2024 NFL Draft Winners and Losers: Chicago Bears, Philadelphia Eagles, Las Vegas Raiders and More
A look at some of the teams who made positive strides in the draft and a few who reached and/or failed to add much talent.
I put together a list of winners and losers after both Day 1 and Day 2 of the draft, and while they hit real football themes, the feeling was more facetious at times. This is a more serious look at the teams who excelled during the draft and those who left their fan bases underwhelmed.
This is subjective; I’m just one person giving my opinion. Each point will have reasoning and maybe a prediction for how things will play out. You can find the full draft results here and a list of draft trades here.
Winners: Chicago Bears, Washington Commanders and New England Patriots
Each of these teams followed the script and grabbed their quarterback of the future to start the draft. All three also made other picks to help support their young passers. Whether the players work out won’t be known for several years, but each team took a logical path.
The Bears nabbed Washington receiver Rome Odunze with the ninth overall pick, instantly dropping Caleb Williams into one of the cushiest situations a rookie could hope to join. Left tackle was the other offensive spot that could be upgraded, and the team hit that position in the third round with Kiran Amegadjie of Yale, though he’s most likely a backup in 2024.
Joining Jayden Daniels in Washington will be tight end Ben Sinnott (who some saw as the second-best tight end in this class), guard Brandon Coleman and wide receiver Luke McCaffrey (Christian’s brother), all of whom were added on Day 2.
New England made moves in free agency to build their supporting cast then drafted seven offensive players and just one guy on defense. They added at least one player at wide receiver, offensive tackle, guard and tight end. Rookies can’t be expected to take on large roles, but the Patriots took plenty of shots at finding contributors.
Losers: Atlanta Falcons, Minnesota Vikings and Denver Broncos
These teams all got first-round quarterbacks like the three mentioned above, but the value seems much lower on these respective passers. We’ll get to the individual circumstances, but the common theme is that they used top-12 picks on (theoretically) the fourth-, fifth- and sixth-best quarterbacks in the draft.
Every defensive player was on the board during all these selections, as were multiple offensive linemen near the top of a historically good class. It’s not that I’m expecting these quarterbacks to all fail; at least one will probably have a successful career. To reach for lesser prospects, though, brings great risk of setting back each franchise.
Minnesota has the most defensible case. They have built a decent roster with at least one superstar and multiple Pro Bowlers. The only thing missing was a quarterback after Kirk Cousins left for Atlanta. J.J. McCarthy may hit the ground running and lead a playoff push, but the most likely outcome is the Vikings struggling with a rookie quarterback.
Speaking of Cousins, Atlanta and playoff pushes, the Falcons are favorites in their division and passed up the chance to add a top-10 defensive talent at one of their biggest needs. Every time the Atlanta defense falters, we will point back to this decision.
Michael Penix Jr. likely won't see the field for at least two years, so his rookie contract will be wasted while he sits as a backup. A team that could have made a real difference in their 2024 Super Bowl chances decided to take the long view.
Denver has one of the worst collections of talent in the league. My feeling is that they will be the closest thing this season to the 2023 Panthers, with a lacking roster setting up a rookie quarterback for failure.
The Broncos needed to start building with high-level talent; instead, they used their only pick in the top 75 on the sixth-best quarterback prospect. I see this as the first step toward Denver’s next rebuild, which will start in a few years without Nix or Sean Payton.
Winner: Las Vegas Raiders
Maybe the Raiders were lucky. There was a lot of chatter about them taking a quarterback with the 13th pick (especially Penix), but Denver grabbed Nix with the preceding selection, leaving no feasible QB option.
This kept Vegas from reaching for a quarterback and instead allowed them to add the clear top tight end, Brock Bowers. Bowers was seen as a top-five prospect by some but was expected to fall due to his position.
They followed that up by adding offensive linemen Jackson Powers-Johnson and Delmar Glaze on Day 2. At least one of these guys will probably fail to develop (most likely Glaze), but Las Vegas made moves to support the offense rather than throwing darts at the middle class of quarterbacks.
The Raiders ended up doing what I thought Denver should do: build up an infrastructure in which a young passer can succeed before throwing him into the fire.
Winner: Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals took 12 players in the draft, seven of those coming in the top 100. A roster that was bereft of talent and depth added a few high-level prospects and took a lot of shots at upgrading premium positions: nine of their selections play either receiver, cornerback, edge rusher or offensive tackle.
The best part of a rebuild is that there are a lot of ways to upgrade the roster. At least a few of their draft picks will turn into important pieces, and that starts at the top. Rather than trading back, Arizona took advantage of their loaded draft trove and stayed put for Marvin Harrison Jr., who is seen as a superstar prospect.
No one else stands out near the level of Harrison, but Darius Robinson, Max Melton and Trey Benson could all play starting roles by the end of their rookie season and be part of the next good Cardinals team.
It will likely take a few years to reap all the benefits, but Arizona set themselves up for the future with a loaded draft class.
Loser: Cleveland Browns
The Browns just didn’t have many resources to work with. They ended up making one pick in each of the second and third rounds then four picks outside the top 150. They probably added depth to a solid roster, but the lack of premium picks meant Cleveland could only do so much.
This is the last year they owe picks to Houston from the Deshaun Watson trade, and they currently own a normal haul of draft picks in 2025. While Cleveland is set up well for this season, they missed a chance to add a first-round talent for the fourth time in the last six years.
Winners: Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles
The Lions allowed the sixth-most passing yards per game and third-most yards per pass attempt in 2023. The Eagles were second worst in passing yards per game, though they were closer to the middle on a per-attempt basis.
Both NFC contenders needed help against the pass, particularly at cornerback. Well, they grabbed the first two corners off the board in the first round then both got guys on Day 2 who were seen as first-round talents by some.
Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean were top-15 prospects according to Mel Kiper Jr., and Philly got them at 22 and 40. They were able to find value while also filling their biggest need.
Terrion Arnold was a clear first-round prospect, and Detroit traded up five spots to secure him when defensive players started to fall. Ennis Rakestraw Jr. was in many first-round mock drafts during the offseason, but a poor showing in athletic testing caused him to drop amid questions about his ceiling. The Lions mirrored the Eagles by getting two good prospects early in the draft at their biggest position of need.
#2024-nfl-draft
