5 biggest steals from the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft

The first round of the NFL Draft offered fans a little bit of everything. The beginning of the draft was filled with chalk picks, but surprises started to hit when the Atlanta Falcons shocked the football world (and their newly-signed $180 million quarterback, Kirk Cousins) with their selection of Michael Penix Jr. at No. 8. Offense ruled the first half of the draft, with a record 14 picks occurring before the first defensive player came off the board, which meant many teams in the back half of the first round were left with tremendous value on the defensive side of the ball.

Grading picks in the immediate aftermath of the draft is a fool's errand, but it sure is fun, and it's a great way to keep the NFL conversation going even though the season is more than four months away. Let's take a look at five of the players selected that could prove to be the biggest steals once the games finally get underway.

5. Xavier Worthy, Kansas City Chiefs, 28th pick

You could practically hear the entire NFL groan when the Chiefs traded up with the Buffalo Bills to select Texas speedster Xavier Worthy. Patrick Mahomes led Kansas City to its second straight Super Bowl title and third in five years back in February, and he did it with a receiving corps that led the league in drops. Now he has a new shiny toy in his quest for a three-peat.

The only reliable wideout in KC last year was rookie Rashee Rice, but his status for next season is very much in the air after his involvement in a high-speed, multi-car crash last month. Marquez Valdes-Scantling was released following an inconsistent year, while Kadarius Toney, who through his untimely drops and combative off-field behavior has become the opposite of a fan favorite, is the top returning receiver that's expected to be ready in Week 1.

The Chiefs have taken one step to address their need for receivers, signing Marquise Brown in free agency to a bargain one-year, $7 million contract, but they still needed someone they could count on for the next three, five, eight years. Worthy could be that. The former Longhorn ran a record-breaking 4.21 40 at the NFL Combine, and he teamed with UT quarterback Quinn Ewers to catch 75 balls for 1,014 and four touchdowns last year. Imagine what he could do with Patrick Mahomes throwing to him and Andy Reid calling the plays.

4. Byron Murphy II, Seattle Seahawks, 16th pick

Let's stick with Steve Sarkisian's team for our second steal of the night. Byron Murphy II had been projected by many experts to hear his name called in the first 10 picks, but with the unprecedented run on offense, the game-wrecking defensive tackle slid down to No. 16, where the Seahawks happily snatched him up.

Seattle desperately needed to upgrade a defense that ranked 25th in points and 31st in rushing yards allowed last season, and Murphy gives them a chance to do just that. A First Team All-Big 12 selection, Murphy had 8.5 sacks while helping lead Texas to its first-ever College Football Playoff appearance. Pro Football Focus ranked him as the second-highest-graded defensive lineman in the country, behind only his teammate T'Vondre Sweat.

The Seahawks found their greatest success when they had a top-flight defense. Former Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald was hired to succeed Pete Carroll and to re-instill that defensive philosophy. The NFC West is loaded with offensive playmakers. The 49ers have Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, and George Kittle. The Rams have Matthew Stafford, Puka Nacua, Cooper Kupp, and Kyren Williams. The Cardinals have Kyler Murray, Marvin Harrison Jr., and James Conner. You get the idea. Seattle was able to fill a major need with a top-10 talent, and they didn't have to trade up to do it. That's a big win.

3. Terrion Arnold, Detroit Lions, 24th pick

We have to include the hosts of the draft on this list because the Detroit Lions did a lot more than just put Eminem on stage with Calvin Johnson and Barry Sanders on Thursday night. General manager Brad Holmes traded up five spots to get Terrion Arnold, thought by many to be the most pro-ready cornerback in the draft.

Arnold is the total package, a physical corner that thrives in man coverage but isn't afraid to throw his body around in the run game, either. The first defensive player drafted from Nick Saban's final Alabama team picked off five passes for the Crimson Tide last year and broke up 12 others.

The Lions established themselves as one of the best teams in the NFL last year, but it was mostly the offense that carried them. Most of the secondary is now gone, with CJ Gardner-Johnson, Cam Sutton, and Tracy Walker all out the door, but Brian Branch, Arnold's former teammate at Alabama, still remains. Branch was one of the few bright spots on Dan Campbell's defense, and he and Arnold will form a potent pairing.

