The NFL is all about quarterbacks. Every year we talk about how you can’t win without one and if you want to be great, you better have one. Clichés abound. But it was REALLY evident Thursday night when the league tied a record for the most quarterbacks selected in the first round (six) and did so in the first 12 picks of the 2024 NFL Draft.
Just crazy stuff to see live, but it was exacerbated by the Falcons freaking everyone out and then the Broncos’ weird decision that seemed completely normal.
Time will tell how it plays out for the six teams that drafted first-round quarterbacks — the coach is important, as is the staff around them, but there will be failures. There will probably also be circuits.
No matter what happens, we will always remember the 2024 draft for the insane run of quarterbacks. This produced a ton of winners and losers, so let’s break them down.
Winners
Caleb Williams
You would think that whoever is taken as the No. 1 pick is a winner because you are the best in the draft. But to be the best, you usually have to play for a terrible football team. But for the Bears, it’s a different story. Chicago is arguably the best situation for a No. 1 pick in NFL Draft history, thanks in large part to the Panthers packing the No. 1 pick this year. Chicago seems like a much better landing spot than most normal teams picking first overall, adding DJ Moore in the trade with Carolina, grabbing Darnell Wright with one of the picks they got from Carolina, then using their own ninth overall pick this year to snag Rome. Odunze. Oh, and Chicago also traded for Keenan Allen this offseason. It’s a sick widebody and there’s an improving offensive line, as well as a good offensive coordinator in Shane Waldron. The bar is very low for the Bears and quarterbacks, but Williams is in a much better place than any of his predecessors.
JJ McCarthy/Vikings
Rumored to go third overall to the Patriots, you could make a case for losing the former Michigan quarterback because he nearly fell out of the top 10 in the draft. However, I’m going to emphasize here: the Vikings, with Kevin O’Connell as coach and Justin Jefferson on the roster, are a much better landing spot. Go to New England and you find yourself, a Michigan alum, the second guy trying to do the impossible and replace Tom Brady. Instead, he simply needs to replace Kirk Cousins (more on that later) in Minnesota and will do so with a coaching staff that nearly made the playoffs with four different quarterbacks starting the year last. McCarthy *wins* everywhere he goes, just like his old coach, and he has a very good setup to play right away and potentially win. I’m including the Vikings here too because they were able to get McCarthy without trading their second first-round pick or next year’s first-round pick (they gave up a lot of 2025 draft capital for what he’s worth), but they also landed Dallas Turner with their second selection in the first round. Quite a haul for Minnesota.
Kyler Murray
The Cardinals have been extremely happy with the trade under Monti Ossenfort, so it would hardly have been surprising if they were willing to move out of fourth place and move down to acquire more picks. I still think they would have if they had received enough offers, but it’s clear that teams weren’t willing to pay the price to move up and as a result the Cardinals held out, took Marvin Harrison Jr. and theoretically got their new version of Larry Fitzgerald. Kyler Murray publicly received support from the team all offseason, as people wondered if a new regime could evolve. That’s clearly not the case and the Cards leaned into that Thursday night by adding Harrison to a wide receiver room that was sorely lacking in talent.
Daniel Jones
Like it or not, Daniel Jones is the Giants’ quarterback in 2024. Many people expected New York to trade up and take another signal-caller or simply draft one at sixth overall if someone fell . Three viable candidates were available when the Giants chose and instead they opted for Malik Nabers, LSU’s explosive playmaker. This is by far the best weapon Jones has had since the Giants drafted him with the sixth overall pick in 2019, five years ago. He got a massive contract after a very good 2022 season, but last year was a disappointment. With Nabers in tow, it’s possible Jones bounces back, assuming he can get healthy to start the season.
Losers
Kirk Cousins
Let’s be clear: Kirk Cousins is still a starter for the Falcons in 2024, assuming he’s healthy. And Kirk Cousins just got $100 million. Kirk Cousins has two fully guaranteed years on his contract in Atlanta, despite a torn Achilles mid-season and the end of his career in 2023. But it’s not crazy to be a little miffed if You’re Cousins after watching the Falcons draft Michael Penix Jr., with the eighth overall pick on Thursday. And it turns out Cousins was pretty surprised!
You can easily make the case that the Falcons are fine with a quarterback with this pick given Cousins is recovering from his injury, his age and the desire to prepare the team for the long haul. But Penix could be 28 by the time he leaves for Atlanta, assuming Captain Kirk is healthy. This is a top-10 pick for a guy who had a plus/minus of 32.5 for his draft slot until draft day when it dropped to 21.5. I’m not saying it’s a bad move – if he’s a good quarterback, it’s a great move. But it’s confusing when combined with the Cousins signing and will certainly be the center of some controversy over the coming weeks.
Bo Nix
It’s almost impossible to imagine Nix being a top-15 pick just a few years ago, but he reinvented himself when he bounced to Oregon in the transfer portal and exploded with a monster season . He’s now the presumptive starter for the Broncos…made even crazier by the fact that he’s once again sharing a QB room with Jarrett Stidham. Auburn 2019, once again! Nix could end up being great and I’m still hesitant to question Sean Payton because I think he’s one of the best offensive minds of the last 20 years. But drafting Nix at 12 is crazy! I can’t help but think back to 2011, when a slew of NFL players — future Hall of Famers — were drafted below Jake Locker, Blaine Gabbert and Christian Ponder. The Broncos are gobbling up dead cap space thanks to the Russell Wilson disaster, they’re short on draft capital, and they’re in a really tough division. Payton got a free pass for last year, but if Nix isn’t great right off the bat, people will start asking questions. For Nix, working with Payton is huge, but the expectations are really huge now.
Panthers
This seems unfair because the Panthers served time for “giving up the No. 1 overall pick,” but there are a bunch of different reasons to beat them some more here. For starters, we’re one pick — a 2025 second-round selection — away from knowing what they traded to the Bears in full. And this is shaping up to be a bad decision ever. Currently, the Panthers have given up Caleb Williams, Darnell Wright, Tyrique Stevenson and DJ Moore for Bryce Young. It’s bad enough. But then you see Carolina go from first pick of the second round to last pick of the first round for a wide receiver (the Bills traded up, they were the competition, right?!?). Xavier Legette is a very good choice and the Panthers gave Bryce another weapon. It’s good. But under no circumstances should they trade up in a draft where they gave up the No. 1 overall pick. Also, this apparently happened in Charlotte today (or this week):
Dilworth’s is a FANTASTIC Charlotte establishment. And they’re not wrong with the sign. Tepper sticking his head out to complain is the kind of weird thing he doesn’t have to do. Take a photo with it while you walk with Dan Morgan and tweet it ironically, Dave. Let’s go!
