Not one player from the 2024 draft has played a snap of professional football yet. Sure, we have an idea of which players will go on to be stars, who could be role players and who will have trouble sticking in the NFL at all. But the truth is that there will be no shortage of youngsters that pundits will be wrong about, be they surprise stars or unforeseen busts.

Of course, that doesn't stop draftniks and fans alike from grading and passing judgment on picks from the moment they happen. Michael Penix Jr. hadn't even gotten off the phone with the Atlanta Falcons before folks were assailing the eighth overall pick as a horrible decision and terrible allocation of resources.

Whether one of those people was Kirk Cousins is best left to the imagination. Go ahead, imagine it—it's kinda fun.

That was far from the only controversial or questionable pick in a first round that was wildly offense-heavy. More still followed on Days 2 and even 3.

But all of those picks were made by highly-qualified professionals who are paid a substantial amount of money to be right about these sorts of things.

An argument can be made that they will prove to have been when all is said and done.

Michael Penix Jr., QB, Atlanta Falcons

There was no pick in the 2024 NFL draft that raised more eyebrows than when the Atlanta Falcons selected Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth overall pick. After all, this was a team that had just handed veteran Kirk Cousins a four-year free-agent pact worth $45 million a season.

Now, Cousins is also rehabbing a torn Achilles tendon. But head coach Raheem Morris told reporters that Cousins' injury was not a factor in the selection of Penix.

"It has nothing to do with the injury," Morris said. "At some point, you've got to find a way to have that succession plan in place. It just so happened it posed itself. And with the guy we have and the guy that we got and the guy that we think is coming back, we don't want to be in this position again to pick that guy again."

General manager Terry Fontenot also told the media that the pick was made with the long-term in mind.

"If our goal was to get instant gratification, then we'd be doing different things," Fontenot said. "That's not our goal. Our goal is to build a sustained winner."

It's admittedly an, um, interesting pick—the dead cap hit for trading Cousins in 2025 would be a whopping $37.5 million. But Cousins has no guaranteed money after 2025 and would be a very tradeable asset even next year (provided he waives his no-trade clause).

In the short term, Morris' protestations to the contrary Penix is insurance against Cousins not being ready to return to the playing field. By 2026, Penix will more than likely be starting for the Falcons.

Drafting a quarterback in Round 1 and sitting him for two years appears to have worked out OK for the Green Bay Packers and Jordan Love.

Just saying.

T'Vondre Sweat, DT, Tennessee Titans

At this year's NFL Scouting Combine, Texas defensive tackle T'Vondre Sweat checked in at 6'4" and 366 pounds. That's one big defensive tackle. As a matter of fact, at Sweat's combine weight he would be over 10 pounds heavier than any defender in the NFL. His 5.27-second 40-yard dash in Indianapolis was the slowest of any non-offensive lineman.

As if Sweat's weight concerns weren't enough, an off-field red flag went up just before the draft when Sweat was arrested for DWI in Texas. To say the timing of that arrest was less than ideal is an understatement.

However, the Tennessee Titans didn't appear to be overly concerned about either issue—they drafted the 2023 Outland Trophy winner with the sixth pick of Round 2.

Sam Adams knows a few things about playing defensive tackle—he was a three-time Pro Bowler and played for 14 seasons in the NFL. He told Nick Suss of the Nashville Tennessean that he believes the Titans got a steal in Sweat.

"I've got news for you all: Sweat's coming," Adams said. "He's going to be making a lot more people sweat because he can move up and down the line, he can take on two. If you don't put two on him, he can get up the field. He can win the one-on-one pass rush with multiple moves. Second-round draft pick. They stole him at that round. He's worth more than that. If he can maintain his weight, they're going to have to back up the dump truck to pay him. He is a baller."

The DWI is a serious offense, to be sure. But Sweat doesn't have a history of off-field issues at Texas, and the reality is that young men make mistakes. The key will be what Sweat does after making one.

Bo Nix, QB, Denver Broncos

The 2024 NFL Draft made history in a number of different ways. One was at quarterback—not only did the 2024 draft tie the 1983 iteration for the most signal-callers drafted in Round 1 (six), but all six of those quarterbacks were taken in the top-12 picks.

Oregon's Bo Nix was the sixth of those quarterbacks taken, selected by the Denver Broncos at No. 12. It wasn't the jaw dropper of a pick that Penix was, but as draft expert Todd McShay said on the Ryan Rusillo Podcast, it still left more than a few folks scratching their heads.

"I promise you, I've talked to… at least 10 guys in the league that are high ranking evaluators and decision makers in their organizations," McShay said. "Nobody else had a first-round grade on (Bo Nix)."

However, while other evaluators may have felt the Nix pick was a reach. Broncos general manager George Paton told reporters that he and head coach Sean Payton had been zeroed in on Nix for some time.

"I'd watched all the quarterbacks, seen them live (during the regular season on scouting trips),'' Paton said. "And then the season's over, I get with Sean and we watched the quarterbacks (on tape). And Sean liked a lot of these quarterbacks. And when we got to Bo it was pretty instant. Sean was like, 'man.' You know, Sean. He really liked him and then we went to the private workout and spent three hours with Bo in the meeting setting and he was outstanding. And we go out to the field, and he made 10, 15 throws and Sean came up to me and said, 'This is the guy.' And I said, 'Hey, we've got a whole process to go through. But he was really the target from then on."

