The 2024 NFL Draft is in the books, with the final selection in Round 7 announced on Saturday. While it will take years to truly evaluate the new wave of player, it’s never too early to look at what might be some of the worst picks in the NFL Draft.
In a year where six quarterbacks were taken in the first 12 picks, it should come as no surprise to see that inclusion on our list. However, there are quite a few other selections during the 2024 NFL Draft that stand out as some of the worst draft picks in 2024.
Denver Broncos draft QB Bo Nix with 12th overall pick
Sean Payton certainly believes he made one of the best picks in the 2024 NFL Draft. The Denver Broncos head coach took pride in saying he thinks he tricked the Minnesota Vikings into trading up for J.J. McCarthy when Bo Nix is the quarterback he wanted all along. Payton also cited ‘analytics’ for the Nix selection, suggesting that once you removed all of Nix’s throws behind the line of scrimmage, he led all quarterback prospects in yards per completion.
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Putting aside that stat, because throwing out 28.1 percent of Nix’s pass attempts in 2023 (PFF) seems flawed, Nix was rated on consensus draft boards as a second-round talent. He’s also walking into a bad situation, with one of the worst receiving corps in the NFL. Denver had needs all over the roster and no second-round pick, yet it settled for a 24-year-old quarterback whose only college success came in a gimmick offense. We honestly wonder if Nix or Payton lasts longer in Denver, but neither seems likely to have much success in the next two seasons.
Kansas City Chiefs trade up to No. 28 for Xavier Worthy
The Kansas City Chiefs received plenty of praise when they traded up for Texas Longhorns speedster Xavier Worthy. Widely known for breaking the NFL Combine 40-time record (4.21 seconds), we don’t knock Kansas City for moving up for a wide receiver. However, the particular selection just seems like a team that isn’t learning from its mistakes.
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Kadarius Toney and Skyy Moore are both small, athletic wide receivers whom Kansas City targeted for their big play potential. Worthy is in a different class in terms of athleticism, but he also weighed 165 pounds at the NFL Combine. Even if you put aside the recent bust rate among the fastest receivers at the NFL Scouting Combine – Tyquan Thornton, Velus Vones, Anthony Schwartz, Andy Isabella and John Ross – Worthy’s issues to separate from physical cornerbacks is a major flaw heading to the next level. Maybe Patrick Mahomes gets something out of Worthy, but pure vertical threats who can get outmuscled by just about every NFL cornerback aren’t worth first-round picks.
Atlanta Falcons inexplicably pick Michael Penix Jr. at No. 8 overall
Let’s address the comparison to the Green Bay Packers drafting Jordan Love when they had Aaron Rodgers. At that time Love was 21 years old, or, the same age as Michael Penix Jr. when he was playing for the Indiana Hoosiers. Love also didn’t have an injury history, Penix Jr. suffered two ACL tears, a dislocated throwing shoulder and a separated AC joint in his throwing shoulder in college. Oh, Love was also selected 26th overall whereas the Atlanta Falcons took Penix Jr. with the 8th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
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We’ll even put aside the odd situation the Falcons put both the locker room and fan base into. In a best-case scenario, that being Kirk Cousins playing at a high level for the next two seasons, Penix Jr. won’t see the field until his age-26 season at the earliest. heck, Atlanta even seems to be open to the idea of Penix Jr. not seeing the field until his fourth year. So, the Falcons are burning multiple years of a rookie-scale contract on a quarterback who is already the same age as Trevor Lawrence. Nothing about the decision seems based in sound logic.
Minnesota Vikings overpay in trade-up for Dallas Turner
The Minnesota Vikings were the most aggressive team in the 2024 NFL Draft, including before Roger Goodell walked to the podium on Thursday night. In acquiring the 23rd overall pick from the Houston Texans, parting ways with the 42nd and 188th overall picks along with a 2025 second-round selection, trade charts rated the deal as Minensotan giving up 2,139 points of value for 1,651 points of value. On Thursday night, Minnesota took things even further by dealing the 23rd and 167th picks along with third- and fourth-round selections in 2025 for the 17th overall pick. The total difference in those two deals is the equivalent of a top-15 pick (Jason_OTC and Seth Walder)
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We don’t necessarily dislike Dallas Turner as a prospect. He boasts average size (6-foot-4), great arm length (34 3/8′) and is an above-average athlete (8.82 Relative Athletic Score) with premium speed (4.46 40-yard dash). However, he’s more of an athlete than a refined pass rusher and there’s a chance he might become more Bruce Irvin than Brian Burns and two firsts is a massive price to pay for that.
