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2024 NFL draft: Mel Kiper's Round 1 predictions, buzz, notes

If you're reading this right now, congratulations -- you've made it. The 2024 NFL draft is upon us. We're here. Round 1 begins Thursday night (8 p.m. ET, ESPN, ABC and the ESPN app).

This class features a lot of mystery ... after No. 1. We know the Bears are going to take the best player in the draft there, but there's intrigue after that, including potential trades up for quarterbacks. So while I'm not doing a mock during the week of the draft this year, I wanted to tell everyone what I'm hearing after my calls around the league with front office execs, coaches and people who know best.

Here are 20 things to know ahead of Round 1, including a few predictions, teams that could trade up (or down), wild-card teams that have me scratching my head, and prospects who might slip out of the top 32 picks. You can check out my final Big Board rankings for the draft, which includes the top 150 prospects overall and the best at every position. And, of course, I'll be on air Thursday night giving my thoughts about every pick. Let's dig in:

Jump to a section:
Eight predictions | Teams that could trade
Players who could drop | Biggest wild card teams

Eight predictions for Round 1