NFL Draft 2024: The Good, Bad, and Ugly

Read Time:2 Minute, 12 Second

DETROIT – There were a few eye-opening selections in the 2024 NFL draft. Without a doubt, the first round featured several picks that made NFL fans react.

The Good:

Cincinnati Bengals – Round One – Pick 18- Amarius Mims– Offensive Tackle – Georgia – This pick was the top selection for any team in the first round. Although teams get grades for the fancy playmaker selections, it’s important to give credit where it’s due and Cincinnati gets it. Although the Bengals drafted numerous offensive linemen in the past few years, they weren’t immediate impact players. Quarterback Joe Burrow is already looking at a very short career and looks like the next Andrew Luck. It’s as I the Bengals should’ve showed the entire league a “Help Wanted” or “We’re Hiring offensive lineman” sign. All jokes aside, drafting Mims was the “Home Run” pick the Bengals needed. It’ll be interesting to see if Mims will start right away opposite of Pro Bowl Offensive Tackle Orlando Brown. A line with Brown and Mims is exactly what Cincinnati needed to have. It’s time to save Burrow from another season-ending injury that could, at this point, threaten to quickly end his career.

The Bad-Round four-Chicago Bears- Pick 122-

The Ugly: Tory Taylor – Punter- Iowa-

It’s difficult to understand this pick. Why in the world does a team take a punter in the fourth round? This team could’ve waited until the seventh round. What do the Bears know that everyone else doesn’t know? This almost qualifies as “the ugly” but Atlanta won that “honor” in the first round.

This just has highly questionable written all over it. Some teams just want to set up the special teams squad right away but that’s not the method of conventional wisdom. The Bears have a lot of explaining to do here. Bears fans can question the pick of Caleb Williams number one overall all they want to but no pick compares to this fourth-round selection for the Bears.

Atlanta Falcons – Round One- Pick 8- Michael Penix -Washington – This one deserved a grade of F for sure. No force on Heaven or Earth could make an NFL fan understand this selection. Atlanta already has their Quarterback for the next four years in Kirk Cousins. The team also drafted Desmond Ridder out of Cincinnati two years ago and gave up on him. Ridder is on the Arizona Cardinals after just two years with the Falcons. Penix will surely be a solid quarterback but he should be a different team. To say this is unfair is a monumental understatement. The Falcons should’ve drafted a defensive player with pick number eight.