While the true winners of the 2024 NFL draft won't be known for years until the players have established themselves at the sport's highest level, it surely looked like some teams did better than others in Thursday's first round.

ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. highlighted some of the teams he viewed as winners, including the Minnesota Vikings, Jacksonville Jaguars and Arizona Cardinals.

Minnesota notably landed its potential franchise quarterback at No. 10 with J.J. McCarthy and an impact defender in Dallas Turner at No. 17, while Arizona (Marvin Harrison Jr. at No. 4) and Jacksonville (Brian Thomas Jr. at No. 23) drafted game-changing wide receivers.

Yet Kiper put the initial spotlight on the Chicago Bears and asked "How could the Bears not be in the 'winners' section?"

Chicago used the No. 1 overall pick on quarterback Caleb Williams and then wasted no time getting him another weapon at No. 9 overall with Washington wide receiver Rome Odunze.

This is a Bears team that went 5-3 in the final eight games of the 2023 campaign and already added Keenan Allen, D'Andre Swift and Gerald Everett to an offense with DJ Moore and Cole Kmet this offseason.

Now there is another weapon in Odunze, which means Williams is in an ideal position for early success.

Not every team was a winner in Kiper's eyes, though, and he said the Atlanta Falcons made a "shocking" and "head-scratching" move by selecting Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. at No. 8 overall.

After all, the Falcons signed Kirk Cousins this offseason and, if everything goes as planned, could start him for multiple seasons. Penix turns 24 years old in May, so he's not exactly someone who fits the profile of a rookie who can sit for multiple years to start his career if he is eventually going to be a franchise signal-caller.

Atlanta could have addressed a more pressing position of need, perhaps on the defensive side, with that pick.

Elsewhere, Kiper was confused by the San Francisco 49ers' decision to draft Florida's Ricky Pearsall at No. 31 overall because he had Xavier Legette, Keon Coleman and Adonai Mitchell—who were all still available—ranked ahead of him.

Even if the 49ers went wide receiver because of uncertainty about Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel, with Dianna Russini of The Athletic reporting they were included in trade discussions, Kiper believes there were better players available at the position.