The 2024 NFL Draft got off to a record-setting start Thursday night and things never slowed down after that.
The Chicago Bears kicked things off by taking Caleb Williams, who ended being one of six quarterbacks taken during the first round, which tied the NFL record for the most quarterbacks taken in the opening round. That was one of several draft records that was tied or set during the first round.
With that in mind, let's take a look at a few more records from the NFL's history-making night:
- Quarterback domination. A total of four quarterbacks -- Williams, Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, Michael Penix Jr. -- were taken with the top eight picks, which is the most quarterbacks ever taken in the top eight in the modern draft era, which started in 1967. If you add J.J. McCarthy to the mix, this year marked the first time in the modern draft era that five quarterbacks were selected in the top-10.
- Six quarterbacks go in the first round. Bo Nix ended up being the sixth QB drafted in the first round when the Broncos selected him with the 12th overall pick. That tied the record for the most quarterbacks ever drafted in the first-round. The only other draft to produce six quarterbacks came all the way back in 1983, but it took 27 picks for all six quarterbacks to get drafted that year. Of the six quarterbacks in the class of 1983, three of them -- Jim Kelly, John Elway and Dan Marino -- ended up making it to the Hall of Fame.
- Draft starts with three straight quarterbacks. This year marked just the second time since 2000 that the draft started with three straight quarterbacks being selected. Before this year, the only other time it happened this century came in 2021 when Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson and Trey Lance were taken with the first three picks.
- USC sets a record. With Caleb Williams going No. 1 overall to the Bears, USC has now produced six players that have been taken with the top pick, which is a new record. Going into the 2024 draft, USC had been tied with Auburn, Notre Dame and Oklahoma.
- LSU has something to brag about. With Jayden Daniels (Commanders) getting taken with the second overall pick and Malik Nabers (Giants) going eighth overall, LSU became the first school in the common draft era (since 1967) to have a quarterback and a wide receiver get taken in the top-10 in the same year.
- Heisman winners taken with the top two picks. Both Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels won a Heisman Trophy while they were in college, which makes this year's draft just the second one ever where two Heisman-winning quarterbacks were taken with the top two picks. The only other time it happened came in 2015 when Jameis Winston was selected first overall followed by Marcus Mariota.
- Offensive players take over first round, Part I. The draft started off with 14 straight offensive players being selected, which is the longest streak in draft history for one side of the ball. The first defensive player didn't come off the board until 15th overall when the Colts selected Laiatu Latu. Before this year, the record for most offensive players taken to start a draft was seven, which happened in 2021. This was the first draft in NFL history where a defensive player wasn't taken in the top-10.
- Offensive players take over first round, Part II. Overall, there were 23 offensive players taken in the first-round, which smashed the old record of 19 that had happened three times before (1968, 2004, 2009).
- Wide receiver run hits first round. There were a total of seven receivers taken in the first round, which is tied with the 2004 draft for the most in history. The receiver run started with Marvin Harrison Jr. going to the Cardinals at four followed by Malik Nabers (Giants), Rome Odunze (Bears), Brian Thomas Jr. (Jaguars), Xavier Worthy (Chiefs), Ricky Pearsall (49ers) and Xavier Legette (Panthers).
- Christian Ponder 2.0. J.J. McCarthy didn't throw for 3,000 yards or rush for 500 yards a single time in college, which makes him the first QB since Christian Ponder to get drafted in the first round despite not hitting at least one of those numbers. Coincidentally, Ponder was also drafted by the Vikings.
- Falcons building a high-flying offense. With their selection of Michael Penix Jr., the Falcons have now taken an offensive skill player in the top-10 in four straight drafts, marking just the second time in draft history that we've seen that happen. The only other team to use their picks like that was the Lions, who took four skill players in the top-10 between 2002 and 2005.
- Raiders love tight ends. With their selection of Brock Bowers, the Raiders became just the second team since 1967 to take a tight end with a top-35 pick in consecutive drafts (they added Michael Mayer last year). The only other team to take two tight ends in the top-35 in back-to-back drafts was the 1973-74 Bills.
- Rams went to Jared. The Rams have only made two first-round picks since 2016 and both players were named Jared. Eight years ago, they took Jared Goff and they followed that up on Thursday by taking Jared Verse.
- Holy Toledo. Former Toledo corner Quinyon Mitchell ended up going to the Eagles with the 22nd overall pick, which makes him just the second player in Toledo history to get taken in the first round. Mitchell joins Dan Williams, who went 11th overall to the Broncos in 1993.
- Following in their father's footsteps. Both Marvin Harrison Jr. and Joe Alt were selected in the first round, which is notable, because both of their dads were ALSO taken in the first round. The Alts and Harrisons are now the 10th and 11th families since 1967 to have a father and son both taken in the first round.
Our final record of the night goes to the city of Detroit. According to the NFL, a total of 275,000 fans showed up in Detroit for the draft on Thursday, which set the record for highest first-round attendance. The previous record was set in 2019 when 200,000 fans showed up in Nashville.
