The 2024 NFL Draft is less than two weeks away and is one of the last opportunities for all 32 franchises to address the needs of their rosters for the upcoming NFL season. Yet, three NFL teams are without their most valuable asset heading into the annual event … their first-round pick.
Those three teams are the Carolina Panthers, Cleveland Browns, and Houston Texans. Let’s take a closer look at how they lost these picks.
Which Teams Are Missing Their First-Round Draft Pick in 2024?
Carolina Panthers
The aggressive decision from the Panthers’ organization to acquire the No. 1 overall pick from the Chicago Bears in the 2023 NFL Draft is the exact reason Carolina is without a first-round selection in 2024.
The price tag to move up nine spots to the top of the draft cost Carolina not only Pro Bowl WR DJ Moore but a 2024 first-round selection. The team ultimately used the pick to select Alabama QB Bryce Young, who threw just 11 touchdowns to go with 10 INTs his rookie season.
Unfortunately for the Panthers, that decision to part ways with a future first last year cost the team the opportunity to make a selection at No. 1 overall in this year’s draft. On the flip side, the team did manage to hold on to its second-round pick, which falls at 33rd overall and could help the franchise give Young some help on the offensive side of the football to help build around their young quarterback.
Cleveland Browns
The Browns organization took a significant leap of faith when it acquired QB Deshaun Watson from the Texans just over two years ago. In case you need a reminder of exactly what Cleveland gave up to get Watson, here is a quick look back at the compensation involved in the deal.
Browns Get: QB Deshaun Watson, 2024 sixth-round pick
Texans Get: 2022 first-round pick, 2023 first-round pick, 2024 first-round pick, 2022 fourth-round pick, 2023 third-round pick, 2024 fourth-round pick
When you combine the absurd amount of draft capital the Browns gave up to acquire Watson with his massive contract extension — five years, $230 million fully guaranteed — then the one word that comes to mind is yikes.
The Browns’ exit from the playoffs in the Wild Card Round earned them the 23rd overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, which now belongs to the Minnesota Vikings after the Texans dealt the pick in a deal to acquire the 42nd and 188th pick in this draft and a future second-round pick in 2025 from Minnesota.
Houston Texans
Speaking of the Texans, they have been a very busy team moving all around the draft board over the last few years. Houston general manager Nick Caserio made a monster deal during the 2023 NFL Draft to move up from No. 12 overall to No. 3 overall with the Arizona Cardinals to select Alabama LB Will Anderson Jr., giving up an additional pick at 33rd overall last year along with a first rounder and third-rounder in 2024.
KEEP READING: Who Has the Most Draft Picks in 2024?
Those future picks acquired in the deal now give the Cardinals additional draft capital with the 27th and 90th overall picks to help retool their roster. When you add the two 2024 draft assets to Arizona’s current allotment of picks, the Cardinals are now slated to make 11 selections in the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft.
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