2024 NFL Draft Q&A: Who are the top prospects, teams that could trade up, down?

With the 2023 NFL season officially in the books, attention turns to the 2024 NFL Draft, which will be hosted in Detroit from April 25-27. In preparation for the three-day event, here are the answers to some of the biggest questions regarding the 2024 NFL Draft. 

Where will the draft be held and who will televise the event?

Despite being held in Detroit, the 2024 NFL Draft will not take place at Ford Field, the home of the Lions. Instead, the event will be held in downtown Detroit at Campus Martius Park and Hart Plaza.

The first round will begin on April 25 at 8 p.m. EST. The second and third rounds will take place April 26, starting at 7 p.m. EST, while rounds four through seven will be held on April 27 at noon EST.

The 2024 NFL Draft will be televised live on ABC, ESPN and NFL Network while streaming options include ESPN+, NFL+, Hulu + Live TV and Fubo. 

Important dates ahead of the draft? 

The 2024 NFL Scouting Combine, hosted at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana, is arguably the most important event during the pre-draft process. Prospects will undergo measurements and take part in testing and drills that will impact their draft stock. The invitation-only event will begin drills on Feb. 29 and end on March 3. 

Starting on March 7, draft-eligible players can begin video or telephone interviews with teams and visit facilities. Teams are permitted to bring in 30 non-local prospects for visits and physicals until April 19, but no player can partake in an on-field workout. Additionally, teams can interview a player up to three times until April 26, with each interview lasting no longer than an hour. 

What’s the draft order?

For the second consecutive year, the Chicago Bears enter the offseason as the holder of the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. Below is the current order of the top 10 selections. The full 2024 NFL Draft order, courtesy of Tankathon, can be found here.

1. Chicago Bears (from Carolina Panthers 2-15)
2. Washington Commanders (4-13)
3. New England Patriots (4-13)
4. Arizona Cardinals (4-13)
5. Los Angeles Chargers (5-12)
6. New York Giants (6-11)
7. Tennessee Titans (6-11)
8. Atlanta Falcons (7-10)
9. Chicago Bears (7-10)
10. New York Jets (7-10)

Who’s going No. 1 overall?

Although the Chicago Bears have a talented quarterback in Justin Fields, the expectation by many is that they'll trade the 24-year-old and reset at the position with USC's Caleb Williams.

After spending his freshman season at Oklahoma, Williams transferred to USC, where he won the Heisman Trophy in 2022. Williams has thrown for 8,170 yards, 72 touchdowns and just 10 interceptions over the last two seasons while rushing for 524 yards and 21 scores.

Williams will enter the NFL with the highest expectations of any prospect in recent memory, as he's drawn comparisons to three-time Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes. 

Who are the top five QB prospects?

The 2024 draft class is rich with quarterback talent and as many as five could be selected in the first round. In addition to Williams, the top QB prospects are UNC's Drake Maye, LSU's Jayden Daniels, Michigan's J.J. McCarthy and Oregon's Bo Nix, according to four of ESPN's top five NFL Draft analysts' rankings. 

Maye and Daniels will compete for the No. 2 quarterback ranking in this year's class during the coming months and both could be among the top three picks in April. Maye has led the ACC in passing yards in each of the last two seasons, throwing for a combined 7,929 yards and 62 touchdown passes in that span. Daniels, meanwhile, emerged as one of the most dynamic players in the country during his 2023 Heisman Trophy-winning season with the Tigers, accumulating 4,946 yards of total offense (3,812 passing, 1,134 rushing) with 50 touchdowns. 

McCarthy – who led the Wolverines to a national championship this season and posted a 27-1 career record as a starter – will be one of the more intriguing quarterback prospects in the class. KOA's Benjamin Allbright reported last week that some NFL personnel are higher on McCarthy than the media and that the 21-year-old could be a top-10 pick. 

Nix, 23, led the nation in touchdown passes this past season (45) and ranked second in passing yards (4,508) while setting the NCAA single-season record for completion rate (77.4%). No quarterback in college football history has started more career games than Nix (61) and he could be a plug-and-play starting option for QB-needy teams. 

Who are the top five WR prospects? 

