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Grading all 32 first-round picks after preseason Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season

2XRG518 Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) passes against the New York Jets during a pre-season NFL football game Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

• Jayden Daniels leads the QB class: On Daniels' lone drive, he threw a gorgeous ball deep down the sideline to Dyami Brown to set Washington up deep in Jets territory. He later finished the series with a read-option rushing touchdown.

• Nate Wiggins shows out before exiting with a shoulder injury: He led the Ravens with an 89.2 overall grade and a 90.2 coverage grade. The Clemson product broke up three passes and looked fantastic in man coverage.

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Estimated Reading Time: 15 minutes


Football is finally back. While we normally save our weekly roundup of first-round rookie production for the regular season, we are starting the fun early and keeping up with preseason performances.

The majority of this year’s first-round picks made their NFL debut this past week, so we’ll review their snap counts, grades and principal opponents, as we will throughout the entire season.


Pick No. 1: Chicago Bears: QB Caleb Williams

Overall Preseason Grade: 73.5 (Rank: N/A)
Principal Opponent: N/A
Preseason Week 1 Snaps: 20
Preseason Week 1 Grade: 73.5

Williams looked solid in his first NFL action, completing four of his seven passes for 95 yards and also rushing for a first down. His first completion was a third-and-12 seed on a curl route to DJ Moore, and his best throw came on a deep cross to Cole Kmet while running a bootleg. Williams rolling to his right is going to be a weapon for Chicago’s offense. While he still took a bit long to get rid of the ball at times, it’s very encouraging that Williams didn’t force any passes into heavy traffic.

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