The 2024 NFL Draft class has not even taken a snap yet, but could these three teams come to regret the decisions they made during the draft?
Teams make mistakes all the time in the NFL Draft, even the best ones. The 2024 NFL Draft class is set to make their NFL debuts in about three weeks when the regular season kicks off, and in due time, these three major mistakes made by teams will become obvious.
Let's dive into the three biggest mistakes that teams made during the 2024 NFL Draft.
3 huge mistakes teams will come to regret from the 2024 NFL Draft
Falcons taking Michael Penix Jr over top defensive prospects
This was a huge mistake by Terry Fontenot, the Atlanta Falcons General Manager. He decided to stay a pick eight and take Michael Penix Jr, a QB who is likely not going to see the field until his fourth year in the NFL if he remains with the Falcons.
It was a huge miss for a Falcons team that needed a first-round type of boost along their defensive line. Guys like Jared Verse, Dallas Turner, and Laiatu Latu went after the Falcons took Penix, and those three prospects would have fit perfectly in Atlanta, who now has a top-12-ish QB with Kirk Cousins.
What was Terry Fontenot thinking here? I mean, I understand why, but it feels like he overcompensated with the position this offseason.
Patriots taking Ja'Lynn Polk over other top WR prospects
The New England Patriots shockingly took Washington WR Ja'Lynn Polk over other top WR prospects like Adonai Mitchell, Malachi Corley, Jermaine Burton, and even Troy Franklin. The Patriots still do not have someone on the roster who appears to be a viable WR1, so it's been a rough offseason thus far for Eliot Wolf.
But to be fair to Wolf, he inherited a giant mess that Bill Belichick left, so it's going to take him multiple offseasons to fix if he is the long-term option to be the GM of the Patriots.
The Patriots also need a franchise left tackle, but that is beside the point.
Las Vegas Raiders not being more aggressive to land a QB in the first round
The Las Vegas Raiders are a disaster. Their QB1 for the 2024 NFL Season will be either Gardner Minshew or Aidan O'Connell, which is a recipe for a rough year. The Raiders were rumored to be interested in Michael Penix Jr and Jayden Daniels, but both players were taken within the top-8 picks of the 2024 NFL Draft.
GM Tom Telesco has had a confusing offseason. He overpaid for Gardner Minshew and Christian Wilkins in free agency, and decided to take a TE in the first round, so I am not sure what Telesco is trying to build here. Anyway, the 2025 NFL Draft QB class is not expected to be all that good, so the Raiders may have missed out on some of the better prospects at the position.
Where will the Raiders go for their franchise QB beyond the 2024 NFL Season?