The 2024 NFL Draft is in the books. Considering I am a football writer, I figured I’d take some time this morning to weigh in on the event! How about that? After a busy draft cycle that has completely consumed my life for the last month, I took yesterday to rest and do nothing. I literally just drove around Gladeville, Tennessee for a little bit, enjoying the wind blowing through my hair. If it shows how “in my cave” I’ve been over the last month or so, I caught myself wondering, “damn, when did everything get so green?” But, doing nothing was quite the strange sensation. I did end up reviewing the draft, taking notes for this piece, and I might’ve even started on prep for 2025. I have a problem.
Nonetheless, you can still subscribe to Stacking The Inbox for our draft guide if you want to scope out my thoughts on the full class. Also, you’d be a total sicko to sit through our full 7-hour broadcast from Day 3 of the draft, but our guy Easton Freeze did a fantastic job of pulling together an A+ highlight reel.
Did 7 hours of draft coverage yesterday with @FWordsPod, @jt_ruhnke & @StoneyKeeley and not once did we veer off-topic… https://t.co/TnrBa3Ce3L pic.twitter.com/KKtxi56OGo
— Easton Freeze (@eastonfreeze) April 28, 2024
Best Drafts
Arizona Cardinals – Monti Ossenfort was in his bag over the weekend. Ton of picks. Ton of needs. Ton of hits. While the Marvin Harrison Jr. and Darius Robinson picks were easy, it was what the Cardinals did in the middle rounds that I found to be particularly impressive – Max Melton, Tip Reiman, Trey Benson, Isaiah Adams, Elijah Jones, Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, and Christian Jones could all be significant contributors as this team continues to rebuild.
Kansas City Chiefs – Obviously, the Super Bowl champions have a good roster. That put them in a position to take some developmental guys with high upside along the offensive line – Kingsley Suamataia, Hunter Nourzad, and CJ Hanson. But, they were also able to supplement their offense with talent with Xavier Worthy and Jared Wiley picks. The Worthy one is easy, but the Wiley pick is the one that might sneak up on everyone. Fantasy players take note. Jaden Hicks could be a starter this season as one of the best safeties in a not-so-good safety class, and they got him in the 4th round.
Pittsburgh Steelers – Man, the Steelers were on one, adding three of my favorite offensive linemen in this class in Troy Fautanu, Zach Frazier, and Mason McCormick. That unit is going to be a force moving forward. But, adding a solid contributor to the receiving corps in Roman Wilson, and a very Steelers-esque linebacker in Payton Wilson round out a solid class.
San Francisco 49ers – The 49ers continue to draft well. Ricky Pearsall is going to absolutely shred in that offense the way he runs his routes, but don’t sleep on the Jacob Cowing addition in the 4th round. They added two physical defensive backs in Renardo Green and Malik Mustapha. Dominick Puni offers versatility and aggression to the offensive line wherever he ends up playing, and of course, I’m a huge fan of Isaac Guerendo, a potential thousand-yard rusher in that system.
Washington Commanders – I don’t know that anyone else in this draft went 100% on guys who could contribute the way the Commanders did. It’s probably by number one class of anyone in this thing. There’s not a single pick they made that I think won’t contribute in some way right away. It all may hinge upon whether or not Jayden Daniels is the guy, but for now, in their minds, they have their quarterback. Outside of that, I love adding Johnny Newton and Javontae Jean-Baptiste to an already rich defensive front. Brandon Coleman plays like a bear trap and could play multiple positions along the offensive line. Mike Sainristil and Dominique Hampton are athletic defensive backs. Luke McCaffrey and Ben Sinnott are both quality complementary offensive weapons. And, Jordan Magee was one of my favorite linebackers in the class. A masterclass in drafting…on paper anyway.
Tip of the Cap
Green Bay Packers – I’m not the biggest fan of the linebackers they selected, but man, they really loaded up on their needs. Jordan Morgan, Jacob Monk, and Travis Glover should all find roles along that offensive line. They also ended up with two of my favorite safeties in Kitan Oladapo and Evan Williams, along with one of the consensus favorite safeties, Javon Bullard.