The Lions had the best offense in the NFC North last season, but the rest of the division is coming for them. Jordan Love turned a corner mid-season and now looks like the next great Packers quarterback. He's surrounded by the youngest wide receiving corps in the NFL, but Green Bay's pass-catchers were surprisingly superb and will only get better with time. The Bears completely transformed their offense, hiring a new coordinator in Shane Waldron, trading for Keenan Allen, and drafting a terrifying rookie combo of Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze. The Vikings lost Kirk Cousins but replaced him with JJ McCarthy, who is fresh off of winning a national championship with Michigan. McCarthy will be throwing to Justin Jefferson, TJ Hockenson, and Jordan Addison.

If the Lions hope to stay ahead of their division rivals, they have to do a better job of stopping the pass. Arnold never should have slid this far, but Lions fans will be glad he did once he takes the field.

2. Dallas Turner, Minnesota Vikings, 17th pick

The shocker of draft night was the Falcons taking Michael Penix Jr. at No. 8. New head coach Raheem Morris comes from a defensive background, and he was reported to be smitten with Alabama defensive end Dallas Turner, which made the Penix pick even more surprising when it happened.

The Vikings came into the draft with two major needs: quarterback and defensive end after Kirk Cousins and Danielle Hunter both exited in free agency. Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was aggressive all night to fill those needs, first in trading up to get his new franchise quarterback in JJ McCarthy, then in moving up again to select arguably the best defensive player in the draft in Turner.

Turner was a First Team All-SEC selection, and he now gives Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores a versatile weapon that can get after the quarterback (he tied for the SEC lead with 10 sacks) or drop back into coverage. He'll pair with free agent signee Jonathan Greenard, who enjoyed a breakout season for the Texans, to create one of the best young defensive end tandems in the league.

It has to be noted that the Vikings gave up a fifth-rounder this year, plus a third- and a fourth- in next year's draft, to move up and get Turner. Still, for a guy that has a real chance to be the best defensive player in the draft, that's a small price to pay, and Minnesota deserves credit for identifying the players they wanted, and then paying what it took to go get them.

1. Rome Odunze, Chicago Bears, 9th pick

It's becoming clear that the NFC North had a great night, but the far-and-away winner of the draft, regardless of what happens in the next six rounds, is the Chicago Bears. General manager Ryan Poles pulled off one of the greatest trades in NFL history when he sent last year's overall No. 1 pick to the Panthers so that they could select Bryce Young. In return, the Bears received what ended up becoming DJ Moore, Darnell Wright, Tyrique Stevenson, the first overall pick, and a second-round pick next year. To call this a haul would be a grave injustice — Poles should have to wear an eye patch and carry a parrot on his shoulder after pulling off such a heist.

There was little drama in the Bears' first selection, as Caleb Williams has been preordained as the most hyped rookie in franchise history ever since Poles traded Justin Fields to the Steelers last month. The ninth pick, though, which was the Bears' own pick, was replete with possible outcomes. Some believed Chicago would pair Williams with his high school teammate, offensive tackle Olu Fashanu. Recent reports talked up the possibility of Byron Murphy II, further stabilizing a defense that really came on strong toward the end of the season. In the end, though, Poles went with the best player on the board in Odunze, who most years would have been the first receiver selected, but this year fell due to early run on quarterbacks, and the presence of the also-outstanding Marvin Harrison Jr. and Malik Nabers.

Odunze has everything you could hope to find in a receiver: size, speed, and an ability to make tough catches through contact. As good as Harrison and Nabers are, it wouldn't be a shock if Odunze ends up being the best of the bunch. He now walks into an incredible situation, bonded as a fellow rookie with Williams, while being able to learn from DJ Moore and Keenan Allen, two of the best route-runners in the NFL.

It's difficult to describe how drastically the Bears have overhauled their offense this offseason. Imagine cutting out a few decades worth of technological history and going straight from the Model T to landing on the moon. That should give you an idea. The people of Chicago have spent the last 70+ years waiting to erase Sid Luckman, who lived to be 81 and still died three years before Caleb Williams was even born, from atop the franchise record books. With Williams and Odunze added to an offense that was already loaded with talent (we should also mention that the Bears also signed D'Andre Swift this offseason), shooting for the moon might be a conservative estimate of what this offense could be capable of.