Caleb Harris
The 2024 NFL Draft it becomes an exercise in groupthink when draft day finally arrives. The month between free agency and the draft leads many to fixate on likely scenarios while blocking other possibilities. This year didn’t produce a huge number of surprising results, but there were a few in the Top-50 that could have been foreshadowed.
Here are some of those surprising selections and why we should have seen them coming:
It’s a stretch to say anyone should have seen Atlanta drafting a quarterback No. 8 overall months after signing Kirk Cousins to a lucrative free agent contract. On the surface, the organization’s reasoning for the move makes sense: They believe in this year’s Cousins-led team and don’t believe they will be in a position to draft another high-draft quarterback for many years. Strike while the iron is hot.
The problem is that it sends the wrong message to the current lineup. If the team is committed to maximizing the current window, then why not use the first-round selection on a player capable of helping achieve the ultimate goal this season? This creates an uncomfortable situation in that locker room.
TE Brock Bowers, Georgia: Raiders (Round 1, No. 13 overall)
Las Vegas is not expected to be a major factor in the AFC Playoff picture next season. In that sense, it makes sense for the organization to think ahead and select the best player available, which in this case was Bowers. Bowers is not a traditional tight end. He can be split and used in formations with last year’s second-round pick, Michael Mayer.
Where the choice gets a little confusing is fitting the club’s interest in preparing for the future while keeping aging veterans like wide receiver Davante Adams and signing defensive tackle Christian Wilkins. Unless they haven’t been able to find common ground with opposing teams in Adams trade negotiations, it doesn’t make sense to carry the 31-year-old into the season if he’s looking for draft capital that could help the organization down the road.
WR Ricky Pearsall, Florida: 49ers (Round 1, No. 31 overall)
Pearsall might as well have his picture on a milk carton because he was absent from every first-round mock draft. San Francisco was toying with the idea of moving Brandon Aiyuk or Deebo Samuel, so Pearsall was a lock in the event of a deal. This is why Pearsall may have been favored over South Carolina’s Xavier Legette, Florida State’s Keon Coleman, Georgia’s Ladd McConkey and more: size and experience.
At 6-foot-2, 192 pounds and having played more than 2,000 offensive snaps, Pearsall is physically and mentally ready to compete this year and that’s important for a franchise that has aspirations of climbing the mountain and fighting for a title. Super Bowl still again. Pearsall arrived at Arizona State as a freshman in 2019. Aiyuk was a senior for the Sun Devils that season.
Kansas City not only beat Worthy in the first round, but also traded four spots with its conference rival to ensure that happened. After trading Tyreek Hill to the Dolphins, the Chiefs trusted quarterback Patrick Mahomes to hide all of the position’s flaws. He did, but that doesn’t mean the franchise had to endure another season in which Kansas City had the third-most turnovers (34), according to TruMedia. They set the course to replace Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Mecole Hardman with even more speed. Hollywood Brown signed in free agency and then they drafted the NFL The fastest man ever at the Combine, Worthy. While the Chiefs won’t win any basketball games due to their lack of height, they will use that speed to get under defenders so Travis Kelce can operate more effectively.
Why would Washington, which employs defensive tackles Jon Allen and DaRon Payne, select a defensive tackle in the second round? First of all, Newton may very well have been the best prospect available at that time, but a case could have been made for adding a cornerback as well.
To understand why the team might have made this decision, you would have to go back to the previous year’s trade deadline, when edge rushers Montez Sweat and Chase Young were traded. It was a moment of self-awareness when they essentially recognized that they were not a competitor in the short term and were therefore preparing for the future. Selecting Newton allows them to be flexible at this year’s trade deadline. If a competitor identifies Allen or Payne as the missing piece in their bid and wants to overpay, then they will have a replacement ready.
