The first two days of the 2024 NFL Draft are complete with day three kicking off in a couple of hours. We take a minute to look at some of the winners and losers from around the league.
The first two days of the 2024 NFL Draft have been completed, with the first 100 college prospects brought into the league. On Saturday, the final four rounds of the selection process will be completed, with 157 more college prospects having their names called. Who is having a great draft this year? Which teams is questionable at best?
We take a look back at the first three rounds of the 2024 annual selection meeting, bringing you our top performing teams and the ones who have left us scratching our heads.
Winners
4th: Marvin Harrison, Jr., WR, Ohio State
27th: Darius Robinson, DE, Missouri
43rd: Max Melton, CB, Rutgers
66th: Trey Benson, RB, Florida State
71st: Isaiah Adams, G, Illinois
82nd: Tip Reiman, TE, Illinois
90th: Elijah Jones, CB, Boston College
Maybe this is just a rating based on the quantity of picks, but the Cardinals are doing a great job of rebuilding their team quickly. They have made seven picks in the first three rounds, and they still have five more selections to make on Saturday. Adams and Reiman stand out as odd, given the other players available at their respective positions when they came off the board, but the Cardinals seem to know what they want and they are sticking to their board.
1st: Caleb Williams, QB, USC
9th: Rome Odunze, WR, Washington
75th: Kiran Amegadjie, T, Yale
When you have the first overall pick, you typically end up with a great prospect, but then have to wait forever for your next pick. The Bears backed up the first pick with the ninth selection. What do you need to do when you draft a rookie quarterback? Find him weapons and keep him upright. The Bears did that by selecting Williams, then following with the picks of Odunze and Amegadjie. They only have one pick remaining this year, but this has been a good draft for Chicago.
2nd: Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU
36th: Jer’Zhan Newton, DT, Illinois
50th: Mike Sainristil, CB, Michigan
53rd: Ben Sinnott, TE, Kansas State
67th: Brandon Coleman, G, TCU
100th: Luke McCaffrey, WR, Rice
The Commanders are on the same plan as the Bears, but they have the picks to also address the defense. Daniels picks up a weapon with McCaffrey as the last pick of round three and should see Coleman provide some protection help. Meanwhile, the Commanders add a first-round talent in Newton, who will be a pass-rushing interior defensive lineman with versatility, while Sainristil likely locks down the nickel cornerback role and could prove to be a steal at 50.
Jury is out
21st: Chop Robinson, Edge, Penn State
55th: Patrick Paul, T, Houston
Miami is betting on their coaching staff with their first two picks. Robinson and Paul both have high ceilings, but they need coaching to fix issues and may need time to develop to reach their full potential. That could be fine – Robinson is likely playing behind Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb as a rotational pass rusher and Paul is probably sitting behind Terron Armstead as the left tackle of the future. With injuries a concern every year, Robinson and Paul need to be ready to play this year, even as they develop. If Miami hits on both of their picks, this could be a homerun draft. But if they miss, it could lead to another house cleaning, underlining the high stakes of the draft.
33rd: Keon Coleman, WR, Florida State
60th: Cole Bishop, S, Utah
95th: DeWayne Carter, DT, Duke
The Bills land here because of the first-round trade with the Kansas City Chiefs, paving the way for the Chiefs to select wide receiver Xavier Worthy, who set the record for the fastest 40-yard dash in NFL Scouting Combine history. The Bills added a receiver for quarterback Josh Allen, which is a desperate need for the team, and they are hopeful that Bishop will replace Jordan Poyer at the back of the defense. It was not a bad first two days for Buffalo, but when you are chasing the two-time reigning Super Bowl champions, making a trade that lets them bolster their offense is an odd choice.
Losers
7th: JC Latham, T, Alabama
38th: T’Vondre Sweat, DT, Texas
Adding Latham to bolster the pass rush makes sense, but they undid all of that with the selection of Sweat. The giant defensive tackle has the potential to become a force in the middle of the defensive line, but he has not shown the consistency you would want out of a 38th-overall pick. The Titans need pass-rush help this year, and Sweat is not bringing that. The former Texas Longhorns lineman was arrested for a DUI earlier this spring, then still conducted his visit with the Titans the next day – something that seems to have been appreciated by Tennessee, seeing it as him taking responsibility rather than trying to hide from the situation. Is that enough of a reason to select a player who takes plays off and did not really address a need? The pick was bad enough that Music City Miracles is trying to calm the storm.
8th: Michael Penix, Jr., QB, Washington
35th: Ruke Orhorhoro, DT, Clemson
74th: Bralen Trice, Edge, Washington
The shock of the draft came with the Falcons’ pick of Penix, seemingly giving them a first-round draft pick to back up veteran Kirk Cousins. They only seemed to make it worse by trading up to select Orhorhoro
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