For the second straight year, I am releasing my Top 5 Rankings by Position for the 2024 NFL Draft. This year, I wanted to get my initial rankings out earlier with the idea of tweaking them as I go. Much can change along the way as information comes to light on athletic testing, background, additional film analysis, etc. If you are just getting into Draft mode now, this will get you up to speed on some of the top prospects to keep an eye on. Or if you are a Draft junkie like me, then let me know what you like, or what guys you’d rank differently. But with just under 3 months until Draft Day, this is where the players stand for me. Let’s ride!

Quarterback

1. Drake Maye – Top 5
2. Caleb Williams – Top 5
3. Jayden Daniels – Round 1
4. Bo Nix – Round 2 
5. Michael Penix – Round 2

This top of this QB class has been talked up for a while, and they live up to the billing. Maye is my QB1 and top player in the class. The 6’4” 230 lb. UNC product has a very translatable skillset to the NFL. He is athletic with a howitzer for an arm. He has shown an ability to throw on-time with anticipation and dice defenses in the middle of the field. Out of structure, he has some Josh Allen-eque chaos plays (throwing a left-handed 20-yard TD while his right arm was getting yanked down by a Pitt DE as pictured above, hurdling DBs, throwing missiles mid-sack). He’s not perfect, he will still spray some throws or try to do much making a big play, but he absolutely fits the bill of a prototype modern QB similar to Justin Herbert and Trevor Lawrence.

Caleb Williams also possesses an incredibly high upside. The 6’1” 216 lb. former Heisman winner dazzles out of structure. He is always looking to extend plays and can make all the off balance, out of structure throws. While his unorthodox playstyle may need more development, it’s easy to see why teams will fall in love with the upside. His biggest area to improve will be playing on time in the NFL. His average time to throw of 3.19 seconds ranked 165^th out of 169 FBS QBs last season. He didn’t get any favors from the offense ran at USC from an NFL development lens. HC Lincoln Riley asked him to play hero ball a lot, which works in the Pac 12, but didn’t help him grow as a future NFL QB. If paired with the right offensive coach in the NFL, he can be excellent. I see shades of a slightly bigger Kyler Murray (who also excelled in a Riley offense in college) and a young Russell Wilson. I’d be shocked to see either of these two QBs make it past the first two picks of the Draft.

Jayden Daniels, Bo Nix, Michael Penix, and JJ McCarthy will also be in the Round 1 discussion. Daniels is the best of the bunch, and many think he will go top 10, which feels fitting in a year that Lamar Jackson is the MVP. Daniels is probably the fastest QB we have seen since Jackson. He has also shown great accuracy on his deep ball. He doesn’t work the middle of the field nearly enough, and sprays too many short and intermediate throws, but the traits are so enticing. Bo Nix completely transformed himself from the player he was at Auburn. He’s a good athlete with a solid arm, and had a lot of production at Oregon. He showed good accuracy and ran the offense to a tee. It is tough to know how much translates, because the offense leaned heavily on screens, RPOs, and quick game. However, when Nix was asked to throw the ball deep and in intermediate areas, he was quite good. Penix has an injury history and is not very mobile but has a huge arm and does not take sacks. Like Daniels, he’s a great downfield thrower, but does not work often in the middle of the field. With his lack of mobility, teams will have to believe in his ability to grow as a passer in that area to warrant selecting him in the first two rounds.  McCarthy will be one of the most divisive prospects in this class. He has shown mobility and an arm to make incredible throws at times, but Michigan rarely asked him to make a play in big moments. His pocket presence and processing are also question marks. He has raw talent, but he certainly needs good coaching and some time at the next level to have a chance. NFL circles seem to be higher on McCarthy than I am. Daniels I’d absolutely take a chance on Round 1. The others will have Day 2 grades for me.

Running Back

1. Trey Benson – Round 3
2. Jonathan Brooks – Round 3
3. Blake Corum – Round 3
4. Audric Estime – Day 3
5. MarShawn Lloyd – Day 3

This is one of the worst RB classes in recent memory. One year removed from seeing two RBs go in the Top 12, this class may not have one go top 50. Most, if not all, of the RBs would be best in a committee in the NFL. Brooks (who is coming off a torn ACL) and Benson have explosiveness but never have had a season over 200 carries. Corum has good vision and is good in pass pro but lacks breakway speed that teams covet. Estime and Braelon Allen are big early down backs that have shown few contributions in the passing game. There are useful players here, but more so complementary pieces to a RB room.

Wide Receiver

1. Marvin Harrison Jr. – Top 5
2. Malik Nabers – Top 5
3. Rome Odunze – Top 10
4. Brian Thomas Jr. – Round 1
5. Troy Franklin – Round 1

After a down WR year in 2023, 2024 is back to being a stacked WR class. The top of this class is the best in recent memory. Marvin Harrison Jr. and Malik Nabers would both have been the overall WR1 in 7 of the last 8 Draft classes for me. Harrison is a fluid mover with great hands and body control at 6’4” 205 lbs. He plays a lot like prime AJ Green. Nabers, meanwhile, has unmatched explosiveness. He is an elite vertical threat, and the best YAC receiver in this class. At 6’0” 195 lbs., he plays like a bigger Jaylen Waddle. Rome Odunze and Brian Thomas Jr. are both 6’3”+ with great speed and ball skills down the field. Both profile as #1 WRs as the next level. Throughout the late first round and Day 2, there are plenty of other prospects that can be meaningful contributors early in their careers such as Keon Coleman, Adonai Mitchell, Tez Walker, and Ja’Lynn Polk amongst others. If you need a WR, this is a good year for you.

Tight End

1. Brock Bowers – Top 10 
2. Ja’Tavion Sanders – Round 2
3. Jaheim Bell – Round 3
4. Ben Sinnott – Round 3
5. Cade Stover – Day 3

Last year’s TE class was the best in recent memory. Kincaid, LaPorta, Mayer, Musgrave, and Kraft all showed to be meaningful contributors in year 1. This class is nowhere near as good, but Brock Bowers is a better prospect than them all. He is the best college TE I have ever seen. As an 18 year old true freshman, Bowers tallied 938 yards and 14 TDs in the SEC and was the #1 option on Georgia’s national title team. He has only got better since. Georgia used him in-line, in the slot, out wide, and in the backfield. They used him on end arounds (one that he took 80 yards for a TD) and screens as well as vertically up the seam and over the middle. He has elite hands and grades higher than Sam LaPorta after the catch (who was the #1 YAC threat in last year’s class). While he isn’t the biggest, he works hard in the run game as a blocker and is a good blocker in space on the move. He grades out better than Kincaid and LaPorta in that aspect. It’ll be interesting to see how high Bowers goes, but with teams started to turn back to heavier personnel and utilizing TEs more along with Bowers’ versatility, I’d feel comfortable taking him toward the back end of the Top 10. As for the rest, Ja’Tavion Sanders and Jaheim Bell are slightly undersized, but good athletes with potential to be pass catching weapons with some YAC ability in the NFL. Sinnott and Stover are well-rounded TEs that are good blockers and pass catchers without elite athleticism.  

Offensive Tackle

1. Joe Alt – Top 5
2. Taliese Fuaga – Top 10
3. Olu Fashanu – Round 1
4. JC Latham – Round 1
5. Amarius Mims – Round 1 

The two best positions groups in this class are WR and OT. Which is good considering how many teams are weak at those two premium positions. Joe Alt is the top OT to come out since Penei Sewell. He is a 6’8” 325 mountain of a man, who has dominated the left side since he was a true freshman in South Bend. Alt, a high school Tight End, is only in his 3^rd year playing OT and is still just 20 years old. However, he is extremely polished. His dad John Alt was a Pro Bowl LT for the Chiefs. He is a road grader in the run game and has quick feet and strong hands in pass protection. He is incredibly smart picking up on games and stunts and gets to the second level well. He is an unquestionable Top 5 talent. Taliese Fuaga is also a top 10 prospect for me. He is a dominant run blocker and moves incredibly well in space at 6’6” 334 lbs. He is not quite as polished as Alt in pass protection, but is solid there, and his athleticism and strength are rare. Just outside the Top 10, Olu Fashanu, JC Latham, and Amarius Mims are surefire first round OTs. Fashanu has quick feet in pass protection, but he struggles from a lack of play strength. He is an average run blocker, and sometimes struggled with bull rushes from stronger EDGEs like OSU’s JT Tuimoloau. However, at just 21 years old with some elite skills in pass protection, Fashanu shouldn’t escape the Top 15. Latham and Mims are massive SEC RTs with great power and good movement ability. Latham has more starting experience than Mims, but both have shown they can hold up against top competition. They should go in the 10-25 range of this Draft. After that, you could see traitsy prospects like BYU’s Kingsley Suamataia (cousin of Penei Sewell) and Oklahoma’s Tyler Guyton sneak into the back end of Round 1. They may not be plug and play day 1 starters, but both present huge upside at a position with so few great players in the NFL.

