10 First Rounders From The 2024 NFL Draft Class That Already Look Like Massive Busts
A bad first impression in the NFL doesn’t necessarily forecast a bad career. Multi-time Super Bowl champion and Hall of Fame quarterbacks Peyton Manning, John Elway, and Troy Aikman are shining examples of this. However, several highly-touted NFL draftees of 2024 looked so out of place and sloppy in their rookie years that we’re already wondering if a disappointing career is about to ensue.
Let’s dive into 10 NFL first-round picks from 2024 who already look like busts.
Which 2024 first-round picks look like NFL busts?
Dallas Turner
A month before the 2024 NFL Draft, the Minnesota Vikings acquired the No. 23 pick from the Houston Texans in a blockbuster trade that sent two second-rounders the other way. Then on draft night, Minnesota traded the No. 23 pick and three more selections to the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for the No. 17 pick.
After all that wheeling and dealing, the Vikings used the No. 17 selection on Alabama edge rusher Dallas Turner. And boy, did they give up a LOT for him.
Hindsight is 20/20, but we’re confident the Vikings wouldn’t have made that second trade with Jacksonville if they had a do-over. Not only was Turner ineffective in his rookie year, but the Vikings’ D reached an elite level without his contributions in 2024.
Turner was used in a rotational role in his rookie year, finishing with three sacks and one interception. He finished with a mediocre Pro Football Focus grade of 63.9, including a lackluster 55.2 pass-rushing grade.
Despite Turner’s disappointing rookie year, the Vikings racked up 49 sacks, tied for the fourth-most in football. Brian Flores’ ferocious defense finished fifth in scoring, and the Vikings went 14-and-3 — their best regular-season record since the 1998 squad that went 15-1.
Oh, and the Vikings just signed star pass-rushers Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen to bolster their pass-rush. As if Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel weren’t hard enough for opposing teams to deal with.
With all that star power and depth in their front seven, it’s already hard to see how Turner will live up to his potential in Minnesota.
The one silver lining, of course, is that he’s still got time to shed that bust label. But we’re already pessimistic that he’ll be the star Minnesota envisioned when they drafted him 17th overall a year ago.
Rome Odunze
While most agreed that Ohio State sensation Marvin Harrison Jr. was the top wide receiver NFL prospect in the 2024 class, it was a toss-up between the Washington product Rome Odunze and LSU’s Malik Nabers for No. 2.
Two picks after the Arizona Cardinals used the No. 4 selection on Harrison Jr., the New York Giants went with Nabers at No. 6 overall. Three picks later, the Chicago Bears took Odunze.
Odunze had a solid-but-not-great rookie year, catching 54 passes for 734 yards and three touchdowns. Not bad, considering he had to share the ball with superstar DJ Moore and veteran Keenan Allen.
But we already can’t help but wonder if Odunze has peaked in Chicago. Crazy as that sounds, one just has to look at what the front office did after hiring Ben Johnson as their new head coach.
Moore is the established No. 1 receiver in Chicago. Is Odunze No. 2? Not so fast. The Bears used their first and second-round picks of 2025 on prized Michigan tight end Colston Loveland and Missouri wideout Luther Burden III, respectively. To say nothing of veteran tight end Cole Kmet…
The Bears also have another 1,000-yard weapon in running back D’Andre Swift. With everyone getting a slice of the pie — and you know most of it will go to Loveland, Moore, and Swift — we’re struggling to see how Odunze will hit his ceiling in Chicago.
Odunze needs to be a consistent 1,000-yard receiver to live up to expectations in Chicago. That’s much easier said than done, which is why it’s not too early to hover the “bust” label over his head.
Tyler Guyton
After future Hall of Famer Tyron Smith signed with the Jets in free agency, the Dallas Cowboys turned to Guyton as his successor. The Cowboys actually traded down five spots via the Detroit Lions and took Guyton at No. 29 overall, another mild surprise given their need for help at receiver and in the secondary.
Anyway, Guyton’s rookie year left a lot to be desired. In 15 games, he allowed six sacks and committed a ridiculous 18 penalties. Woof, someone wanted to give Jawaan Taylor a run for the least disciplined offensive tackle in the game!
Guyton’s 2024 PFF grade was also 49.4, meaning he failed his job. Basically, the Cowboys would have been better off not playing him and using somebody else.
We know most offensive linemen struggle as rookies, but this was especially bad football by Guyton in 2024. The good news? There won’t be as much of a spotlight on him, since Dallas used its 2025 first-round pick on Alabama guard Tyler Booker.
If that’s too much to keep track of, don’t forget they used their 2022 first-round pick on guard Tyler Smith. The latter has emerged as a star in Dallas.
Jerry Jones needs the same from Guyton and Booker, but the pressure is especially on the former to step up and produce. Nobody wants to be labeled as a bust this early, especially in a mega football market like Dallas, after all.
Darius Robinson
Still searching for their first stud pass-rusher since Chandler Jones left, the Arizona Cardinals drafted the Missouri defensive end Darius Robinson at No. 27 overall.
We know, we know. Robinson missed most of his rookie year because of injuries. But even in the six NFL games he suited up for, Robinson left a TON to be desired.
He had one sack in six games, but the advanced stats painted an uglier picture: A 48.4 PFF grade, including a 48.4 pass-rush grade that was fourth-worst among 219 graded interior defensive linemen.
The silver lining is that Robinson’s sophomore season can’t go any worse. But man, do the Cardinals wish they had a do-over on this pick. We think?
