The 2024 NFL draft was offense-heavy, as teams jumped at the chance to draft quarterbacks, wide receivers and offensive linemen early and often. But just how good is this signal-caller class historically? How does the sheer number of pass-catchers and blockers drafted compare to recent years?
We've seen a handful of records and trends to watch over the course of three days of the draft. So we asked our ESPN Stats & Information team to help add some context to the QB, WR and OL positions, along with the defensive side of the ball. Here's a closer look at how things stack up.
Note: All records and trends are for the common draft era (since 1967) unless seven-round era (since 1994) is specified.
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Quarterback
The quarterback class featured a few highly graded prospects at the top, starting with USC's Caleb Williams. Six quarterbacks ultimately went in Round 1, with Williams (Bears), LSU's Jayden Daniels (Commanders) and North Carolina's Drake Maye (Patriots) going 1-2-3 to get things started. Washington's Michael Penix Jr. went to Atlanta (No. 8), Michigan's J.J. McCarthy was taken by Minnesota (No. 10) and Oregon's Bo Nix was selected by Denver (No. 12).
The total of six first-round passers ties the 1983 class, which included Hall of Famers John Elway, Jim Kelly and Dan Marino, along with Todd Blackledge, Tony Eason and Ken O'Brien.
However, six QBs going within the first 12 picks is the fastest that many passers have ever been selected, including the 1983 class (27 picks).
We didn't see any QBs drafted on Day 2. That's the third time that zero signal-callers were selected in the second or third rounds, joining the 1994 and -- interestingly -- 1983 draft classes.
The 137-pick wait between Nix at No. 12 and South Carolina's Spencer Rattler at No. 150 (Saints) is the longest span between QBs drafted in the common draft era.
Wide receiver
The outstanding wide receiver talent in this class is led by Ohio State's Marvin Harrison Jr., who was taken at No. 4 in Round 1 by the Cardinals. Two other receivers -- LSU's Malik Nabers (Giants) and Washington's Rome Odunze (Bears) -- went in the top 10.
Seven WRs were taken in the first round, tied with 2004 for the most ever. That class included Larry Fitzgerald at No. 3 overall to Arizona, where Harrison was just drafted.
We saw 16 receivers selected through three rounds, one shy of tying the record for the most through Round 3. We had 17 go in 1994, 2007 and 2022. It has now been at least 16 over the first three rounds in three of the past five years.
There were 35 wide receivers drafted in total, tied for the fourth-most in the seven-round draft era.
Offensive line
We knew this offensive line group was deep, and the picks backed that up. Notre Dame's Joe Alt was the first off the board in Round 1, when the Chargers took him at No. 5. Alabama's JC Latham followed him two picks later, going to the Titans.
Eight offensive tackles went in the first round, which ties with the 2008 class for the most in a first round. Jake Long went No. 1 overall to the Dolphins that year.
Seventeen offensive tackles were selected through three rounds, the most ever through the end of Round 3.
Widening the scope, we saw 25 total offensive linemen get drafted through three rounds, also the most ever through Round 3.
We set records for the most offensive linemen and most offensive tackles drafted in total for the seven-round draft era. Fifty-five linemen were selected, and 28 of them are offensive tackles.
Defensive players
The flip side of the run on offense is that defensive players waited longer than usual to hear their names called in Round 1. The Colts ended the defensive slide at No. 15, taking UCLA edge rusher Laiatu Latu.
The first defender going at No. 15 is the latest ever. Previously, the latest we saw the first defender drafted was No. 8 (Panthers taking CB Jaycee Horn) in 2021 -- seven spots earlier.
Furthermore, 14 straight offensive players to start the draft was the longest streak of offensive players at any point in a single draft ever.
However, Round 2 saw 20 defensive players drafted, tied for the fourth-most ever in the second round and the most there since 2016 (22).
Defensive backs were coveted: There were 57 selected, which tied for the second-most in the seven-round draft era.
Note: Sterling Xie and the ESPN Stats & Information team contributed to this story.