IOL

1. Jackson Powers-Johnson – Round 1
2. Troy Fautanu – Round 1 
3. Graham Barton – Round 2
4. Christian Haynes – Round 2
5. Zach Frazier – Round 3

Interior Offensive Line is also a pretty strong group this year. Jackson Powers-Johnson is the top Center in this class. The 2023 Rimington Award winner also has experience playing RG. The former high school wrestler is a great athlete and played in a system that featured a diverse mix of runs. He loves getting to the second level, and putting guys in the dirt. Powers-Johnson weighed in at a massive 334 pounds (100th percentile for Centers this century), and yet moves in space better than most sub-300 Centers. Not only can he be a great player, but he can be the identity of your OL. He should be an early impact IOL with 3 position versatility in any scheme in the NFL. He is the rare Center prospect that I see making it into Round 1. College LTs, Troy Fautanu of Washington and Graham Barton of Duke, both are expected to move inside at the NFL level. Barton dominates with strength, while Fautanu moves incredibly well in space. Barton has some background playing Center and could very well move back there at the next level. Fautanu has long enough arms to stick at OT, but could be even better at Guard. He’d give a team flexibility to play either spot if injuries pop up (much like the Jets’ Alijah Vera-Tucker). Both could find their way into Round 1. After the top 3, Christian Haynes, Zach Frazier, and Cooper Beebe lead a strong group of future starters that should go on Day 2. 

EDGE

1. Dallas Turner – Top 10
2. Jared Verse – Round 1
3. Laiatu Latu – Round 1
4. Bralen Trice – Round 1
5. Chop Robinson – Round 2

The last few years, EDGE has consistently been one of the deepest position groups in the class. Not so much this year. That being said, I could see some getting pushed up in Day 2, for the sheer fact that every team craves pass rushers, and you can never have enough of them. Dallas Turner leads the class. He is not on the level of his teammate from last year, Will Anderson, but Turner is a great athlete with production to match at just 20 years of age. He isn’t the biggest but has supposedly bulked up this season similar to how Anderson did his final season while maintaining his speed to win around the EDGE. Jared Verse could have been a first round pick last year, but came back and remains a fringe Top 10 prospect. Verse caught fire the second half of the season and dominated OTs as a power rusher. His bullrush is the best in this class. While Turner and Verse win with speed and power, Laiatu Latu wins with technique and a full bag of pass rush moves. He is easily the most polished rusher in the class, even if he is just a good not great athlete. The biggest concern with Latu is health. In 2020, he suffered a neck injury that caused him to medically retire for a short time. Finally he transferred to UCLA, who’s doctors cleared him, and dominated. How NFL team doctors evaluate him will be important. Bralen Trice has short arms and just above average athleticism but led the nation in pressures. Chop Robinson on the other hand, is a stereotypical Penn State EDGE prospect. Freaky athlete (could run in the 4.4s in the 40) but inconsistent production. Some team will undoubtedly take a swing on him in Round 1 hoping they can develop him into a star. Chris Braswell from Alabama should be a top 40 pick, but after that the class falls off a bit of a cliff after that group. Combine testing may allow a few guys to boost their stock into the Day 2 range. 

Defensive Tackle 

1. Jer’Zahn Newton – Round 1
2. Byron Murphy II – Round 1
3. T’Vondre Sweat – Round 2
4. Kris Jenkins – Round 2
5. Ruke Orhorhoro – Round 2

The DT group is not the deepest, but it has a strong crop of Top 100 prospects. Do not wait until Day 3 if you want one. The top of the class is led by a couple of uber productive 3-Techs, Jer’Zahn “Johnny” Newton from Illinois and Byron Murphy II from Texas. They stand out as the clear best interior pass rushers in the class and both are good run defenders as well. Neither should make it out of Round 1. T’Vondre Sweat should be firmly in Round 2, as a completely different type of player. Sweat is a 6’4” 346 lb. Nose Tackle who swallows up and sheds blockers in the run game. He is an effective pocket pusher in the passing game and racked up a high pass rush win rate, even though he doesn’t typically finish with a sack. He played a higher snap count than most NTs his size. Even if he is mostly a two down player at the next level, Sweat can be a valuable piece to any team. From there, good run defending DTs, such as Kris Jenkins and Ruke Orhorhoro who are continuing to develop their pass rush, will be sure Day 2 picks. Leonard Taylor and Michael Hall Jr. should also be in that range and have shown to be good pass rushers who need to continue to develop as run stoppers to become every down players. Brandon Dorlus, McKinnley Jackson, Braden Fiske, and Maason Smith are among the names who could also find themselves going on Day 2. 

