Chiefs, Eagles Lead 2024 NFL Draft Winners
When the Chiefs won a second consecutive Super Bowl in February, praise was heaped on quarterback Patrick Mahomes and coach Andy Reid, a dynamic duo obviously deserving of the hype. At this time of year, it’s important to remember Kansas City’s organizational success also has much to do with the personnel puppeteer pulling the strings from the top. Chiefs general manager Brett Veach is as good as it gets in terms of scouting for talent and working the NFL Draft. Despite no high picks in last week’s draft, Veach played his cards right and plucked a class that will propel Kansas City’s quest to become the first team to three-peat in the Super Bowl era.
Veach lobbied hard for the Chiefs to pick Mahomes in the 2017 NFL Draft, when Kansas City took the Texas Tech quarterback 10th overall after moving up in a trade with Buffalo, a deal the Bills will forever regret. Reid developed Mahomes, but it was Veach who discovered him.
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Mahomes overcame a weak group of wide receivers to win a title last season, but that position is much stronger now due to Veach’s two major plays in the offseason. First, he signed Marquise “Hollywood” Brown as a No. 1 receiver candidate in March. Finally, near the end of Thursday’s first round, Veach traded with the Bills (again) and moved up four spots to 28th to snag Texas’ Xavier Worthy, a 5-foot-11 speedster who can help fill a Tyreek Hill-type role in the KC offense. Worthy, who ran a 4.21 40 at the scouting combine, and Brown will add explosive plays to an offense that lacked in that area a year ago.
Veach appears to have hit on all four of his picks in the first four rounds. The Chiefs selected Kingsley Suamataia, a 6-5, 325-pound offensive tackle from BYU in the second round. In the fourth, Veach picked TCU tight end Jared Wiley and Washington State safety Jaden Hicks. Worthy, Suamataia, Wiley and Hicks all can play key roles for the Super Bowl champs in their rookie year. Mahomes publicly expressed his appreciation for Veach following the Worthy and Suamataia picks.
Kansas City has won eight straight AFC West titles. The Chargers are grinding to close the gap, but Veach’s smart personnel moves will keep the Chiefs a step ahead of the competition. The NFL’s top team is even stronger after an impressive offseason.
Assigning letter grades to draft classes is a media gimmick that has no useful purpose. As a handicapper, I follow all seven rounds of the NFL Draft and assess which general managers and coaches have their act together and which teams added significant impact players for 2024.
With a hat tip to Steve McQueen and The Magnificent Seven, the Chiefs and six other teams earned my highest rankings from this draft.
Philadelphia Eagles
Each year at this time, media cheerleaders like to chant about Eagles general manager Howie Roseman being a genius who aces the draft. Roseman is really good, but he’s far from perfect. In the 2020 NFL Draft, Roseman used the 21st overall pick on TCU receiver Jalen Reagor (bust) and allowed the Vikings to take LSU receiver Justin Jefferson (superstar) with the next pick. Roseman has more hits than misses, and this class should be a big hit.
Philadelphia fell apart late last season, partly because quarterback Jalen Hurts (a second-round hit in 2020) regressed and also because the defensive secondary was a mess. Roseman addressed the defensive problem by drafting Toledo cornerback Quinyon Mitchell in the first round and Iowa corner Cooper DeJean in the second.
Roseman, who tied the league record for most trades in a seven-round draft with eight deals, made some sharp middle-round picks by getting Clemson running back Will Shipley, Clemson linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr., Texas A&M wideout Ainias Smith, 6-6 wideout Johnny Wilson from Florida State and offensive guard Trevor Keegan from Michigan.
Best Bet: I resist knee-jerk reactions in terms of futures bets this early in the offseason, but I’ll recommend the Eagles at +135 to win the NFC East. DraftKings lists Dallas as the +125 division favorite, but the Cowboys’ draft was underwhelming and the wrong team is favored.
