Five teams that botched the 2024 NFL Draft

Atlanta Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot.

By in large, the NFL Draft is a crap shoot. For every player selected who develops into a star, dozens of sure things will turn into busts and even more will never touch an NFL field.

Considering those circumstances, it might sound harsh to judge a team’s draft mere hours after its conclusion. However, sometimes, it’s too hard to overlook how badly some drop the ball.

With that in mind, here are five teams that botched the 2024 NFL Draft.

Atlanta Falcons: You knew this was coming. Perhaps the most talked-about pick in the 2024 draft came from the Falcons on Day 1 when they selected Washington QB Michael Penix Jr., No. 8 overall, despite recently agreeing to a four-year, $140 million deal with veteran Kirk Cousins. To make matters worse, general manager Terry Fontenot said the ex-Huskie might not start for “three or four years,” a potential scenario he seemed fine with playing out. Kudos to the GM for getting a guy he believes in, but if you have to take that player in the top 10 before admitting he’ll be a backup for the foreseeable future, perhaps it wasn’t the right path to take.

Buffalo Bills: Unsurprisingly, the Bills gave QB Josh Allen a much-needed weapon at wideout early in the 2024 draft, taking FSU’s Keon Coleman in the second round (No. 33). However, they passed on more proven options, like Adonai Mitchell and the fastest player in NFL Combine history, Xavier Worthy, who they allowed the Kansas City Chiefs to take after trading down from No. 28. Regardless, Coleman, who ran the second-slowed 40-yard dash time in Indianapolis, will likely be the No. 1 option in Buffalo immediately. On Sunday, general manager Brandon Beane said, “There’s no trade coming,” for one of several established pass-catchers potentially available on the market.

For a team hoping to compete atop the AFC, you’d think they’d like to add as much top-end talent in the draft as possible, but that’s not what the Bills did. Instead, after curiously overlooking the top-end talent of a weak draft class, their roster isn’t a ton better than it was at the start of the week.

Carolina Panthers: Needing weapons for young QB Bryce Young, the Panthers used their first two picks in the draft on offensive players. However, they may have reached on both selections.

First, Carolina traded back in the first round to choose late-bloomer, wideout Xavier Legette (No. 32), who really only produced as a redshirt senior at South Carolina after playing primarily on special teams during his first four seasons with the Gamecocks. Then, they traded up in the second round to take the first running back off the board, Texas’ Jonathon Brooks (No. 46). The ex-Longhorn might fill a need, but he doesn’t play a premium position and is coming off an ACL tear suffered in 2023. Not exactly the best value for a team coming off a 2-14 season.

Denver Broncos: In dire need of their quarterback of the future, the Broncos, watching all the top signal-callers come off the board, seemingly reached for Bo Nix at No. 12. While he ended up being the sixth QB off the board, as many predicted, it’s easy to argue that Denver could’ve picked him much later, with the next player at the position, South Carolina’s Spencer Rattler, not coming off the board until the fifth round.

Having the conviction to grab the player you want is admirable, but in the Broncos’ case, taking Nix seems like overthinking things at best and a horrible mistake at worst. A trade-down to gain assets while still nabbing their QB would’ve been the way to go, especially since Denver had only two selections among the first 100 picks.

San Francisco 49ers: Not picking until No. 31 in the first round, the 49ers didn’t have a ton to work with. However, they made several curious decisions early in the draft.

With their first-rounder, they chose wideout Ricky Pearsall out of Florida. While Pearsall might become a strong pro, many had him pegged as a second-round pick at best and ranked outside the top 10 at his position. But San Francisco made him the sixth receiver taken off the board. Then, in the second round, they traded back to grab cornerback Renardo Green, whom some pundits rated as a third or fourth-round pick. Furthermore, they waited until the third round to address the team’s top position of need, offensive line, passing on several options before selecting Dominick Puni at No. 86.

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