Daniel's 2024 Draft Thread

[Daniel]

I'm starting mine early this year to make it easier to compile my lists of players as I see them play.  I have notes on plenty from last year already anyway.

QB: After week 1, this sure looks like a special group.  Williams is likely to stay 1, and Maye looks like a clear top pick too.  After that, 3 through 6 is separated by a razor thin margin.  Nix keeps the third spot until he's tested at least, and Pennix I didn't watch, but clearly had a great game.  Sanders and Travis looked like first rounders.  Rattler, we'll see.  Milton and Daniels also showed quite a lot of life in week 1 as well, and their physical upside could move them up.
1. Caleb Williams, USC: He's had a rough few games, and the hype has died down to where he might now be underrated.  He's still an excellent, pro ready QB, but the intangibles may be a little lacking.
2. Drake Maye, UNC: Not a finished product, but I'm buying the hype.  Great deep ball, prototype build, and the accuracy on short and intermediate throws to be dangerous in any offense.  Can be really inconsistent though.
3. Bo Nix, Oregon: Nix is still what I thought he was last year.  Incredibly efficient against Wash, despite the loss.  Didn't make fourth down plays that could have won them the game, but otherwise, did everything he needed to to put them in winning position.
4. Shedeur Sanders, Colorado: Probably a 2025 prospect, but the TCU game was special.  Can't wait to see him against a legit defense.
5. Jordan Travis, Florida St: For a little while, he looked like he had no idea what he was doing, but after that, he was stellar against a great LSU team. Brilliant pocket manipulator.
6. Michael Pennix, Washington: Penix should be in the driver's seat for the Heisman, but I wouldn't want him as an NFL QB.  The offense, the weird throwing motion, and the receivers, he's a younger, left handed Hendon Hooker clone with a little less athleticism in a less gimmicky offense.
7. Spencer Rattler, South Carolina: Rattler had moments in 22 of looking real, but it's gonna be hard to evaluate him with that OL.
8. Quinn Ewers, Texas: He was a completely different player from last year, and picked apart the Bama defense.  Still, he has way too many errant throws to be a great pro prospect.
9. Jayden Daniels, LSU: A few impressive games last year and athleticism to burn, but some clunkers too.
10. Grayson McCall, Coastal Carolina: Looked the part last season, but once he faced a power 5 team this year, he suddenly looked like an afterthought.
11. Joe Milton, Tennessee: Huge arm and extremely athletic, but two very rough games makes it look like he's still just a physical specimen.
12. KJ Jefferson, Arkansas: Another super athlete who could rise high, but he's way behind Milton as a passer.

To watch: Michael Pratt, Cam Ward, DJ Uiagalele

RB:  Slim pickings preseason with how loaded 2022 was.  There are a lot of guys worth watching, but only a handful of proven commodities.
1. Treyveon Henderson, Ohio St: A do it all, well rounded back, and had the best game I’ve seen from him against Michigan.

3. Will Shipley, Clemson: I seriously thought he was a receiver for a minute watching him.  As passing becomes more important for RBs, he might end up at the top.
6. Jaylen Wright, Tennessee: A great runner with a good blend of speed, power, and elusiveness, and showing some contribution as a passer.  Having a big season.
4. Bucky Irving, Oregon: Irving was a monster against Washington, contributing at every level of play.  He may rise in this weak class.
4. Blake Corum, Michigan: Didn't know what to make of him last season, and I think he might be one of those guys who's just a good college player.
5. Jase McClellan, Bama: Another powerful, fast, and elusive-enough Bama back.  He kept Bama rolling despite the QB's mistakes.

2. Miyan Williams, Ohio St: Bowling ball of a man with some seriously impressive games in 22.  Showing more speed will help him a lot.
7. British Brooks, UNC: A solid enough looking back with good size.  Will watch more of him, but good performance against SC.