The 2024 wide receiver class is shaping up to be the strongest in years, with the crown jewel being Ohio State's Marvin Harrison Jr., son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison Sr. The 2023 Biletnikoff Award winner is arguably the most talented wide receiver prospect ever to enter the NFL Draft. Over the past two seasons, he caught 144 passes for 2,474 yards and 28 touchdowns for the Buckeyes.

LSU's Malik Nabers and Washington's Rome Odunze should be the next two wideouts to hear their names called in April, as both are projected to be top-10 picks. In 2023, Nabers totaled 1,569 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns on 89 receptions. For his part, Odunze led the nation in receiving yards (1,640) and hauled in 14 touchdowns.  

Outside of the top three wideouts, the next best prospects at the position are anyone's guess and the order in which they are selected will be determined by team preferences. Even so, LSU's Brian Thomas Jr. and Florida State's Keon Coleman – two big-bodied receivers – are the fourth and fifth-ranked wideout prospects, respectively, in ESPN's rankings. Thomas led the nation with 17 touchdown receptions this season to go along with 1,177 receiving yards, while Coleman caught 50 passes for 658 yards and 11 touchdowns for the Seminoles.

Who are the top five RB prospects? 

Unlike last year, there aren't any blue-chip running back prospects in the 2024 class and it's possible there won't be one selected in the first round. Nonetheless, there are several pro-ready prospects at the position who could all make an impact in the league. Texas' Jonathon Brooks, Florida State's Trey Benson, Notre Dame's Audric Estime, Michigan's Blake Corum, and USC's MarShawn Lloyd round out ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr.'s top-five RB rankings. 

Brooks is widely considered the top running back in the class despite having limited production in college and suffering a season-ending ACL tear in 2023. In just 10 games this season, Brooks accounted for 1,425 all-purpose yards and scored 11 touchdowns. Benson, an Oregon transfer, could prove to be Brooks' top competitor for the No. 1 running back selection after rushing for 905 yards and 14 touchdowns this season. 

Who are the top five edge-rusher prospects? 

On the defensive side of the ball, the 2024 draft offers plenty of edge-rushers who could become immediate contributors in the NFL. Alabama's Dallas Turner, UCLA's Laiatu Latu, Florida State's Jared Verse, Missouri's Darius Robinson and Penn State's Chop Robinson make up the top five in Kiper's edge rankings.  

Turner, the Crimson Tide's sack leader this season (10), has arguably the highest ceiling of any edge-rusher in the draft and should be the first player at his position off the board in April. Latu, a unanimous All-American, might have the best pass rush moves in the draft and notched double-digit sacks in each of the past two seasons, including a Pac-12-leading 13 in 2023.

Verse, another lock to be selected in the first round, could be the most interesting pass-rusher in the class. The 6-foot-4, 260-pounder spent his first two collegiate seasons dominating the FCS ranks at Albany before transferring to Florida State. Across his two seasons in Tallahassee, Verse collected 89 tackles, 29.5 for loss and 18 sacks, earning two first-team All-ACC selections along the way. 

Which teams could trade up? 

Every year it seems like at least one team is trading up for a quarterback. With so many talented prospects – and teams in need of upgrading at the position – there could be plenty of movement during the first round.

NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah recently shared on X that he believes as many as four or five teams could explore trading up to select a quarterback, as next year's class doesn't measure up to 2024's. While Jeremiah didn't specifically name any teams, the Atlanta Falcons, Minnesota Vikings, Denver Broncos and Las Vegas Raiders are all teams that are drafting outside the top five picks that lack a long-term answer at quarterback.

While unlikely, the New York Giants and New Orleans Saints could be other teams that might consider moving up in the draft after they signed their respective starting quarterbacks to regrettable deals last offseason. 

Which teams could trade back? 

The potential haul Chicago could fetch for the No. 1 overall selection will make them a candidate to move back in the draft until their pick is officially announced. However, the Patriots are reportedly a team to watch closely.

According to Dan Graziano of ESPN, some around the league believe New England could address its quarterback need in free agency and trade the No. 3 pick to fill other roster holes. Graziano notes that Atlanta and Minnesota could be potential trade partners for the Patriots.