The Detroit Lions selected Alabama cornerback Terrion Arnold with the No. 24 pick in Thursday’s first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. The Lions traded picks 29 and 73 to the Dallas Cowboys for No. 24 and a 2025 seventh-rounder. Unlike his classmate and secondary partner Kool-Aid McKinstry, who earned a starting role as a freshman and spent two-plus years as a marquee member of Nick Saban’s defense, Arnold took a gradual path in his three-year college career before cementing himself as a first-round talent. After redshirting as a freshman and being benched after a 2022 loss to ..read more

The Jacksonville Jaguars selected LSU wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. with the No. 23 pick in Thursday’s first round of the NFL Draft. The 6-foot-2, 209-pound receiver turned down several Division I college basketball offers to play football at LSU. He started three seasons in Baton Rouge, but his junior year was his most productive as he caught 68 passes for 1,177 yards and an FBS-leading 17 touchdowns. That touchdown total was the most since current Philadelphia Eagles receiver DeVonta Smith’s 23 in his Heisman Trophy-winning season at Alabama in 2020. NFL Draft 2024 tracker: Live ..read more

The Philadelphia Eagles selected Toledo cornerback Quinyon Mitchell with the No. 22 pick in Thursday’s first round of the NFL Draft. A terrific combination of calm and explosion, Mitchell blossomed from a fast and skinny three-star cornerback prospect to the complete package at 6 feet, 195 pounds. Mitchell ran a 4.33 40-yard dash time and recorded a 38-inch vertical jump at the combine in Indianapolis. A phenomenal athlete, Mitchell comes with enough core balance to be patient and under control in coverage. During a game against Northern Illinois in 2022, Mitchell picked off four passes ..read more

The Minnesota Vikings selected Alabama edge rusher Dallas Turner with the No. 17 pick in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Turner, a consensus All-America selection after starring for the SEC champions last fall, was the third defensive player selected Thursday night. He arrived in Tuscaloosa as a consensus five-star recruit and turned in 8.5 sacks as a freshman rotation player, including two in that season’s national championship game against Georgia. In the ensuing two years as a starter, he became a team captain and headliner of the Alabama defense, filling the hole left by ..read more

The Pittsburgh Steelers have added an impact piece up front, selecting Washington offensive lineman Troy Fautanu with the 20th pick of the 2024 NFL Draft. Recruited as an undersized guard out of Nevada, Fautanu added roughly 30 pounds (he weighed 317 at the combine) while at Washington, seeing time inside at guard before transitioning out to left tackle, where he served as the Huskies’ full-time starter the last two years. NFL Draft 2024 tracker: Live blog, pick-by-pick grades and analysis Big board best available: Who’s left from Dane Brugler’s Top 300? Draft pick grades: Nick ..read more

Amarius Mims started just eight games in his college career, but the talented offensive tackle has a high enough ceiling that the Cincinnati Bengals selected him with pick No. 18 in the 2024 NFL Draft. In drafting Mims, the Bengals committed to improving protection for franchise quarterback Joe Burrow for years to come. One of the freakiest athletes in the draft, the 6-foot-7, 340-pound Mims is an insanely gifted mover at his size, with a ton of room to grow. He moves around like a tight end — a fast one — at 340 pounds (with 36 1/8-inch arms and massive 11 3/8-inch hands) and has the foot ..read more

The Seattle Seahawks have added arguably the best interior defensive player in the 2024 NFL Draft, selecting Byron Murphy II with the No. 16 pick in the first round. The former Texas defensive tackle will join a Seattle defensive line that includes Leonard Williams, Dre’Mont Jones and Jarran Reed. Murphy served as a starter for only one season in Austin, but the 6-foot, 297-pound defender stood out in 2023 (including as a member of the “Freaks List” by The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman for his impressive weight-room feats — 455-pound front squat, 375-pound power clean). NFL Draft ..read more

The New Orleans Saints selected Oregon State offensive lineman Taliese Fuaga with the No. 14 pick in Thursday’s first round of the NFL Draft. After arriving at Oregon State during the pandemic-shortened season of 2020, Fuaga developed into a two-year starting right tackle for the Beavers; he finished his run as arguably the top run blocker in America. Fuaga started 25 games between 2022 and ’23, earning first-team All-America status last season. At 6-5, 324 pounds, Fuaga is balanced and built like a rock, incredibly difficult to move once his base is planted. Physical and ..read more

The Indianapolis Colts selected UCLA edge rusher Laiatu Latu with the No. 15 pick in Thursday’s first round of the NFL Draft. He was the first defensive player picked on the evening. Once forced to medically retire from football while at Washington, Latu bounced back and made the most of his second chance with the Bruins, dominating the Pac-12 and earning his spot in Round 1. Latu contributed to Washington as a freshman in 2019 but was sidelined after the Huskies’ team doctors wouldn’t allow him to return to the field from a 2020 neck injury. He transferred to UCLA in 2022, was ..read more

The Las Vegas Raiders selected Georgia tight end Brock Bowers with the No. 13 pick in Thursday’s first round of the NFL Draft. The 6-foot-3, 243-pound prospect was a three-year starter for the Bulldogs and was a first-team All-American in each of those seasons. Bowers was also the Bulldogs’ leading receiver each year on campus and helped Georgia win back-to-back College Football Playoff national championships in 2021 and 2022. He missed three games with an ankle injury in 2023 but still caught 56 passes for 714 yards and six touchdowns. His 714 receiving yards ranked second in ..read more