Biggest winners from the 2024 NFL Draft

With the 2024 NFL Draft wrapped up, it's time to outline the biggest winners from the weekend, whether teams as a whole, college programs, veteran NFL players, or otherwise.

This is part of a series that includes four articles, across which I also break down the biggest losers coming out of the draft, the biggest steals, and reaches.

All of these evaluations come with a certain level of subjectivity and it’ll be another three years before we can make any definitive statements on these classes, but this right now is about judging how teams used their resources and how individual players or franchises were helped out.

That said, let’s dive into the list.

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Biggest winners from the 2024 NFL Draft

Winners:

Pittsburgh Steelers

We have back-to-back appearances by the Steelers and I thought this year they knocked it out of the park even more so this year. And we saw their draft reflect very well how one term has dictated their entire offseason – patience. It showed in the way they spent a sixth-rounder (who could bump up a couple of rounds based on playing time) for a QB room of Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, who cost them 4.5 million dollars this year.

They signed a couple of starters at key spots in linebacker Patrick Queen and safety DeShon Elliott under expected value and while the late-round pick-swap paired with the Diontae Johnson-for-Donte Jackson trade isn’t a net plus, it feels like they had a player there who didn’t fit in with the culture anymore.

As for this draft class, of their first five picks (20, 51, 84, 98 and 119), all of the players they selected were (in some cases significantly) higher on my big board compared to where they got them. Washington’s Troy Fautanu became OT6 selected as someone with elite movement skills, projecting well as someone who can offer positional versatility, even if the raw strength isn’t quite up there with the guys ahead of him.

Then they came back in the second round and got what arguably was the best pure center in the class, if not for breaking his leg at the end of the college season, in West Virginia’s Zach Frazier, who is a perfect fit for new OC Arthur Smith implementing his outside zone-based run scheme.

Michigan’s Roman Wilson at one point was projected to be a potential surprise pick at the end of the first round with how he was routing everybody up during Senior Bowl week, coming from an environment that didn’t lend itself to major production, but he was the guy the Wolverines relied upon when they needed to move the chains (38 of his 48 receptions last season resulted in either a first down or touchdown). I had a late first-round grade purely based on the tape of N.C. State linebacker Payton Wilson, who brings premiere speed, play-making skills and effort, but saw his career marked by injuries until becoming the ACC Defensive Player of the Year in 2023.

And while they already had a couple of veteran guards under contract for this year still, South Dakota State’s Mason McCormick was an absolute ass-kicker in the run game for the FCS champion Jackrabbits, then had basically a flawless week of Shrine Bowl practices, especially in one-on-one pass-pro drills, and ultimately finished with a top-ten relative athletic score (9.97) for guards.

Iowa interior D-lineman Logan Lee (178th overall) and Ryan Watts (195th overall) also both feel very much like Steelers players in reserve roles. So not only did they probably find a starting receiver and linebacker as rookies, I mentioned this on social media, who a little more than a calendar year ago, Pittsburgh probably had a bottom-three offensive line and now they’ve literally improved all six spots, if including their primary backup.

NFL: Las Vegas Raiders at Indianapolis Colts

Aidan O’Connell & Gardner Minshew

I’ll get to the validity of the six quarterbacks who were ultimately selected in the top 12, but coming into last Thursday night, if you replace the Giants with the surprising Falcons, there were seven teams in the market for a young signal-caller in that range plus the Raiders at pick 13. As it turned out, they were the ones to miss out on the group.

I thought there was a good chance they might trade up, if the Commanders preferred North Carolina’s Drake Maye compared to LSU’s Jayden Daniels, since new head coach Antonio Pierce has the connection with the reigning Heisman Trophy winner from the days of being involved in his recruitment at Arizona State.

As it turned out, Las Vegas didn’t end up moving, despite reports on them trying to trade up as high as second overall, and with the record-setting six names selected until the Silver and Black were on the clock, they instead got the final one of the four premier pass-catchers in Georgia tight-end/all-purpose weapon Brock Bowers.

However, it didn’t stop there. The Raiders actively passed on possible options with all of their final seven picks (one in each round, other than two in the seventh). In fact, there was a 138-pick gap between QB6 and QB7 – which I’ll get to more later on – and I think all five of the remaining guys drafted (even if Tennessee’s Joe Milton III is objectively pretty raw) had starter traits, at least in relation to Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew, who along with Anthony Brown – an undrafted free agent from two years ago – and Carter Bradley (South Carolina) as their own UDFA pickup following Saturday, make up that quarterback room.

