The first round of Thursday’s NFL Draft had it all: massive trades, shocking first-round freefalls and smokescreens galore. Let’s break down some winners and losers.
Winners
James Gladstone
What an introduction! After nine years climbing the ranks in the Los Angeles Rams’ front office, the 34-year-old Gladstone — the second-youngest GM in NFL history — took a massive swing with his first-ever draft pick after being hired by Jacksonville in February. Sure, sending away the 36th pick in a deep draft and a 2026 first-rounder is a heck of a gamble, but taking a generationally unique player isn’t really a gamble. And Gladstone walked away from Day 1 with the buzziest move of the draft and Colorado’s Travis Hunter, who ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported will be used both offensively and defensively in Jacksonville. Just like he wanted.
Pete Carroll
It’s a charmed life for Carroll, who’s spent the last few months flying to Southern California to teach a leadership class at USC while building for the future in Sin City. And with his first draft pick since being named the Raiders’ head coach in January, Carroll had Boise State Heisman finalist Ashton Jeanty fall into his lap at No. 6, forming a truly fearsome duo of playmakers with tight end Brock Bowers. The AFC West is a gauntlet, folks.
Indianapolis Colts
For all the noise in recent years about the Broncos’ tight end room, the Colts have arguably had it worse. Indianapolis hasn’t had a tight end eclipse 500 yards since Eric Ebron went off for 13 touchdowns in 2018, and general manager Chris Ballard had Penn State’s Tyler Warren fall right into his hands at No. 14 without having to move a muscle. The Colts made out like bandits. You know who didn’t, though?
Losers
Tyler Warren
And…on the flip side of the Colts’ coin, Warren first slides to No. 14 and then winds up in Indianapolis, where his two best options at quarterback are the wildly erratic Anthony Richardson and Giants castoff Daniel Jones. He could’ve landed at No. 10 in Chicago, catching passes from Caleb Williams. He could’ve gotten snatched up by Dallas at No. 12, playing with Dak Prescott. Instead, he’s headed to Indy. So much for the brief dream of Sean Payton trading up for arguably the best matchup weapon in the draft.
Shedeur Sanders
The Browns sent a mass contingent out to Boulder at the beginning of April to watch Sanders throw. So did the New York Giants. Both passed on Sanders, the formerly top-five-mocked Colorado quarterback slipping into a freefall in the first round Thursday night. The Giants even traded back up into the first round at pick No. 25 for a QB — and then took Ole Miss’s Jaxson Dart.
Dallas Cowboys fans
In a vacuum, it’s hard to see Tyler Booker as a bad pick here. He was excellent as a pass-blocker for three years at Alabama, despite underwhelming combine results. But here’s guessing the city of Dallas won’t exactly be enthused by the addition of Booker, who was mocked by some analysts as a potential second-rounder. The Cowboys passed on a number of eye-popping skill adds here, from tight end Tyler Warren to running back Omarion Hampton.
Want more Broncos news? Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis.