After adding one of the top offensive players earlier in the night, the Cardinals have now added an intriguing defensive prospect. The team has selected Missouri edge rusher Darius Robinson with the No. 27 pick.
The Buccaneers have opted for one of the draft’s most versatile offensive linemen. The team has selected Duke’s Graham Barton with the No. 25 pick.
More to come…
Following a breakout season from their young offense, the Packers are continuing to add to their core. The team has selected Arizona offensive tackle Jordan Morgan with the 25th pick.
If six quarterbacks had not gone off the board in the first 12 picks, the run on tackles might be this draft’s defining development. Seven are off the board in the draft’s first 25 picks. Not every member of this first-round contingent may play tackle as a rookie, but each did in their final college seasons. Counting Graham Barton, who is expected to slide from Duke left tackle to Buccaneers center, eight edge blockers have gone in the first 26 picks.
Morgan joins a Packers team that cut David Bakhtiari after 11 seasons. Injuries doomed the final years of the former All-Pro’s Green Bay run, with an ACL tear during a New Year’s Eve 2020 practice providing a seminal setback for a team that had recently extended the blindside mainstay. Bakhtiari is unsigned, and Morgan now profiles as a developmental option to eventually succeed him.
Morgan also has an ACL tear in his recent past, having gone down in November 2022. He made an impressive rehab journey, shaking off the major injury to become a first-round pick despite this draft oozing tackle options for teams. Morgan started 37 games at left tackle for the Wildcats. His post-ACL journey included a first-team All-Pac-12 nod last season.
Green Bay’s LT situation did not crater after Bakhtiari’s latest absence. Bakhtiari lasted all of one game last season, needing a fifth surgery on his troublesome knee. Rasheed Walker, a 2022 seventh-round pick, stepped in and started 15 games. Pro Football Focus assigned him a middling grade. Walker gives the Packers an option, and the team now has 2019 first-round pick Andre Dillard — who has not come especially close to justifying his draft slot in Philadelphia or Nashville — on a veteran-minimum deal. The Packers now have some options, though the team has RT starter Zach Tom tied to a through-2025 contract.
The hosts have moved up the first-round order. Detroit has acquired the No. 24 pick from the Cowboys, sending Dallas the 29th selection along with No. 73. The Lions will add a seventh-round pick next year.
The Lions have selected Alabama corner Terrion Arnold, becoming the second team to add a prospect at that position.
Arnold found his way out of Tallahassee as a consensus top-three safety out of John Paul II Catholic HS (FL). Unlike Latham and McKinstry, Arnold didn’t see the field at all in 2021, redshirting his true freshman year. Still, he came in as a starter as a redshirt freshman the following season. Alabama didn’t try him at safety at all, immediately seeing his potential as a cornerback. He missed a few games in 2022, starting seven of 11 appearances, but would start every game in 2023.
In just two seasons as a starter, Arnold recorded six interceptions (five this year) and 20 passes defensed. While perhaps quarterbacks were tempted to force the ball in Arnold’s direction to avoid teammate Kool-Aid McKinstry, Arnold proved to be formidable in his own right. Arnold is slightly smaller than his counterpart but boasts tremendous footwork and hip mobility to blanket opposing receivers. The ball-hawking cornerback paired with McKinstry to serve as the nation’s deadliest duo by far.
More to come…
The Jaguars were recently connected to a move up the board aimed to acquiring a receiver. Despite moving in the opposite direction, the team has still managed to land a high-profile prospect at the position. Jacksonville has selected LSU wideout Brian Thomas Jr. 23rd overall.
This draft featured three top-tier wide receiver prospects; all were off the board by No. 9 overall. Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers and Rome Odunze are respectively bound for Arizona, New York and Chicago. The Jags could not move into that territory, but they will still nab this class’ fourth wideout.
