The 2024 NFL Draft is in the books. For three days, more than 200 college football players were selected across seven rounds in the event held in Detroit.
Here's a look at some of the top storylines from the 2024 NFL Draft and the opening betting odds for NFL Rookie of the Year.
Offense Dominates: One theme for the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft was a preference for offensive players, especially quarterbacks.
The first 14 selections of the NFL Draft were offensive players. This broke a previous record of the first seven picks, set in 2021.
Overall, 23 of the 32 first-round players taken were offensive.
Quarterbacks were taken first, second, and third overall. Caleb Williams (Chicago Bears), Jayden Daniels (Washington Commanders) and Drake Maye (New England Patriots) were among the highest-drafted players. This marked the fourth time quarterbacks have gone with the first three picks in an NFL Draft.
Quarterbacks also went eighth (Michael Penix Jr, Atlanta Falcons), 10th (J.J. McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings) and 12th (Bo Nix, Denver Broncos).
The total of six quarterbacks gone in the first round ties the record set in 1983 for the most QBs in the first round of a draft. Five quarterbacks going in the top ten happened for the first time in this year's draft.
Wide Receiver was another key position in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Marvin Harrison Jr. (Arizona Cardinals), Malik Nabers (New York Giants) and Rome Odunze (Chicago Bears) were drafted fourth, sixth and ninth respectively, marking three WRs in the first 10 picks.
Brian Thomas Jr. (Jacksonville Jaguars), Xavier Worthy (Kansas City Chiefs), Ricky Persall (San Francisco 49ers) and Xavier Legette (Carolina Panthers) were also drafted in the first round, marking seven wide receivers taken.
This marked an NFL Draft record for the first round.
The selections of Daniels and Nabers, both from LSU, and Penix Jr. and Odunze, both from Washington, marked the first time ever that a quarterback and wide receiver from the same school went in the top 10 in the same NFL Draft.
Nine offensive linemen were also drafted in the first round. Joe Alt and JC Latham were drafted fifth and seventh, respectively. This was the fourth time since 1967 that nine or more offensive linemen were taken in the first round.
The eight offensive tackles taken in the first round of the 2024 draft ties a record with 2008.
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Detroit Breaks Records: The city of Detroit hosted the NFL Draft for the first time in history and broke records along the way.
With 275,000 people in attendance on day one of the draft (Thursday), the city broke the first-day record. The records didn't stop there with a total of 775,000 fans in attendance across three days (Thursday, Friday, Saturday) breaking a previous three-day record of 600,000 set by Nashville in 2019.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced the three-day record being broken on Saturday while announcing the Lions' fourth-round pick.
"We have shown the world what the Motor City is about," Whitmer said.
Along with Whitmer announcing a pick, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan also helped make a Lions pick alongside legendary running back Barry Sanders.
Several Lions current and former players and rapper Eminem also helped kickoff the day one of the NFL Draft.
Rookie of the Year Betting Odds: With the 2024 NFL Draft now in the rear view mirror, the betting odds for the 2024 NFL Rookie of the Year have been set by sportsbooks.
At DraftKings Inc DKNG, here are the current favorites to win the Offensive Rookie of the Year:
- Caleb Williams (QB, Bears): +200
- Marvin Harrison Jr (WR, Cardinals): +600
- Jayden Daniels (QB, Commanders): +650
- J.J. McCarthy (QB, Vikings): +800
- Malik Nabers (WR, Giants): +1,200
- Drake Maye (QB, Patriots): +1,600
- Xaiver Worthy (WR, Chiefs): +1,600
- Bo Nix (QB, Broncos): +1,600
- Rome Odunze (WR, Bears): +2,200
- Brian Thomas Jr (WR, Jaguars): +2,500
Last year's Offensive Rookie of the Year was won by QB C.J. Stroud, who was the number two overall pick by the Houston Texans in the 2023 NFL Draft. A quarterback has won three of the last five awards with a wide receiver winning the other two. Based on the current betting odds, it is likely one of those two positions that nabs top honors once again.
The betting odds for Defensive Rookie of the Year are:
- Dallas Turner (Edge, Vikings): +400
- Laiatu Latu (Edge, Colts): +700
- Quinyon Mitchell (CB, Eagles): +1,000
- Jared Verse (Edge, Rams): +1,100
- Chop Robinson (Edge, Dolphins): +1,300
- Terrion Arnold (CB, Lions): +1,300
- Byron Murphy II (DT, Seahawks): +1,300
Last year's Defensive Rookie of the Year was edge rusher Will Anderson Jr., who was the third overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. The Defensive Rookie of the Year has been more diverse by position with the award won by the Edge, Cornerback, Outside Linebacker and Defensive Linemen positions in the last four years.
For more on the 2024 NFL Draft, watch Benzinga’s livestream show with instant analysis and insights from fans below.
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