Which Fans Were the Happiest at the 2024 NFL Draft?

The NFL Draft provokes some strong reactions from each fanbase and 2024 was no different. But which fans were the happiest with their team’s draft?

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Every year, the NFL Draft provokes some strong reactions from each fanbase and 2024 was no different. With moments such as the Atlanta Falcons shocking everyone and drafting Michael Penix Jr. at eight overall, this year’s draft certainly got some fans heated.

But which fans were the most disappointed at their team’s draft? To find out, Betway used a social listening tool to analyze how many negative posts each franchise’s X account received during and after the draft.

The Most Disappointed Fans

Handing Kirk Cousins a contract with $100 million guaranteed in free agency then using the number eight pick on a quarterback left a lot of Atlanta falcons fans scratching their heads. This was reflected in the data too, with a massive 12,471 negative posts directed at the Falcons’ official X account.

With nearly half of the Falcons’ negative posts, the Philadelphia Eagles were ranked as the second most disappointed fanbase. While the Eagles seemed to add some serious talent to their secondary in Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, it seems like the notoriously hard to please Philadelphia faithful still have some doubts over the team’s other picks.

The Chicago Bears and New England Patriots turned to the future as they picked quarterbacks first in the form of Caleb Williams and Drake Maye, while also adding some weapons on offence. However, both teams were in the top five when it came to negative posts directed at their official X accounts. Maybe recent draft failures for both teams have left fans still feeling sceptical at the decisions made by their front offices.

The Buffalo Bills’ account had just under 5,000 negative mentions with many of these likely coming after the team traded away their first-round pick to the Kansas City Chiefs, who selected speedy wide receiver Xavier Worthy. The Bills may have saved themselves from placing higher on the list though, as they picked a receiver of their own in Keon Coleman at the top of the second round.

 
The Least Disappointed NFL Fans

On the flip side, not all fans were angry at their favorite team’s choices.

The Buccaneers fans, who already enjoyed a strong offseason after extending key players such as Baker Mayfield and Mike Evans, seemed quite happy with their draft picks too with just 408 negative posts directed at Tampa Bay’s X account. The Bucs filled some important needs with picks such as Graham Barton who will be a big help in the trenches on offense.

The Jacksonville Jaguars fans were also relaxed during and after this year’s draft. The Jags had a need at wide receiver after losing Calvin Ridley in free agency. Despite trading back, they still managed to get their man in impressive LSU prospect Brian Thomas Jr. 

Many saw Marvin Harrison Jr. as the safest pick in this year’s draft and that could explain why Arizona Cardinals fans were amongst the least disappointed. The Cards took the former Ohio State superstar at number four overall and in addition to this, they later bolstered their secondary which struggled in 2023.

Despite positive and negative reactions from fans around the world, it’s definitely way too early to judge the 2024 NFL Draft class but it will be interesting to see which prospects can prove their fans right or wrong as they begin their NFL careers.

Methodology

We gathered each NFL team’s official username on X and used the social listening tool Brandwatch to analyze the number of negative mentions during and after the 2024 NFL Draft.  

Posts from 04/25/2024 – 04/29/2024 were analyzed.

Data accurate as of 04/29/2024.