Instant reactions: Quarterbacks and Offensive Linemen dominate Day 1 of 2024 NFL Draft

The first fourteen picks of the 2024 NFL Draft were on the offensive side of the ball. A big theme was quarterbacks and offensive linemen—early and often.

The first round of the 2024 NFL Draft is officially in the books. The major theme is easy to diagnose—quarterbacks and offensive linemen were a priority for over half the teams in the National Football League. In fact, the first fourteen selections in this year’s draft were all on the offensive side of the ball.

I can’t be too sure, but that’s probably the first time in history that has ever happened. If you put money on that—you probably got a decent return on your investment. Let’s dive a bit deeper into some of Day 1’s biggest themes and developments through the first-round.

Six Quarterbacks Go in the First 12 Picks

Can you believe it? Six quarterbacks went in the Top 12. I’ve wrote all off-season about how starved the league is for young quarterbacks who can play well—but this is a bit of a surprise. I’m actually a bit stunned. It’s an arms race!

The Chicago Bears predictably selected Caleb Williams. The Washington Commanders took LSU signal caller Jayden Danies. The New England Patriots stood their ground and took Drake Maye in hopes to revive their franchise. The Atlanta Falcons shocked the entire NFL taking Michael Penix at eight overall. The Minnesota Vikings moved up one spot to get J.J. McCarthy. Our Broncos? They took Bo Nix with the twelfth pick—who wasn’t shocked at all.

Sean Payton bets his future and gets Oregon’s Bo Nix

I correctly mocked Nix to the Denver Broncos, I just thought they might have a shot at getting him in a trade down. But after five other quarterbacks went off the board, Denver opted to stand their ground and take a player they believed in. It’s impossible to calculate the value of a franchise quarterback—but having a good one means everything.

I never felt Sean Payton was going to kick the can down the road and wait until 2025 to get his guy. He wanted his guy now. He wanted someone for 2024 who could learn the system and challenge for immediate playing time. Criticize Nix all you want, but he’s experienced, productive, extraordinarily accurate and very intelligent.

I’m not going to be surprised when he is the starting quarterback for the team as a rookie. In fact, I think it would be adverse not to play him right away. Let him hit the ground running and see what he has. Trial by fire—truly.

Offensive Linemen Fly Off the Board — 9 in the First-Round

Outside of quarterbacks, offensive linemen also went early and often. Teams understand that games are won in the trenches and with the league having a lot of quality EDGE rushers and pressure players on the interior, it’s quite obvious why this trend showed up in the draft.

I think most all of the picks presented great value where they were selected but felt Amarius Mims to the Cincinatti Bengals and Jordan Morgan to the Green Bay Packers might have been the biggest “boom or bust” to all of them. I also think that Tyler Guyton is a bit of a reach, but if any team can develop offensive linemen—it’s the Dallas Cowboys.

A lot of these guys will make an immediate impact, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers got great value in Graham Barton whose best fit will be on the inside at center. He plays immediately and will give them a brute mauler on the interior who should become an All-Pro caliber player in a few years’ time.

What about the Defense? Teams Get Tremendous Value with EDGE Rushers

With an offensive heavy first half of the first-round, teams in need of help in the pass rushing department were excited to see how the board fell. UCLA standout Laiatu Latu was the first EDGE off the boards to the Indianapolis Colts with the fifteenth pick overall. The Minnesota Vikings moved up a few spots to get Alabama’s Dallas Turner.

Florida State’s Jared Verse went two picks later to the Los Angeles Rams and the Miami Dolphins’ took Penn State’s Chop Robinson. I like the scheme fits for all of them, but still believe Verse will be the best of the bunch when it is all said and done. I really liked that pick by Les Snead and Sean McVay.

I hate that the Kansas City Chiefs drafted Xavier Worthy and I hate that the Las Vegas Raiders picked Brock Bowers

The Broncos got their quarterback of the future and Jim Harbaugh made an easy call getting Notre Dame left tackle Joe Alt to protect Justin Herbert. But Murphy’s Law came into effect relative to Denver’s other two AFC Rivals with their picks.

The Raiders took tight end Brock Bowers who is going to be a tough man to cover. His size isn’t ideal, but he’s a movable chess piece for Antonio PIerce’s team that is going to be a great player in this league. The Chiefs traded Tyreek Hill and people thought they’d miss his speed, but now they have the fastest WR ever time with Longhorn’s standout Xavier Worthy.

Thankfully, the Broncos have a pretty decent secondary, but drafting some insurance policies on Day 3 might be a safe bet to keep up with the level of talent other teams in the division have at their skill positions. It’s going to be fun to watch this play out.

Biggest First-Round Reach — Ricky Pearsall to the San Francisco 49ers

I thought that Pearsall was going to go anywhere from the middle of the second round to the early third round, but the 49ers surprised and took him with the 31st selection. I’m willing to bet this means Brandon Aiyuk or Deebo Samuel winds up being traded. Or maybe Kyle Shanahan will find a way to make all three of them work out? Only time will tell. All and all, seven wide receivers went in the first round, with the Carolina Panthers ending the night by moving up for South Carolina stud Xavier Legette—giving second-year signal caller Bryce Young some much needed help at the position.