WR:  Harrison eclipses the rest of this class.  Egbuka is good but I don't recall my notes on him.  Other than that, this is already looking like a solid class, with just FSU and OSU fielding a lot of potential first rounders.
1. Marvin Harrison Jr, Ohio St: I don't think it's possible for another player to jump him here.
2. Malik Nabers LSU: The clear No. 1 target for LSU, Nabers had a big 22, and a good start to 23.  He was him against Miss St.
3. Xavier Legette, South Carolina: The only sign of life on offense against UNC, he has outstanding speed for his size, and could have a huge season.
4. Keon Coleman, Florida St: He is the better player, and will likely have a bigger season than Wilson, but I think Wilson may bring more NFL talent from the one game.  Still, Coleman is a stud too.
5. Rome Odunze, Washington: I don't know about the hype with him as a high first rounder, but he was great against Oregon.  Need to watch more of him.
6. Johnny Wilson, Florida St: A matchup nightmare who has crazy fluidity for his size, but he drops way too many balls.
7. Xavier Worthy, Texas: He was great against Kool-Aid McKinstry, but boy was he guilty of a lot of dropped balls.
8. Troy Franklin, Oregon: Oregon's top receiver had a great matchup with Washington's Muhammed, but I need to pay more attention to him to say much more.
9. Ja'Lynn Polk, Washington: The other great Washington receiver, Polk isn't as big as Odunze, but still has NFL size and speed.
10. Malachi Fields, Virginia: A great possession receiver who may fly under the radar on a bad team.
11. Jalen McMillan, Washington: Didn't get to see him this season, but last year he was a Day 3 pick easily, and this year he's likely better.
9. Bru McCoy, Tennessee: A solid possession receiver who should be a mid round pick with a good season.
10. Jha'Quan Jackson, Tulane: He flashed quite a bit against Ole Miss, but wasn't as featured as he should have been with Pratt out.  One to watch.

Adonai Mitchell and Jordan Whittington, Texas, Michigan WR, 

TE: Some solid options already, with Bowers being a blue chip, and Johnson a better passing prospect than Strange, who went in the second round.  Bell is a guy that looks like he's gonna break out.
1. Brock Bowers, Georgia: Almost certainly the top prospect this year.
3. Jaheim Bell, Florida St: Had some big flashes of talent last year.  Huge improvement in his blocking, and a stellar game against LSU.  Could move up after Johnson gets a chance to take the field.
4. Ja'Tavion Sanders, Texas: Bullied Bama DBs when he got the ball.  A YAC monster in the making.
5. Cade Stover, Ohio St: Stover has improved seemingly every aspect from last season.  He's a competent blocker with much more reliable hands.

Loveland: Great game against Ohio St.
2. Theo Johnson, Penn St: Johnson is seriously slept on.  His teammate was a better blocker, but Johnson is no slouch, and he's a better pass catcher.

OT:  Several of the best OLs in football last season had underclassmen OTs, including Notre Dame, TCU, and Tennessee.  With as many top prospects as I haven't scouted yet, this might be a special class of OTs.
1. Joe Alt, Notre Dame: Notre Dame's OL was absolutely fantastic in 22.  Excellent in every aspect of his game, and a technician on the field with positional and scheme versatility.
2. Olumuyiwa Fashanu, Penn St: Against a very talented Illinois front, Fashanu was excellent.  Against Ohio St, less so.  Still misses blocks or gets beaten on bull rushes or spin moves occasionally, but the talent is there.  Quick feet and covers a crazy amount of space in a single step.
3. Amarius Mims, Georgia: On the right side, Mims didn't face Tennessee's top Edges often, but he shut down those he did face.  I look forward to better matchups in the future.
3. Blake Fisher, Notre Dame: As I said with Alt, the whole unit was excellent in 22.
4. Christian Jones, Texas: The Texas OL had an up and down night against Bama, but it was the RT where they looked the most consistent.  He may move up if Bama proves to still have elite Edges.
5. JC Latham, Bama: Latham showed cracks against Texas, but against Tennessee's excellent Edge rush, he was great.
6. Gerald Mincey, Tennessee: A solid left tackle in 22, Mincey is on the right side now, where he may be a better fit.
7. Brandon Coleman, TCU: A standout for me preseason, but he hasn't lived up to expectations.  Slow and sloppy, clearly benefitted from playing next to Avila.

