THE CHICAGO BEARS drafted quarterback Caleb Williams out of the University of Southern California with the number one overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft on Thursday.

For the first time in league history, six quarterbacks went in the first 12 picks of the draft with no defensive players selected.

All three of the top draft picks were used to select quarterbacks, with The Washington Commanders choosing Jayden Daniels from Louisiana State University and the New England Patriots opting for North Carolina signal-caller Drake Maye.

The Bears’ choice of Williams was widely expected, with the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner seen as the answer to the franchise’s long-running problem at the position.

Last month, the Bears traded their quarterback Justin Fields, a first round pick in 2021, to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Williams began his college career at Oklahoma before switching to USC and in 37 games, with 33 starts, he threw for 9,782 yards and 93 touchdown passes with an additional 27 rushing touchdowns.

“It took a lot of sacrifice, love, care for winning the game of football and my team-mates, my coaches and my family,” said Williams, when asked how he had become the top draft pick.

The Bears provided Williams with a wide receiver with the ninth pick, opting for Washington’s Rome Odunze.

Daniels played a total of 55 games in college football, beginning with Arizona State before joining LSU and in 55 games he threw for 12,750 yards and 89 touchdowns and added 3,307 rushing yards and 34 rushing touchdowns.

The Patriots were taking part in the draft without Bill Belichick as their head coach for the first time since 1999 and they will hope Maye can end their search for a quarterback to finally replace Tom Brady.

In a quarterback-heavy top of the draft, the Atlanta Falcons surprisingly opted for Michael Penix Jr out of Washington with the eighth pick despite recently signing QB Kirk Cousins to a nine-figure contract.

Penix is a highly-rated quarterback but was expected to have fallen down the draft due to concerns over a series of injuries he has suffered including two anterior cruciate ligament knee injuries.

To replace Cousins, the Minnesota Vikings moved up a place in the draft to take Michigan quarterback JJ McCarthy with the 10th pick.

There had been speculation that the New York Giants might make a move for a quarterback. Sitting sixth in the draft, Big Blue attempted to trade up to third to land Drake Maye but saw their efforts rebuffed by the Patriots.

The G-Men instead opted for wide receiver Malik Nabers from LSU.

The Los Angeles Chargers took an offensive tackle in Joe Alt out of Notre Dame and the Tennessee Titans also took a player in that role, drafting Alabama’s JC Latham.

2024 NFL Draft: First Round picks

1. Chicago Bears — Caleb Williams, quarterback (USC)
2. Washington Commanders — Jayden Daniels, quarterback (LSU)
3. New England Patriots — Drake Maye, quarterback (North Carolina)
4. Arizona Cardinals — Marvin Harrison Jr, wide receiver (Ohio State)
5. Los Angeles Chargers — Joe Alt, offensive tackle (Notre Dame)
6. New York Giants — Malik Nabers, wide receiver (LSU)
7. Tennessee Titans — JC Latham, offensive tackle (Alabama)
8. Atlanta Falcons — Michael Penix Jr, quarterback (Washington)
9. Chicago Bears — Rome Odunze, wide receiver (Washington)
10. Minnesota Vikings (via trade with Jets) — JJ McCarthy, quarterback (Michigan)
11. New York Jets (via trade with Vikings) — Olu Fashanu, offensive tackle (Penn State)
12. Denver Broncos — Bo Nix, quarterback, (Oregon)
13. Las Vegas Raiders — Brock Bowers, tight end (Georgia)
14. New Orleans Saints — Taliese Fuaga, offensive tackle (Oregon State)
15. Indianapolis Colts — Laiatu Latu, defensive end (UCLA)
16. Seattle Seahawks — Byron Murphy, defensive tackle (Texas)
17. Minnesota Vikings (via trade with Jaguars) — Dallas Turner, linebacker (Alabama)
18. Cincinnati Bengals — Amarius Mims, offensive tackle (Georgia)
19. Los Angeles Rams — Jared Verse, defensive end (Florida State)
20. Pittsburgh Steelers — Troy Fautanu, offensive tackle (Washington)
21. Miami Dolphins — Chop Robinson, defensive end (Penn State)
22. Philadelphia Eagles — Quinyon Mitchell, defensive back (Toledo)
23. Jacksonville Jaguars — Brian Thomas Jr, wide receiver (LSU)
24. Detroit Lions (via trade with Cowboys) — Terrion Arnold, defensive back (Alabama)
25. Green Bay Packers — Jordan Morgan, offensive tackle (Arizona)
26. Tampa Bay Buccaneers — Graham Barton, center (Duke)
27. Arizona Cardinals — Darius Robinson, defensive tackle (Missouri)
28. Kansas City Chiefs (via trade with Bills) — Xavier Worthy, wide receiver (Texas)
29. Dallas Cowboys (via trade with Lions) — Tyler Guyton, offensive tackle (Oklahoma)
30. Baltimore Ravens — Nate Wiggins, defensive back (Clemson)
31. San Francisco 49ers — Ricky Pearsall, wide receiver (Florida)
32. Carolina Panthers (via trade with Bills) — Xavier Legette, wide receiver (South Carolina)

– © AFP 2024