These Three Teams Can Shake Up The Entire 2024 NFL Draft!
Every year around February and March, the NFL world shifts its focus from the playoffs to the offseason. This includes free agency, franchise tags, and, most importantly, the draft. The NFL draft is where championship teams are built, unless you're the Rams, and so it is pivotal that teams make their picks and trades count if they want to win.
That said, fans usually have a relatively standard idea of what will happen in the draft. Who the top teams are looking at, who the top players are, and everything else following that suit. However, it takes just one team to throw an entire wrench into it and change how every team looks at the draft. Here are three teams who could throw massive curveballs into what fans think will happen in April.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh, under Mike Tomlin, is the definition of consistency. Unfortunately, it has been consistently mediocre in the Steel City since Ben Roethlisberger's retirement, as Pittsburgh has struggled to find his successor to build around. While they drafted Kenny Pickett in 2022, one of the weakest quarterback draft classes of the past decade, Pickett has struggled to be consistent and prove he can win big games for this team. That is why I could see the Steelers making a big move to find their franchise guy.
This year has a loaded class of talent at the quarterback position for Pittsburgh. Unfortunately for them, they sit at pick 20, where most of the high-end quarterbacks are expected to be gone. That is why I could see them trading up. While Bo Nix could fall to them, the Steelers have a decent enough team where they could be excellent if they gave an elite rookie quarterback the ball.
That is why I could imagine the Steelers trading up for Drake Maye, a near replica of the big and robust quarterback that Ben Roethlisberger was for nearly two decades in Pittsburgh. If I'm the Steelers, I am trading to the top five and grabbing my franchise guy.
New York Giants
After winning a playoff game in the 2022-2023 season, the Giants returned to their usual selves in 2023-2024 and now hold the sixth pick in this upcoming draft. Daniel Jones got paid 40 million dollars in guaranteed money a year last off-season, so the Giants are in a weird position regarding what they want to do. Do you abandon Jones and try to rebuild around a potential superstar in a year with a loaded quarterback class? Or do you keep Jones as the guy and attempt to build around him with supporting talent?
The Giants face this question while stuck in the middle, which is precisely why they could shake everything up during the draft. At six, they will likely miss out on Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, and possibly Jayden Daniels, the only quarterbacks worthy of a top-ten selection. If this is the case, could the Giants trade up to try and get their guy? Abandon Jones and take one of the three I named? Or do they sit tight and draft an elite wideout to help support Jones? There are two roads for the Giants this year, one of which could lead to chaos.
Chicago Bears
The windy city believes that Justin Fields is not their guy. After securing the first overall pick due to their trade down with the Panthers last year, the Bears have the opportunity to cause the most chaos out of anyone with three separate directions.
A: Keep Fields, Stick at Number One, and Draft Marvin Harrison Jr.
B: Trade Fields, Draft Williams, and hope Caleb Williams is the savior to your franchise.
C. Keep Fields, trade down, and build even more assets.
With seemingly every report saying the Bears will do something different, it is up to them to dictate how the draft goes. Whether or not they take an elite quarterback or stick with their current guy will set the tone for the remainder of the draft, and if they choose not to take Williams, it opens the door for many other teams to try and get the coveted Golden child out of USC. Time will tell what the Bears will do, but Justin Fields unfollowed them on Instagram, so take that as you will.
Read More NFL News From Stadium Rant Here: NFL News
EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNTS:
Order your favorite whiskey or spirit for the big game right to your doorstep and use code STADIUMRANT10 for a 10% discount at Caskers
Use code STADIUMRANT20 for a 20% discount at Bulletproof Coffee, SwingJuice and Performix.
If you love to shotgun beers, use code STADIUMRANT10 at Wild Man Drinking Company.
MORE FROM STADIUM RANT:
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to our newsletter here.
Check out Stadium Rant Original shows on our Youtube channel and subscribe!