Thomas joins a Jaguars team that has already used plenty of resources to staff its pass-catching posts. The team has Christian Kirk on an $18MM-per-year deal, Gabe Davis at $13MM AAV and Zay Jones in the final year of an $8MM-per-year pact. Evan Engram is also signed to a top-10 tight end contract. The Jags also made a strong run at retaining Calvin Ridley, but the 1,000-yard wideout joined the Titans on a monster accord minutes after the 2024 league year began.
It is certainly arguable the Jags did not need to use such a high draft choice on another receiver, but the team is in negotiations with Trevor Lawrence on what will surely be a $50MM-plus-AAV contract. With Lawrence and Josh Allen soaring into new NFL tax brackets, the Jags will need to begin a new roster phase. Thomas is on track to step into a starting role — in place of one of the veterans — by 2025 (at the latest), and his rookie contract will be valuable for the team.
Working as Nabers’ wingman at LSU last season, Thomas still led Division I-FBS with 17 touchdown receptions. After two sub-400-yard years in Baton Rouge, the 6-foot-3 pass catcher erupted for 1,177 yards to help Jayden Daniels win the Heisman last season. Thomas will have a chance to continue as a complementary option, at least early in his career, alongside a deep WR corps in Jacksonville. The Jags will likely need to throw heavy resources into defense soon, given the unit’s struggles to close out last season.
The Jags did well to land a first-round-level receiver where they did, as they picked up a nice haul from the Vikings t0 move down from No. 17. The Jags acquired No. 167 this and 2025 third- and fourth-round selections from Minnesota. Those will certainly help as Trent Baalke and Co. prepare to retool the roster around a Lawrence extension, which could be finalized before Week 1.
The first cornerback has come off the board, and to little surprise the Eagles are the team to make the first move at the position. Philadelphia has selected Toledo cover man Quinyon Mitchell 22nd overall.
Mitchell exploded onto the scene in his second full season as a starter. While leading the MAC in interceptions with five, two of which were returned for touchdowns, Mitchell earned first-team All-MAC honors. But he caught the national eye after leading the country in passes defensed with 25, helping him to earn second-team All-American honors. He followed that up with a strong 2023 season, as well, in which he recorded one interception and 19 passes defensed (leading the MAC) and earned the same All-MAC and All-American accolades.
The Eagles desperately needed help at cornerback. With Slay at 33 years old and James Bradberry turning 31 before the start of the 2024 season, Philadelphia was lacking effective youth at the cornerback position. Both players had down years in 2023, as well, with Slay ranking as Pro Football Focus’ 55th-best cornerback in the league and Bradberry ranking 100th. The Eagles may continue to start Slay and Bradberry, considering how much money they’ve sunk into the two, but expect Mitchell to find his way onto the field early and often as a rookie.
Mitchell becomes the first first-round draft pick out of Toledo since Dan Williams in 1993. Mitchell also becomes the Rockets’ second-highest draft pick in NFL history behind Williams, who was drafted 11th overall. He’ll look to join Kareem Hunt and Diontae Johnson as the next pick name out of Toledo in the NFL.
Ely Allen contributed to this post.
Chop Robinson is the latest edge rusher to come off the board on Day 1. The Penn State alum has been selected 21st overall by the Dolphins.
Robinson seemed set to be the next Nittany Lion pass rusher to be selected in the first round. He was connected to a number of teams throughout the past few months, with more than 10 teams hosting him on pre-draft visits. Ultimately, he’ll land in Miami.
The edge rusher put himself on the NFL map following a standout 2022 campaign where he finished with 5.5 sacks and 10 tackles for loss. His numbers weren’t as strong in 2023 (four sacks, 7.5 TFLs), perhaps ending his hope of being the first player selected at his position. Still, Robinson managed to stick in the first round.
Robinson will be joining a talented pass-rushing corps in Miami. The rookie may be hard pressed to see an every-down role playing alongside Jaelan Phillips, Bradley Chubb, and offseason acquisition Shaquil Barrett, but he should still get plenty of run as a situational pass-rusher.
As expected, O-linemen continue to be popular in the first round. Likewise, the Steelers’ top choice is an expected position. Pittsburgh has used the No. 20 pick on Washington offensive lineman Troy Fautanu.
