OAN’s James Meyers
1:32 PM – Friday, April 26, 2024
The first round of the NFL Draft concluded on Thursday night in Detroit, Michigan, with records being broken for most offensive players ever taken in a first round.
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The Chicago Bears held the No.1 pick for the first time in 77 years and selected USC quarterback Caleb Williams, in hopes to turn the franchise around. Chicago traded away quarterback Justin Fields in the off-season after the quarterback did not meet the franchise’s expectations.
The stunning pick of the draft was the Atlanta Falcons selecting Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. with the No. 8 pick after signing free-agent quarterback Kirk Cousins in the off-season to a four-year, $180-million contract.
Williams also began the historic trend, with six quarterbacks being taken over the first 12 picks, which included Jayden Daniels (Washington Commanders, No. 2), Drake Maye (New England Patriots, No. 3), Michael Penix Jr. (Atlanta Falcons, No. 8), J.J. McCarthy (Minnesota Vikings, No. 10) and Bo Nix (Denver Broncos, No. 12).
In honor of Detroit hosting the draft, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell brought out rapper Eminem, Lions hall of famer Barry Sanders, and other Detroit Lions players.
An eye-popping 275,000 people attended the draft on Thursday, which was a record for the annual event.
The full first-round results of the 2024 NFL Draft:
- No.1 Chicago Bears (from Carolina): Caleb Williams, QB, USC
- No.2 Washington Commanders: Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU
- No.3 New England Patriots: Drake Maye, QB, North Carolina
- No.4 Arizona Cardinals: Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Ohio State
- No.5 Los Angeles Chargers: Joe Alt, OT, Notre Dame
- No.6 New York Giants: Malik Nabers, WR, LSU
- No.7 Tennessee Titans: JC Latham, OT, Alabama
- No.8 Atlanta Falcons: Michael Penix Jr, QB, Washington
- No.9 Chicago Bears: Rome Odunze, WR, Washington
- No.10 Minnesota Vikings (from N.Y. Jets): J.J. McCarthy, QB, Michigan
- No.11 New York Jets (from Minnesota): Olu Fashanu, OT, Penn State
- No.12 Denver Broncos: Bo Nix, QB, Oregon
- No.13 Las Vegas Raiders: Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia
- No.14 New Orleans Saints: Taliese Fuaga, OT, Oregon State
- No.15 Indianapolis Colts: Laiatu Latu, Edge, UCLA
- No.16 Seattle Seahawks: Byron Murphy II, DT, Texas
- No.17 Minnesota Vikings (from Jacksonville): Dallas Turner, Edge, Alabama
- No.18 Cincinnati Bengals: Amarius Mims, OT, Georgia
- No.19 Los Angeles Rams: Jared Verse, Edge, Florida State
- No.20 Pittsburgh Steelers: Troy Fautanu, OL, Washington
- No.21 Miami Dolphins: Chop Robinson, Edge, Penn State
- No.22 Philadelphia Eagles: Quinyon Mitchell, CB, Toledo
- No.23 Jacksonville Jaguars (from Minnesota through Cleveland and Houston): Brian Thomas Jr., WR, LSU
- No.24 Detroit Lions (from Dallas): Terrion Arnold, CB, Alabama
- No.25 Green Bay Packers: Jordan Morgan, OL, Arizona
- No.26 Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Graham Barton, OL, Duke
- No.27 Arizona Cardinals (from Houston): Darius Robinson, Edge, Missouri
- No.28 Kansas City Chiefs (from Buffalo): Xavier Worthy, WR, Texas
- No.29 Dallas Cowboys (from Detroit): Tyler Guyton, OT, Oklahoma
- No.30 Baltimore Ravens: Nate Wiggins, CB, Clemson
- No.31 San Francisco 49ers: Ricky Pearsall, WR, Florida
- No.32 Carolina Panthers (from Buffalo through Kansas City): Xavier Legette, WR, South Carolina
Nine offensive lineman and seven wide receivers were selected in the first round. In total, 23 offensive players and only nine defensive defensive players were selected, which was a record for the event.
Rounds two and three of the draft will be held on Friday, with rounds four through seven taking place on Saturday.
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