First round begins as teams pick top prospects – 2024

The NFL Network’s Rich Eisen said on air that there were 150,000 fans gathered in Detroit for tonight’s draft.

Where a player gets selected in the draft has a big impact on their salary.

A deal struck in 2011 between the NFL and the players union included a rookie wage scale that dictates how much each player makes. That has meant far less money for younger players.

First-round draft picks are just about locked in to signing four-year contracts, with their value varying depending on where they’re taken. Spotrac, a website that tracks sports contracts, projects that the first overall pick this year will have a contract valued at about $38.5 million, with each pick thereafter steadily declining. The last pick of the first round should see a contract worth about $12.1 million.

The decline continues but flattens with most later round picks seeing contracs valued around $4.1 million, if they get signed at all.

In non-NFL draft news, Eagles star receiver A.J. Brown signed a new three-year deal worth $96 million, according to multiple reports. It is the highest of any WR in NFL history.

Brown is under contract through 2029. Last season he caught 106 passes for 1,456 yards and seven TDs.

The former New England Patriots head coach just can’t stay away from the draft.

He’s there with Pat McAfee’s show, helping with some draft projections.

The USC quarterback is all but guaranteed to go No. 1 overall to the Chicago Bears. While other players will stress about being picked, he knows he’ll wait only a few minutes to hear NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell read his name at the podium.

He’ll then walk onstage, shake hands, take photos and start preparing to become the team’s savior. 

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Bears general manager Ryan Poles knows what the team will do with the first overall pick tonight, but he isn’t going to share the news until the Bears are officially on the clock.

Once the Bears make that pick, Poles will be going right back to work. The Bears also have the ninth overall pick, and Poles won’t be able to settle on a choice until he sees what other teams do between Chicago’s two picks.

Last month, Poles said the team’s personnel staff would split into teams to debate taking an offensive tackle, a wide receiver or an edge rusher. Tuesday, he said that work solidified his belief that “those premium positions are important” to building championship-caliber teams and that he’s comfortable letting things play out because of how those positions match up with the overall draft board.

“The nice thing is from the work that we’ve done I feel pretty good about just being flexible,” Poles said, according to NBCSportsChicago.com.

Quarterback Caleb Williams is expected to be the first overall pick, and any direction the Bears go at No. 9 will give Chicago a double jolt of optimism about what’s to come.

With speculation continuing to swirl around what the New England Patriots could do tonight, head coach Jerod Mayo has provided some clarity.

Mayo said at the Patriots draft party that the team will get “a great player at 3” and that it could “sneak back into the first round,” according to ESPN reporter Mike Reiss.

Vegas has little doubt about who will be picked No. 1, 2 and 3 in tonight’s draft.

Caleb Williams at No. 1, Jayden Daniels at No. 2 and Drake Maye at No. 3 are all at -10000 for their respective predicted positions on single bets, according to BetMGM’s betting line odds.

That means someone would have to bet, and risk, $10,000 just to make $100.

All three prospects are quarterbacks.

Odds on the fourth pick’s being wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. are less certain at -450 on MGM’s line, meaning $450 would win $100.

New England is still looking to find a replacement for legendary quarterback Tom Brady, who left the franchise in 2019. Mac Jones, a first-round pick in 2021, looked promising as a rookie, but his production dropped off over the last two seasons. He was dealt to the Jacksonville Jaguars this offseason. 

The Patriots signed Jacoby Brissett, though he’s not expected to be the long-term starter. Will they instead take whoever is left among Daniels, Maye and McCarthy? If not, a trade down with a team such as the New York Giants, the Minnesota Vikings or the Las Vegas Raiders could be in play. All are searching for quarterbacks and would give up a multitude of picks to secure one. 

The Patriots, who finished 4-13 last season and have holes all over the roster, could use those extra picks to expedite a rebuild. 

Like the Bears, the Commanders have been desperate for a franchise quarterback for more than three decades. There was a glimmer of hope with Robert Griffin III, the 2012 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, but multiple injuries over the next seven seasons led to an early exit from the league. Will this finally be Washington’s chance to turn around the franchise?

The Commanders have a new owner in Josh Harris and a new general manager in Adam Peters, and both have been tight-lipped about whom they might select. But all signs point to either LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels or North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye.

The 6-foot-4, 210-pound Daniels won the 2023 Heisman Trophy after one of the most electrifying seasons in college football history. He threw for 3,812 yards, 40 touchdowns and only four interceptions, while also adding 1,134 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground. 

Maye, at 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds, boasts the prototypical size for the position and has drawn comparisons to Los Angeles Chargers signal-caller Justin Herbert. After being named 2022 ACC Player and Rookie of the Year as a sophomore, he threw for 3,608 yards, 24 touchdowns and nine interceptions as a junior.

University of Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who led the Wolverines to their first national title since 1997, is also reportedly being considered.

How does your team’s first-round pick affect its odds to win its division or conference or even the Super Bowl next season?

Bet the Edge is your source for the day in sports betting. Get all of Jay Croucher and Drew Dinsick’s insight weekdays at 6 a.m. ET right here or wherever you get your podcasts.

The No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft has been traded at least 14 times, including twice in 1984.

