That’s all she wrote.

The 2024 NFL Draft is in the books. Everyone is about to embark on superstardom, and everyone landed in an ideal spot.

Eh, not so much. Plenty of landing spots have me a bit worried. I would’ve preferred that Brock Bowers ended up with an organization that had a quarterback and ideally, Ladd McConkey wouldn’t have gone to a run-heavy team that just let go of its only 2 established receivers.

But today, we won’t talk about the questionable fits. We’ll instead focus on the best fits.

Here are my 6 favorites from the SEC:

CB Terrion Arnold, Detroit Lions

I’ll admit that part of this was just seeing the reception that Arnold got from the Detroit faithful. The Alabama fan favorite/Miss Terry favorite turned himself into a star, lockdown corner in 2023. He will become just that with the Lions, who needed help at that spot and addressed it with Arnold and Mizzou’s Ennis Rakestraw.

Dan Campbell typically drafts for immediate need, not for long-term upside. But Arnold might be both. You could’ve made the case that he was the best corner in the draft, and in a division that’s got 3 young starting quarterbacks that Detroit will see multiple times each season, Arnold’s ball-hawking skills should make an immediate impact for the defending NFC North champs.

WR Ricky Pearsall, San Francisco 49ers

It wasn’t a reach for the 49ers to take Pearsall late in Round 1. He’s that dude, and for a team that needed to add some young playmakers, Pearsall checked that box in a big way.

Sure, there are a ton of mouths to feed in San Francisco with an established offense. But if Brandon Aiyuk is on the way out, there’s a significant role waiting for Pearsall from the jump. Kyle Shanahan has never struggled with fitting new weapons into his offense, and Pearsall is indeed a weapon. He’s got an insane catch radius, he lines up anywhere and he’s clearly already got the respect of next-level people like CJ Stroud.

Telling? Absolutely.

Pearsall turned himself into a phenomenal player at Florida after transferring from Arizona State. Something tells me that’ll continue with his return to the West.

LB Edgerrin Cooper, Green Bay Packers

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. If this is 1995, Cooper is a top-10 pick. But in 2024 wherein inside linebackers are evaluated in a much different way, Cooper slid to the Packers in Round 2. That’s fine. He’ll start immediately alongside Quay Walker in Jeff Hafley’s new 3-4 defense. Cooper can get in the backfield and cover up some weaknesses that exist in the Packers’ secondary.

He had a chance to become A&M’s first defensive player to be selected in the 1st round since Myles Garrett in 2017. Instead, he had to settle for a mid-second-round selection that’ll allow him to step in and do what he does best for a contending team — make plays in space.

RB Jaylen Wright, Miami Dolphins

You had me at “Mike McDaniel running back.”

Yeah, I’m on board, just as I was last year when I said that De’Von Achane would have a better rookie season than Bijan Robinson. Achane was certainly the more effective player when he was on the field. That’s part world-class speed, part McDaniel scheme.

It’s ironic that Wright came from the place where the Josh Heupel run scheme was criticized for not being pro-friendly. Sure, those offensive line splits might’ve been as wide as they come and Wright might’ve specialized in being an inside runner, but his ability to get north-south will make him an ideal duo with Achane after the 32-year-old Mostert moves on. There are few better spots in the entire NFL than being a running back in a McDaniel offense.

RB Ray Davis, Buffalo Bills

If you know the Davis story, you know that this isn’t someone who’ll take this opportunity for granted. A childhood that had him in foster care and eventually in boarding school in New York allowed him to blossom into someone with great perspective. That’s what the former Kentucky/Vanderbilt/Temple star will have back in the state of New York, albeit on the opposite side of the state from Trinity-Pawling School.

Davis will take his talents to Buffalo, where James Cook is entrenched as the starter but there’s a lot of optimism that the Bills will be a more run-heavy team with the personnel turnover at receiver. That means an instant role for Davis is available, which isn’t always the case for a 4th-round pick. Davis is more versatile than he gets credit for, which is why he can be a phenomenal compliment to Cook.

There are certain guys — no matter where they’re picked — that you don’t bet against. Davis is one of them in Buffalo.

QB Spencer Rattler, New Orleans Saints

I hated it. Absolutely hated it.

The dated narratives about Rattler resurfaced during the NFL Draft. Both NFL Network and ESPN had on-air reports about Rattler’s perceived fall being tied to the attitude concerns that surfaced on the “QB1: Beyond the Lights” Netflix show from his well-documented high school career. Pete Thamel reported that there was concern about Rattler’s attitude and work ethic, as well as whether he’d be willing to be a backup after the way things played out at Oklahoma.

Look. I get that you can’t leave a single stone unturned with the NFL Draft. It’s an investment and these front offices owe it to all parties involved to do their homework. But the problem with that is that any amount of homework done post-Netflix would’ve answered those concerns. Shane Beamer coached Rattler at Oklahoma, which was why he signed him out of the transfer portal at South Carolina. There wasn’t a negative word said about Rattler in Columbia, where he twice was voted team captain by his teammates.

He also didn’t have any help with an overmatched offensive line, an ineffective run game and a passing game that was Xavier Legette-or-bust after the team’s best player, Juice Wells, was lost for nearly all of 2023.

Rattler overcame all of that and was Offensive MVP of the Senior Bowl, which was why there was a thought that he’d be a Day 2 guy. But with 6 quarterbacks off the board in the first 12 picks, clearly, the teams who needed quarterbacks got them and he slid. He wasn’t billed to be an immediate starter, so it should be considered a major positive that he went to New Orleans. Derek Carr is 33 years old and coming off a disappointing Year 1 in New Orleans. Rattler can learn under a veteran like Carr and perhaps even step into a starting role if he struggles again in 2024.

Unfair Draft narrative or not, Rattler might’ve ended up in one of the most advantageous spots for a rookie quarterback.