Olu Fashanu
The No. 11 selection got more playing time than expected in his rookie season with the New York Jets. Though Fashanu was only a designated starter for seven games, he played 57 percent of the Jets’ offensive snaps over the 15 contests he suited up for.
And boy, it wasn’t pretty.
Fashanu finished with a mediocre Pro Football Focus grade of 61.2, ranking 73rd among 140 graded offensive tackles. He allowed just one sack but committed seven penalties on 534 offensive snaps, too.
Tyron Smith retired after a down year, and veteran mainstay Morgan Moses left for the New England Patriots. The Jets went on to use their first-round pick of 2025 on Missouri offensive tackle Armand Membou, giving them a second unproven bookend to pair up with Fashanu.
Not to be that guy, but the Jets also have a terrible history of drafting and developing their offensive linemen. That also has us wondering if Fashanu is on his way to “bust” territory in Gotham.
What can we say? Good luck to Justin Fields! He’s gonna need it.
Byron Murphy II
The Seattle Seahawks already had a deep front seven, so it was a mild surprise to see them go with a defensive linemen here. But GM John Schneider couldn’t resist, taking Texas defensive tackle Byron Murphy II — no relation to the Minnesota Vikings cornerback — at No. 16 overall.
Murphy played about half of the Seahawks’ defensive snaps in the 14 games he suited up for, but the results didn’t exactly stand out. Murphy had just half a sack and a bunch of zeroes across the board.
He also finished with a PFF grade of just 57.8, including an awful run defense grade of 53.6 that ranked him 104th among all graded interior defensive linemen.
Imagine if Seattle addressed another need and took Defensive Rookie of the Year Jared Verse, who went to the rival Los Angeles Rams three picks after Murphy. Or a capable shutdown corner like Quinyon Mitchell or Cooper DeJean.
Pressure’s on to produce, Mr. Murphy. If things don’t pick up in year two, the “NFL Bust” label will only escalate!
Amarius Mims
The Cincinnati Bengals had various positions of need, but offensive tackle wasn’t among them with Trent Brown and Orlando Brown Jr. already occupying the bookend spots. But the Bengals loved Mims’ upside and couldn’t resist, taking the Georgia offensive tackle in the 18th spot.
Mims wound up getting thrown into the starter’s role, however, after Trent Brown suffered a season-ending injury in Week 3. So it’s hard to be harsh on Mims, who went from backup to immediate starter. Still, the results weren’t what Zac Taylor and company needed.
Mims allowed four sacks and committed as many penalties, per PFF, and finished with a season grade of 57.8. That ranked him 96th among all graded offensive tackles, which might explain why Joe Burrow once again suffered from brutal pass protection.
Terrion Arnold
Arnold was the consensus top cornerback prospect in the 2024 NFL Draft, so it felt like a win for the Detroit Lions when he fell to them in the 24th spot. Two picks earlier, the Philadelphia Eagles made Toledo’s Quinyon Mitchell the first cornerback off the board.
Mitchell and second-round pick Cooper DeJean formed an elite shutdown tandem for Philly and played instrumental roles in their Super Bowl 59 championship triumph. But if Arnold came as advertised for Detroit, perhaps Dan Campbell’s group could have been the ones celebrating a Super Bowl victory.
According to Pro Football Reference, Arnold allowed 660 yards and four touchdowns in coverage, allowing a 93.7 passer rating when targeted. Also, PFF had him down for 50 receptions allowed, 10th-most among corners.
Detroit curiously led top cornerback Carlton Davis III to walk to free agency, and he went on to sign a lucrative deal with the New England Patriots. That means they’ve got full confidence in Arnold, even if he looked like a giant bust after year one.
J.C. Latham
T’was considered a bit of a reach when the Tennessee Titans selected Alabama offensive tackle JC Latham with the No. 7 pick. Few people thought he’d be a top-10 pick, let alone the seventh-overall selection.
With one of the league’s worst offensive line groups to begin with, the Titans had little choice but to make Latham a starter right off the bat. That was probably a mistake, because the pros clearly overwhelmed Latham in 2024.
PFF graded Latham at 61.8 on the season, including a woeful 57.0 run-blocking grade that placed him 91st among offensive tackles. Oh, and he committed 10 penalties and allowed seven sacks on 1,095 snaps, per PFF.
The Titans have a spotty draft history dating back to 2017. It’s no wonder they’re already on their third GM in four years. We know optimism is brewing in Music City following the selection of Cam Ward at No. 1 overall, but we sure wish we could feel better about their o-line.
After one year, Latham already looks like he could go down as the next Titans’ bust.
Xavier Legette
Legette was the seventh and final wide receiver taken in round one, with the Carolina Panthers trading up one spot via the Buffalo Bills to take him at No. 32 overall.
The Panthers had hoped that Legette would immediately emerge as a game-changer for 2023 first-overall pick Bryce Young, who was coming off a miserable rookie season.
But Legette proved to be a non-factor in year one, catching just 49 passes for 497 yards and four touchdowns. If that doesn’t sound bad, get this: Legette’s 59.1 grade at PFF was also 90th among 98 graded receivers.
PFF also had Legette down for eight drops in his rookie year, including this brutal drop of a potential game-winning touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Panthers used their No. 8 pick of 2025 on Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan, a strong indicator they already don’t see Legette as a capable No. 1 anymore. With Adam Thielen still there, and with Chuba Hubbard and Rico Dowdle leading the backfield, we’re already struggling to see how Legette can make much of an impact in year two in the NFL.
Is he about to go down as the latest Panthers’ big-time NFL draft bust in the David Tepper era? Stay tuned…
10 First Rounders From The 2024 NFL Draft Class That Already Look Like Massive Busts
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