LGHL B1G Thoughts: Major Big Ten takeaways from the 2024 NFL Draft
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B1G Thoughts: Major Big Ten takeaways from the 2024 NFL Draft
JordanW330 via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
The Big Ten showed out in the 2024 NFL Draft, here are my biggest takeaways.
Every week after the Big Ten games, I will bring you some B1G thoughts on everything that happened! This will include analysis, stats, key players, moments, and more. With the Big Ten expanding from 14 teams to 18 teams in 2024 this article will also include the newest members, Oregon, UCLA, USC, and Washington. Check out the “I-80 Football Show” for more in-depth analysis and to preview the next week of B1G games.
The 2024 NFL Draft has come and gone with a heavy Big Ten influence. Using the conference alignment that became official in 2024 the Big Ten was second only to the SEC with 10 first-round draft picks. The Big Ten has seven of the top 12 picks with quarterbacks Caleb Williams, Michael Penix Jr., JJ McCarthy, and Bo Nix joined by wide receivers Marvin Harrison Jr. and Rome Odunze and Penn States offensive tackle Olu Fashanu. This draft had intrigue, shocking picks, and a fair amount of drama. As always the draft does two things, it highlights the top teams of the past season and it helps identify teams that may struggle in the next season due to lost talent. Here are my ten biggest takeaways from the 2024 NFL Draft.
Let’s be honest, Caleb Williams is a good player with great potential. He was 100% the best quarterback in this draft and worthy of the number one pick. Caleb will arguably be the most talented quarterback the Bears have ever had. I would make an argument for Justin Fields but Fields suffered through Chicago’s mistakes so they could prepare to set Caleb up for success. Despite Caleb’s talent, he is not a generational talent. Generational is a term that has been used too often and for too many people and we must remember who came before him.
Andrew Luck was the last generational quarterback at the time he was drafted. Caleb would not have been drafted higher than Andrew Luck and maybe not higher than RG3. I’m not sure he would’ve been drafted higher than Trevor Lawerence if they were in the same draft either. He may have been drafted above CJ Stroud because Bryce Young was but Bryce has better tape than Caleb and had a horrible first season. Caleb is a great kid, a good player and already deals with too much hate from adults who don’t like how he dresses or what he does with his nails. Let’s not also put the weight of being labeled generational on him and just allow him to grow as a person and a quarterback in the NFL.
The Falcons are the laughingstock of the draft right now after drafting Michael Penix Jr. with the number eight pick in the draft. There are several issues wrong with those decisions. Firstly, Michael Penix Jr. is not a first-round talent, secondly, they just signed Kirk Cousins to a new deal with almost $100 million guaranteed.
Finally, Michael Penix is already 24 and will be 26 or 27 before he starts for Atlanta unless something bad happens to Kirk, which would leave Atlanta in a financial hole. If they trusted Cousins enough to pay him over 100 million dollars coming off an injury they would have been better suited drafting a player who would help them win now. I’m a huge Penix fan but with the no. eight pick you have to expect him to be the future of your franchise and that is a huge leap of faith. Atlanta is trying to have its cake and eat it too but instead, it may have just knocked the cake on the floor and stepped in it.
Denver is in a very bad way right now. After trading for head coach Sean Payton and letting Russell Wilson walk, Denver is in a non-inviable position of employee a coach who wants to win now despite what is cost. Ask the Saints how that worked out after Payton’s desire to win put them in a hole and when it got too tough he walked away. Payton wants to win now and he used that desire to draft Bo Nix with the no. 12 pick in the draft. If the Falcons didn’t draft Penix four picks before this would be the worst pick in the draft. The desire to find a quarterback is a disease that NFL franchises must get rid of because drafting players like Bo Nix with the twelfth pick in the draft instead of trading down is how you get fired.
Michigan had 13 players drafted but only one in the first round. There’s been a lot of talk about Michigan’s draft and, indeed, some of their best players are still in Ann Arbor but I think people are missing the point. Michigan didn’t win a national championship because of its top-end talent, it won because it had a group of players in their fourth and fifth years who bought in and were tougher than their opponents.
This was not an Ohio State or Alabama team with a litany of five-star players. Michigan was a throwback build and that is reflected in the draft position of their players. Aside from JJ, the most talented players from the 2023 Michigan team, Mason Graham and Will Johnson are still on the roster but there are a lot of key pieces from their run that they must replace to be successful in 2024.
