Draft day is here, and so is the drama.

Or, at least we’ve come to expect a little drama, anyway. This year brings the first time that all 32 teams enter draft day holding their own first-round pick. That could change in the hours leading up to the main event, of course, but the fact that everyone has a say in Round 1 is fitting for a draft class that has garnered a wide array of differing opinions.

If you’re looking for an early run on quarterbacks, you probably won’t find it Thursday night. With the exception of Cam Ward, who’s all but certainly landing in Tennessee first overall, this isn’t a deep class of pro-ready QB prospects. In fact, the general consensus of this year’s NFL hopefuls is that beyond the top three prospects — joining Ward in that upper tier are wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter and edge rusher Abdul Carter — there isn’t much consensus at all. Thirty-two teams, 32 very different draft boards. This should be fun.

As we look ahead to Thursday night’s action, we’ve identified five teams that could play a pivotal role in how things unfold during the first round.

Cleveland Browns (Pick No. 2)

After dipping their toes in contention, the Browns are back in familiar territory with a top-five draft pick and a quarterback conundrum. While the team is still paying (literally and figuratively) for their ill-fated 2022 trade and signing of quarterback Deshaun Watson, the exchange of draft capital from the deal is finally complete after the Browns’ 2022, 2023, and 2024 first-round selections all went to Houston.

Barring a wild upset (and an Oscar-worthy acting job by the Titans’ front office), Tennessee is all set to select Ward first overall. One pick later, Cleveland is widely projected to draft Hunter, a Heisman winner whose dual-threat proficiency in college, both as a wide receiver and cornerback, makes him an exceptional athlete. That leaves the Giants with an easy decision to take top edge rusher Abdul Carter. He would take what was a solid defensive line last year and make it great.

But what if it’s not that easy?

This year’s draft class has a pretty clear drop-off between the top-three talents to the rest of the group, making both the Browns’ and Giants’ picks enticing ones for teams wanting to trade into the top trio to get Hunter or Carter for themselves. Both Cleveland and New York have lists of team needs long enough to warrant gathering a little more draft capital. Both lists include quarterbacks, but it’d be a little too rich to use the second or third picks on anyone not named Ward. With the Titans making it clear earlier in the week they won’t be trading out of No. 1, the intrigue starts at No. 2.

Chicago Bears (Pick No. 10)

After landing Caleb Williams atop last year’s draft, GM Ryan Poles has been busy this off-season building around him, pulling off big moves to overhaul Chicago’s offensive line and reeling in the top head coaching candidate in Ben Johnson.

You know what would be the cherry on top of an excellent off-season so far? Landing a top offensive weapon to help Johnson and Williams bring the Bears’ vision to life. Top-ranked running back Ashton Jeanty would be a perfect fit, and landing him at 10th overall would be a rare Bears win in Green Bay. But considering how coveted a talent Jeanty is, it could be a stretch to think he’s still on the board by then, especially with Jacksonville (selecting fifth overall) rumoured to be very interested in the hometown talent.

What would it take to trade up to get him? With two second-round picks, Chicago could be well-positioned to try. If not, they’re still sitting pretty at 10 to grab the top tight end or wide receiver at a slot that could launch a run on either position.

Atlanta Falcons (Pick No. 15)

The Falcons’ selection of quarterback Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth overall pick was the biggest head-scratcher of the 2024 draft — not because Penix was not a worthy prospect, but because Atlanta had just signed veteran Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180-million contract to make him the team’s new starter.

One year later, those clashing off-season transactions could put the Falcons in the draft spotlight again as they seek a trade partner to move Cousins. It won’t be easy — Cousins’ stock is low, having been benched for Penix late last season, and the price tag on his deal (even with Atlanta taking a share of the salary) is high. He also reportedly has a no-move clause baked into his contract, giving him the final say on his destination.

Cousins isn’t the only quarterback on the draft-night trade block. It’s expected that other QBs like Titans’ Will Levis and Seahawks’ Sam Howell could be among other names we hear in the rumour mill as team talks heat up during the draft. None of these names are game-changers at this point, but neither are the quarterback prospects available beyond Ward. It’ll be interesting to see if and how that affects the trade market when it comes to QBs that could be on the move. Is Cousins likely to be traded Thursday night? Probably not. But it’ll be a lurking storyline, especially as we see how QB-needy teams approach this year’s crop of draftable quarterback prospects.

Pittsburgh Steelers (Pick No. 21)

Six weeks after rumours ramped up connecting Aaron Rodgers to the Pittsburgh Steelers, we still don’t have an answer about where the veteran QB will play — or whether he’ll play at all — and that’s got the Steelers’ draft strategy in the spotlight.

They need a quarterback. Period. And they’re about as ready-made for a plug-and-play starting QB as it gets — pair the recently acquired D.K. Metcalf with George Pickens, and you’ve got one of the most dynamic receiving duos in the league … but no one qualified to get them the ball.

Do they like a quarterback prospect enough to draft? Pittsburgh has been linked to QB prospect Shedeur Sanders, but search for Sanders in the draft-season rumour mill and you’ll find his name up and down the board, even extending deep into the second round. It’s hard to know what to expect when it comes to this QB class, which is considered pretty shallow compared to years past. Supply and demand are hard to predict this year.

That, too, makes Pittsburgh interesting. If they can’t find what they need in the draft itself, might they turn to the trade market? (Asking for a friend in Atlanta.)

And at what point do we get an answer on Rodgers? 

Houston Texans (Pick No. 25)

After C.J. Stroud finished the season as the league’s second-most-sacked quarterback, Houston’s off-season agenda was obvious: build up its offensive line. While free agency yielded a handful of signings in the right direction, they failed to make any big swings at the position, which suggests they’ve been saving those for the draft.

There’s precedent. Texans general manager Nick Caserio has made draft-day trades something of a specialty. As noted by The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, Caserio has made “at least three draft-day trades every year and 18 total trades since becoming the team’s GM in 2021.” His biggest haul came in 2023 when he selected Stroud second overall before trading back into the top three to take Will Anderson Jr., and while at pick No. 25 he clearly won’t have the same kind of draft capital at his disposal… well, history tells us to keep an eye on that war room.