Offensive Overload

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The first round of the 2024 NFL draft has officially come and gone. Whether your favorite team drafted one of the many offensive college players early in the first round, or did not have a pick at all, I will be giving you a breakdown of the biggest winners and some of the biggest losers from Thursday’s huge event.

Which of your favorite players landed in the top ten? It had to be an offensive player because that was all that was selected in the top ten, you can’t tell me that is not insane. For the fourth time in history, we saw three quarterbacks get consecutively taken with the top three picks, as Caleb Williams went to the Chicago Bears with the first pick, coming off a Hesiman trophy season, Jayden Daniels was selected to the Washington Commanders, and I don’t know about you but I think Drake Maye who was selected third overall to the New England Patriots will be looked back on as a huge pick up, I really enjoy his playstyle and with the right weapons, the Patriots can cook with him.

Adding to the history of this amazing round one, those quarterbacks alongside Michael Penix Jr, Bo Nix, and J.J. McCarthy was also selected within the top twelve picks, leaving us fans to witness the most quarterbacks drafted in the first 12 picks,and tied for most in the opening round of the draft. This was just one of many records that were broken, set, or tied, in the first round of last night’s NFL draft. Adding to the quarterbacks already making history, if you didn’t know, this was also the most quarterbacks drafted in the first eight picks, with a total of four being selected.

If you are a USC fan then rejoice! The reason being, as Caleb Williams was taken with first overall pick in the draft, this would mean that USC has produced the most first overall picks with six, breaking the tie between them and three other colleges. Caleb Williams is involved with even more history, as he and Jayden Daniels were both Heisman Trophy winners, who were selected with the top two picks and if you didn’t know, the last time that happened was almost a decade ago, in 2015. Adding on to one of your favorite quarterback records, Jayden Daniels and Malik Nabers from LSU were the first LSU quarterback and wide receiver duo selected in the top ten in the common draft era.

Now there is a reason you read the title ‘Offensive Overload’ because the amount of offensive players taken in the first round was absurd. The draft kicked off with fourteen consecutive offensive players being taken which doubles the previous streak of seven. That is the longest streak in NFL history for either side of the ball, jeez. If you thought that was it, then you would be wrong as the previous record for most offensive players taken in the first round was a three way tie with nineteen, but that number was absolutely smashed out of the park, as 23 offensive players were taken in this year’s draft. The offensive side of the ball was very powerful in this year’s draft, even breaking a defensive record for it being the first time that there was no defender selected in the top ten of the draft.

The receivers came out to play as there were a total of seven selected in the first round which ties the previous record. The receiver run started with Marvin Harrison Jr. going to the Cardinals at four followed by Malik Nabers (Giants), Rome Odunze (Bears), Brian Thomas Jr. (Jaguars), Xavier Worthy (Chiefs) , Ricky Pearsall (49ers) and Xavier Leggett (Panthers). I told you this was an offensive overload.

Now let me tell you about some of the biggest winners from the first round. Starting off, it easily has to be the Minnesota Vikings. If you are a Vikings fan then you should feel ecstatic, as the team were involved with two trades during the night. The trade with higher implications, is when they chose to move up and select J.J. McCarthy. It was like the scene out of Braveheart as they kept going hold it, hold it, hold itttt and then pulled the trigger to move up after patiently waiting for the right time. I think this pick is great for the Vikings (even though I am a Packers fan) because he fits their scheme perfectly and is gifted with great assets in Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addsion, and T.J Hockenson to help him kick off his rookie season with the Vikings. You need to tune in to see this kid play, he will more than likely be the starter, so be ready. 

The next of the winners batch, is another team in the NFC, and it is the Arizona Cardinals, They were able to land one of the best players available in this year’s draft, with Marvin Harrison Jr. He is easily number one at his position, and if you did not know, his dad, Marvin Harrison, was a former Super Bowl Champion and is a Hall of Famer, he has the records and I think his son can carry through and deliver as well. He is given a decent quarterback to kick off his career with Kyler Murray. We have already seen what Murray can do with a player like Harrison, as he has put on a show when DeAndre Hopkins was on the Cardinals. 

Now onto the losers of the draft, please look away now if you are an Atlanta Falcons fan, as you were probably looking away from your T.V. last night as well. They decided that with the eighth pick in such a star studded draft pool, that they would draft quarterback, Michael Penix Jr. Now don’t get me wrong, he is a really talented player who has played in championship level games, but this is not the right fit for him at all. The Falcons already have Kirk Cousins inked up for the next four years, and Penix is already 25. This is just a waste of money and not what you need when there are many other options available. It turns out that current Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins, was not aware that the team would be drafting a quarterback prior to the pick, and he was left in shock. Sorry again if you are a Falcons fan because that is just rough.

Lastly, I have to give it to the San Francisco 49ers for losing the Super Bowl and now losing the draft. The thing is, the 49ers drafted wide receiver Ricky Pearsall with the 31st pick and the only clip I ever see of this guy is just one good catch. It is impressive but it really can’t be your only highlight. Pearsall is a second round talent if I’m honest and the 49ers probably could have drafted him later on, but oh well, if you are a Niners fan, I really have no idea how you feel about this pick, but this is a C- pick in my opinion.

Well there you have it, that was my breakdown on the historic first round of the NFL draft. Comment on this post or let us know on X at evolution1079 what you think of your favourite team’s first round draft pick, if they even had one. 



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