2024 NFL Draft Preview: What To Expect In Round 1

What can New York Giants fans expect to see during the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft?

The NFL Draft is finally almost here. After another torturous season for New York Giants fans, the opportunity to add a young franchise building block has finally arrived. All 32 teams will look to improve their rosters this weekend, starting with the first round on Thursday night.

What should you expect?

Quarterback Galore?

In recent days, chatter has started that as many as six quarterbacks could be drafted in the first round. Those six would be Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels, JJ McCarthy, Michael Penix Jr., and Bo Nix.

I cannot stress this enough, but I am a hard sell on those rumors. There’s no world where I see Penix and Nix making their way into the first round, no matter how desperate NFL teams may be.

In 2022, Malik Willis finished second overall to the Lions. In 2023, Will Levis finished in the top four. In 2024, six quarterbacks will be selected in the first round.

It is true that many NFL teams are looking to add a young signal-caller to their roster, but the belief that teams would be willing to invest heavy draft capital in players like Penix Jr. and Nix is absurd.

Realistically, I see Williams, Maye, Daniels, and McCarthy going in the first round. This is not simply that I don’t view Penix Jr. and Nix as first-round caliber (they aren’t) but that, given all of the information we’ve received over the past years, quarterbacks rarely get thrown into the first-round discussion with any legitimacy this late in the game.

Trades?

The 2024 NFL Draft has the potential to be one of the most trade-heavy drafts we’ve had in recent years. Teams have shown an interest and willingness to be more aggressive, trading up to draft players at premium positions.

In 2023, the Panthers, Texans, Cardinals, Eagles, Steelers, and Giants all traded up in the first round to take a player at a premium position. Those premium positions are quarterback, receiver, offensive tackle, pass-rusher, and cornerback.

This draft is stacked at quarterback, receiver, and offensive tackle early on, with cornerbacks and pass rushers that could come flying off the board late in the first round. 

I expect to see a few teams in the late single and early double-digit picks trade up for a quarterback, contenders trade up for a pass rusher or cornerback to elevate their hopes, and then potentially some rebuilding teams trade into the back end of the first round to have a fifth-year option on a premium player.

Draft Media is Often Wrong

Depending on how long you’ve been paying attention to NFL Draft coverage this cycle, you may only know a handful of names in the first round, or you could have heard about 50 players as potential first-round picks. 

Realistically, a few players every year that draft media swears are first-round picks that wind up going way later than expected, and vice versa. (Looking at you, Will McDonald IV and John Michael Schmitz)

Most NFL draft media members watch films, look at analytics, and try to make their most accurate predictions for where players will get drafted. The issue is that the media doesn’t typically know exactly what teams are looking for at certain positions, nor do they have access to the private interviews or medicals that teams have with prospects.

There are smokescreens that almost no general manager or team president will fall for, but causing that second of hesitation is all opposing GMs are trying to create. 

If I had to guess, wide receiver Xavier Legette's name wouldn’t go as high as recent reports say. Legette is very talented and someone I think can be a contributor, but the recent “back end of the first round, very early second round” hype is a bit too rich for my blood.

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