Updated 2024 NFL Draft Order After Sunday’s Week 1 Results | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

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The top of the projected 2024 NFL draft order does not look like we expected it to after the opening weekend of the 2023 campaign.

The Cincinnati Bengals would have the first pick if the season ended after one game.

Of course, that is not the case and the true contenders for the No. 1 overall selection will take a few weeks to rise to the top of the projected order.

One thing is clear about the 2024 draft already and that is the top team will likely select USC Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams.

The reigning Heisman Trophy winner produced a stellar first three weeks for the Trojans. He played so well on Saturday against the Stanford Cardinal that he was given the entire second half off.

The NFL teams desperately in need of quarterbacks will show themselves at the top of the draft order soon, and it will not be long until we know the true contenders in the Chase for Caleb.

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1. Cincinnati

2. Arizona (from Houston)

3. Los Angeles Chargers

4. Denver

5. Kansas City

6. Tennessee

7. Indianapolis

8. Pittsburgh

9. New England

10. Chicago

11. Seattle

12. Arizona

13. Minnesota

14. Chicago (from Carolina)

15. New York Giants

16. Green Bay

17. New Orleans

18. Atlanta

19. New York Jets

20. Buffalo

21. Houston (from Cleveland)

22. Los Angeles Rams

23. Washington

24. Philadelphia

25. Las Vegas

26. Jacksonville

27. Detroit

28. San Francisco

29. Miami

30. Dallas

31. Baltimore

32. Tampa Bay

Order via Tankathon.com.

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Williams went 18-for-25 with 278 passing yards and four touchdowns on Saturday

He recorded those totals in a single half as USC burst out to a 49-3 halftime lead at home against Stanford.

Williams has 878 yards through the air and 12 touchdown passes through three games.

The USC junior is the front-runner to win the Heisman and he is expected to have some ridiculous stat lines throughout the season, even when he reaches Pac-12 play.

NFL talent evaluators will have a week off from Williams’ in-game action before he resumes play against the Arizona State Sun Devils on September 23.

Williams could generate even more buzz about his NFL potential by the end of the month if he thrives in a road game against Deion Sanders’ Colorado Buffaloes team with plenty of potential NFL players on the roster.

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Few people expected the Cincinnati Bengals, Kansas City Chiefs and Seattle Seahawks to all be sitting at 0-1 after Week 1.

The top half of the projected draft order after Week 1 carries teams that have not picked anywhere near the top 10 over the last few years.

Cincinnati, Kansas City, Seattle and others will eventually flush themselves further down the draft order while the average and bad teams replace them.

Plenty of NFL fans will point to the New York Giants as the worst team from Week 1, and rightfully so after losing 40-0 at home to the Dallas Cowboys, but they could right themselves against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 2.

Arizona was expected to be the worst team by far, but it put up a fight with Joshua Dobbs at quarterback on the road in Washington.

The competitive balance will take a few weeks to sort itself out. For example, the Giants could still be good and Week 1 was just a time when everything could go wrong for them.

No one else looked completely out of place on an NFL field in Week 1, so it may take until after Week 3 to sort out which teams will clearly be in the fight for the No. 1 pick.