Nix's supporters point to his experience and accuracy. Detractors point to the fact that two-thirds of his pass attempts last year were within nine yards of the line of scrimmage.

It's simple, really—if Nix becomes even an average NFL starter, then you can't really argue with the pick. The need for capable quarterback play in the NFL is that great.

Ricky Pearsall, WR, San Francisco 49ers

After coming within one drive of winning Super Bowl LVIII, there was no shortage of curiosity regarding what San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch would do with the next-to-last selection in Round 1.

That curiosity turned to surprise when Lynch made Florida wide receiver Ricky Pearsall the sixth wide receiver off the board at No. 31. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler went so far as to call the Pearsall pick the most head-scratching selection of the entire draft.

"I'm not about to doubt coach Kyle Shanahan's eye for offensive skill players, and I love Pearsall as a player," Fowler said. "But his place as WR6 in this draft was unexpected. Most teams I spoke to pegged him as a Day 2 pick. Considering the 49ers still have Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk on the roster, bolstering the offensive or defensive line seemed like a sensible play."

However, while speaking to reporters, Shanahan said that the Niners had plenty of reasons to make Pearsall their first pick in 2024.

"He just plays the position real well," said Shanahan. I mean, whether he was outside, inside, either receiver, all three of the positions, he can separate down the field, he can separate underneath. He's got really good hands, extremely smart, very well developed. You can tell he is, I guess I'd call it a gym rat or something because you can just see he's worked on his routes, put in a lot of hours because you can see it on tape and there's really nothing he can't do. He can fit in whatever role based off the other guys."

Pearsall's arrival has as much to do with the other wideouts in San Francisco as Pearsall himself. Brandon Aiyuk is a free agent after the upcoming season. Deebo Samuel is signed through 2025, but his cap hit is north of $24 million each of the next two years.

Pearsall was picked with an eye toward a future where either Aiyuk or Samuel (if not both) are no longer on the roster.

Tyler Guyton, OT, Dallas Cowboys

For the first time in a long time, the Dallas Cowboys will enter the 2024 season without Tyron Smith atop the depth chart at tackle. Given that reality, it wasn't a shock to see Dallas use their first pick on a tackle in Oklahoma's Tyler Guyton.

However, Guyton was the eighth offensive tackle taken in Round 1, and while the Los Angeles Chargers got an NFL-ready tackle in Joe Alt, Guyton is more widely regarded as a "project" type.

As a matter of fact, at least one Big-12 coach told ESPN's Adam Rittenberg that he feels like the Cowboys fell in love with the 6'8" 322-pounder's length and measurables and reached for a lineman who could be a ways off from being ready to start.

"He never played at TCU, he was not an every-down player at Oklahoma last year, and he's drafted in the first round," the coach said. "That's because he's long. It really is crazy. People think if you're long and athletic, they can coach the rest."

All that coach said is true—while Guyton has all the tools that NFL teams covet in offensive tackles, his technique and footwork both need significant refinement. He also played right tackle in college and is expected to switch to the left side in the pros.

But there are some other truths in the NFL. One is that offensive tackle is a premium position—there's a reason so many were drafted in Round 1 this year. Another is that teams picking at the back of Round 1 often have to sacrifice surety for potential. The Cowboys have also had as much success developing offensive linemen as any team in the league over the past decade-plus.

Back in 2013, the Cowboys were pilloried by many for drafting a center 31st overall in Travis Frederick. Frederick went on to make five Pro Bowls and was widely regarded as the NFL's best player at his position for multiple seasons.

Where the big uglies are concerned, more often than not Jerry Jones has known what he's doing.

Ruke Orhorhoro, DT, Atlanta Falcons

That the Atlanta Falcons both begin and end this piece isn't a great look for new head coach Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot.

Frankly, they owe me a basket of meats and cheeses for sticking up for their first two picks.

Apparently, leaving jaws on the floor with the Penix pick on Day 1 of the draft wasn't enough for the duo—the Falcons kicked off Day 2 of the draft by trading up and making another controversial pick at No. 35 in Clemson defensive lineman Ruke Orhorhoro.

Once a defensive end, the 6'4", 294-pounder is now an interior lineman. And while grading each of this year's picks (not an easy task) here at Bleacher Report, Brent Sobleski was not overly impressed by the selection.

"The Falcons felt compelled to trade up and surrender a third-round pick to select Orhorhoro," he wrote. "That was problematic on three fronts. First, Illinois' Jer'Zhan Newton is a superior prospect, and he's still on the board. Second, Orhorhoro doesn't provide a significant pass-rush presence. Finally, Atlanta paid a relatively significant price: the Nos. 43 and 79 picks for Nos. 35 and 186. Granted, Orhorhoro has awesome traits. But he isn't a solution for what the Falcons could have immediately added."

Sobleski has a point. But the truth is while many may think Newton is the better prospect, we won't definitively know the answer to that question for a while. Orhorhoro is a versatile and talented youngster in his own right—his length means he play up and down the defensive line, and his athleticism and potential are both considerable.

If Orhorhoro can refine his pass-rush moves and play with more consistency and comes anywhere close to his player comp at NFL.com of Justin Madubuike of the Baltimore Ravens, then getting him Day 2 will be outstanding value—and the Falcons will be wishing they had a fifth-year option.