Winners and losers from Round 1 of the 2024 NFL Draft: Eagles find their CB, Kirk Cousins ​​gets slighted

Finally, the NFL Draft has finally kicked off from the city of Detroit.

The first round is officially in the books, and each of the 32 selections brings a renewed sense of hope to the franchises that made those picks. But plenty of work remains. Rounds 2 and 3 take place on Friday evening, with rounds 4 to 7 following on Saturday.

It will be some time before we see how these choices play out, but that won’t stop us from reacting and analyzing.

We look at the winners and losers of the first round.

Winners

Quarterbacks — The quarterbacks flew off the board on Thursday night, with six of them ending up in the first twelve selections. Caleb Williams (Bears, first), Jayden Daniels (Commanders, second), Drake Maye (Patriots, third), Michael Penix Jr. (Falcons, eighth), JJ McCarthy (Vikings, 10th) and Bo Nix (Broncos, 12th) combined to tie the historic 1983 QB draft class for most taken in the first round. But never before have six disappeared from the board as quickly as Thursday evening. Some of these quarterbacks will likely start right away. Others are allowed to sit for a while. But for now, they serve as symbols of hope for better days ahead for their new franchises.

Offensive players — Every draft reflects a different trend, and this year it has a strong offensive flavor as it took fourteen picks for the first defensive player to come off the board. That player was UCLA edge rusher Laiatu Latu, who went 15th to Indianapolis. A total of 23 offensive players went in the first round, while only nine defensive players were drafted.

Kyler Murray – The Arizona Cardinals quarterback made his comeback last season after reconstructive knee surgery, but returned to an offense short on game-changing talent. But Cardinals officials used the fourth pick of the draft to take Marvin Harrison Jr. who is considered by many to be the best wideout in the draft. Harrison gives Murray and the Cardinals a polished route runner who also has good size and speed.

Philadelphia Eagles — The Eagles needed help at cornerback, and they even made calls about a possible move up in the draft so they could better position themselves to take the corner of their choice. But none of the teams ahead of them had a pressing need at the corner, and Quinyon Mitchell ended up in their rounds at No. 22 without Philly having to part with additional resources.

Daniel Jones — The New York Giants have done a lot of homework on the quarterbacks in the draft. There was talk that they could have used the sixth pick on a passer, which could have spelled the end for Jones, who has been largely disappointed since New York drafted him sixth overall in 2019. However, the Giants used the sixth pick on LSU wide receiver instead. Malik Nabers, and that means Jones will likely get another chance to establish himself.

LSU Wideouts — First Nabers in sixth place, and then Brian Thomas Jr. 23rd to Jacksonville. It’s the first time LSU has had two first-round wide receivers. Now, Nabers and Thomas will join Ja’Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson, DJ Chark and Odell Beckham as LSU’s next great wide receivers. It was a big night for wide receivers overall, as a total of seven came off the board in the first round.

(Photo: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Losers

Kirk cousins ​​— Just months after signing him to a four-year, $180 million contract, the Atlanta Falcons stunned Kirk Cousins ​​by drafting Penix. Cousins, who was not aware of the team’s plans until the Falcons were on the clock, is coming off a torn Achilles tendon, but his recovery from surgery is going well and he was looking forward to bringing Atlanta home. But now Cousins ​​could be looking for a new opportunity sooner than he expected (most of the guaranteed money in his deal is in the first two seasons). Penix will likely sit and learn this year, and if Cousins ​​falters in 2025, the Falcons could turn things over to the kid.

GO DEEPER

Cousins ​​stunned Falcons and called out Penix Jr. up in the first round

Las Vegas Raiders — The Raiders needed to find their long-term answer at quarterback and it was believed they had an interest in moving up in the draft to ensure they could get one. Well, the Raiders failed to move up, and by the time they got on the board at No. 13, all six quarterbacks considered potential saviors of the franchise had been taken. For now, Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew remain the Raiders’ only options at quarterback. They could look for a passer in the second or third round, but such a player would likely be a project.

Zach Wilson – The Broncos signed Wilson from the Jets a few days ago and it looked like Wilson would get a chance to reset, learn from Sean Payton and possibly save his career in Denver. But then the Broncos used the 12th pick to draft Nix. The best Wilson can hope for is a slow learning curve for Nix and the issues of Jarrett Stidham, who started two games in Denver last season, so he can work his way onto the field somehow. Otherwise, his practice reps and playing opportunities will be severely limited.

Defensive backs — Cornerbacks had a long wait Thursday night as 21 players came off the board before Mitchell headed to the Eagles. Mitchell, a Toledo product, will be in a good spot on a defense with a strong front. But he could have done it without waiting. However, Mitchell’s wait wasn’t the longest. Two picks later, Alabama corner Terrion Arnold finally got the call when the Lions traded up to take him 24th. It was the longest wait for the cornerback since 1995, when Tyrone Poole went 22nd to Carolina and Ty Law went 23rd to New England.

Buffalo notes — Buffalo Brass pulled off a upset when they bowed out in the first round after trading picks with the Chiefs. Kansas City used that pick to draft speedy Texas wideout Xavier Worthy. Buffalo needs help at wide receiver, and the Chiefs are the one team Buffalo can never beat in the playoffs. So missing an opportunity to help themselves and then help strengthen a key opponent could really come back to haunt the Bills. To make matters worse, the Bills turned around and moved out of the 32nd pick and moved back to the 33rd. The Panthers, who moved there, used that pick to take South Carolina wide receiver Xavier Legette – another player who could have really helped Buffalo.

Required reading

(Photo: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)