The 2024 NFL draft took place from April 25 to April 27 in Detroit, Michigan. The first round was highly anticipated and included several surprises.
The first surprise of the first round was the Falcons selection of quarterback Michael Penix Jr. from the University of Washington. Penix is a very talented left hander who has great poise and pocket presence. However, many analysts are criticizing the Falcons for selecting Penix because the Falcons just signed another quarterback, Kirk Cousins.
Cousins previously played for the Vikings and Commanders (previously the Redskins). The Falcons signed Cousins this past offseason. It looked as if he was the main guy for the Falcons going forward (that is until Thursday when they drafted Penix). Cousins is very talented, but was expensive.
The pick is ultimately confusing because Penix was the most pro ready quarterback in the draft. He will likely sit behind Cousins for a couple of years to develop, but this development stage is unnecessary. The Falcons wasted all this money and a first round pick on two quarterbacks. It will be interesting to see who is the favorite among the Falcons locker room.
Another surprise from Thursday’s first round was the Denver Broncos’ selection of quarterback Bo Nix. Nix played three years at Auburn before transferring to the University of Oregon, where he played for two years. Nix was dominant in the Pac-12 conference last year, but showed struggles at Auburn in the tougher SEC conference.
Nix is a questionable pick because he hasn’t proven himself quite yet. Nix showed flashes of brilliance in college. However, he also showed stretches of immense struggles. It’s hard to predict how Nix will adapt to the NFL.
The Broncos also recently acquired another quarterback, Zach Wilson, who had immense struggles over the past three years with the Jets. Similarly to the situation with the Falcons, it will be interesting to see who starts for the Broncos next year.
A player that most everybody thought was a top 10 lock was the University of Georgia’s elite tight end Brock Bowers. Bowers was the centerpiece of the Bulldogs offense contributing greatly to their blowout win over TCU in the National Championship last year.
Although they did not make it back to the big game this year Bowers showed out in his final year with fifty six receptions for over seven hundred receiving yards. On the heels of a great season Bowers was expected in most mock drafts to go within the top 10.
What these mock drafts did not expect was the run on the quarterback position that took place in the places where Bowers would have been drafted. This caused him to drop down to pick thirteen where the Las Vegas Raiders ended up selecting him.
This makes little sense to us as fans because of the large selection of talent that was still left on the board at other positions. But at the end of the day you can’t blame their front office because Bowers seems to be a generational talent at the position.
Less of a surprise but more of a noteworthy move. With the chiefs having won the superbowl they had the last pick in the first round. While they could have stayed at that position and just taken whoever fell to them, the Chiefs front office decided to go on the offensive. They traded up to pick twenty eight which was previously owned by the Buffalo Bills.
With this pick they selected the Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy who just recently broke the combine record for the forty yard dash, running a four second and twenty one millisecond forty yard dash. This is absolute blazing speed, breaking a combine record that had stood since 2017.
For any fan that doesn’t like to see the chiefs win this is an absolute nightmare of a pick. But for chefs fans everywhere it is a glimmer of hope for the team’s offense. Ever since they traded star wide receiver and speedster, Tyreek Hill, to the Miami Dolphin the chiefs have had a gaping hole at the wide receiver position.
While they have tried to fill the role with Rookie Rashee Rice who burst onto the scene last season, they need more help. Experts think that Worthy can be that guy for the chiefs and maybe emulate what Hill had brought to the table a couple years back.