1967: Colts acquired it from Saints; drafted DT Bubba Smith

1968: Vikings acquired it from Giants; drafted OT Ron Yary

1974: Cowboys acquired it from Oilers; drafted DE Ed Jones

1975: Falcons acquired it from Colts; drafted QB Steve Bartkowski

1978: Oilers acquired it from Bucs; drafted RB Earl Campbell

1984: Patriots acquired it from Bengals (who got it from Bucs); drafted WR Irving Fryar

1990: Colts acquired it from Falcons; drafted QB Jeff George

1991: Cowboys acquired it from Patriots; drafted DT Russell Maryland

1995: Bengals acquired it from Panthers; drafted RB Ki-Jana Carter

1997: Rams acquired it from Jets; drafted OT Orlando Pace

2001: Falcons acquired it from Chargers; drafted QB Michael Vick

2004: Chargers drafted QB Eli Manning and then traded him to the Giants in exchange for the fourth pick, Philip Rivers

2016: Rams acquired it from Titans; drafted QB Jared Goff

2023: Panthers acquired it from Bears; drafted QB Bryce Young

The Lions’ X account offered a look at the many people who have showed up for the draft, which is being held in downtown Detroit.

For projected No. 1 NFL draft pick Caleb Williams, a large part of tonight comes down to trust.

“Not having ‘yes men’ around you, ‘yes women’ around you, having people that tell you the truth, having people tell you — in your corner that you trust that you’ll listen to,” Williams said on the red carpet in Detroit when he was asked how he keeps a level head.

“I think that’s really big for moments like this,” he said.

The USC quarterback is projected to be the top pick in the draft, and right now the Chicago Bears have that first pick.

Williams also thanked his alma mater. “Shout out to SC, all the love and support that you all have given me,” he told reporters in video captured by Ronnie Martin of NBCU Academy x NFL Experienceship.

The NFL should expect on Day 1 “that I care,” Williams said. “I care about, you know, my teammates, my guys, the people I go to battle with every Monday, Thursday, Sunday,” he said.

“I think that’s really big. Care goes a long way,” he said.

Daniels, the LSU QB expected to be a top pick, spoke with Cam Newton and NBC News’ Kaylee Hartung about his pregame meal before games.

Daniels says he always has an omelet and two waffles before every game. 

“Cheese, bacon, get your greens in there, onions and throw some hot sauce in.”

“Just work hard each and every day,” he told Cam Newton on NFL Network. “Listen to what my dad says, mainly. He can guide me in the right direction. That’s what I’m trying to do.”

The USC QB, expected to go No. 1 to the Bears, arrived with a navy blue suit from Chrome Hearts. “One of one,” he told NBC News’ Kaylee Hartung.

Williams said he has about 45 people in his entourage at the draft.

The Carolina Panthers finished last season with a league-worst 2-15 record. Top pick and quarterback Bryce Young struggled mightily as a rookie (though he didn’t have much to work with), and the team has many areas of concern. It should have the No. 1 pick for a chance to turn the franchise around, but alas … it has zero first-round selections. 

Carolina surrendered receiver D.J. Moore, 2023 first- and second-round picks, a 2024 first-round pick and a 2025 second-round pick for the chance to take Young last year. If he doesn’t improve quickly, and that’s a big if, it will go down as one of the worst trades in NFL history. 

Panthers fans can probably just take tonight off.

The Michigan QB led the program to a national title last season. He’s one of the fastest-rising prospects in the draft. A few months ago he wasn’t expected to be a first-rounder. Now he might go in the top 10 picks.

Every year, the team that finishes the regular season with the worst record get the No. 1 overall pick, the team with the second-worst record, gets the No. 2 overall pick and so on.

As long as there are no trades (which there usually are), each of the seven rounds starts with the team that finished with the worst record and culminates with the Super Bowl champs.

Per NFL.com:

“To be eligible for the draft, players must have been out of high school for at least three years and must have used up their college eligibility before the start of the next college football season. Underclassmen and players who have graduated before using all their college eligibility may request the league’s approval to enter the draft early.

Players are draft-eligible only in the year after the end of their college eligibility.

Before the draft, NFL player personnel staff members confirm the eligibility of draft prospects; that means researching the college backgrounds of about 3,000 college players each year.

Caleb Williams is as close to a sure thing as it gets, at least according to betting markets.

Fans can bet on the NFL draft, offering an interesting and sometimes informative window into where players could be headed.

According to our friends at NBC Sports, Williams is a whopping -20000 to go first, meaning you would have to bet $20,000 just to win $100. In the sports betting world, that’s about as close as you can get to a guarantee.

After that, things get muddier. LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels is favored to go second to the Washington Commanders (-600), and those odds have only been getting more confident about that pick. After that, the betting market likes UNC quarterback Drake Maye to the New England Patriots (-290).

That said, treat these markets with caution.

Why do the Chicago Bears have the first pick? Why are the Super Bowl champion Chiefs last?

The answer to those questions is the same, sort of. The order of the draft is very simple: reverse order of how the teams performed in the previous season.

But the Bears weren’t that bad, right? Well, teams can trade draft picks. Chicago traded its first-round pick last year to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for wide receiver D.J. Moore and a few draft picks.

Carolina’s 2024 first-round pick was part of that deal, becoming the No. 1 overall pick after the Panthers finished a league worst 2-15.

It’s expected to be a busy day for trades of players and draft picks between teams. But for now, nothing big to report.

Keep an eye on the Arizona Cardinals, the Minnesota Vikings, the Cincinnati Bengals and the New England Patriots, the last of which was well-known for trading down in the draft under its former coach Bill Belichick. Will the new regime hold firm with its No. 3 pick?