To watch: Taliese Fuaga, Kingsley Suamataia, Tyler Guyton, Jack Nelson, Patrick Paul

IOL: IOLs don't usually jump out preseason.  Van Prann was a draftable, solid player last year, and of course I know the Tennessee guys.  Ohio St's weak point was its guards last year, but they may make this list later on as well.
1. Sedrick Van Prann, Geogia: I was lower on Van Prann than the consensus, but he was a mid rounder a year ago, and is on a well coached team.
2. Cooper Mays, Tennessee: One of the tougher centers, Mays spent a chunk of last year playing well through injury.  He should be even better this year.
2. Pat Coogan, Notre Dame: Coogan was a strong blocker and effective puller against Ohio St.  ND's OL has been great, and he seems like the next one up.

4. Zak Zinter, Michigan: Powerful run blocker who held up well against Penn St and Ohio St defensive lines. Injury may drop him a but.
3. Javontez Spraggins, Tennessee: Tennessee was another team with a wall to wall great offensive line last year.  Spraggins is a powerful run blocker and solid pass protector.
4. Seth McLaughlin, Bama: Bama's most impressive OLs were young, but McLaughlin did a good job of keeping a huge nose tackle in check up the middle.

Jake Majors and Hayden Conner, Texas
Darrian Dalcourt, Bama

Edited November 26 by Daniel

[Daniel]

Edge:  Three guys immediately stand out as possible first rounders, which makes this appear to be a good class right off the bat.  It would take a freak occurrence for Verse to not be Day 1, and Tuimoloau was clearly superior player to third rounder Zach Harrison.  Isaac is a slept on Edge from Penn St who I think will be in the discussion soon.
1. Jared Verse, Florida St: Great blend of speed, strength, and technique, he was already a first rounder before he returned.
2. JT Tuimoloau, Ohio St: The best player on a good defense last season, he should be even more of a monster this year.
5. Tyler Baron, Tennessee: Baron has been on a tear this season, with 5 sacks through 6 games.  UT leads the SEC in sacks, and Baron is the biggest piece of that.
3. Kaimon Rucker, UNC: The UNC DL had its way with SC, but Rucker was next level disruptive.
4. Adisa Isaac, Penn St: He ate Peter Skoronski's lunch in their matchup.
6. Javontae Jean-Baptiste, Notre Dame: He was harassing Ohio St's backfield all night.  I need to watch more of him.

Dallas Turner, Zion Tupuola-Fetui, Bralen Trice

DL: This is starting to look like a class full of sub 300 lb game breakers.  Newton and Wingo I think might be in for huge seasons, and 22 stalwarts Davis and Murphy are around as well.
1. Tyler Davis, Clemson: Better player than Bresee, all year.  Powerful, traditional 4-3 DT.
2. Mekhi Wingo, LSU: For the first half, he looked unstoppable.  Size will limit him, but he's strong, and has a great nose for the ball, but conditioning may be an issue.  When he's on, I see shadows of Aaron Donald in the way he can move around an interior OL.
3. Jer'Zhan Newton, Illinois: The Illini DL is full of talent.  Newton has strength, athleticism, and some good interior pass rush moves.  Penn St double teamed him even with Fashanu.
4. Byron Murphy, Texas: Even against a double teaming quality OL, Murphy was disruptive in the center all game against Bama.
5. Jaden Crumley, Mississippi St: Crumley looked like an excellent 3-4 DE in the making against LSU.  Intrigued to see more of him.
5. Braden Fiske, Florida St: Bresee vibes.  Built like a tank, and didn't show up on the stat sheet IIRC, but he's got strength, size, speed, and moves.
6. Darius Hodges, Tulane: He was all over Ole Miss.  A little small, but could be in for a big season.
7. T'Vondre Sweat, Texas: A solid nose tackle.
8. Omari Thomas, Tennessee: Decent season in 22, but was JAG.  He looked drastically improved against Virginia, making splash plays all game.

