Meet the top 10 picks in the NFL Draft

The Minnesota Vikings traded with the New York Jets to move from the 11th spot to the 10th spot in the draft to select 21-year-old quarterback J.J. McCarthy.

McCarthy played at the University of Michigan under head coach Jim Harbaugh for three years, becoming the starter in 2022. In his third and final year, McCarthy threw for 2,991 yards and 22 touchdowns, with a 72.3% completion rate and just four interceptions, to help his team win the national championship, ESPN reported.

Other final-year accolades include being named the Griese-Brees Big Ten Quarterback of the Year, the 2023 Rose Bowl Game Offensive MVP, and a top-10 Heisman Trophy finisher, Michigan Athletics reported.

In a press conference after the draft, Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell said he's "very excited to have J.J. McCarthy on our team."

At 6-foot-3, Rome Odunze is expected to be a key feature of the Bears' new-look offense.

In his fourth and final year at the University of Washington, the wide receiver had 92 receptions for 1,640 yards and 13 touchdowns, ESPN reported.

UW Athletics reported that he was a finalist for the 2023 Biletnikoff Award, given to the most outstanding wide receiver. He was also a 2023 All-America First Team selection by the AP, FWAA, PFF, CBS Sports, and The Athletic, and a 2023 All-Pac-12 First Team selection.

"I'm so excited to get to work from day one and go do something special," Odunze told ESPN reporter Molly McGrath after his selection.

One of the biggest surprises of this year's draft was the Atlanta Falcons' selection of quarterback Michael Penix Jr.

The surprise, though, has nothing to do with Penix's talent — he was a 2023 Heisman Trophy finalist and Maxwell Award winner who threw for nearly 5,000 yards in his final season, per ESPN, to lead the University of Washington to the NCAA Championship Game.

Instead, the surprise is rooted in the Falcons' decision to sign a rookie quarterback after signing 36-year-old veteran Kirk Cousins to a four-year contract, which CNN reports is worth $180 million with $100 million guaranteed.

The Falcons' general manager, Terry Fontenot, told reporters during a press conference after the draft that the team is excited about drafting a "high caliber player" like Penix, noting, "You don't pass up that opportunity."

However, Fontenot was quick to say the team is "very excited" about Cousins and that Michael Penix Jr. is a pick where "we're talking about the future."

With the Titans' run-heavy offense, led by ex-Cowboy Tony Pollard, the addition of offensive tackle JC Latham will be key for the line's success.

Standing at 6-foot-6 and weighing 342 pounds, the University of Alabama alum was given a 6.71 prospect grade at the NFL Combine, which equates to being a first-year starter.

"I just want to live up to the standard of what Alabama is by working hard, and being the first one in and last one to leave, and doing everything I can to help the team's success," Latham told ESPN's Molly McGrath after his selection.

The New York Giants made a statement to the league that they're confident in the ability of their quarterback, Daniel Jones, with the selection of 20-year-old wide receiver Malik Nabers from LSU.

LSU Sports reported that in his final season, Nabers went for 1,569 yards and caught 14 touchdowns and was a Biletnikoff Award finalist, First-Team All-SEC selection by the AP and SEC Coaches, Citrus Bowl MVP, and a unanimous consensus All-America pick by the AP, Sporting News, AFCA, FWAA, and Walter Camp.

One is a small sample size, but the Giants have a great track record with drafting LSU wide receivers (hello, Odell Beckham Jr.).

After his selection, Nabers told ESPN's McGrath, "Being a receiver that goes to LSU, you know, you gotta come in and be a dog, so I'm expecting to be that. I can only just thank God for this opportunity that I'm in."

In true Jim Harbaugh fashion, the Los Angeles Chargers selected 6-foot-9, 321-pound offensive tackle Joe Alt from Notre Dame with the No. 5 pick.

In the post-draft press conference, Harbaugh said Alt's selection was a "unanimous decision," and general manager Joe Hortiz added, "We were going to take the best player available for the Chargers, and that's what we did today."

Notre Dame Athletics reported that Alt was a 2023 finalist for the Outland Trophy and Lombardi Award, both of which are presented to the nation's best linemen.

He's also the son of former two-time NFL Pro Bowler and Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Fame offensive tackle John Alt.

Widely regarded as the best wide receiver in the draft, 21-year-old Marvin Harrison Jr. was selected by the Arizona Cardinals with the No. 4 pick.

Throughout his collegiate career, Harrison made history as the most decorated wide receiver in Ohio State history.

In his final season, Harrison had 67 receptions for 1,211 yards and 14 touchdowns, ESPN reported. He was also the recipient of a myriad of awards, including the Biletnikoff Award, the Big Ten Graham-George Offensive Player of the Year Award, and the Big Ten Richter-Howard Wide Receiver of the Year Award, and he was a Heisman Trophy finalist, Ohio State reported.

As the son of eight-time Pro Bowler, Super Bowl XLI champion, and Pro Football Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison, there'll no doubt be high expectations as he joins the league.

With the Patriots trading Mac Jones to the Jacksonville Jaguars, it was clear the team would be looking for a quarterback, and they found one in Drake Maye.

In his redshirt freshman year at UNC Chapel Hill in 2022, Maye was the ACC Player of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, and Offensive Rookie of the Year, having thrown 342 completions for 4,321 yards with 38 touchdowns, ESPN reported.

He followed up his impressive performance in his second year as a starter (and final year at UNC), throwing 269 completions for 3,608 yards and 24 touchdowns.

Maye received a 6.50 prospect grade at the NFL Combine, leaving him in "boom-or-bust" territory.

On the Pat McAfee Draft Spectacular, former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick described him as "a very talented kid, good size, runs well, has a good arm," but warned that he doesn't have much experience, which could be an issue.

When the immediate comparison is Lamar Jackson, you know you're looking at talent.

Jayden Daniels, 23, is a true dual-threat quarterback who, in his final year at LSU, not only threw 236 completions for 3,812 yards and 40 touchdowns but also rushed for 1,134 yards for an additional 10 touchdowns, ESPN reported.

In 2023 alone, Daniels was awarded the Heisman Trophy, the Davey O'Brien Award, the Manning Award, the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, SEC Offensive Player of the Year, and AP Player of the Year, according to LSU Sports.

"I honestly couldn't believe how good he was," Adam Peters, general manager of the Commanders, told the media in the team's post-draft press conference.

He continued: "Just the way he could process, the way he could see the field, go through reads, deliver on time, deliver with pressure in his face, take a hit, and deliver a third-down pass to move the chains, he's the best deep ball thrower, we thought, in the draft, and that's even before you start watching him run."

And, of course, with the highly anticipated first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Chicago Bears selected quarterback Caleb Williams out of USC.

Williams was the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner, finishing the season with a record-breaking 333 completions for 4,537 yards and 42 touchdowns, per ESPN. He also rushed for 382 yards and an additional 10 touchdowns.

He followed up his sophomore season performance with another 266 completions for 3,633 yards, 30 passing touchdowns, and 11 rushing touchdowns in 2023.

"When you watch the tape, it was easy to see the talent, and we wanted him on our team, but it was all about going through the process," said Bears GM Ryan Poles in the post-draft press conference.

After two other disappointing first-round quarterback selections in Mitchell Trubisky (2017) and Justin Fields (2021), Bears fans are hopeful Williams will bring a new era of consistent success.