With a draft class that many fans consider a loaded draft class, five teams would decide to draft a quarterback before Colorado star quarterback Sheduer Sanders. Sanders allegedly had a historically bad pre-draft interview, which many people believe is the reason why Sanders slid to the fifth round.
With a pre-draft interview being seen as all-time bad and opting out of the combine, the son of NFL legend Deion Sanders was the 144 pick of the NFL draft and the sixth quarterback taken.
As a result of sliding to the fifth round, Sanders loses out on $40 million.
Cleveland, despite having the second overall pick, opted to trade away their pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Jacksonville inevitably drafted Heisman winner wide receiver and cornerback Travis Hunter.
Jacksonville was in love with the idea of a prospect having the ability to be an elite wide receiver and cornerback.
Jacksonville saw trading up to select Hunter as a no-brainer, and hopes this can be the beginning of a culture shift in Jacksonville.
The New York Giants were one of the talking points of the first round of the draft, as they selected Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter with the third overall pick.
The Giants were not done, however, as they traded up in the first round with the Houston Texans and selected Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart with the 25th overall pick.
Dart, who spent three of his four college seasons at Ole Miss, was seen as a second-round pick by many people.
The Philadelphia Eagles, yet again, made headlines this year, by trading up one spot with the team they beat in the Super Bowl, the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Eagles would select Alabama linebacker/edge rusher Jihaad Campbell.
Campbell was considered by many, one of the top lineback options in this year’s draft. However, with a nagging shoulder injury, Campbell would fall right into the laps of the reigning Super Bowl champions.
The Atlanta Falcons made a bold yet questionable decision, sending a 2026 first-round pick, and a 2025 second and fifth-round pick to the Los Angeles Rams.
Atlanta would select edge rusher James Pearce Jr.
Pearce had many teams scared to select him due to his many character concerns. However, that did not frighten Atlanta, as they believe Pearce can transform their defence.
The Kansas City Chiefs identified the offensive line as their primary weakness, which led them to draft arguably one of the best lineman prospects this year in Ohio State tackle Josh Simmons.
Josh Simmons is coming off a National Championship victory with the Ohio State Buckeyes and looks to be the replacement for Joe Thuney.
Thuney, arguably the best lineman the Chiefs have had in years, was traded by Kansas City in the offseason to the Chicago Bears.
The New England Patriots used the fourth overall pick to give Drake Maye some much-needed protection.
New England would select LSU offensive tackle Will Campbell. New England gave up 52 sacks last season, which ranks as the fifth worst in the league.
Campbell is coming off a sensational college career where he only gave up five sacks while starting all 38 of his 38 games played.
Maye gets the much-needed help on the offensive line that was a massive weakness in the Patriots’ game the past couple of seasons.
The Baltimore Ravens made it clear they believe they needed to bolster their defense.
Baltimore would select Malaki Starks, a safety out of Georgia, with the 27 pick in the first round.
The Ravens would draft six defensive players throughout the draft. Mike Green, an edge rusher out of Marshall University was the second most notable player the Ravens drafted.
Green, who was a projected first-round pick for most of the year, fell to the late second round due to his character concerns and multiple sexual assault accusations, which date back to high school.
Green would get another sexual assault accusation while he was at the University of Virginia in 2022.
After this accusation came to light, Green would be dismissed from the University of Virginia and would play his next two years at Marshall University.
The Seattle Seahawks would make headlines in the third round, as they select quarterback Jalen Milroe. Seattle hopes Milroe can learn from veteran Sam Darnold.