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Your Complete Guide To The 2024 NFL Draft | LeoVegas

2024 NFL Draft: Complete Guide

The NFL Draft is the peak of the offseason for any fan, offering a glimpse into the future and hope for struggling and rebuilding teams. On April 25, 2024, the 32 teams of the NFL met for the first of three days of the 89th NFL Draft, with the Chicago Bears getting the first pick of the class.

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Across mock drafts, big boards, and rankings, Caleb Williams entered as the consensus top prospect. Beneath the USC quarterback, but still expected to go in the first round, were the likes of receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers, edge rushers Laiatu Latu and Dallas Turner, and tackle Joe Alt.

Consider this to be your guide to the 2024 NFL Draft, from the pre-selection order and rankings to how the picking process panned out.

2024 NFL Draft Schedule

The 2024 NFL Draft schedule spanned three days in Detroit at the Campus Martius Park Hart Plaza. Round 1 kicked off on Thursday, April 25th, starting at 8 pm ET.

On Friday, April 26th, teams picked through Round 2 and Round 3 with an earlier start time of 7 pm ET. Finally, the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh rounds of the 2024 NFL Draft took place on Saturday, April 27th, from 12 pm ET onward.

2024 NFL Draft Order

Unlike other major league sports, the NFL Draft order is entirely predetermined by finishing position. So, while you can bet on the outcome of the Draft Lottery in the NHL odds, for the NFL, if a team finishes bottom of the overall standings, they’ll get the first pick to draft or trade. The Super Bowl champions pick last, pending any trades of last season or last minute deal-making. Coming into Round 1, this was the picking order. Let’s look at the positional needs for the first three selections:

  1. Chicago Bears (from CAR)

  2. Washington Commanders

  3. New England Patriots

  4. Arizona Cardinals

  5. Los Angeles Chargers

  6. New York Giants

  7. Tennessee Titans

  8. Atlanta Falcons

  9. Chicago Bears

  10. New York Jets

  11. Minnesota Vikings

  12. Denver Broncos

  13. Las Vegas Raiders

  14. New Orleans Saints

  15. Indianapolis Colts

  16. Seattle Seahawks

  17. Jacksonville Jaguars

  18. Cincinnati Bengals

  19. Los Angeles Rams

  20. Pittsburgh Steelers

  21. Miami Dolphins

  22. Philadelphia Eagles

  23. Minnesota Vikings (from Cleveland via Houston)

  24. Dallas Cowboys

  25. Green Bay Packers

  26. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  27. Arizona Cardinals (from Houston)

  28. Buffalo Bills

  29. Detroit Lions

  30. Baltimore Ravens

  31. San Francisco 49ers

  32. Kansas City Chiefs

    Even without top-class reinforcements from this draft, it’s the Ravens, 49ers, and Chiefs that lead the NFL odds for the Super Bowl, Conference championships, and their respective divisions.

1. Chicago Bears

Received from the Carolina Panthers, the Chicago Bears looked primed to take the consensus top prospect Caleb Williams ever since the Panthers were confirmed as the NFL’s basement dwellers. During the season, Justin Fields earned the praise of the Soldier Field crowd, but it wasn’t enough to sway management that a new direction was needed. Fields was traded to seemingly pave the way for an obvious first-overall selection.

2. Washington Commanders

In the midst of a rebuild, the Washington Commanders were in particular need of an improvement at offensive tackle and could have done with a playmaking edge rusher. Still, like the Bears, their biggest need was for the most important position on the field: quarterback.

3. New England Patriots

With Bill Belichick’s last throw of the dice in the post-Tom Brady era yielding precious little with Mac Jones under centre, it was time for his 24-year tenure on the sidelines of the New England Patriots to come to an end. A new era looked set to begin with a lofty pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, likely seeing a new quarterback picked up.

Top Prospects in the 2024 NFL Draft

While team needs will regularly dictate the selection order, this is the batch of players who was generally seen as the top 15 in the 2024 NFL Draft class.

Caleb Williams, QB, USC

Caleb Williams is known for his creativity, swagger, and a propensity for big plays. He knew full well that he was the top quarterback of the 2024 NFL Draft class. Still, the dynamic QB will need to iron out some of his more ego-driven tendencies.

Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Ohio State

A mighty receiver to have in the field with top-tier toughness and explosiveness after the catch, Marvin Harrison Jr. looks destined to become a trusted target for an NFL QB and the ire of secondary units for years to come.

Drake Maye, QB, North Carolina

Drake Maye boasts superb arm strength and speed in his feet and hands. Once he’s set in a functional offensive scheme and has some experience under his belt, he should develop into a sound slinger in the NFL.

Joe Alt, OT, Notre Dame

The colossal Joe Alt (6’9’’, 321 lbs, 34 ¼’’ arm) may currently lack some athleticism, but his instincts and size allowed him to become a relentless force at Notre Dame.

Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia

Continuing the trend of highly-rated, dynamic tight ends, Brock Bowers may stand a little smaller than your average NFL TE, but he’s strong, has been used in all kinds of plays by Georgia, and is rapid before and after the catch.

Malik Nabers, WR, LSU

Malik Nabers has everything quarterbacks need when they want help from their receivers. He’s explosive off the mark, easily gets separation, and can deploy an iron-clad stiff arm to send defenders to the turf.

Rome Odunze, WR, Washington

In a very crowded class for top-tier receiving talent, Rome Odunze might just weigh in as the most NFL-ready. He’s very athletic, throws around a big frame, and is happy to soar into traffic to get his sturdy hands on the ball.

Dallas Turner, EDGE, Alabama

Beloved by scouts for his constant strive to put in maximum effort, Dallas Turner looks primed to make an immediate impact in the NFL from the edge, whether that’s stabbing through offensive tackles or taking down backs.

Taliese Fuaga, OT, Oregon State

Taliese Fuaga looks to be the complete package of pass protection wall and a dominant blocker in the run game, with some hailing him as set for a Pro Bowl down the line.

J.J. McCarthy, QB, Michigan

Boasting athleticism and enjoying racking up completions, J.J. McCarthy looks to offer a sound, sturdy quarterback to his NFL team down the line, going more for steady progress over forced, explosive results.

Laiatu Latu, EDGE, UCLA

Laiatu Latu’s skills are currently significantly skewed towards rushing the passer as opposed to ousting the run game, but constantly underpinning his firepower is the edge rusher’s effort to chase down his target.

Quinyon Mitchell, CB, Toledo

He’s an avid competitor and will enter the NFL with enough speed to challenge the glut of wide receivers. Yet, Quinyon Mitchell’s biggest selling point is his ball-hawking and propensity to run an interception back for a score.

Terrion Arnold, CB, Alabama

A dream pick for teams that love to deploy a nickel defence, Terrion Arnold’s versatility and dynamism at the nickel position could prove to be the X-factor that helps to keep an opposing shot-caller guessing.

Jared Verse, EDGE, Florida State

NFL fans can expect to see Jared Verse, a hefty and powerful edge rusher, circling around to smash his way through offensive tackles with his head down on a regular occasion next season.

Olumuyiwa Fashanu, OT, Penn State

Standing 6’6’’ and 312 lbs with 34’’ arms, Olumuyiwa Fashanu enters as a bit of a project with a very high ceiling. His size and explosiveness are top-notch, but the junior out of Penn State does need to tighten up the more nuanced aspects of being an offensive tackle in the NFL.

2024 NFL Draft Results

On Day One of the 2024 NFL Draft, nine trades took place to move pick position, including the Vikings moving up to the tenth and 17th picks and the Panthers breaking into Round 1 via a three-team trade with the Chiefs and Bills.

As was expected, the Chicago Bears did take Williams with the first overall pick, which has helped them out in the NFC North odds, pulling them to +350 to take the division behind the +140 Lions.

With Williams going first, here’s how the rest of Round 1 went at the 2024 NFL Draft:

  1. Caleb Williams (Bears)

  2. Jayden Daniels (Commanders)

  3. Drake Maye (Patriots)

  4. Marvin Harrison Jr. (Cardinals)

  5. Joe Alt (Chargers)

  6. Malik Nabers (Giants)

  7. JC Latham (Titans)

  8. Michael Penix Jr. (Falcons)

  9. Rome Odunze (Bears)

  10. J.J. McCarthy (Vikings)

  11. Olumuyiwa Fashanu (Jets)

  12. Bo Nix (Broncos)

  13. Brock Bowers (Raiders)

  14. Taliese Fuaga (Saints)

  15. Laiatu Latu (Colts)

  16. Byron Murphy II (Seahawks)

  17. Dallas Turner (Vikings)

  18. Amarius Mims (Bengals)

  19. Jared Verse (Rams)

  20. Troy Fautanu (Steelers)

  21. Chop Robinson (Dolphins)

  22. Quinyon Mitchell (Eagles)

  23. Brian Thomas Jr. (Jaguars)

  24. Terrion Arnold (Lions)

  25. Jordan Morgan (Packers)

  26. Graham Barton (Buccaneers)

  27. Darius Robinson (Cardinals)

  28. Xavier Worthy (Chiefs)

  29. Tyler Guyton (Cowboys)

  30. Nate Wiggins (Ravens)

  31. Ricky Pearsall (49ers)

  32. Xavier Legette (Panthers)

With the 2024 NFL Draft in the books and these prospects now battling for NFL roster spots, scouts can start to look to the 2025 NFL Draft and the leading prospects in the odds.

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