The NFL Draft is a process every team approaches differently. From confidence in player development to roster construction to timelines for competing, no two organizations are in the same spot. That’s part of what makes this event so fun to follow.
Still, patterns do start to show up over time. Below is a look at where each team picked in the first round last year and a trend to keep in mind heading into Lambeau Field.
NFL Draft Recent Picks and Trends
Arizona Cardinals
2024: WR Marvin Harrison Jr. (fourth pick) and DL Darius Robinson (27th)
Trend: Each of their past four first-round picks coming outside of the top 10 have been spent on the defensive side of the ball (Robinson last season, Zaven Collins in 2021, Haason Reddick in 2017, and Robert Nkemdiche in 2016).
Atlanta Falcons
2024: QB Michael Penix Jr. (eighth)
Trend: Four straight first-round picks spent on offensive talent (Penix, Bijan Robinson, Drake London, and Kyle Pitts), and seven of their past eight first-round picks have been on that side of the ball (exception: A.J. Terrell Jr. with the 16th overall pick in 2020)
Baltimore Ravens
2024: CB Nate Wiggins (30th)
Trend: They selected Rashod Bateman with the 27th pick in 2021. Since then, eight of their 11 picks inside the top 100 have been either O-linemen or on the defensive side (two linemen and six defenders, with Zay Flowers in 2023 being the lone exception).
Buffalo Bills
2024: No first-round selections
Trend: Since drafting Josh Allen, three of Buffalo’s four first-round selections have been defenders (Ed Oliver in 2019, Gregory Rousseau in 2021, and Kaiir Elam in 2022).
Carolina Panthers
2024: WR Xavier Legette (32nd)
Trend: They opened their past two drafts hoping to land impact offensive pieces (Legette and Jonathon Brooks last season, and Bryce Young and Jonathan Mingo in 2023). With five of their eight other picks in those drafts, they looked to work on the second level of their defense via defensive backs.
Chicago Bears
2024: QB Caleb Williams (first) and WR Rome Odunze (ninth)
Trend: Since drafting LB Roquan Smith with the eighth overall pick in 2018, every first-round pick has come on the offensive side of the ball for the Chicago Bears (Williams/Odunze last season, Darnell Wright in 2023, and Justin Fields in 2021).
Cincinnati Bengals
2024: OL Amarius Mims (18th)
Trend: The Cincinnati Bengals spent the fifth overall pick on Ja’Marr Chase in 2021. Since then, they’ve spent eight of their 10 top-100 picks on the defensive side of the ball (Kris Jenkins and McKinnley Jackson were added to this defensive line with such selections a year ago).
Cleveland Browns
2024: No first-round selections
Trend: The Cleveland Browns won just three games in 2024, the fourth time they’ve failed to reach four victories since 2001. In each of the other three, they spent a top-100 pick on both a QB (Cody Kessler, DeShone Kizer, and Baker Mayfield) and a high-pedigree skill player to support him (Corey Coleman, David Njoku, and Nick Chubb).
Dallas Cowboys
2024: OL Tyler Guyton (29th)
Trend: The Dallas Cowboys went with flashy names with their first-round pick in 2020 (CeeDee Lamb) and 2021 (Micah Parsons), but they have invested in the trenches with their three first-round selections since then (Tyler Smith in 2022, Mazi Smith in 2023, and Guyton last year).
Denver Broncos
2024: QB Bo Nix (12th)
Trend: Sean Payton’s New Orleans career started with Drew Brees in 2006, and in the 2007 NFL Draft, they spent their only pick in the top 65 on WR Robert Meachem (4.39-second 40-yard dash). He left and came back for the 2013 season; in the 2014 NFL Draft, New Orleans spent their only top-55 pick on WR Brandin Cooks (4.33-second 40-yard dash).
Both of those receivers cleared 1,000 yards and scored 10+ touchdowns in their final collegiate season — Emeka Egbuka (Ohio State) and Xavier Restrepo (Miami, FL) check those boxes and are projected to come off the board in the vicinity of when Denver picks in the first and second rounds, respectively.
Detroit Lions
2024: DB Terrion Arnold (24th)
Trend: The Detroit Lions have spent first-round draft capital on the defensive side of the ball in four of the past five drafts (exception: 2021, a season when they drafted Penei Sewell with their only first-round pick. They then followed by drafting defense with each of their next three picks).
Green Bay Packers
2024: OL Jordan Morgan (25th)
Trend: Last season, Morgan was the first time since drafting Jordan Love (2020) that the Green Bay Packers invested a first-round pick on the offensive side of the ball.
Houston Texans
2024: No first-round selections
Trend: Assuming they hold onto their first-round selection (25th overall), this will be the first time they make a pick in the No. 16-36 range since taking Tytus Howard in 2019.
Indianapolis Colts
2024: DL Laiatu Latu (15th)
Trend: The Indianapolis Colts have taken a swing at the WR position inside of the top 80 overall picks in back-to-back-to-back seasons (Adonai Mitchell last season, Josh Downs in 2023, and Alec Pierce in 2022) and in five of the past six (Michael Pittman Jr. in 2020 and Parris Campbell in 2019).
Jacksonville Jaguars
2024: WR Brian Thomas Jr. (23rd)
Trend: For the ninth time since 2012, the Jacksonville Jaguars own a top-five pick (for reference, Houston won the AFC South last season and has seven such picks in franchise history).
