The NFL Draft catches millions of viewers on TV and thousands of fans in the crowd where the draft is taking place. This year’s draft was stocked full of amazing talent, interesting drama, lots of shockers, and a lot of unhappy dads at home.
The first round of this year’s draft was stocked to the brim with top tier players ranging from quarterbacks to linebackers. One of the biggest shockers of the first round and of the entire draft has to do with the Atlanta Falcons and who they selected with their first round draft pick. With the eighth pick of this year’s draft, the Atlanta Falcons selected Michael Penix Jr. a quarterback out of Washington. If you weren’t aware of the Falcons offseason, the Falcons signed quarterback Kirk Cousins for $180 million for four years.
The draft this year was filled with lots of shockers and criticism which also made its way to the Minnesota Vikings with their first round pick in the form of quarterback JJ McCarthy. McCarthy, who was drafted out of Michigan, most recently won the national championship. McCarthy, who had a 27-1 record as Michigan’s starter and has racked up more than 2,000 yards this past season, has received a lot of criticism from fans calling him the next “Zach Wilson.” With all of that said, people will have their own opinions on how the draft went this year.
The first round of the draft will be listed below:
1. Chicago Bears (via trade with Carolina) – Caleb Williams, QB, USC
2. Washington Commanders – Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU
3. New England Patriots – Drake Maye, QB, North Carolina
4. Arizona Cardinals – Marvin Harrison Jr., Ohio State
5. Los Angeles Chargers – Joe Alt, Notre Dame
6. New York Giants – Malik Nabers, WR, LSU
7. Tennessee Titans – JC Latham, OT, Alabama
8. Atlanta Falcons – Michael Penix Jr., QB, Washington
9. Chicago Bears – Rome Odunze, WR, Washington
10. Minnesota Vikings (via trade with New York Jets) – J.J. McCarthy, QB, Michigan
11. New York Jets (via trade with Minnesota) – Olu Fashanu, OT, Penn State
12. Denver Broncos – Bo Nix, QB, Oregon
13. Las Vegas Raiders – Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia
14. New Orleans Saints – Taliese Fuaga, OT, Oregon State
15. Indianapolis Colts – Laiatu Latu, DE, UCLA
16. Seattle Seahawks – Byron Murphy II, DT, Texas
17. Minnesota Vikings (via trade from Jacksonville) – Dallas Turner, OLB, Alabama
18. Cincinnati Bengals – Amarius Mims, OT, Georgia
19. Los Angeles Rams – Jared Verse, DE, Florida State
20. Pittsburgh Steelers – Troy Fautanu, OT, Washington
21. Miami Dolphins – Chop Robinson, DE, Penn State
22. Philadelphia Eagles – Quinyon Mitchell, CB, Toledo
23. Jacksonville Jaguars (via trade with Minnesota through Cleveland from Houston) – Brian Thomas, WR, LSU
24. Detroit Lions (via trade with Dallas) – Terrion Arnold, CB, Alabama
25. Green Bay Packers – Jordan Morgan, OT, Arizona
26. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Graham Barton, Duke
27. Arizona Cardinals (from Houston) – Darius Robinson, DE, Missouri
28. Kansas City Chiefs (via trade with Buffalo) – Xavier Worthy, WR, Texas
29. Dallas Cowboys (via trade from Detroit) – Tyler Guyton, OT, Oklahoma
30. Baltimore Ravens – Nate Wiggins, CB, Clemson
31. San Francisco 49ers – Ricky Pearsall, WR, Florida
32. Carolina Panthers (via trade with Buffalo through Kansas City) – Xavier Legette, WR, South Carolina