Instead, along with Bowers 13th overall, they brought in my personal top-ranked center Jackson Powers-Johnson from Oregon (44th overall), a long and athletic tackle/guard developmental prospect in Maryland’s Delmar Glaze (77th overall) and later on what might be the best pass-catching back in this draft in New Hampshire’s Dylan Laube (206th overall).

So not only did Vegas miss out on the top of the class of signal-callers, but they didn’t even take a shot on anybody else outside of what I look at as a potential QB3 as a UDFA and then they spent their picks in the first three rounds on another offensive weapon and addressed the O-line, along with upgrading their third-down back with Laube, in my opinion.

I thought O’Connell showed some real signs last season, even though he may be somewhat limited, and Minshew did nearly lead the Colts to a playoff berth, even if the tape showed obvious flaws. So for the Raiders to come out of this draft with no real competition to those guys has to be counted as a massive W for them – although I think they were a perfect candidate to take at least a day-three swing on someone.

The University of Michigan

Two years ago, I talked about Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs, when they set a new record for most players selected off one team in a year with 15. After them, there are two college programs with 14 each (2004 Ohio State and 2020 LSU), before the Wolverines come in at 13 total names. As you look at that list, the big difference between them and the other groups in that range is that they’re the only one of 14 teams with 11+ guys drafted, who didn’t have multiple first-round picks.

That speaks to the kind of infrastructure they’ve built, where they don’t rely on individual star players, have guys coming back for their senior years to compete for a championship and still set themselves up for a future in the pros.

Quarterback J.J. McCarthy went 10th overall to the Vikings, which was slightly lower than betting services had it, but like two rounds higher than where many people considered him when Michigan won the National Championship in early January. So that speaks to the fact their style of play offensively, which makes the quarterback more of a complementary piece, doesn’t necessarily hurt more potential high recruits at that position, while not as much is put on their plate.

They quickly turned Mike Sainristil from a wide receiver into arguably the top pure nickelback in the class and the 50th overall selection (Commanders), interior D-lineman Kris Jenkins Jr. went a pick earlier (Bengals) despite limited production in more of a read-and-react style of front, Jim Harbaugh himself (Chargers) grabbed Junior Colson as LB2 off the board, A.J. Barner was a fourth-round pick as somewhat of a one-dimensional player because they turned himself into the top blocking tight-end in the class and even guard Zak Zinter was a third-rounder despite breaking his tibia and fibula.

The two guys that went a little later than I might’ve expected were running back Blake Corum (83rd overall), who was recovering from a torn ACL but will be sharing the Rams backfield with who many comped him to in Kyren Williams, and Roman Wilson (84th overall), who landed in the pre-eminent spot for mid-round wide receiver production in Pittsburgh.

The only prospects I had draftable grades on who didn’t get selected were center Drake Nugent and edge defender Braiden McGregor. And even with those two, you see a path why they wouldn’t hear their names called, due to size and injury concerns respectively. So the Wolverines check the three key factors for high school recruits – a top-ten university in terms of education according to Time Magazine, a proven winner (40-3 record over the past three seasons combined), and now also an NFL machinery, under the leadership of former offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore taking over for Jim.

Green Bay Packers

Looking through some draft grades out there, just for fun, I couldn’t that they were middle of the road at best when I think you can make a strong case that the only class you should put above theirs is the already-discussed Steelers. Simply from a process perspective, they came into Thursday with one pick in the first round, two in the second, two in the third, one in the fourth and fifth each, plus two in the sixth and seventh each.

Ultimately, they moved back four spots in the second round (from 41 to 45) and in return – through multiple other trades – they moved up 11 spots in the fourth round and 56 spots from the sixth to the fifth round (from 219 to 163). Based on that alone, the accrued value, before we even get to the names they used that capital on.

Now, the first round is where some people may have arguably reached on Arizona’s Jordan Morgan, who is argued to be moving inside to guard because his arms came in an eighth of an inch short of the general 33-benchmark, but he has some of the best mirror skills and ability to block on the move in this entire class, was a first-team all-conference performer in the loaded Pac-12 in a season coming off a torn ACL and was 31st on my big board, compared pick 25, where they ended up selecting him, as the seventh of nine offensive taken in the first round.