Newcomer general manager James Gladstone has drafted in the trenches early in each of the past three drafts while with Los Angeles (OL Logan Bruss with the Rams’ first pick in 2022, C Steve Avila with their first selection in 2023, and a pair of DLs in the top 40 last year in Jared Verse and Braden Fiske).
Kansas City Chiefs
2024: WR Xavier Worthy (28th)
Trend: Kansas City has spent a top-55 pick on a wide receiver in three straight drafts (Skyy Moore, Rashee Rice, and Worthy). Before this run, Jonathan Baldwin (2011) was the last WR to see that much draft capital invested in him by this franchise.
Las Vegas Raiders
2024: TE Brock Bowers (13th)
Trend: The Las Vegas Raiders drafted a pair of offensive linemen with top-80 picks last season, coming on the heels of spending one such pick on the offensive line in the previous five drafts.
Los Angeles Chargers
2024: OL Joe Alt (fifth)
Trend: Since drafting Justin Herbert sixth overall in 2020, the Los Angeles Chargers have spent all four of their first-round picks on the offensive side of the ball (three linemen and WR Quentin Johnston).
Los Angeles Rams
2024: DL Jared Verse (19th)
Trend: If the Los Angeles Rams stand pat, they will have made 10 picks 101st or earlier since 2022; they had a total of four such selections in the previous three years (2020-22).
Miami Dolphins
2024: DE Chop Robinson (21st)
Trend: The Miami Dolphins drafted Jaylen Waddle with the sixth overall pick in 2021. Since then, they’ve opened all three drafts with a defensive player (Channing Tindall in 2022, Cam Smith in 2023, and Robinson last year).
Minnesota Vikings
2024: QB J.J. McCarthy (10th) and LB Dallas Turner (17th)
Trend: Last season marked the fifth time in the past decade in which Minnesota made the playoffs; in the first round of the following NFL Draft, their selections have been as follows:
- 2016: WR Laquon Treadwell (23rd overall)
- 2018: CB Mike Hughes (30th overall)
- 2020: WR Justin Jefferson (22nd overall)
- 2023: WR Jordan Addison (23rd overall)
New England Patriots
2024: QB Drake Maye (third)
Trend: Since the AFL-NFL merger, here are the instances and years in which the New England Patriots used their first pick on a quarterback and their approach in the following draft:
- 1971, Jim Plunkett: WR Tom Reynolds was their first pick in 1972
- 1983, Tony Eason: WR Irving Fryar was their first pick in 1984
- 1993, Drew Bledsoe: WR Kevin Lee was their second pick in 1994
- 2021, Mac Jones: WR Tyquan Thornton was their second pick in 2022
- 2024, Drake Maye: TBD
New Orleans Saints
2024: OL Taliese Fuaga (14th)
Trend: The New Orleans Saints have spent their first pick on a lineman (offensive or defensive) in six of the past seven drafts (exception: Chris Olave in 2022).
New York Giants
2024: WR Malik Nabers (sixth)
Trend: New York has spent a top-75 pick on a receiver in the past four NFL Drafts (Kadarius Toney in 2021, Wan’Dale Robinson in 2022, Jalin Hyatt in 2023, and Nabers in 2024).
New York Jets
2024: OL Olumuyiwa Fashanu (11th)
Trend: The New York Jets have taken a skill position player (RB/WR) with one of their first four selections in five straight drafts (Denzel Mims in 2020, Elijah Moore in 2021, Garrett Wilson/Breece Hall in 2022, and Malachi Corley/Braelon Allen last season).
Philadelphia Eagles
2024: CB Quinyon Mitchell (22nd)
Trend: Philadelphia has spent seven of its 10 top-100 picks over the past three seasons on the defensive side of the ball.
Pittsburgh Steelers
2024: OL Troy Fautanu (20th)
Trend: The Pittsburgh Steelers have used three top-80 picks on their offensive line over the past two seasons (Broderick Jones in 2023 in addition to Zach Frazier and Fautanu last year) — that’s three more such picks invested in that manner than they had from 2013-22.
San Francisco 49ers
2024: WR Ricky Pearsall (31st)
Trend: Three of their past four first-round picks have been spent addressing the flashy spots on offense (Pearsall last year, Trey Lance in 2021, and Brandon Aiyuk in 2020). In the decade before (2010-19), they spent one first-round pick on such a player (A.J. Jenkins, 2012).
Seattle Seahawks
2024: DL Byron Murphy II (16th)
Trend: Seattle had eight picks last season, and they rotated defense/offense with all of them. They opened the 2023 NFL Draft doing the same thing through their first four selections.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2024: OL Graham Barton (26th)
Trend: Tampa Bay has used a top-60 pick to invest in its offensive line in three straight (and four of the past five) drafts.
Tennessee Titans
2024: OL JC Latham (seventh)
Trend: The Tennessee Titans have spent a top-five pick on a QB five times in franchise history. Steve McNair (third pick in 1995) was a success story; the other four have 11,444 professional passes on their resume and just seven more touchdown tosses than interceptions (Dan Pastorini, Jim Everett, Vince Young, and Marcus Mariota).
Washington Commanders
2024: QB Jayden Daniels (second)
Trend: Drafting Daniels last season played a huge part in the Washington Commanders’ surprise success during the 2024 season, and it was the result of Washington pivoting from its standard draft strategy. Seven of the Commanders’ nine top-50 picks over the past five drafts have been defenders (other exception: Jahan Dotson in 2022).