The first defensive player off the board didn't come off the board until the 15th overall pick when the Indianapolis Colts selected edge rusher Laiatu Latu out of UCLA. It marks the longest stretch to start the NFL Draft without a single defensive player being selected.
It took a while before the next wide receiver came off the board, but that happened with the 23rd overall selection when the Jacksonville Jaguars selected Brian Thomas Jr. out of LSU. The Jaguars originally traded back from the 17th pick with the Vikings, who took edge rusher Dallas Turner out of Alabama.
Then with the Buffalo Bills on the clock with the 28th overall pick, general manager Brandon Beane opted to trade back in the first round, sending a package of the 28th overall pick, 133rd overall pick and 248th overall pick to the Kansas City Chiefs. In return, the Bills get the 32nd overall pick - last pick in the first round - the 95th overall selection and the 221st overall selection.
With the 28th overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Chiefs went on to select speedy wide receiver Xavier Worthy out of the University of Texas.
Then before making the final pick of Round 1, the Bills, again, traded out of that selection with the Carolina Panthers, acquiring the 33rd overall selection and gaining additional draft capital in the process.
With the 32nd pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Panthers selected wide receiver Xavier Lagette from the University of South Carolina.
Check out the complete list of first round selections from Thursday night with our draft tracker:
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1.) Chicago Bears (from Carolina Panthers)
Selection: Caleb Williams - Quarterback - USC
2.) Washington Commanders
Selection: Jayden Daniels - Quarterback - LSU
3.) New England Patriots
Selection: Drake Maye - Quarterback - North Carolina
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4.) Arizona Cardinals
Selection: Marvin Harrison Jr. - Wide receiver - Ohio State
5.) Los Angeles Chargers
Selection: Joe Alt - Offensive tackle - Notre Dame
6.) New York Giants
Selection: Malik Nabers - Wide receiver - LSU
7.) Tennessee Titans
Selection: JC Latham - Offensive tackle - Alabama
8.) Atlanta Falcons
Selection: Michael Penix Jr. - Quarterback - Washington
9.) Chicago Bears
Selection: Rome Odunze - Wide receiver - Washington
10.) Minnesota Vikings (from New York Jets)
Selection: J.J. McCarthy - Quarterback - Michigan
11.) New York Jets (from Minnesota Vikings)
Selection: Olumuyiwa Fashanu - Offensive tackle - Penn State
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12.) Denver Broncos
Selection: Bo Nix - Quarterback - Oregon
13.) Las Vegas Raiders
Selection: Brock Bowers - Tight end - Georgia
14.) New Orleans Saints
Selection: Taliese Fuaga - Offensive tackle - Oregon State
15.) Indianapolis Colts
Selection: Laiatu Latu - EDGE - UCLA
16.) Seattle Seahawks
Selection: Byron Murphy II - Defensive tackle - Texas
17.) Minnesota Vikings (from Jacksonville Jaguars)
Selection: Dallas Turner - EDGE - Alabama
18.) Cincinnati Bengals
Selection: Amarius Mims - Offensive tackle - Georgia
19.) Los Angeles Rams
Selection: Jared Verse - EDGE - Florida State
20.) Pittsburgh Steelers
Selection: Troy Fautanu - Offensive tackle - Washington
21.) Miami Dolphins
Selection: Chop Robinson - EDGE - Penn State
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22.) Philadelphia Eagles
Selection: Quinyon Mitchell - Cornerback - Toledo
23.) Jacksonville Jaguars (from Minnesota Vikings via Houston Texans via Cleveland Browns)
Selection: Brian Thomas Jr. - Wide receiver - LSU
24.) Detroit Lions (from Dallas Cowboys)
Selection: Terrion Arnold - Cornerback - Alabama
25.) Green Bay Packers
Selection: Jordan Morgan - Offensive tackle - Arizona
26.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Selection: Graham Barton - Center - Duke
27.) Arizona Cardinals (from Houston Texans)
Selection: Darius Robinson - Defensive tackle - Missouri
28.) Kansas City Chiefs (from Buffalo Bills)
Selection: Xavier Worthy - Wide receiver - Texas
29.) Dallas Cowboys (from Detroit Lions)
Selection: Tyler Guyton - Offensive tackle - Oklahoma
30.) Baltimore Ravens
Selection: Nate Wiggins - Cornerback - Clemson
31.) San Francisco 49ers
Selection: Ricky Pearsall - Wide receiver - Florida
32.) Carolina Panthers (from Buffalo Bills via Kansas City Chiefs)
Selection: Xavier Legette - Wide receiver - South Carolina
