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2024 NFL Draft

T Olu Fashanu Declares For 2024 NFL Draft

December 22nd, 2023 at 2:09pm CST by Adam La Rose

At the end of the 2022 college football season, many expected Olu Fashanu to head to the NFL. Regarded as one of the top offensive tackles in last year’s class, he made the surprising decision to remain with Penn State for one more season. Now, though, he is prepared to turn pro.

The redshirt junior announced on Friday that he has declared for the 2024 draft. Fashanu again finds himself in the conversation for the top offensive lineman (tackle or otherwise) available, and he will not need to wait long to hear his name called. He joins Notre Dame’s Joe Alt in turning pro this spring, and the pair will be in competition to be the first O-lineman taken off the board.

“A year ago I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to declare for the NFL draft,” Fashanu’s announcement reads in part. “I am forever grateful that I made the decision to come back and compete with my brothers one last time while also graduating.”

2022 marked the first full season as a starter for Fashanu, and he put himself firmly on the top-10 radar by earning All-American honors. After electing to remain in college for one more season, the 6-6, 313-pounder was again an anchor for the Nittany Lions up front, allowing just one sack in pass protection. Despite having been in school for four years, Fashanu will be just 21 through most of his rookie campaign in the NFL.

Given that, he profiles has having high upside along with an encouraging blend of size, athleticism and footwork. Fashanu is listed as a top-10 prospect in many draft rankings, and ESPN’s Matt Miller has him being selected fifth overall by Washington in his latest mock. The Commanders are one of several teams projected to be near the top of the order which will be on the lookout for a new left tackle (or at least offensive line help) this offseason. Fashanu will likely have the opportunity to serve as a starter right away once he begins his NFL career in September.

Florida State DE Jared Verse Declares For NFL Draft

December 20th, 2023 at 10:14pm CST by Ely Allen

He took the long route to get here, but Florida State star pass rusher Jared Verse has officially announced that he will enter the 2024 NFL Draft, opting out of the Seminoles’ Orange Bowl matchup with the Georgia Bulldogs, per ESPN’s Andrea Adelson. Verse, a redshirt senior in Tallahassee, is widely considered to be a likely Day One pick as a consensus top-five pass rushing prospect.

Verse spent two seasons at the FCS level playing for Albany before he found his way to Florida State. Over 15 games with the Great Danes, Verse recorded 14.5 sacks, 21.5 tackles for loss, and 15 quarterback hurries while also being named an FCS Freshman All-American. His 10.5-sack sophomore year helped him navigate his way to Tallahassee through the transfer portal, where he would make an immediate impact.

Last year, Verse made nine starts in 12 game appearances for the Seminoles. He took the new opportunity against an increased level of competition to demonstrate his explosiveness and disruptiveness. He led a staunch FSU defense in both sacks (9.0) and tackles for loss (17.0). He gained national recognition for his performance, and his name even gained traction as a potential first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. He sat near the back of most first-round projections due to an inconsistency in playmaking and an occasional tendency to disappear.

Not content with where his Day One draft status sat, Verse returned for another year at Florida State in the hopes of pushing himself into the top 10 draft picks. Coming into the season, Dane Brugler of The Athletic ranked Verse as the nation’s top pass rushing draft prospect for the 2024 draft. While in many aspects, Verse continued to improve, there were still sections of the season that would see him fade from relevance just for him to explode with potential a week or two later.

Expected to improve on his numbers from 2022, Verse only matched his previous sack total (9.0) while failing to reach the tackles for loss total (12.5). He did deal with a knee injury that may have affected his output a bit, something NFL teams may note. Regardless, Verse has a rare combination of speed off the line and pure power. At the NFL level, his impressive get-off and bullrush won’t be enough to get the job done by themselves, meaning he’ll have to expand his arsenal of pass rushing moves in order to succeed at the next level.

With an offense-heavy top of the draft, Verse tends to project as an early, mid-round pick, as illustrated by Mel Kiper of ESPN’s Big Board . He’ll compete with fellow pass rushers Laiatu Latu from UCLA, Dallas Turner from Alabama, and Chop Robinson from Penn State for the honor of the draft’s best pass rusher. Latu, Turner, and Robinson have all functioned as outside linebackers, as opposed to Verse who has routinely worked with a hand in the dirt, so he’ll need to show in pre-draft testing that he’s as athletic as the rest of the field, if not more so.