Atlanta Falcons reach for Ruke Orhorhoro in Round 2
We didn’t go into this thinking the Atlanta Falcons would go back-to-back with two of the worst picks in the 2024 NFL Draft. Ruke Orhorhoro is a fine prospect, albeit, someone who wasn’t rated as a top-65 prospect on consensus draft boards. He doesn’t bring much as a pass rusher right now and his instincts are, at best, ‘average’. Compounding this reach, with Orhorhoro selected over Jer’Zhan Newton, Atlanta sacrificed the 79th overall pick to move up for this. This is an explicable Falcons draft class and it’s even more disappointing because of how exciting the offseason started.
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Tennessee Titans ignore big concerns with T’Vondre Sweat
Advice is simple for prospects before the NFL Draft, don’t get yourself in legal trouble and just be smart. Texas Longhorns defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat was arrested for DWI on April 7. This came just weeks after teams grilled him at the NFL Combine for the management of his weight and partying habits, which he swore was ‘all in the past‘. The arrest proved otherwise, but obviously, the Tennessee Titans were convinced by follow-up interviews that a fourth-round talent was worth the 38th overall pick. These kinds of bets don’t often work out, but we do hope Sweat sticks to his word this time.
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Green Bay Packers reach for linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper
For the most part, the Green Bay Packers had a very strong 2024 NFL Draft. However, as seems to be the case with this franchise, there’s always a head-scratcher in Round 3. Missouri Tigers off-ball linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper was rated by Pro Football Focus as the 191st overall prospect while Dane Brugler of The Athletic listed him as the 11th-best linebacker with a Round 5 grade. Hopper is a good athlete, but it seems like Green Bay reached for a backup linebacker and special-teams player with the 91st overall pick when he likely would’ve been available at the end of Round 4.
Jacksonville Jaguars go way off the board for Jordan Jefferson
While consensus draft boards do come from the media, it’s worth noting that many of the top 150 picks in the 2024 NFL Draft fell closely in line with consensus draft boards. As noted by Arif Hasan, one of the biggest reaches came when the Jacksonville Jaguars snagged a player who didn’t even crack the top 200 lists. LSU Tigers defensive tackle Jordan Jefferson doesn’t have NFL-caliber, his technique can be messy and even in college he struggled against offensive linemen who even had above-average technique. That doesn’t bode well for his future, yet he was taken 116th overall.
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Miami Dolphins overspend on luxury with Jaylen Wright
This isn’t a knock on Jaylen Wright as a player. He was one of the best running backs in the 2024 NFL Draft and probably could’ve been a starter for multiple teams. Instead, we’re questioning the Miami Dolphins for this selection. The Dolphins spent the 84th overall pick in 203 on De’Von Achane, who averaged 7.8 yards per carry as a rookie (103 touches). Meanwhile, Raheem Mostert is coming off a campaign with over 1,100 scrimmage yards and 21 total touchdowns. So, in short, the Dolphins traded a future third-round pick in what’s expected to be a much deeper draft to have a third-string running back for the 2024 season. It’s no wonder the Philadelphia Eagles happily accepted the offer, landing a future 3rd for the 120th overall pick is a steal.
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San Francisco 49ers seemingly add depth in Round 1
The Ricky Pearsall pick would’ve made so much more sense if the San Francisco 49ers traded Deebo Samuel during the 2024 NFL Draft. Instead, John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan seem plenty satisfied with a 24-year-old (in September) wide receiver spending his rookie season as at best the fifth-most targeted player on the offense. This pick certainly could work out long-term for San Francsico, we love Pearsall as a slot receiver, but this was a bizarre reach at a position that wasn’t one of the team’s most glaring needs (offensive line and cornerback).
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