As the 2024 NFL Draft approaches, the lion’s share of the football world’s attention is focused on how things will play out in and around the top five. It seems almost assured that the Chicago Bears will take USC’s Caleb Williams first overall, but beyond that, there are seemingly more questions than answers.
Are Washington’s commanders really as locked into Jayden Daniels as they seem? Which quarterback do the New England Patriots prefer? Are they ready to trade to accumulate choices? Will the Cardinals move away from No. 4, and if they do, can they move up to land a wide receiver? Will the Giants, Vikings, Broncos or Raiders move up to grab the quarterback of their choice? How much will it cost to do this? Which receiver will come off the board first? How do the Chargers want to build their team?
And those are just the top five. Of course, there will probably also be a lot of intrigue in the second half of the first round. There’s always the possibility of a run on tackles or wide receivers, and if the top quarterbacks leave the board early, someone sitting at or near the top of the second could get itchy and try to move up to Michael Penix or Bo Nix.
With this in mind, we decided to clarify which teams are in the second half of the first round and which candidates could potentially go down and even come out of the first day, and which teams are candidates to try to move up.
Exchange candidates
Everyone knows the Saints love nothing more than business. So that’s definitely a possibility. But they currently have no choice between numbers 45 and 150. Accumulating more assets so they can finally inject some youth into their roster and fill some of their needs is an idea that has a lot of merit.
The Dolphins are in a similar boat. They have picks #21 and 55, then don’t pick again until #158. With half of their offensive line leaving in free agency, with Christian Wilkins, with their edge rushers returning from serious injuries and with Kendall Fuller having only signed a two-year contract, Miami has many needs and a change leadership could help fill them.
The Eagles are on both this list and the next. No one ever knows what Howie Roseman will do. He could move up from 22nd to the top 15 to land a cornerback. He could go down. He could stay and pick yet another defensive lineman. Who knows. But you always have to keep in mind that the Eagles can move around the board.
The Cowboys have so many big needs that they almost have to give up. They need starters at left tackle, center, running back, defensive tackle and possibly linebacker. They need another wide receiver and some depth at cornerback. But they don’t have a fourth-round pick thanks to the Trey Lance trade, and they’re in a situation where moving down a few picks could net them another Day 2 and/or Day 3 selection to help them respond to their various needs.
Detroit also doesn’t have a fourth-round pick, and the later you get to the first round, the easier it is to justify a move back to the top of the second and pick up additional draft capital. With Jared Goff and Amon-Ra St. Brown in line for big contract extensions, you can never have too many opportunities to add cost-controlled talent.
And then the Ravens always seem to go down. Not necessarily in the first round, but they often do. And with multiple offensive line needs and the continued desire to add more and more passing corps, they could easily justify a move back to the top of the second to grab more picks.
Exchange candidates
The Panthers may want to move up to ensure they get their go-to wide receiver for Bryce Young, assuming they don’t trade No. 33 or 39 for someone like Tee Higgins. So he’s an obvious candidate.
The Cardinals already have two first-round picks thanks to last year’s trade that landed Will Anderson to the Texans, but with so much ammunition to move up and down the board, you can’t rule out that they pursue even a third selection on the first day. “What if they could come out Thursday night with a top-tier wide receiver, a starting center and a potential No. 1 cornerback or passer? It would be hard to pass up that.
And then it comes to the “we missed our quarterback in the first round” candidates. If the Pats actually move out of No. 3, they become an obvious candidate to move up. If one or more of the Vikings, Broncos, or Raiders jump on the Giants and find themselves left out of starting quarterbacks, they might feel like they need to do the same. And whoever Minnesota, Denver and Las Vegas (or even a team like Seattle) doesn’t fall into the top four QB mix then becomes a team to watch for Penix or Nix.
There has been some smoke around the Falcons potentially looking for a QB of the future, even after signing Kirk Cousins to a monster contract this offseason. If they get their passer or cornerback at No. 8, they may decide to move up from No. 43 to the latter part of the first to find him.
And as mentioned before, you can never bet the Eagles will do just about anything.