5 first-round picks from 2024 NFL teams already regret

The simple truth of the NFL Draft is that there are 32 picks in the first round that most franchise, at least to some large degree, view the picks as what should be as close to sure things as you get. In Rounds 2-7, there are far more dart throws or selections made that bank on the upside of a prospect. First-round picks, however, are supposed to be eventual franchise cornerstones.

That, of course, doesn't always play out that way. Busts happen every year and, even with the advancements that have been made in NFL scouting, will continue to happen until the end of time.

Week 1 of a first-round pick's rookie season is obviously entirely too soon to write a player off for the rest of his career. We're not going to be crazy about this. However, seeing a highly-drafted rookie debut at the pro level and show some warning signs is enough to make a fan base start to worry that the pick might've been wasted or misused.

And after Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season, these five first-round picks definitely gave fan bases -- and perhaps organizations alike -- reasons to have seeds of regret start to grow.

5. Broncos may regret drafting QB Bo Nix

Sure, Bo Nix scored a rushing touchdown to give the Denver Broncos some hope in the fourth quarter of his NFL debut, but after fans of this team spent the preseason hyping up the No. 12 overall pick as the second coming who was going to save the franchise, his first taste of regular season action -- and starting-level defenses as opposed to backups -- did not go well at all.

In the 26-20 loss to the Seahawks in Week 1, Nix finished the game going just 26-of-42 for an appalling 138 yards. He did rush for 35 yards and had the aforementioned score but he also threw two interceptions.

I'll freely admit that Nix has never been my cup of tea. At Oregon, the offense was heavily schemed-up to make his numbers and production look great but he was not often asked to do much that required him to be a playmaker. At the NFL level, that's a whole other story wherein Nix absolutely has to make those plays.

The fact that he averaged under 4.0 yards per attempt in this game and rarely pushed the ball down the field effectively really looked like all of the warning signs from Nix's college career coming to life at the pro level. If anyone can make it work, it may be Sean Payton, but I'm not holding my breath after my preconceived notions of concern were confirmed.

4. Dolphins may regret drafting EDGE Chop Robinson

It was always going to be a tough offseason for the Miami Dolphins but the club seemingly made it even harder on themselves in the draft. Despite a clear need for an offensive linemen, even with some key offseason departures on defense, the Dolphins passed on the likes of Graham Barton, Jordan Morgan and Tyler Guyton in favor of toolsy Penn State edge rusher Chop Robinson.

After an inauspicious preseason, though, there weren't a ton of hopes for Robinson early in his rookie season. And frankly, it was even worse than expected in Week 1. He was on the field for just 16 defensive snaps in his NFL debut while failing to record a single stat in the box score. And that wasn't misleading either as his most notable contribution was getting penalized for lining up offsides on one of his few snaps.

Would it have not made more sense to pay a relatively modest contract to keep Andrew Van Ginkel and draft another position, even if it wasn't on the O-line, with the 21st overall pick? After seeing how far away Robinson might be from being a meaningful contributor to the Dolphins, it's hard to imagine that wouldn't have been a much better course of action.

3. Falcons may regret drafting QB Michael Penix Jr.

This is really a catch-22 if you think about it but, as the Atlanta Falcons suffered a home loss on Sunday to open the 2024 season behind prized free-agent acquisition Kirk Cousins, it's hard not to look once again at the organization electing to take Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. with the No. 8 overall pick.

Make no mistake, Cousins looked quite rusty and, overall, unimpressive in his debut for Atlanta. Subsequently, there's a world wherein that doesn't get better as the season moves on and then turning to Penix could become a viable option for the Falcons. That's definitely not the plan, though, and if that were to happen, something would've gone terribly wrong.

That ultimately brings us back to the point that was brought up at the time that the Falcons selected Penix. Yes, you can call it planning for the future at the most important position on the field but what about the other 21 starters? Losing to a paltry Steelers team is indicative of a roster that, top-to-bottom, still has holes that need to be filled. So when you then consider that they used a Top 10 pick on a quarterback after paying Cousins in free agency, even if it's belaboring the point at this juncture, it's a tough pill to swallow.

2. Bills may regret trading their first-round pick to the Chiefs

Let me start by saying that I'm well aware that the Buffalo Bills did not make a pick in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. And the pick they traded back to ultimately, No. 33 overall and the first selection of the second round that became Keon Coleman, is something the organization should be happy with after one game. The rookie finished his debut leading the Bills in receiving with four catches for 51 yards.

However, the Bills initially had the No. 28 overall pick, which they first traded down to No. 32 with one of their rivals and an annual thorn in their sides, the Kansas City Chiefs. Brett Veach and the defending back-to-back Super Bowl champs ultimately used that pick to select NFL Combine 40-yard dash record-holder Xavier Worthy.

In the Chiefs' season-opening win over Baltimore on Thursday, Worthy looked like a new terrifying toy for Kansas City to unleash with Patrick Mahomes. He registered just three touches in the game but that was enough for the game-breaker to amass 68 total yards and two touchdowns on the night.

Again, Buffalo surely doesn't regret how it turned out for them in their own building. But as for what they allowed their biggest competition and the kings of the AFC to do in the draft, it'd be impossible to not already be second guessing that after Week 1.

1. Steelers may regret drafting OT Troy Fautanu

There is a difference in bad process (Re: What the Falcons did) and potentially bad results from the right process. That's where the Pittsburgh Steelers and their fan base might be worrying that they're falling after the team used the No. 20 overall pick on Troy Fautanu in April's draft.

Fautanu, who was an anchor for the elite Washington Huskies offense last season, was ostensibly drafted to take over for perennial Steelers headache Dan Moore Jr. But come Week 1 against the Falcons, it was Fautanu, who was named active after dealing with some injuries coming into the game, that was backing up Moore at tackle with the veteran getting the start on the left side and 2023 first-rounder Broderick Jones starting on the right side.

If you ask the Steelers, they would probably tell you that the plan is ultimately for Fautanu to supplant Moore at some point this season. But isn't that kind of a problem? Moore has arguably been one of the worst left tackles in the league of late, so even if Fautanu isn't a readymade star bookend, it shouldn't be terribly difficult to beat out his predecessor.

Time will tell how much the Steelers end up regretting this pick but the optics of Fautanu not seeing the field at all in Week 1 as the team's first-round pick given the situation certainly aren't great