Ohio State is in the exact opposite place of their biggest rivals. They only had four players drafted because most of their top players decided to return for the 2024 season. After experiencing three straight losses to Michigan and watching them win a National Championship players like JT Tuimoloau, Jack Sawyer, Denzel Burke, TreVeyeon Henderson, and Emeka Egbuka all came back to win a pair of gold pants and a national championship.
Ohio State will be heavily featured in the 2025 draft the only question is will they finally get a win over Michigan and can they bring Ohio State’s first national championship since 2014?
Marvin Harrison Jr. and Rome Odunze were in heavy competition to be the best wide receiver in college football last season. That debate carried on to the NFL draft even though Marvin Harrison Jr. won the Biletnikoff Award for the best wide receiver in college football. Now that debate will be carried over to the NFL as both will fight for offensive rookie of the year.
Granted with multiple quarterbacks taken in the first round it’s going to be hard for either of them to win the award but I believe they’ll both put in a valiant effort. For my money, Marvin Harrison Jr. has the best shot because he is both the best wide receiver in the draft and will have the best quarterback throwing him the ball.
The best part about the draft being over is thinking about the next draft. Below you will find a group of players who are already being listed on 2025 draft big boards and way too early mock drafts. These are just the known names as every year someone comes out of nowhere and becomes a first-round draft pick.
Players not on this list that I think could end up here with a good year start with Carnell Tate a wide receiver entering his third season with the Buckeyes and with a stellar year could be a first-round pick.
While I don’t think he’s a first-round talent, you always have to include a quarterback and if Drew Allar bounces back from a tough 2024 NFL Draft will fall in love with his size and talent. Ohio State could also land a second corner in the first round if Davison Igbinosun or Jordan Hancock continue to develop this fall.
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JordanW330 via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
The Big Ten showed out in the 2024 NFL Draft, here are my biggest takeaways.
Every week after the Big Ten games, I will bring you some B1G thoughts on everything that happened! This will include analysis, stats, key players, moments, and more. With the Big Ten expanding from 14 teams to 18 teams in 2024 this article will also include the newest members, Oregon, UCLA, USC, and Washington. Check out the “I-80 Football Show” for more in-depth analysis and to preview the next week of B1G games.
The 2024 NFL Draft has come and gone with a heavy Big Ten influence. Using the conference alignment that became official in 2024 the Big Ten was second only to the SEC with 10 first-round draft picks. The Big Ten has seven of the top 12 picks with quarterbacks Caleb Williams, Michael Penix Jr., JJ McCarthy, and Bo Nix joined by wide receivers Marvin Harrison Jr. and Rome Odunze and Penn States offensive tackle Olu Fashanu. This draft had intrigue, shocking picks, and a fair amount of drama. As always the draft does two things, it highlights the top teams of the past season and it helps identify teams that may struggle in the next season due to lost talent. Here are my ten biggest takeaways from the 2024 NFL Draft.
Caleb Williams deserved to be no. one but he isn’t a generational prospect
Let’s be honest, Caleb Williams is a good player with great potential. He was 100% the best quarterback in this draft and worthy of the number one pick. Caleb will arguably be the most talented quarterback the Bears have ever had. I would make an argument for Justin Fields but Fields suffered through Chicago’s mistakes so they could prepare to set Caleb up for success. Despite Caleb’s talent, he is not a generational talent. Generational is a term that has been used too often and for too many people and we must remember who came before him.
Andrew Luck was the last generational quarterback at the time he was drafted. Caleb would not have been drafted higher than Andrew Luck and maybe not higher than RG3. I’m not sure he would’ve been drafted higher than Trevor Lawerence if they were in the same draft either. He may have been drafted above CJ Stroud because Bryce Young was but Bryce has better tape than Caleb and had a horrible first season. Caleb is a great kid, a good player and already deals with too much hate from adults who don’t like how he dresses or what he does with his nails. Let’s not also put the weight of being labeled generational on him and just allow him to grow as a person and a quarterback in the NFL.
The Falcons did what and for who?
The Falcons are the laughingstock of the draft right now after drafting Michael Penix Jr. with the number eight pick in the draft. There are several issues wrong with those decisions. Firstly, Michael Penix Jr. is not a first-round talent, secondly, they just signed Kirk Cousins to a new deal with almost $100 million guaranteed.