Detroit Lions
The draft was staged in Detroit, where the fans finally have reasons to be optimistic. After a second-half meltdown in San Francisco denied the Lions a Super Bowl trip, it was obvious the team’s biggest need was an improved pass defense. The Lions have made the right moves in the offseason and picked two outstanding cornerbacks in the draft — Alabama’s Terrion Arnold in the first round and Missouri’s Ennis Rakestraw Jr. in the second.
The Lions remain the favorites (+150) in the NFC North, and they are probably in a two-horse race with the Packers (+210). The Bears are getting better, and the Vikings are not bad. All four teams in the division did well in the draft.
Los Angeles Rams
A year ago, the Rams came away with the NFL Draft’s biggest steal in fifth-round wideout Puka Nacua from BYU. Nacua finished with 105 receptions and was second-team All-Pro as a rookie. The Rams fortified their defensive line at the top of this draft by taking Florida State’s Jared Verse and Braden Fiske in the first two rounds. The team’s 10-player class included Michigan running back Blake Corum as a third-round pick. The Rams are in position to put some heat on the 49ers at the top of the NFC West.
Los Angeles Chargers
Jim Harbaugh took over a 5-12 team with salary-cap problems, so a lot of work needed to be done. The Chargers’ new coach did not rebuild the Michigan program overnight, but he’s going to win in LA sooner than some skeptics might expect. The jump from former coach Brandon Staley, who was clueless most of the time, to Harbaugh is massive. This organization is no longer a clown show. Harbaugh’s first draft with the Chargers was among the league’s best and shows this is a new-look organization that should be taken seriously.
Harbaugh resisted trading down, stayed put at No. 5 and took the best offensive lineman available — 6-9, 320-pound Joe Alt from Notre Dame. Alt and Rashawn Slater, a first-round pick in 2021, will form one of the top tackle tandems in the NFL. The offensive line is where it starts, but critics cried that quarterback Justin Herbert needed weapons. Harbaugh grabbed Georgia wideout Ladd McConkey in the second round and in the late rounds got USC wideout Brenden Rice, Michigan wideout Cornelius Johnson and Troy running back Kimani Vidal. The Chargers also picked four defensive players in the middle rounds, including Michigan linebacker Junior Colson, who should start immediately.
The DraftKings odds board for the AFC West says a lot. It’s no surprise the Chiefs are odds-on favorites (-225). Some might be surprised to see the Chargers as the second choice (+300) by a wide margin. Neither the Raiders (12-1) nor the Broncos (15-1) have an established quarterback, so the odds make sense. Harbaugh is already making a difference.
New York Jets
If Aaron Rodgers stays healthy this season, the Jets can contend in the AFC East. New York went 7-10 last season despite poor quarterback play. Instead of giving into fan and media pressure to draft a tight end or wideout in the first round, Jets general manager Joe Douglas did the smart thing and took Olu Fashanu, a 6-6, 310-pound offensive tackle from Penn State. All seven of the Jets’ picks were solid, including Western Kentucky wideout Malachi Corley (third round), Wisconsin running back Braelon Allen (fourth) and Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis, who could develop into a fifth-round bargain down the road.
Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore almost always drafts wisely, and coach John Harbaugh came out of this draft with two needed starters — Clemson corner Nate Wiggins in the first round and Washington offensive tackle Roger Rosengarten in the second. A solid nine-player class will help the Ravens (+115 favorites) stay ahead of the Bengals, Browns and Steelers in the AFC North.
Of all the teams I have detailed in this column, Baltimore would be seventh in my draft-class rankings. Washington almost made the list, with the Commanders getting my favorite quarterback, Jayden Daniels from LSU, at No. 2 overall. Daniels displays flashes of Lamar Jackson in his play, though Daniels is much more natural as a passer. Of course, Jackson was the final pick of the first round in 2018 and is a two-time MVP. The Ravens just need Jackson to show up in the playoffs.
