If you’re just starting to notice the magic of American football, or you’re a hardcore, the NFL Draft is simply an un-missable event. So arm yourself with some of the major details and key storylines.
Experts in the states are crunching the numbers, grinding the film and mocking the picks. There’s no stopping gridiron nutters this time of year, because football junkies are filled with a combination of optimism and a thirst for information overload.
That’s what happens in the months that back up the Super Bowl; the NFL Draft shifts into focus, as teams attempt to fill some holes through free agency and familiarise themselves with all the best emerging prospects whose college days are behind them.
Our 2024 NFL Draft Preview
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Where is the 2024 NFL Draft?
DETROIT, MICHIGAN
After a season that tortured Lions fans will cherish, with their team rather unsuspectingly going within an inch of a Super Bowl appearance, Detroit’s moment in the limelight continues.
The city hosted an NFL Playoff game for the first time in decades and now the Motor City hosts a Draft.
The venue is the award-winning Campus Martius Park and Hart Plaza
When is the 2024 NFL Draft?
FRIDAY APRIL 26 – SUNDAY APRIL 28 (in Australia)
This is a major three-day event. Round 1 draws huge attention on the first night, the second day features Rounds 2 and 3, and the third rips through the rest – Rounds 4-7.
DAY 1 START TIME: Friday 10:00am AEST
DAY 2 START TIME: Saturday 9:00am AEST
DAY 3 START TIME: Sunday 2:00am AEST
How to watch the NFL Draft in Australia
It’s an ESPN broadcast in Australia and New Zealand. That means it’ll be available on Foxtel and Kayo.
For those that also have DAZN and the NFL Network add-on, you’ve got choice. The league’s official channel runs its own broadcast of the event, too, so you can pick one.
What is the NFL Draft?
One of the largest events in American sport, the NFL Draft is a franchise and even league-altering process that pairs the brightest football prospects with professional football teams.
While there are other pathways in the NBA, all the best footballing talent comes straight out of America’s NCAA Football – college – system.
While AFL fans are also familiar with the Draft process, the key difference between the NFL and Aussie Rules equivalent is that in the states, these guys are rarely teenagers; they’re older, more mature prospects with more information and data points available for deciphering.
One pick at a time, NFL franchises decide which prospect they want the rights to, within the allotted time limit.
The order of the NFL Draft is decided by teams’ win-loss records the previous season. It does bring ‘tanking’ into the conversation at times, but it’s a process which theoretically, over time, balances out the wealth and competitiveness; it aims to ensure cyclical success throughout the league.
Every NFL team is given one natural selection in each round of every NFL Draft. But of course, these picks become assets – the higher the pick, the more valuable it is – so many of them become commodities that are traded to rival organisations, in return for players, cap space, other picks and more.
The inception of the NFL Draft was all the way back in 1936.
Round 1 NFL Draft order
The first night of the NFL Draft always generates the most attention and excitement, of course, with the elite of the elite up for grabs. The top picks in the Draft each year are spent on either the most promising talents at premium positions or quarterbacks that teams will hope become the face and future of the organisation.
This year, the top three teams – the Bears, Commanders and Patriots – all look set to target franchise-altering quarterbacks with the first three picks, depending on whether it lines up with an option they like. Several QBs look set to go in the first round this year, potentially.
The top 10 will also see up to three stud wide receivers get taken, as offence continues to be prioritised in modern NFL. There are also some very talented pass rushers and offensive linemen in the mix.
You can be sure there will be trades between now and the conclusion of Round 1, but this is how it currently sits.
Here’s how the 2023 NFL Draft order currently looks:
- Chicago Bears (from Carolina)
- Washington Commanders
- New England Patriots
- Arizona Cardinals
- Los Angeles Chargers
- New York Giants
- Tennessee Titans
- Atlanta Falcons
- Chicago Bears
- New York Jets
- Minnesota Vikings
- Denver Broncos
- Las Vegas Raiders
- New Orleans Saints
- Indianapolis Colts
- Seattle Seahawks
- Jacksonville Jaguars
- Cincinnati Bengals
- LA Rams
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- Miami Dolphins
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Minnesota Vikings (from Cleveland, via Houston)
- Dallas Cowboys
- Green Bay Packers
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Arizona Cardinals (from Houston)
- Buffalo Bills
- Detroit Lions
- Baltimore Ravens
- San Francisco 49ers
- Kansas City Chiefs
Key 2024 NFL Draft storylines
Chicago clears the way to start again at QB
The Bears had a big off-season decision, possessing pick 1 but also talent at the quarterback position.
They’ve decided to get younger and cheaper at the position, restarting the clock on their search for a longer term solution at QB.
Chicago made the call to trade duel-threat playmaker Justin Fields, who showed flashes of brilliance across his three years. He moves to Pittsburgh.
It was a dilemma for the storied franchise, taking advantage of a unique situation, possessing Carolina’s 2024 first-rounder, which ended up being the first selection in the upcoming Draft.
All the momentum is USC prospect Caleb Williams as the choice.
Will Washington follow suit?
They might not get their first choice, stuck in the second position of the Draft, but the Commanders are primed to launch its fresh era, under new ownership, with a brand new signal-caller that, with it, will bring renewed hope among a fan base that’s grown old of mediocrity.
It’s been a long time since Washington had a no-doubt quarterback.
A new Patriots era kicks off
The Bill Bellichick era finally ended this year. Owner Robert Kraft is the last remaining member of the big three that’s still in position, given Tom Brady’s departure a few seasons ago.
Jerod Mayo is the newly appointed head coach, keeping the search internal. But paradoxically, the franchise opting to clear out a lot of the building’s familiar faces and coaches, searching externally for Mayo’s support.
And it’s time for New England to go back to the Draft and find a quarterback to pair with its brand new head coach.
Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels are the options expected to go two and three… in some order.
Of course, there is a possibility the Patriots don’t like those options and kickstart the run on wide receivers; there are three that may fall inside the top 10 picks.
How high’s Marvin Harrison Jr. go?
He’s considered one of the best receiver prospects to come out of college, an Ohio State graduate.
Could we see MHJ go as high as three, to the Pats, or land in Arizona’s lap, potentially?
Will LA find Justin Herbert a new weapon?
The Jim Harbough era begins in Los Angeles and Herbert has been messed around by incompetence a little too much, for fans of the playmaking genius’ liking.
Harrison Jr. might not slip to fifth overall, which means new GM Joe Hortiz will be weighing up other options Rome Odunze, Malik Nabers or even Tight End marvel Brock Bowers.
How many trades on Night 1?
This is going to be a fun one to track.
With so much at stake for QB-needy teams, everyone’s anticipating at least one team to come up into the top five and grab their guy — there’s buzz with Michigan signal-caller J.J. McCarthy and teams like Minnesota, Denver and even the Giants higher up in the order.
Beyond the QB search, there are always talent-rich prospects that slip further than expected, which could trigger teams to try and move up in the late-teens and early 20’s.
Green Bay, at 25, are a watch; the Packers are known to move around the board, have a few positional needs and plenty of day two ammunition. It’s quite likely they don’t end up picking at 25, it’s just a question of whether GM Brian Gutekunst ends up opting to go up or move back. Strap in.
