2024 NFL Draft - Biggest Surprises In The First Round

Mo Aneizi takes a look at the biggest surprises of the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft.

The First Round of the 2024 NFL Draft is in the books! What was slated to be an action-packed evening lived up to expectations, but not for the reasons many of us thought going into it.

The Bears, Commanders, and Patriots all locked in their hopeful QBs of the future in Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, and Drake Maye, respectively. From there, things started to get interesting.

What were the biggest surprises of the first round?

Atlanta Falcons Draft QB Michael Penix Jr. At No. 8 Overall

The night's first and likely biggest shocker came early and WAY out of left field. After acquiring veteran QB Kirk Cousins this offseason on a four-year/$180 million-dollar contract, the Falcons turned around and selected Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth overall pick.

BREAKING: THE FALCONS ARE DRAFTING MICHAEL PENIX JR. AT NO. 8, per @AlbertBreer pic.twitter.com/i61VWuIDMa

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 26, 2024

Atlanta came into the night with several needs, many of which were on the defensive side of the ball. Penix, who turns 24 next month, was widely regarded as a late first-round pick at the earliest, behind a player like QB J.J. McCarthy who landed with the Vikings just a few picks later.

Although Penix is an incredibly talented prospect, his age, injury history, and Atlanta’s current QB situation make this a bit of a head-scratching pick. While we don’t know what the future will hold for the Falcons, it’s hard to justify allocating such high draft capital on a position you invested so heavily in during the offseason.

On top of that, it was reported by Cousins’ agent that the QB was not made aware of the team’s plans to draft Penix, which could lead to raised tensions between Cousins’ camp and Atlanta’s front office. Likely something you’d be looking to avoid in this newfound marriage.

From Kirk Cousins’ agent Mike McCartney on the #Falcons’ selecting QB Michael Penix Jr. eighth overall. pic.twitter.com/XpIpOQn1ua

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) April 26, 2024

All in all, it’s a bet on the future for Atlanta. While Cousins is the short-term answer, Atlanta clearly liked what they saw in Penix, enough to overlook a few gaping needs to have their future guy solidified. We will see how it all works out for them.

An Unprecedented Run On Offensive Talent

Another surprising turn of events in the first round was the early and often selection of offensive players.

The draft kicked off with 14 offensive players being drafted consecutively, six of whom being QBs, which ended up totaling 23 offensive players drafted in the first round. The previous record for offensive players taken to start a draft was seven in 2021, and the previous record for most offensive players taken in the first round was 19, most recently occurring in 2009.

In all, there were a record 23 offensive players selected in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft.

🏈Six QBs
🏈Seven WRs
🏈Nine OL
🏈One TE

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 26, 2024

We knew going into the night how loaded some positions like QB, WR, and OT were, and teams clearly prioritized taking advantage and ensuring they got better on that side of the ball. Some of the big-time non-QB players that headlined those first 14 picks were WR Marvin Harrison Jr. (Cardinals), OT Joe Alt (Chargers), WR Malik Nabers (Giants), TE Brock Bowers (Raiders), the list goes on.

The lopsided run on the offensive side of the ball meant some highly talented defensive prospects slipped, and some teams were able to take advantage. Some of those value picks that come to mind are the Vikings who selected LB Dallas Turner at No. 17, the Eagles selecting CB Quinyon Mitchell at No. 22, and the Lions selecting CB Terrion Arnold at No. 24.

We will see how much the offense/defense split levels out in the upcoming rounds, with potentially defensive-heavy selections to come in Rounds 2 and 3.

Buffalo Bills Punt Out Of First Round

After trading star WR Stefon Diggs to an up-and-coming AFC opponent in the Houston Texans earlier this month, and losing WR Gabe Davis to the Jacksonville Jaguars in free agency, the Bills entered the night with a pretty substantial need at the position.

Yet, when they were on the clock with pick No. 28, they traded back with the Kanas City Chiefs who subsequently drafted speedy Texas WR Xavier Worthy with the pick.

𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲 - 𝗣𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗜𝘀 𝗜𝗻: The #Chiefs select Xavier Worthy with the 28th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Pick received from the #Bills

The Bills trade: Pick 28, 133, 248

The Chiefs trade: Pick 32, 95, 221 pic.twitter.com/xUdSdtDzS2

— Football Fanatics (@FFB_Fanatics) April 26, 2024

Given how much of a deterrent the Chiefs have been to the Bills' success over the past few seasons, it looked to be quite the shocker of a move to trade down with them and allow them to receive such a talented prospect at a position both teams were in pretty desperate need of.

I can’t believe the #Bills traded with the #Chiefs and Mahomes gets the fastest player in the draft. Sounds like a storyline we will hear about for years to come between these two teams. #NFLDraft2024

— Tracy Wolfson (@tracywolfson) April 26, 2024

When Buffalo was put back on the clock with pick No. 32, they traded down again, this time with the Carolina Panthers who drafted WR Xavier Legette.

The Bills now hold the first pick of the second round, and there are plenty of talented WRs for them to choose from. Despite who they draft, they need to hope that allowing Worthy to go play with Mahomes and the Chiefs doesn’t haunt them for years to come.

Could it also be that the Bills are stockpiling picks so they can enter the Deebo Samuel/Brandon Aiyuk sweepstakes?

We shall see!

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