In the second, they addressed their two biggest defensive needs, with Texas A&M’s Edgerrin Cooper (45th overall), as an uber-athletic, long linebacker to pair up with a former first-rounder in Quay Walker, and a teammate of the second-year breakout from Georgia in Javon Bullard (58th overall), who has plenty of quality experience as a nickel and deep safety, as a potential upgrade over Darnell Savage, who left in free agency.

In the third round, they selected what I believe is the most talented all-around running back in Marshawn Lloyd (88th overall), in terms of short-area explosiveness, start-stop ability, and power, if he can fix his ball-security issues, and what I consider their only questionable selection in Missouri linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper, who brings a lot of speed and violence to the table, but still needs to learn how to read blocking schemes and clean up his massive missed tackle rate.

Day three is where they really won over, however. They got a couple of my personal favorites at the safety position in Oregon’s Evan Williams (111th overall) and Oregon State’s Kitan Oladapo (169th), who I had 11th and fourth(!) in my rankings at the position. They played in fairly similar systems and it might give us some insight into what new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley has planned, as they’re both excellent in two-high structures, where they can read and drive on what’s in front of them, but can also drop down into the slot against bigger bodies.

Duke’s Jacob Monk (163rd overall) I got to late in the process, but really liked his physicality and experience at both guard and center. Georgia State tackle Travis Glover (202nd overall) is a lot rawer, but has some developmental qualities. And then their two seventh-rounders are definitely worth taking shots on – I’ll go into more detail about Tulane QB Michael Pratt in the “steals” segment and Penn State corner Kalen King was still projected to be a potential first-rounder a year ago, before plummeting since then.

NFL: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Carolina Panthers

Bryce Young

While I already discussed Raiders quarterbacks Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew as big winners, based on strengthened job security and opportunity to start for their team, that was never a discussion with last year’s first overall pick Bryce Young.

However, even though Panthers owner David Tepper had another infamous moment hours before the draft actually started and I have questions about the class they acquired overall, in terms of helping their guy under center, I’d argue nobody has had a better offseason than Bryce. Before we even got to the actual draft, they hired former Bucs offensive coordinator Dave Canales as their new head coach, after helping resurrect the career of another former number-one pick Baker Mayfield.

In free agency, they spent an average of 33.25 million dollars on a new guard tandem with Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis, to slow down the interior pass rush that was seemingly omnipresent this past season, and then they traded cornerback Donte Jackson for former Steeler Diontae Johnson (combine with a late-round pick swap), who has been a low-end WR1 when healthy.

Heading into Thursday night, the Panthers weren’t even slated to pick due to trading up for Young a year ago, but they moved up one spot – which once again can be questioned in terms of their process behind it – to get South Carolina’s Xavier Legette with the final selection of round one. At 6’1”, 220 pounds, he can own the catch-point thanks to his physicality paired with 32-inch arms and a 40-inch vertical. Yet, he also becomes a locomotive with the ball in his hands capable of dragging defensive backs along, if he doesn’t just turn on the jets with that 4.39 speed.

You don’t love the late breakout profile and he still needs some refinement as a route-runner, but understanding his background and why it took him a little longer, you at least like to bet on that skill set.

Once again, I’m not sure if I love the idea of trading up for a running back in the second round, at least not ten spots ahead of the Cowboys as the one team where their owner was also yapping too much that they were “high, high, high” on Texas’ Jonathon Brooks (46th overall), but aside from the torn ACL he suffered in November, he was the top RB on many teams’ boards.

He brings that gliding running style with excellent balance that should make him a better pure rusher than any of the guys they already had on the roster, plus then you really like his receiving profile, having caught 25 passes for nearly 300 yards in 11 games last season. And then, with the first pick of day three, they selected another former Longhorn in tight-end/H-back Ja’Tavion Sanders.

Similarly to teammate Adonai Mitchell falling, some unnamed character concerns led to him being available at least a full round later where he was projected to go, because he was my 42nd overall prospect purely based on tape and will once again be discussed more extensively in the “steals” segment, as someone who can threaten the seams and be a run-after-catch specialist.

So now all of a sudden, Adam Thielen in year 34 season won’t be the number one option but potentially down at fourth. Canales will bring more creativity compared to the elementary passing concepts they relied upon during Bryce’s rookie campaign, they now have guys that can stretch the field horizontally as well as vertically, and their QB can actually stand in the pocket and see over the line instead of having the integrity of the pocket disrupted constantly.

Other drafts I liked:

New York Giants