The NFL Draftniks will give you the grades from a performance standpoint. But here at cllct, we, of course, are grading for marketability and the ultimate collectible bump, based on where all the top prospects ended up.
So, without further ado, we bring you our top three winners and losers from Round 1 of the 2024 NFL Draft on Thursday night.
Winners
1. Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears
The No. 1 overall pick goes to the nation’s third-largest city, which still has a fan base wearing Payton, McMahon and Urlacher jerseys to games. Sure, Bears fans were jilted by the promise of Justin Fields, but with the 40th anniversary of the "Super Bowl Shuffle" coming up (yikes), hope rings eternal.
And for a city that has never truly had a franchise QB in the modern era, there's hope that maybe ... just maybe ... the Bears might finally have found a star at football's most important position.
2. Malik Nabers, New York Giants
For a second time in three years, the most confident guy with the largest chain goes to New York. In 2022, it was Sauce Gardner, who backed up his confidence by winning Defensive Rookie of the Year for the Jets. This year, it’s Malik Nabers going to the Giants. A brash LSU receiver going to the G-Men? Now, where have we heard that one before?
New York loves a confident guy, and Nabers will be marketable if he lives up to his billing.
T3. J.J. McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings
Gone is Kirk Cousins, who took the Vikings to the playoffs just twice in six seasons. The Minnesota fan base is very hungry and now you have a possible J.J-to-J.J. (Justin Jefferson) connection.
T3. Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders Georgia tight end Brock Bowers is a bad, bad man, and “Sin City” is gonna love him. He’ll get a lot of love early on, though there’s gonna be plenty of questions as to who is throwing to him.
Losers
1. Michael Penix Jr., Atlanta Falcons
You are one of the best players in college football, play in the title game and are the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy. Now, you are essentially guaranteed to sit, as the guy ahead of you is Cousins, who just got $100 million guaranteed.
Card collectors might love the idea of Penix, but knowing the Washington Huskies star is going to have to sit and wait requires a patience game that isn’t for everyone.
2. Bo Nix, Denver Broncos
Nix isn’t in the same spot as Penix, but he’s going to have to fight for a starting job with Zach Wilson and Jarrett Stidham. Denver has been a good market in the past, but very few fans are investing now. A Super Bowl win in 2015 has been followed with eight straight seasons of missing the playoffs.
3. Marvin Harrison Jr., Arizona Cardinals
Larry Fitzgerald broke out fine in Arizona, but given the markets ”Maserati Marv” could have been in — namely Los Angeles and New York at the No. 5 and No. 6 picks — it puts his unreal flash in a tougher position to shine.
Darren Rovell is the founder of cllct.com and one of the country's leading reporters on the collectible market. He previously worked for ESPN, CNBC and The Action Network.