Fautanu spent the past two seasons as a full-time starter at Washington, including a 2023 campaign where he earned first-team All-Pac-12 honors while blocking for Michael Penix Jr.. That performance helped put the lineman in the first-round conversation for the 2024 draft. Fautanu has generally been lauded for his speed and athleticism, and the six-foot-four, 317-pound lineman certainly has the physical attributes to compete as an NFL offensive tackle.
The Washington product was considered a first-round pick for much of the pre-draft process and was mentioned in the same breath as the five rookie linemen selected before him. However, Fautanu’s positional uncertainty may have led to him being the sixth OL off the board.
Some pundits projected the prospect as an interior lineman in the NFL, with some even declaring him the best draft option at that position. However, considering the appeal of OTs, that sentiment may have ended up hurting the player’s draft stock. There was some growing optimism that Fautanu would be able to play tackle in the NFL, and it will be interesting to see how the Steelers proceed with their rookie lineman.
There shouldn’t be much in the way between Fautanu and a starting OT spot in 2024. The team used a 2023 first-round pick on Broderick Jones, but the 2024 first-round pick will otherwise be competing with the likes of Dan Moore Jr. for reps.
The Rams’ first Day 1 selection in the Sean McVay era is in. Los Angeles has chosen Florida State edge rusher Jared Verse at the No. 19 spot. As pass rushers are starting to fly off the board, the Rams get their guy out of Tallahassee. 
Verse began his college career at FCS Albany as a zero-star recruit coming out of high school. He turned zero FBS offers into a transfer opportunity after leading the Great Danes in sacks with 10.5 and transferred to Florida State in 2022. In both years with the Seminoles, Verse led the team in sacks and finished with first-team All-ACC honors. When playing FBS opponents, Verse racked up 18.0 sacks and 29 tackles for loss in two years as a full-time starter.
The Rams lose a lot of sack production with the retirement of Aaron Donald. After defensive tackle Kobie Turner, who had nine sacks for Los Angeles last year, pass rushers Byron Young (8.0), Michael Hoecht (6.0), and linebacker Ernest Jones (4.5) followed for the sack lead. Verse looks to slot in as an immediate stater in LA. As a rookie, look for Verse to line up opposite Young on defense and compete for the sack lead in 2024.
Verse continues a tradition of professional pass rusher production out of Tallahassee. Though not always to stellar results, since 2013, the Seminoles have sent Bjorn Werner (24th overall in 2013), Mario Edwards (35th overall in 2015), DeMarcus Walker (51st overall in 2017), Josh Sweat (130th overall in 2018), Brian Burns (16th overall in 2019), Janarius Robinson (134th overall in 2021), Joshua Kaindoh (144th overall in 2021), and Jermaine Johnson (26th overall in 2022) to the NFL.
Ely Allen contributed to this post.
A run on defensive players has come to an end. The Bengals have become the latest team to select an offensive linemen, drafting Georgia tackle Amarius Mims.
Mims served as a backup to begin his collegiate career, but he was inserted into the lineup late in the 2022 campaign, starting in a College Football Playoff game and the team’s victorious National Championship game. He finally had a chance to start full time in 2023, but after three starts, Mims suffered a high ankle sprain and was forced to undergo tightrope surgery. It would take nine weeks for Mims to finally get back on the field. Following his return, Mims end up exiting his team’s loss in the SEC Championship Game.
Considering Mims’ lack of starting experience and eventual injury concerns, he was one of the bigger question marks heading into tonight’s draft. There aren’t many examples of offensive tackles with so little starting experience being drafted so highly, but that obviously wasn’t enough to stop a team like the Bengals from gambling on his upside.
Listed at 6-foot-7 and 340 pounds, the physical specimen certainly has the physical attributes to succeed in the NFL. The Bengals did bring in Trent Brown this offseason to line up on the opposite side of the line from Orlando Brown, so the Bengals may not need to lean on their first-round rookie right away. However, considering the frequency of NFL injuries, it shouldn’t be long before Mims gets his number called.