We are still nearly two months away from the start of the 2024 NFL Draft, but there is already plenty of conversation surrounding this year’s process. The Chicago Bears hold the number one overall pick and have plenty of first round firepower, and are, as of now, one of two teams that will pick twice during Day 1.
NFL: Browns, Panthers Only Teams Without First Round Pick
Caleb Williams to the Bears? 🐻 pic.twitter.com/oxSo8ReMVJ
— PFF (@PFF) March 1, 2024
But there are a couple of teams that won’t have a first round pick at all, which could prove detrimental to the immediate future of at least one of them.
When all is said and done, we may look back on the Carolina Panthers’ decision to trade up for Bryce Young as one of the bigger gaffes in NFL Draft history. In 2023, Carolina sent a bundle of assets to the Bears in exchange for the #1 overall pick in that year’s selection process, one of which ended up being this year’s first overall selection due to the Panthers finishing with the worst record in the league.
Instead of a 2-15 team getting a chance to nab a franchise-changing signal caller, it will be Chicago who (presumably) makes the pick. Carolina has a pick in each of the next five rounds, with the earliest being the first pick of the second round and 33rd overall.
Browns Still Paying Heavily For Deshaun Watson
WILD… #Browns QB Deshaun Watson’s $63.9M cap hit is 25 PERCENT of the league’s new salary cap.
🤯
(Via Spotrac)
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) February 23, 2024
The Cleveland Browns won’t have a pick, either. In addition to paying Deshaun Watson $230 million in guaranteed money, they also gave up plenty of draft assets in order to acquire him. One of those assets was a 2024 first rounder, which the Houston Texans now own and falls at #23.
Cleveland will make its first selection toward the end of the second round, as they hold the 54th overall pick.
It will be Houston’s only pick of the first round. During last year’s draft, they traded up in order to make back-to-back picks in the top-3, and sent their 2024 first rounder to the Cardinals. Arizona is the only other team aside from Chicago that currently holds two first round picks.
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