The first round of the 2024 NFL Draft is mere hours away. Do you know who your team is taking?
Unless you’re a fan of the Chicago Bears, the honest answer is no. That the Bears will select USC quarterback Caleb Williams first overall is pretty much the only thing we know for certain ahead of Thursday night.
This year’s draft holds plenty of intrigue considering the deep pool of talent at quarterback, an elite group of wide receivers up for grabs, and a handful of teams in position to shake up the order of things by jumping the line to get their guy.
With all that in mind, here are eight pressing questions ahead of Round 1, the answers to which could shape draft night in a big way.
Who will be the second QB off the board?
It’s no secret the Bears are taking Williams No. 1, which means this draft really begins at No. 2. And in a year rich in talented quarterback prospects and heavy on QB-needy teams, the Washington Commanders hold all the intrigue here.
Unless they’ve pulled off an all-time poker face, Washington — whose QB depth chart currently lists Marcus Mariota, Jeff Driskel, and Jake Fromm after trading Sam Howell to Seattle last month — will be drafting their next quarterback second overall. Who that player will be, though, remains a mystery.
Many NFL insiders point to LSU’s Jayden Daniels as the preferred candidate for the job, while Drake Maye, J.J. McCarthy, Bo Nix, and Michael Penix Jr. have all seen their stock rise and fall over the course of the last few months. Last week’s group Topgolf outing hosted by Washington brass — think a group date a la The Bachelor, but with draftable QBs — didn’t exactly clear anything up.
Thursday night’s rose ceremony pick will therefore send major ripples through the rest of Round 1.
How will the Patriots approach their first draft in the post-Belichick era?
One of the biggest questions heading into the 2020 draft was, “Will the Patriots draft Tom Brady’s successor?” Well, they’re still looking for their next leading man after Mac Jones didn’t pan out and we’re now looking to Bill Belichick’s successor to call the shots on draft night.
General manager Eliot Wolf can make a statement in several ways.
If he stands firm at No. 3, New England will have its choice of the remaining top-rated QBs on the board. The Patriots haven’t had a top-five pick since they selected DE Willie McGinest fourth overall in 1994, and haven’t taken a QB in the single-digits since Drew Bledsoe went first overall one year earlier.
The Patriots are also a popular pick to trade back, though, fielding calls from QB-desperate teams clamouring to land one of the top guys. Their list of team needs is long, which could up the appeal of moving back to collect more draft capital. That would make things even more interesting for Arizona…
Will Arizona trade out of No. 4 overall?
As shaky as Kyler Murray’s Arizona tenure has been, the team appears prepared to move forward with the playmaker they drafted first overall in 2019 and to whom they handed a massive (and untradeable) contract three years later.
Following the first wave of quarterbacks likely to be taken with the first three picks is another group of teams in desperate need of a new leading man. The Minnesota Vikings (picking 11th overall), Denver Broncos (12th), and Las Vegas Raiders (13th) are all top candidates to try to move up with the right trade partner. And the Cardinals, who also have the 27th-overall pick, are well-positioned to take calls in a bidding war for No. 4.
The real wild card here is the Giants at pick No. 6. New York’s complicated situation with Daniel Jones and laundry list of needs makes their priorities difficult to predict. On top of that, their draft position makes them a fascinating team to watch, considering they could be the lone obstacle in the way of Minnesota landing a quarterback at No. 11 — based on assumptions that the Titans (picking 7th overall), Falcons (8th), and Jets (10) aren’t threats to draft a QB. (Chicago has the ninth-overall pick, but will already have their QB at that point.)
Of course, Arizona could also stay put at No. 4 and still enjoy a major draft night victory by welcoming Marvin Harrison Jr., the Ohio State receiver widely regarded as a generational talent. Trade back, though, and they could stock up on multiple picks and still land an elite WR like Rome Odunze or Malik Nabers later in Round 1.
Will the Minnesota Vikings go all-in to jump the draft line?
When Kirk Cousins signed with the Atlanta Falcons in the early minutes of free agency, the Minnesota Vikings’ plans for his successor were launched. Thursday night could tell us if they pan out.
In swapping picks with the Houston Texans last month to land a second first-rounder this year (they now have the 11th– and 23rd-overall picks) what the Vikings really did was buy themselves some first-round flexibility. While Denver and Las Vegas are also strong candidates to trade up, the Vikings have the most capital to actually do so.
Wait, are the Rams really picking in the first round?
Les Snead’s NSFW 2021 Super Bowl parade t-shirt, which clearly stated the GM’s willingness to part with draft picks in the successful all-in pursuit of a championship, offered some explanation for the fact the Rams haven’t exactly had a heavy presence at recent drafts.
That could change this year, with L.A. in possession of a first-round pick (at 19th overall) for the first time since in 2016, when they drafted Jared Goff first overall.
With their core aging — or, in Aaron Donald’s case, retired — this is an interesting off-season for the Rams. The presence of Matthew Stafford, and their surprise playoff berth last season, suggests they aren’t barreling towards the rebuild many thought might lie ahead. How they use their draft pick — Snead’s totally going to trade it away, isn’t he? — could tell us plenty about their hopes for next season.
Can Buffalo get in on this WR class?
With the deal that sent Stefon Diggs to the Texans earlier this spring and the departure of Gabe Davis in free agency, the Buffalo Bills’ biggest need is crystal clear: Get Josh Allen some worthy weapons to throw to.
Lucky for them, this year’s draft class is well-stocked with elite WR talent. Unlucky for them, there’s a long list of teams ahead of them in line that should be highly motivated to scoop them up first. The Bills are no strangers to making splashy trades for big talent — in 2020, they sent the 22nd-overall pick to Minnesota in exchange for Diggs. The trade was a win for both sides of that deal, as the Vikings selected Justin Jefferson with the pick they received in exchange.
As the pool of AFC superpowers grows, Buffalo’s window to win is shrinking. They’ll need a bold move to keep pace in the conference. While trading for an established veteran likely isn’t possible for the cap-crunched club, all eyes will be on Buffalo to send a package of picks to a willing trade partner in hopes of picking up a rookie receiver to help wrestle that window of contention wide open again.
Will Brandon Aiyuk move on draft night?
Who doesn’t love a good old-fashioned football trade on draft night? While 49ers brass have maintained their priority this off-season is re-signing wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, it’s worth asking whether we could see some movement once the draft clock starts ticking.
If the two sides find themselves at an impasse, draft night is a prime opportunity for San Francisco to get plenty of value in a trade. (Look at that aforementioned Buffalo-Minnesota transaction for proof.)
Making this situation all the more interesting is Detroit’s well-timed re-signing of their own young receiving star, Amon-Ra St. Brown on Wednesday, making him the league’s highest-paid WR.
Can Carolina jump into the first-round mix?
No first-round pick, no problem. OK, there are lots of problems up and down the Panthers’ roster, and seeing Chicago atop the draft order with a tight grip on a pick earned by Carolina’s ineptitude makes this painful rebuild even tougher. But there’s a silver lining here — and it can be found in the second round. Carolina has the first pick of the second round (held Friday), as well as the 39th-overall pick. The depth of this year’s draft talent plays in Carolina’s favour, significantly upping the value of both of those selections should they attempt to trade their way into the first round. What better way to celebrate their one-year anniversary with last year’s first-overall pick, Bryce Young, than to land a top rookie receiver for him to throw to?