Linebacker

1. Payton Wilson – Round 3
2. Edgerrin Cooper – Round 3
3. Junior Colson – Round 3
4. Jeremiah Trotter Jr. – Round 3
5. Marist Liufau – Day 3

The Linebacker position is in a weird spot. The two best teams in the league: Baltimore and San Francisco have, arguably, the two best LB tandems in the NFL. However, college football is doing a poor job of developing LBs that are ready to play on Sundays. There are likely many reasons for this, but the rise of RPO heavy offenses in CFB has likely contributed to it. This year’s group has no LBs in the Top 50. Payton Wilson, the top LB, probably would be if it weren’t for an extensive injury history (two ACL tears and a season ending shoulder injury before this season). Cooper is a great athlete but has not shown to be great in coverage. Colson is great in coverage but gets washed out too often against the run. Trotter is an old school downhill thumper but lacks the sideline-to-sideline athleticism. There are useful players here, but it’s hard to say with confidence how many can develop into 3 down LBs. 

Cornerback

1. Terrion Arnold – Top 10
2. Cooper DeJean – Round 1
3. Nate Wiggins – Round 1
4. Kool-Aid McKinstry – Round 1
5. Quinyon Mitchell – Round 1

We have a strong crop of Corners, particularly at the top of this year’s class. I think 5+ will go Round 1 and there is good depth in the middle rounds as well. Terrion Arnold from Alabama leads the group as a Top 10 prospect. The 6’0” 196 lb. Arnold is an elite athlete and shows it in man coverage as he mirrors WRs better than anyone in this class. His has the long speed to run with burners and fights through the catch point to break up passes. He is a big hitter with good instincts on screens and in the run game. Saban used him both on the outside (557 snaps) and in the slot (205 snaps) in 2023 with success.

Cooper DeJean from Iowa is a long athletic CB in his own right. He pairs great ball skills with speed and jumping ability and has shown to be a scary return man as well. Nate Wiggins has a slender build, but has shown he is capable of being left on and island in man coverage against just about anyone. Kool-Aid McKinstry, who started under Saban as a true freshman, is as technically sound of an outside CB as you will find. The only question mark is a lack of long speed. Quinyon Mitchell from Toledo will run in the 4.3s and makes more plays on the ball than anyone in this class. He has played mostly off coverage so may be better suited to zone heavy teams until he shows he is comfortable in press. Especially as he goes from MAC competition to the NFL. The upside leads me to believe he will go Round 1. After the top 5, a lot of strong potential CB2 prospects will go in the Day 2 range: TJ Tampa, Kalen King, Kamari Lassiter, and Ennis Rakestraw lead the charge. Michigan’s Mike Sainristil is the top slot CB in this class, a ballhawk who is a feisty tackler when used as a blitzer and fitting the run, in the mold of Kenny Moore II and Mike Hilton.

Safety

1. Tyler Nubin – Round 1 
2. Javon Bullard – Round 2
3. Kamren Kinchens – Round 3
4. Calen Bullock – Round 3
5. Jaden Hicks – Round 3

Tyler Nubin from Minnesota leads a solid group of Safeties. Nubin, who would have likely been a mid-late Day 2 selection had he left for the NFL last season, has only got better this year. He is a smart, instinctive player with great ball skills. Nubin had 5 interceptions this season and allowed just 6 catches on 20 targets. He can play as a deep safety or in the box. Nubin is a very sure tackler and is quick to react coming downhill to make plays on the ballcarrier. He isn’t an elite athlete, but a good one and at 6’2” 210 lbs., Nubin has prototypical size and can be used to matchup well with TEs in the passing game. He is worth a late first or early second round pick. From there, Bullard, Kinchens, and Bullock are all athletic deep safeties who excel in coverage. All 3, need to improve as run defenders and tackles in order to be more complete players, but their coverage ability should be enough to see them go Day 2. Jaden Hicks from Washington State is a bigger box safety who also spent time in the slot. He is a more physical player who can make plays at and behind the line of scrimmage, but is not as twitchy in man coverage as the players ahead of him. Sione Vaki from Utah could also find his name called somewhere in the middle rounds. Vaki played as a deep safety, in the box, and in the slot for Utah this season. When injuries at the Running Back position plagued them mid season, he stepped in there and played both ways. Tallying 150+ yards and 2 TDs in both the Cal and USC games. He is an athletic Swiss Army Knife that can be used in a multitude of ways if he lands in the right defense.