Ulumoo Ale, 

ILB:  Trotter will be an early pick, and he'll deserve it.  Beasley is super underrated, but I don't think he's a first rounder.  Eichenberg will be drafted, but he's more of a depth prospect.
1. Jeremiah Trotter, Clemson: The more complete Clemson LB in 22, he's not the hardest hitter.

Peyton Wilson, NC State: Solid read and react ability, but could be better. Has some athleticism to make full use of it, but capable in coverage and a good blitzer.

Cedric Gray, UNC:
1. CJ Taylor, Vanderbilt: Combo safety/linebacker who happens to be the best player on Vandy's poor defense.  Biggest moments have come in the biggest games against the likes of Bama, Ole Miss, Kentucky, Florida, and Tennessee.  Coincidentally, from my tiny hometown.
2. Aaron Beasley, Tennessee: Had an inspired game against Clemson, despite playing second fiddle to Jeremy Banks for the season before.  Capable in both pass and run support.
3. Tommy Eichenberg, Ohio St: A slow looking, technically sound middle LB thumper.

DB:  CJ Taylor's the best.  You heard it here first.  But he's probably gonna be stupid and stay in school.  Like a degree from Vandy is worth something.
2. Malachi Moore, Bama: Moore looks like he's bloomed into an outstanding safety.  He was making plays all night against Texas.
3. Kool-Aid McKinstry, Bama: McKinstry showed the holes in his game against Texas.  Lets his athleticism make up for a lot, but showed that big athletic receivers can body him.  He'll likely recover, but it wasn't a great game for a top 5 talent.
4. Kalen King, Penn St: Like McKinstry, he likes to give cushion and make up for it with athleticism, but he's more willing to get sticky.  Unfortunately, Ohio St receivers showed his limitations.
4. Jabbar Muhammed, Washington: He caught my attention with very sticky coverage against Troy Franklin, but he got outmuscled much of the night.  Still, there are skills there.
5. Javon Bullard, Georgia: Had an excellent game against Tennessee.

Aiden White, NC State:
5. Kamal Hadden, Tennessee: He's not likely to stay high as I review more of this class, but Hadden is Tennessee's best DB.

Ryan Watts and Jahdae Barron, Texas

Edited November 26 by Daniel

[Daniel]

@Scoundrel since you're probably the poster I agree with the most on player evals, who is under the radar that I need to be watching this season?

[Scoundrel]

11 minutes ago, Daniel said:

@Scoundrel since you're probably the poster I agree with the most on player evals, who is under the radar that I need to be watching this season?

Man I haven’t been able to dive in as much yet but some guys I like I see not listed here are…

Leonard Taylor lll DT Miami
Maason Smith DT LSU (suspended week 1)
Kamren Kinchens S Miami
Emeka Egbuka WR OSU
Johnny Wilson WR FSU
James Williams S Miami
Ladd McConkey WR UGA
Rome Odunze WR UW
Ja’Tavion Sanders TE Texas
Kalen King CB PSU
Chop Robinson Edge PSU
Dallas Turner Edge Bama
 

 

[Tetsujin]

FSU could have 10+ players drafted in 2024.

[Daniel]

4 minutes ago, Tetsujin said:

FSU could have 10+ players drafted in 2024.

Wouldn't surprise me.  Verse is great, Bell is a guy I think will have his best season, and IIRC there's an OT there that's highly thought of.  Then of course Jordan Travis.  Early last year there was some hype on him as a potential top pick, but it seemed to die down.  I watched some FSU games to see Verse, so I saw a little bit of him and he seemed impressive.

Did he have a bad late season or something, or is he just being slept on?