Updated 2024 NFL Draft Order

December 20th, 2023 at 1:41pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Panthers’ Week 15 win over the Falcons brought the Patriots and Cardinals, who each lost, one game closer to the No. 1 overall pick. New England’s weaker strength of schedule provides keeps Arizona in the No. 3 spot, while Washington — weeks away from a likely full-scale reboot — has lost five straight to move into position for its first top-five pick since 2020.

Early reports have the Bears more likely to draft Justin Fields‘ replacement than trading a top pick once again, but the Patriots and Cardinals are still in the running for what could well be the Caleb Williams draft slot. Much less drama would emerge if New England claimed the top pick, as the Patriots would be expected to draft the top QB prize. Arizona landing atop the draft for the second time in six years could produce a derby, with Kyler Murray‘s contract difficult (but not impossible) to move for new GM Monti Ossenfort. QB-needy teams may well be hoping the Cardinals land one of the top two spots, however, providing a potential gateway to a trade-up for Williams or Drake Maye.

The Raiders’ 63-21 demolition of the Chargers slid them down six spots compared to their position last week. The Packers also climbed eight spots from their slot going into Week 15. Green Bay has not held a top-11 draft choice since it drafted B.J. Raji in the 2009 first round; that came on the heels of Aaron Rodgers‘ first season at the helm. Jordan Love‘s QB1 debut season could still produce a playoff berth, however, and the rest of the NFC and AFC wild-card races remain tightly bunched.

Here is how the 2024 draft order looks with three regular-season games to play:

  1. Chicago Bears (via Panthers)
  2. New England Patriots: 3-11
  3. Arizona Cardinals: 3-11
  4. Washington Commanders: 4-10
  5. Chicago Bears: 5-9
  6. New York Giants: 5-9
  7. New York Jets: 5-9
  8. Los Angeles Chargers: 5-9
  9. Tennessee Titans: 5-9
  10. Atlanta Falcons: 6-8
  11. Green Bay Packers: 6-8
  12. Las Vegas Raiders: 6-8
  13. New Orleans Saints: 7-7
  14. Denver Broncos: 7-7
  15. Seattle Seahawks: 7-7
  16. Pittsburgh Steelers: 7-7
  17. Arizona Cardinals (via Texans)
  18. Buffalo Bills: 8-6
  19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 7-7
  20. Minnesota Vikings: 7-7
  21. Los Angeles Rams: 7-7
  22. Indianapolis Colts: 8-6
  23. Jacksonville Jaguars: 8-6
  24. Cincinnati Bengals: 8-6
  25. Kansas City Chiefs: 9-5
  26. Houston Texans (via Browns)
  27. Detroit Lions: 10-4
  28. Philadelphia Eagles: 10-4
  29. Miami Dolphins: 10-4
  30. Dallas Cowboys: 10-4
  31. Baltimore Ravens: 11-3
  32. San Francisco 49ers: 11-3

Updated 2024 NFL Draft Order

December 13th, 2023 at 2:29pm CST by Sam Robinson

Two different teams have held the No. 1 overall pick in consecutive years since 2017. Amid a radical rebuild effort, the Browns carried the top pick into the 2017 and ’18 drafts. The Jaguars did the same in 2021 and ’22. It is possible the Bears will follow that up in back-to-back years. The big difference here would be the Bears traded the 2023 top choice and may unload the 2024 top pick for another windfall, depending on their evaluation of Justin Fields.

The Bears and Panthers’ March trade, giving Carolina access to Bryce Young, has become a seminal moment for both teams. As it stands now, Chicago holds two top-five picks. The Panthers are 1-12, giving the Bears a two-game lead on the Patriots and Cardinals for the top slot with four games left. Chicago finishing with the first overall selection, providing access to the quarterback of its choice, would create a big-picture decision for a Bears team that already passed on the 2023 quarterback class to stick with Fields — a QB the Ryan Poles regime did not draft. North Carolina’s Drake Maye has declared for the draft, while USC’s Caleb Williams is widely expected to follow suit.