New Orleans Saints – It feels like nobody’s talking about this Saints class, but getting Taliese Fuaga and Kool-Aid McKinstry absolutely rules. They get a guy who could develop into their quarterback of the future in Spencer Rattler, a nice safe complementary receiver in Bub Means. But, it’s the upside that Jaylan Ford, Khristian Boyd, and Josiah Ezirim have that makes this class particularly exciting.
Seattle Seahawks – Byron Murphy falling to 16 doesn’t feel fair. But, man…this team beefed up its blocking with guards Christian Haynes and Sataoa Laumea, along with tight end AJ Barner. Nehemiah Pritchett and DJ James are safe adds in the secondary, and if Tyrice Knight hits his ceiling, he could be a splash player.
Least Best Drafts
Houston Texans – I like the Kamari Lassiter pick. I don’t love 4.6 speed in a corner, but I was thinking before the draft that if he were to find success in the NFL, it would be somewhere like Houston. I also like the Marcus Harris pick, but he’s one of those guys that you hope gets a shot somewhere because he flashes good potential. He’s not a sure thing. I didn’t find Blake Fisher to be that dynamic. Guys like Calen Bullock, Jawhar Jordan, and LaDarius Henderson (who I didn’t think would even get drafted) are among the lower positional ranks on my big board. I found Cade Stover to be overrated on the tape. No one put together a class of guys that I was underwhelmed with throughout the process like Houston.
Indianapolis Colts – I’m unsure of why people like this class. Two of their first three picks were spent on guys with major injury histories. I wasn’t the biggest Laiatu Latu fan to begin with, and while I like Matt Goncalves quite a bit, I thought he was a reach in the third round. The other aforementioned top three pick was used on a receiver that has some legitimate character concerns that show up on the tape when he disappears for entire games. You’ve really gotta be crossing your fingers if you’re a Colts fan. My favorite pick of their entire haul might’ve been Anthony Gould in the 5th.
New England Patriots – If not for the Layden Robinson, Javon Baker, and Jaheim Bell picks, the Patriots might’ve wrestled “most underwhelming draft” away from the Texans.
Best Picks
Atlanta Falcons – Atlanta was smeared for taking Michael Penix Jr. at 8th overall, but I’ve come around on that decision. What did the NFL tell us? Next year’s quarterback class stinks, and there was a major drop-off in talent after the 6th quarterback this year. If Arthur Blank wanted a contingency plan for Kirk Cousins following Green Bay’s model with Jordan Love, it was going to have to happen with that first round pick. But, there was a little foresight there too. The way the draft fell in the first round, it drove a lot of quality defensive players down the board. That allowed Atlanta to go Ruke Orhorhoro, Bralen Trice, and Brandon Dorlus in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th rounds respectively. That is awesome – for everyone worrying about the retooling of the defensive front…you got it. That’s it. That’s the vision, and those three dudes should form quite the unit.
Baltimore Ravens – Getting TJ Tampa in the 4th after you’ve already spent your first on Nate Wiggins feels like pure luck. The Ravens stay drafting quality depth. This guy had 2nd round, at least, tape.
Buffalo Bills – I know Bills fans were flabbergasted by the team’s trading down twice on Day 1 to end up completely out of the first round. I’m not the biggest Keon Coleman fan if you’re projecting him to be a top guy in your offense. But, I thought the Bills really corrected course afterwards. I’m a huge Cole Bishop fan. His going in the 2nd round might’ve raised a few eyebrows, but he was my third safety in this class. Particularly, I loved the value of getting LB Edefuan Ulofoshio and EDGE Javon Solomon in the 5th. Those dudes are going to show up and play in Year 1.
Denver Broncos – I never saw Troy Franklin as a first round talent the way some did, but adding him in the 4th is tremendous value, especially when you’re pairing him with his college quarterback Bo Nix.
New York Giants – I’m calling my shot now. Tyrone Tracy is going to be a factor for Big Blue. They might have gotten their starting running back and bell cow in the 5th round.
Most Questionable Picks
New York Jets – There’s really only one pick in this entire draft that put my brain in a pretzel. Even though I found plenty to be underwhelming, the Jets taking Jordan Travis in the 5th was completely mind-boggling. I didn’t love Travis’ tape and had him as QB13 in this class. I’d call it a major reach for a team that could actually use a high-upside developmental quarterback.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley.
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