Finally, Michael Penix is already 24 and will be 26 or 27 before he starts for Atlanta unless something bad happens to Kirk, which would leave Atlanta in a financial hole. If they trusted Cousins enough to pay him over 100 million dollars coming off an injury they would have been better suited drafting a player who would help them win now. I’m a huge Penix fan but with the no. eight pick you have to expect him to be the future of your franchise and that is a huge leap of faith. Atlanta is trying to have its cake and eat it too but instead, it may have just knocked the cake on the floor and stepped in it.
No Nix… What are you doing?
Denver is in a very bad way right now. After trading for head coach Sean Payton and letting Russell Wilson walk, Denver is in a non-inviable position of employee a coach who wants to win now despite what is cost. Ask the Saints how that worked out after Payton’s desire to win put them in a hole and when it got too tough he walked away. Payton wants to win now and he used that desire to draft Bo Nix with the no. 12 pick in the draft. If the Falcons didn’t draft Penix four picks before this would be the worst pick in the draft. The desire to find a quarterback is a disease that NFL franchises must get rid of because drafting players like Bo Nix with the twelfth pick in the draft instead of trading down is how you get fired.
Michigan’s Draft is the epitome of their program
Michigan had 13 players drafted but only one in the first round. There’s been a lot of talk about Michigan’s draft and, indeed, some of their best players are still in Ann Arbor but I think people are missing the point. Michigan didn’t win a national championship because of its top-end talent, it won because it had a group of players in their fourth and fifth years who bought in and were tougher than their opponents.
This was not an Ohio State or Alabama team with a litany of five-star players. Michigan was a throwback build and that is reflected in the draft position of their players. Aside from JJ, the most talented players from the 2023 Michigan team, Mason Graham and Will Johnson are still on the roster but there are a lot of key pieces from their run that they must replace to be successful in 2024.
Ohio State’s lack of draft picks is huge for the 2024-25 Buckeyes
Ohio State is in the exact opposite place of their biggest rivals. They only had four players drafted because most of their top players decided to return for the 2024 season. After experiencing three straight losses to Michigan and watching them win a National Championship players like JT Tuimoloau, Jack Sawyer, Denzel Burke, TreVeyeon Henderson, and Emeka Egbuka all came back to win a pair of gold pants and a national championship.
Ohio State will be heavily featured in the 2025 draft the only question is will they finally get a win over Michigan and can they bring Ohio State’s first national championship since 2014?
Marvin Harrison Jr. vs. Rome Odunze for Offensive Rookie of the Year
Marvin Harrison Jr. and Rome Odunze were in heavy competition to be the best wide receiver in college football last season. That debate carried on to the NFL draft even though Marvin Harrison Jr. won the Biletnikoff Award for the best wide receiver in college football. Now that debate will be carried over to the NFL as both will fight for offensive rookie of the year.
Granted with multiple quarterbacks taken in the first round it’s going to be hard for either of them to win the award but I believe they’ll both put in a valiant effort. For my money, Marvin Harrison Jr. has the best shot because he is both the best wide receiver in the draft and will have the best quarterback throwing him the ball.
A look ahead, who could be a first-round pick in 2025
The best part about the draft being over is thinking about the next draft. Below you will find a group of players who are already being listed on 2025 draft big boards and way too early mock drafts. These are just the known names as every year someone comes out of nowhere and becomes a first-round draft pick.
Players not on this list that I think could end up here with a good year start with Carnell Tate a wide receiver entering his third season with the Buckeyes and with a stellar year could be a first-round pick.
While I don’t think he’s a first-round talent, you always have to include a quarterback and if Drew Allar bounces back from a tough 2024 NFL Draft will fall in love with his size and talent. Ohio State could also land a second corner in the first round if Davison Igbinosun or Jordan Hancock continue to develop this fall.
- Mason Graham, DT - Michigan
- Will Johnson, CB - Michigan
- Abdul Carter, Edge - Penn State
- Denzel Burke, CB - Ohio State
- Colston Loveland, TE - Michigan
- Dani Dennis-Sutton, Edge - Penn State
- JT Tuimoloau, Edge - Ohio State
- Josh Conerly Jr., OT - Oregon
- Quinshon Judkins, RB - Ohio State
- Jack Sawyer, Edge - Ohio State
- Emeka Egbuka, WR - Ohio State
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