A new Cardinals regime is also evaluating its QB, though Kyler Murray‘s $46.1MM-per-year contract (which runs through 2028) will be much harder to escape compared to Fields’. This creates an interesting scenario that will have teams who do not land two-two draft slots monitoring how Chicago and Arizona proceed. The Patriots are widely expected to pursue a quarterback in the draft, and they are likely to do so without Bill Belichick.

With gridlock forming in the AFC and NFC wild-card races, considerable movement will take place over the next month. The winner of the NFC South will likely lose several spots in the ’24 draft, as the Buccaneers did this year by winning the ’22 division title at 8-9. Here is how the draft order looks going into Week 15:

  1. Chicago Bears (via Panthers)
  2. New England Patriots: 3-10
  3. Arizona Cardinals: 3-10
  4. Washington Commanders: 4-9
  5. Chicago Bears: 5-8
  6. Las Vegas Raiders: 5-8
  7. New York Jets: 5-8
  8. New York Giants: 5-8
  9. Tennessee Titans: 5-8
  10. Los Angeles Chargers: 5-8
  11. Atlanta Falcons: 6-7
  12. New Orleans Saints: 6-7
  13. Seattle Seahawks: 6-7
  14. Los Angeles Rams: 6-7
  15. Denver Broncos: 7-6
  16. Arizona Cardinals (via Texans)
  17. Buffalo Bills: 7-6
  18. Cincinnati Bengals: 7-6
  19. Green Bay Packers: 6-7
  20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 6-7
  21. Indianapolis Colts: 7-6
  22. Minnesota Vikings: 7-6
  23. Pittsburgh Steelers: 7-6
  24. Houston Texans (via Browns)
  25. Kansas City Chiefs: 8-5
  26. Jacksonville Jaguars: 8-5
  27. Detroit Lions: 9-4
  28. Philadelphia Eagles: 10-3
  29. Miami Dolphins: 9-4
  30. Dallas Cowboys: 10-3
  31. San Francisco 49ers: 10-3
  32. Baltimore Ravens: 10-3

T Joe Alt To Enter 2024 NFL Draft

December 13th, 2023 at 9:42am CST by Sam Robinson

Expected to follow in his father’s footsteps as a first-round NFL draft choice, Notre Dame tackle Joe Alt made his NFL timeline official Wednesday morning. The high-end offensive line prospect announced he will enter the 2024 draft.

The son of former Chiefs first-round pick and longtime left tackle starter John Alt, Joe is viewed as one of the best O-linemen available in the 2024 prospect pool. Mel Kiper Jr.’s most recent ESPN.com big board lists Alt 15th overall and as the third-best O-line prospect.

A two-year starter for the Fighting Irish at left tackle, Alt has secured back-to-back first-team All-American honors. Alt joins Penn State’s Olu Fashanu, Kiper’s No. 7 overall prospect, as the Associated Press’ first-team tackles.

Alt started at Notre Dame for the past two seasons, and although this period in college football is flooded with players who have used their additional year of eligibility brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, Alt will take the traditional route to the NFL (for top prospects, at least). The 2021 recruit will exit college after three years.

Notre Dame’s stamp on the current NFL O-line landscape will only help Alt’s cause. Ex-Fighting Irish left tackles Zack Martin and Mike McGlinchey became instant starters, albeit at different NFL positions, and former Notre Dame guard Quenton Nelson became an instant All-Pro after going off the 2018 draft board sixth overall. Aaron Banks, Liam Eichenberg, Robert Hainsey and Ronnie Stanley reside as O-line starters chosen from the Division I-FBS independent.

The Chiefs chose John Alt in the 1984 first round, and he became one of the team’s anchors during Marty Schottenheimer’s successful stay during the 1990s. John played 13 NFL seasons. It appears a near-certainty Joe Alt, who checks in at 6-foot-8 and 315 pounds, will become a first-rounder as well.

QB Drake Maye Declares For 2024 Draft

December 11th, 2023 at 10:45pm CST by Sam Robinson

Pegged for months as a likely top-five pick in the 2024 draft, Drake Maye has determined he is done with college football. The North Carolina quarterback announced Monday he will declare for the draft.

