What happened in the NFL Draft first round: Full recap, picks by team, grades and trades

There has been a betting odds shift for the No. 2 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. A few minutes ago, Jayden Daniels was listed at -10000 odds to be taken with that pick (per BetMGM). Implied odds indicate that suggests the betting public thinks there is a 99 percent chance of that occurring, but Daniels is now listed at -5000 odds. It’s only a 1 percent drop in implied odds, as -5000 has a 98 percent mark in that category, but it does suggest bettors aren’t quite as such about this pick as they were not long ago.

Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell is on the draft floor … sort of.

The betting public is currently sold on the idea that quarterbacks will go 1-2-3 in the 2024 NFL Draft, as Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, and Drake Maye are each listed at -10000 odds to be taking in those respective draft slots in pre-draft betting at BetMGM.

The board starts to open up with the fourth pick, as Marvin Harrison Jr. is the favorite at -450 odds, but J.J. McCarthy is still a viable option at +450 odds.

The No. 5 pick has five players currently listed with odds of +600 or lower.

• J.C. Latham +200
• J.J. McCarthy +200
• Joe Alt +300
• Malik Nabers +600
• Marvin Harrison Jr. +600

It’s one of the time-honored traditions at the NFL Draft.

A team announces the player it has chosen with its first-round pick. Beaming with pride (and relief), the prospect makes his way to the stage and slips on his new team’s ball cap. He strides to the lectern, greets commissioner Roger Goodell with a bear hug and, together, the two men hold up the draft pick’s crisp, new No. 1 jersey for the cameras and everyone watching in person or on television.

But Thursday night, when the 2024 NFL Draft’s first round begins in Detroit, Goodell will give out fewer handshakes and hugs than in past years. The NFL anticipates 13 prospects attending the draft in person to learn which of the league’s 32 teams will select them. That’s down from 17 in 2023 and 21 in 2022. This year’s total equals that of the 2021 draft, just one year after COVID-19 forced the league to hold the event virtually. Twenty-three players attended the 2019 draft.

USC quarterback Caleb Williams, LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels and North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye lead the group of 13 prospects who will be in Detroit. The other prospects include Alabama cornerback Terrion Arnold, Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., Alabama offensive tackle JC Latham, UCLA pass rusher Laiatu Latu, Toledo cornerback Quinyon Mitchell, LSU wide receivers Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr., Washington wideout Rome Odunze, Missouri pass rusher Darius Robinson and Alabama pass rusher Dallas Turner.

Meanwhile, Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy — an early first-round projection — is among the players who have opted against attending the draft. That will disappoint the many Michigan football fans who will attend the draft in person and would have been eager to see McCarthy, who just won a national championship with the Wolverines.

So what gives? Why are more prospects declining to attend the draft this year?

Five sources, who work in the NFL and NFL Players Association or represent players, cited numerous reasons for prospects declining to attend the draft in person. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they didn’t want to publicly share a prospect’s reasons for not attending.

Location, convenience, a desire to include more family and uncertainty related to their draft projection factored into players’ decisions, according to those five people.

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Chicago is widely expected to draft quarterback Caleb Williams with the first pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. That potential positional upgrade has already had an impact on the Bears' betting futures, as Chicago is currently listed with an over/under of 8.5 wins for the 2024 season, per BetMGM.

This is quite the feat given that the Bears have won 9+ games in a season only once since the 2012 campaign and fallen short of that bar in each of the past four seasons.

Draft picks are opportunities, Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles likes to say.

And the opportunity has never been greater.

“April 25th, very important (day) for the future of the Bears,” chairman George McCaskey said last month.

The Bears have only four picks this weekend, yet it could turn out to be among the greatest drafts in franchise history.

For the first time in 77 years, the Bears have the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft, and they’ll select quarterback Caleb Williams, a superstar in high school and then at Oklahoma and USC. Based on Williams’ awards and evaluations, he’ll be the most decorated and highly touted rookie to ever hear his name called as a Bear, maybe matched only by Dick Butkus and Johnny Lujack.

Williams will be the first Bears draft pick who won the Heisman Trophy since Rashaan Salaam. Of the four previous Heisman winners to be drafted by Chicago, only Lujack had a successful pro career. He’s also the only other Heisman-winning quarterback to be drafted by the Bears.

No one has come to Halas Hall as the consensus top-rated prospect in a draft. No rookie has come to Halas Hall with the fame of Williams — ironically, Justin Fields is probably a close second.

Williams alone creates the buzz felt at the Piccolo Award ceremony and the team’s unveiling of its stadium plans, but April 25 could be significant because of what comes next as the Bears are scheduled to pick again at No. 9.

It would be one thing to come away from Thursday night with Williams, the best player and quarterback in the draft, someone expected to set records as a Bear. The second first-round pick is what provides the extra excitement.

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Reader Larry M. asks: Chiefs fan wondering how many plug-and-play left tackles are in this draft. I only see (Joe) Alt and (Olu) Fashanu.

I would probably agree. Washington’s Troy Fautanu could also handle left tackle duties right away. And I think a few of these offensive tackles will be asked to start right away, depending on the situation. If the Cowboys draft Tyler Guyton, they will need him to see the field early. Ideally, a player like BYU’s Kingsley Suamataia would be allowed to sit and develop, but the situation might push him onto the field earlier.

The fans are filling in. Detroit is ready for the NFL Draft. NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy tweeted there are 150,000 fans on hand.

Alabama edge Dallas Turner — one of the candidates to be the first defensive player selected tonight — arrives at the NFL Draft in Detroit with a colorful ensemble.

Reader Tyson L. asks: Where does the first RB go off the board?

My guess would be Jonathon Brooks to the Dallas Cowboys at No. 56, but we’ve never seen the first running back drafted that late before. So could we see Brooks or Florida State’s Trey Benson go in the top 50? It’s possible.

If the 49ers move Deebo Samuel, they can replace him by trading up to middle of the first round for someone like LSU's Brian Thomas Jr. and bank on Brock Purdy taking the next step and not needing Deebo’s versatility.

But if they move Brandon Aiyuk, they need to get in position for one of the big three wide receivers — Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers and Rome Odunze.

Jayden Daniels, the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner, arrived at the NFL Draft red carpet.

Daniels is expected to be one of the first players off the board tonight — perhaps as high as No. 2 to the Washington Commanders.

The latest mock draft from our Dane Brugler indicates that quarterbacks are likely to be four of the first five picks in the 2024 NFL Draft.

It will be tough for Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, and J.J. McCarthy to compete for QB1 status in fantasy football this year, as last year the minimum bar for that level in a 12-team league was 262.5 points, but even if they fall short of that production pace, this quartet can have a huge impact on fantasy leagues via the QB2 level.

That QB2 tier currently has roughly 6-8 players who are viable stream starters and many fantasy managers use this tier as the second part of a low-cost, late-round dual quarterback draft approach. If these four move that number of strong QB2 candidates to 10-12, a case can be made that fantasy managers in many leagues can wait until after the draft to get a strong backup starter or the second part of a quarterback platoon.

If that happens, it will increase the competition level for other positions late in drafts and make it that much more challenging to build deep fantasy rosters.

Detroit is bringing the energy to tonight's draft. There are reportedly 150,000 fans already on hand, and there's plenty of blue sprinkled throughout the crowd.