[Tetsujin]

1 hour ago, Daniel said:

Wouldn't surprise me.  Verse is great, Bell is a guy I think will have his best season, and IIRC there's an OT there that's highly thought of.  Then of course Jordan Travis.  Early last year there was some hype on him as a potential top pick, but it seemed to die down.  I watched some FSU games to see Verse, so I saw a little bit of him and he seemed impressive.

Did he have a bad late season or something, or is he just being slept on?

Travis played pretty great all season outside of a few stretches in a couple games. He was PFF's top rated P5 passer in 2023. He has a medium build at best with some sub par lower body mechanics. Those are the only 2 real knocks on him I see. I can list 12 guys that should be drafted, not including maybe 5 fringe guys.

QB J. Travis

RB T. Benson

WR J. Wilson

WR K. Coleman

TE J. Bell

OL Maybe 2 OL

ED J. Verse

DT  B. Fiske

DT  F. Lovett 

ED P. Peyton (RS Soph)

CB F. Cypress

S   A. Dent

Edited August 25 by Tetsujin

[CWood21]

On 8/24/2023 at 10:12 AM, Daniel said:

4. Olumuyiwa Fashanu, Penn St: He's quick, and clearly has a ton of athleticism, but I did not think he sniffed a first round grade in 22.  We'll see if that changes.

Way off base on this one.  He's a top OT prospect pretty easily.

[BetterCallSaul]

On 8/24/2023 at 11:12 AM, Daniel said:

4. Olumuyiwa Fashanu, Penn St: He's quick, and clearly has a ton of athleticism, but I did not think he sniffed a first round grade in 22.  We'll see if that changes.

He 1,000% would have gone in the top 10 had he declared last year. It was a dreadful OT class. He's got incredible talent and despite not being a perfect prospect, is super young and raw still. He's not a massive project either--he just has some mechanical things to clean up.

I'd be absolutely floored if he wasn't OT1 next year.

[Daniel]

2 hours ago, CWood21 said:

Way off base on this one.  He's a top OT prospect pretty easily.

I disagree, see below.

2 hours ago, BetterCallSaul said:

He 1,000% would have gone in the top 10 had he declared last year. It was a dreadful OT class. He's got incredible talent and despite not being a perfect prospect, is super young and raw still. He's not a massive project either--he just has some mechanical things to clean up.

I'd be absolutely floored if he wasn't OT1 next year.

Agree on the bold.  He's not a finished product, and in my mind, that is more than enough to keep someone out of the first, especially when I don't have amazing combine numbers and measurements to fall back on.  He looks the part, and he's got very quick feet, but he needs to clean up a good bit, and from the tape I watched, IIRC, he's lacking a little functional strength as well.  Both of those are things that may improve this season, and if they do, he could easily be a top prospect.  But they're still concerns now, and I'm not just gonna rank him first assuming he's suddenly cleaned up every issue he had.

But I would definitely not have put him about Paris Johnson, Anton Harrison, Broderick Jones, or Darnell Wright had he come out.

[Shylo3716]

On 8/25/2023 at 10:45 AM, Scoundrel said:

Man I haven’t been able to dive in as much yet but some guys I like I see not listed here are…

Leonard Taylor lll DT Miami
Maason Smith DT LSU (suspended week 1)
Kamren Kinchens S Miami
Emeka Egbuka WR OSU
Johnny Wilson WR FSU
James Williams S Miami
Ladd McConkey WR UGA
Rome Odunze WR UW
Ja’Tavion Sanders TE Texas
Kalen King CB PSU
Chop Robinson Edge PSU
Dallas Turner Edge Bama
 

 

I’d say, add these guys to this mix as well…

• Malik Nabers WR LSU
• Xavier Worthy WR Texas
• Cooper DeJean CB Iowa
• John Marshall Jr. CB Florida
• Duce Chestnut CB LSU
• Max Melton CB Rutgers
• Tony Grimes CB Texas A&M
• Calen Bullock S USC

Edited September 3 by Shylo3716