Listed by most as the second-best quarterback in the 2024 class (behind USC’s Caleb Williams), Maye may well come off the board second overall. It is not out of the question, either, the two-year North Carolina starter leapfrogs the 2022 Heisman winner for the top overall slot. Sam Howell‘s Tar Heels successor will begin pre-draft preparations in earnest now.

The younger brother of former North Carolina basketball standout Luke Maye, Drake rocketed onto the first-round radar after throwing 38 touchdown passes (compared to just seven interceptions) in his first starter season. This year, the 6-foot-4 prospect threw 24 TD passes. Maye averaged 8.4 and 8.5 yards per attempt in his two seasons, respectively, and threw for 4,321 yards in 2022. With Maye showcasing his rushing talents in Chapel Hill as well (1,209 career rushing yards, 16 TDs), he will be a coveted prospect by teams who hold early draft slots and those eyeing a first-round trade-up maneuver.

The redshirt sophomore will skip North Carolina’s bowl game, the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, joining Williams in bypassing his team’s season finale. That has become an increasingly common tactic by top prospects not on teams who qualify for the College Football Playoff. While Williams has not yet entered his name in the draft, that is widely expected to happen.

Mel Kiper Jr.’s current ESPN big board lists Maye as 2024’s third-best prospect — behind Williams and Ohio State wideout Marvin Harrison Jr. With many past examples to judge, Maye surpassing Harrison should perhaps be anticipated. This is assuming his pre-draft process goes well, of course. Drafts have begun with two quarterbacks four times since 2015, though the 2018 and ’20 drafts could potentially be relevant re: Maye. The Giants passed on Sam Darnold to pick a dynamic skill-position player (Saquon Barkley) in 2018, while it took until picks 5 and 6 for Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert to follow Joe Burrow off the 2020 board. Should a team without a QB need land the No. 2 overall pick and view Harrison as a can’t-miss prospect, it is certainly possible the draft will not begin with a Williams-Maye procession.

Multiple wild cards exist regarding QB investments in 2024 as well. The Bears are determining if they want to keep going with Justin Fields beyond this year. With the Panthers holding a two-game lead on the Patriots and Cardinals for the No. 1 pick, the Bears (by virtue of the Bryce Young trade) are the clear favorites to hold the top draft slot once again. The Patriots are expected to pursue a quarterback in the draft, though the Cardinals are uncertain to do so. They are evaluating Kyler Murray, but with Murray’s contract far more difficult to move on from than Fields’ rookie deal, Arizona sticking with the 2019 top pick — a player the team’s new regime praised throughout his ACL rehab process — and adding a highly touted non-QB in Round 1 may be the play.

Teams without surefire QB needs’ plans will be determined by the respective ceilings of Williams and Maye. Wherever the latter lands in the top five, he will be expected to start either from the jump or at some point during his rookie season.

Clemson LB Jeremiah Trotter Jr. Declares For Draft

December 1st, 2023 at 10:06pm CST by Ely Allen

One of two Clemson linebackers expected to be among the top linebacker prospects of the 2024 NFL Draft, and one of three Clemson defenders expected to be taken in the first two days, Jeremiah Trotter Jr. announced on his Instagram this week that he would be forgoing his remaining years of eligibility in order to pursue his NFL dreams. Trotter’s father was an All-Pro NFL linebacker who played from 1998-2009, spending eight of those years with the Eagles.

Unlike his father, the junior Trotter came into college as a highly-touted recruit ranked in the Top 100. Growing up in the city of his father’s team, Trotter came out of St. Joseph’s in Philadelphia, committing to Clemson as a junior in high school before joining the Tigers as an early enrollee in January 2021. Despite coming in early, Trotter failed to crack the lineup as a freshman, stuck on the depth chart behind seniors James Skalski and Baylon Spector and future third-round pick Trenton Simpson.

Trotter took the reins as a sophomore and led the team in tackles each of the past two seasons, even with Simpson still on the roster last year. Trotter was especially disruptive. In 2022 and 2023, Trotter led the Tigers in tackles for loss (28.5 combined), and despite being an off-ball linebacker, he led the team in sacks both years, as well, with a combined 12.0.

