LAS VEGAS — An explosive and exciting round one of the NFL Draft is in the books.
We had nine first round trades, including some blockbuster deals, especially between the Eagles and Titans as Tennessee sent top playmaking receiver AJ Brown to Philadelphia.
It really was the draft of the receivers. AJ Brown and Marquise Brown were traded, and we had six receivers drafted before the 20th pick, a first for the NFL Draft. Drake London was first off the board at 8, and then the run on receivers really started.
All the drama was covered on the Locked On NFL Draft Live Show, which will be live here on our watch page for day two, and on the Locked On NFL YouTube channel beginning at 6:30 ET.
Locked On's draft experts in studio react live to every single pick, while bringing in local team experts around the country for thoughtful analysis.
NFL Draft Round 1 Winners
On Friday's Locked On NFL podcast, hosts Christopher Carter and Your Boy Q, who was live in person in Las Vegas, went through their winners and losers from day one.
New York
How about the Jets and Giants? It's easy to say it's obvious they both had big wins in the draft, but both teams got a lot of value on prospects despite their high draft spots.
Jets selections:
- Pick No. 4: Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner, CB, Cincinnati
- Pick No. 10: Garrett Wilson, WR, Ohio State
- Pick No. 26: Jermaine Johnson, DE, Florida State
Giants selections:
- Pick No. 5: Kayvon Thibodeaux, DE, Oregon
- Pick No. 7: Evan Neal, OT, Alabama
Christopher Carter: “When you look at both those teams picking twice in the top 10, of course they were the best. But here’s the thing, how many times have we seen them mess it up? At one point Evan Neal was thought of as a potential No. 1 pick, Kayvon Thibodeaux, same thing. Garrett Wilson was considered maybe the best receiver. Ahmad Gardner, considered maybe the best cornerback of the class. All winners right there.”
Your Boy Q: “It blew my mind that Jermaine Johnson fell that far. He’s a hell of a player.”
Eagles
A big draft day 1 for the Philadelphia Eagles. They traded up to get Georgia DT Jordan Davis. Then, they trade away only picks 18 and 101 to get star wide receiver AJ Brown from the Titans. A big win for Philly on Day 1
Eagles selections:
- Pick No. 13 (trade up): Jordan Davis, DT, Georgia
- Trade: AJ Brown (from TEN) for picks No. 18, 101
Carter: "You trade up and get Jordan Davis, a monster in the middle. And then you trade and get AJ Brown. The Eagles are going to be an interesting team.”
Your Boy Q: "Now there’s going to be no excuses for Jalen Hurts. You’ve got to go out there and perform. This is going to be your put up or shut up year. Either he’s the QB of the future or he’s not. Now he’s got legit weapons.”
Ravens
The Ravens' front office just continues to impress year after year in the draft. They stood there at No. 14 and got the best safety on the board in Notre Dame's Kyle Hamilton. Then, they traded away WR Marquise Brown to get pick No. 23, and traded back to 25 and got Iowa center Tyler Linderbaum.
Ravens selections:
- Pick No. 14: Kyle Hamilton, S, Notre Dame
- Pick No. 25 (via trades): Tyler Linderbaum, C, Iowa
Carter: "Getting Kyle Hamilton, staying pat at 14 and then moving up and getting Tyler Linderbaum. I think they made some really savvy moves in this draft.”
Your Boy Q: “That’s just kind of what they do, come up with some really good picks like that. I think Kyle Hamilton, that’s the best safety they’re going to have since Ed Reed…I’m not mad at them trading Marquise Brown. I think Baltimore has a really sharp front office, I think they’re the best in the business. To be able to get Hamilton, and then you address the offensive line, those are good areas of need and great value as far as the players go.”
Lions
It's not often you see the Detroit Lions in the "winners" selection after day one of the NFL Draft but it's almost impossible not to put them here after Thursday. They got Aidan Hutchinson at No. 2, thought to be the No. 1 pick for months ahead of the draft. Then, they trade all the way up from 32 to 12 to get Alabama's Jameson Williams, the No. 1 receiver on a lot of team's boards.
Lions selections:
- Pick No. 2: Aidan Hutchinson, DE, Michigan
- Pick No. 12 (via trade): Jameson Williams, WR, Alabama
Your Boy Q: “You probably have the best receiver that was in the draft. He probably would’ve been the first receiver off the board if he was healthy right now. If you’re able to be patient and allow him to get healthy, you could have a heck of a steal and a really good receiver for years to come.”
Locked On Lions host Matt Dery: “This is something you rarely see from the Lions and that’s some stones, that’s some guts,” Dery said. “Making a move to go get a guy who’s a big time player. They could’ve stayed at 32 and taken a nice receiver, but they go get a home run hitter in Jameson Williams, who if not for the torn ACL in his last game at Alabama, might be the best receiver, the most explosive receiver in this draft. That’s a game changer for Detroit."
NFL Draft Round 1 Losers
Aaron Rodgers
The Green Bay Packers had two first round selections and after trading away star, All-Pro receiver Davante Adams this offseason, almost nobody thought they wouldn't do everything to get a top receiver talent in the first round, but they didn't. The Packers have still never drafted a wide receiver in the first round in the Aaron Rodgers era.
Packers selections:
- Pick No. 22: Quay Walker, LB, Georgia
- Pick No. 28: Devonte Wyatt, DT, Georgia
Your Boy Q: "He lost again. I can’t believe there were receivers there for them to take, guys we considered to be really good and they chose not to and made some moves that I don’t really see it. You’re in win now mode, and you just lost your best receiver in Davante Adams, you have multiple first round picks and you still don’t make it happen. I don’t think they’re going to leave this draft without a receiver, but I would think they would’ve tried to get out of the first round with a receiver they felt comfortable with being their next big time playmakers.”
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals didn't have a first round selection, but they did trade for Ravens wide receiver Marquise Brown, giving up their No. 23 overall selection for him.
Cardinals selections
- Trade away No. 23 for Marquise Brown, pick 100
Carter: “I don’t know how you give up that for Marquise Brown. I get it if it was like, Terry McLaurin. AJ Brown, I get being desperate for him. But Marquise Brown?”
Your Boy Q: “I didn't understand why they gave up what they gave up. In my mind, Marquise Brown is a one trick pony and that trick’s not even that good. It just shows you how the receiver market has been changed and shuffled up. It all goes back to the Davante Adams trade. That reset the receiver market.”
Titans
The Titans made the shocking trade of the draft when they gave up their star playmaking receiver AJ Brown to the Eagles for the No. 18 pick and No. 101. It was a puzzling move when looking at what they gave up and the contract that the Eagles gave Brown, Carter and Q both agreed.
Titans selections
- Pick No. 18 (for WR AJ Brown): Treylon Burks, WR, Arkansas
Locked On Titans host Tyler Rowland: “Quite frankly this is an absolute disaster for the Titans. You take a player in Treylon Burks who, while having some similar qualities to AJ Brown…he simply is not developed enough as a boundary receiver who can play outside enough as an X factor guy for you. I thought he was a good fit as a secondary receiver for the Titans…but to get rid of AJ Brown, but looking at what Philadelphia gave up, 101 and 18 and looking at the contract they gave AJ Brown. This is an absolute disaster. I don’t know what has happened here in Nashville, but it’s a complete mistake.”
Locked On NFL Draft Live Show: Friday at 6:30 p.m. ET
All the round one drama was covered on the Locked On NFL Draft Live Show, which will be live here on our watch page for day two, and on the Locked On NFL YouTube channel beginning at 6:30 ET.
Locked On's draft experts in studio react live to every single pick, while bringing in local team experts around the country for thoughtful analysis.