Trotter hasn’t only had a nose for the tackler, he’s done well to sniff out the ball in the air, as well. In his two years as a starter, he posted identical marks with five passes defensed and two interceptions in each year. In both seasons, he returned one of those two interceptions for a touchdown. He also forced three fumbles over that time. Pro Football Focus (subscription required) ranks Trotter’s performance this season as college football’s 13th-best for a linebacker.

In the past two years, only three off-ball linebackers have been drafted in the first round and only one more in the second round. Dane Brugler of The Athletic ranked Trotter as one of the top five underclassmen linebackers coming into the season. A strong junior year solidified that status as Mel Kiper’s most recent ESPN Big Board lists Trotter as the second-best off-ball linebacker in the draft behind Texas A&M’s Edgerrin Cooper, a redshirt junior who has yet to declare.

With the expectation that the same patterns will hold from previous years, Trotter may not expect to join teammate Nate Wiggins in the first round, but Trotter should still expect to hear his name called during the first two days of the draft. Even if the second round comes and goes and he remains on the board, both of the past two years showed a run of linebackers in the third round that should solidify his status as a Day 2 pick.

Updated 2024 NFL Draft Order

December 1st, 2023 at 1:46pm CST by Adam La Rose

With Week 13 underway, the picture at the top of the NFL draft board continues to become clearer. Plenty is yet to be determined with respect to the top of the order, however.

The Panthers’ ongoing struggles led to Frank Reich‘s firing, but the Bears own Carolina’s top pick this year due to the 2023 swap which landed Bryce Young via the No. 1 selection. Chicago being able to have the top pick once again – coupled with their own selection landing in the top-10 – would make the Bears a team to watch closely come April. The race for the top two or three slots (and, as such, the ability to draft QBs Caleb Williams and Drake Maye, along with wideout Marvin Harrison Jr.) will also be a key late-season storyline for the Cardinals and Patriots.

The Commanders have lost three straight games, overshadowing a promising season from first-year starter Sam Howell. After deciding to move on from defensive ends Chase Young and Montez Sweat at the trade deadline, the team’s defense has continued to struggle. DC Jack Del Rio is out as a result, and head coach Ron Rivera‘s position is not believed to be on strong footing. A top-five pick could make the job in Washington more attractive presuming a opening arises this offseason.

For non-playoff teams, the draft order will be determined by the inverted 2024 standings — plus a series of tiebreakers, starting with strength of schedule — with playoff squads being slotted by their postseason outcome and regular-season record. Here is an updated look at the current draft order:

  1. Chicago Bears (via Panthers)
  2. Arizona Cardinals: 2-10
  3. New England Patriots: 2-9
  4. Chicago Bears: 4-8
  5. Washington Commanders: 4-8
  6. New York Giants: 4-8
  7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 4-7
  8. New York Jets: 4-7
  9. Los Angeles Chargers: 4-7
  10. Tennessee Titans: 4-7
  11. Las Vegas Raiders: 5-7
  12. New Orleans Saints: 5-6
  13. Green Bay Packers: 5-6
  14. Los Angeles Rams: 5-6
  15. Cincinnati Bengals: 5-6
  16. Buffalo Bills: 6-6
  17. Arizona Cardinals (via Texans)
  18. Denver Broncos: 6-5
  19. Atlanta Falcons: 5-6
  20. Minnesota Vikings: 6-6
  21. Seattle Seahawks: 6-6
  22. Indianapolis Colts: 6-5
  23. Pittsburgh Steelers: 7-4
  24. Houston Texans (via Browns)
  25. Miami Dolphins: 8-3
  26. Detroit Lions: 8-3
  27. Jacksonville Jaguars: 8-3
  28. Dallas Cowboys: 9-3
  29. Kansas City Chiefs: 8-3
  30. San Francisco 49ers: 8-3
  31. Baltimore Ravens: 9-3
  32. Philadelphia Eagles: 10-1

Miami DT Leonard Taylor To Declare For Draft

December 1st, 2023 at 11:27am CST by Adam La Rose

Leonard Taylor has elected to forego his senior year in college and turn pro. The Miami defensive tackle is set to declare for the 2024 draft, per Susan Miller Degnan and Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.

Taylor had considerable expectations coming out of high school. He was the top-rated defensive tackle in his recruiting class, and the five-star’s decision to remain in Florida was believed to be one which would pay dividends. He did not always deliver on the promise showcased by his size and athleticism, but he is still regarded as an intriguing NFL prospect.

A true junior, Taylor saw his production take a step back in 2023. He posted 19 tackles, including 3.5 for loss, along with one sack across 10 games. Last season, by contrast, he demonstrated a better skillset as a pass-rusher with 10.5 TFLs and three sacks. The 6-3, 305-pounder has showcased his athleticism at times during his tenure with the Hurricanes, but questions remain regarding how capable he is of reaching his ceiling.

As the Herald reports notes, Taylor admitted to conditioning issues which affected his performance on the field. That will no doubt be a factor NFL teams heavily scrutinize in the pre-draft process, though he will have opportunities to demonstrate improvement in that regard. In addition to the annual NFL Combine, underclassmen will be allowed to participate in all-star games – including the Senior Bowl – beginning this year.

In his pre-season draft rankings, Dane Brugler of The Athletic slotted Taylor 34th overall and second amongst defensive tackles (behind only Illinois’ Jer’Zhan Newton, who has declared). While Taylor’s underwhelming statistical output in 2023 will likely hurt his stock, ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. has him rated No. 3 at the DT spot. With teams around the NFL always looking for a pass-rush impact from the defensive interior, Taylor could be a name to watch in the coming months.

Clemson CB Nate Wiggins Declares For Draft

November 29th, 2023 at 9:58pm CST by Ely Allen

One of college football’s best cornerbacks over the past two years has decided to forgo his remaining eligibility and declare for the 2024 NFL Draft. Clemson’s Nate Wiggins told ESPN’s Pete Thamel of his intentions during a phone interview today.

“I just feel like it was that time. All the hard work I’ve put in, I feel like it was time for me to declare,” Wiggins explained. “This was a dream that I always wanted, and it came fast.”

Wiggins became a full-time starter for the Tigers as a sophomore last season. In eleven starts, Wiggins led the team with 14 passes defended and added on a 98-yard interception return for a touchdown. While Pro Football Focus (subscription required) didn’t tout his 2022 season as elite, Wiggins was still credited as a first-team All-ACC selection by some publications, though not by the Conference itself.

That honor would have to wait until this year, in which Wiggins was named by the Conference as a first-team All-ACC cornerback. That status was reflected in Wiggins’ PFF ranking which saw him elevate all the way up to the 25th highest ranked cornerback in the nation. With a bowl game still to go, Wiggins once again leads his defense with nine passes defensed and two interceptions, one of which he returned 46 yards for another touchdown. He also showed off other playmaking abilities in 2023 with a sack and two forced fumbles.

Wiggins has prototypical size at the cornerback position with a long, 6-foot-2 frame and arm length and body control that grant him an easy advantage on contested balls. He’s not too thin at 185 pounds, and while he may not have strong initial quickness, he is considered the team’s fastest player and possesses great recovery speed to stay with receivers downfield.

He’ll need to get stronger at the next level in order to compete against physical NFL wideouts, but that hasn’t stopped corners from getting drafted early in the past, as long as they have other promising attributes. He also missed two games this year with a knee injury, which might have teams looking a little closer at his medicals come time for evaluations.

Wiggins projects as a clear first-round pick, even in a strong cornerbacks class. ESPN’s Mel Kiper has Wiggins ranked as college football’s 20th best draft prospect while Dane Brugler at The Athletic has Wiggins all the way up at 12. Brugler slots Wiggins in as CB3 behind Alabama’s Kool-Aid McKinstry and Kalen King from Penn State. Kiper also ranks McKinstry ahead of Wiggins, but he puts Georgia cornerback Kamari Lassiter in between them and even ranks Cooper DeJean from Iowa as his CB1 in front of the other three.

Regardless, after last year saw five corners selected in the first 32 picks (Pittsburgh’s Joey Porter Jr. was technically a second-rounder), placing Wiggins as a Day 1 pick seems like a safe bet. Wiggins is expected to measure and test very well, so barring anything injury-related, his stock is likely only going to rise.

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