Before the 2024 NFL Draft gets started on Thursday night, what do you need to know?
What time is the NFL Draft? Who are the most overrated players? Who are the underrated players, the sleepers, the boom or bust prospects? All this and more in rapid fire.
This is the easy part. It's all on ESPN, ABC, and the NFL Network
Thursday, Round 1: 8 ET Friday: Round 2, 3: 7 pm ET Saturday, Round 4, 5, 6, 7: 12:00 ET
Now, let's cut to the chase ...
Who Will Be The No. 1 Pick In The 2024 NFL Draft?
It will almost certainly be USC quarterback Caleb Williams.
If you're here and reading this, that might seem too basic and obvious, but believe me when I say there's a slight attempt to stir up excitement by suggesting that LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels might be the guy.
Nah ... it'll be Williams.
All that, and anecdotally, I can't tell you how many people asked me over the last week who the No. 1 will be. (Not everyone is into this like you'd think.)
The Biggest NFL Draft Storylines Be ... ?
There's one big storyline, but that's saved for the next category. Here are five others.
1. Brock Bowers. Where do teams see the star Georgia tight end going? He could go in the top ten without a blink, or he could drop to the early 20s. He's the wild card in all of this, and wherever he goes, the instant comps to the best tight ends in the game - and the expectations that come with it - will follow.
2. Will a true linebacker go in the first round? Some hybrid edge rusher will be called a linebacker, but the position has been changed and morphed. There's a shot that a true LB doesn't go until deep on Day 2.
3. Where will the wide receivers go? Marvin Harrison Jr. is assumed to be gone in the top five, but LSU's Malik Nabers is right there and could be the first off the board. Washington's Rome Odunze isn't far behind. At least six receivers should go.
4. Big Ten and SEC. Those two always account for close to 43ish% of the NFL Draft, but in the new realignment, and with the current members in place, those conferences should dominate the draft like never before.
5. Detroit. A chilly weather city without the sure-thing weather in late April. It shouldn't be all that bad out, but the city gets the big spotlight to itself this weekend.
OF COURSE the top storyline is ...
What Teams Will Draft The Top Quarterbacks?
There are six potential first round NFL quarterbacks, but that would be historic if all of them go. Here's the prediction for who drafts the top QBs - and they all might not be the first round.
Caleb Williams, USC: Chicago
Jayden Williams, LSU: Washington
Drake Maye, North Carolina: New England
JJ McCarthy, Michigan: Minnesota, Denver, or the Giants, and the call is ... Las Vegas moves up to do it.
Bo Nix, Oregon: Denver
Michael Penix Jr., Washington: Minnesota or Las Vegas
Most Overrated Players
EVERY TIME this bites me in the biscuits because there's always a sure All-Pro talent or three on these lists, but ... that's what the draft is about. Make your call, own it if you whiff.
This all based on how high these players are going to go. If they're not special, it's a miss. As second round prospects they'd be steals, but they'll go in the first round, if not top ten, if not top five overall.
Remember, it's all relative.
1. JJ McCarthy, QB Michigan Late first round? Yeah, good flier. Likely top 20 overall - or maybe top 5 - and moving heaven and earth to get him? Ehhhhhhhh
Sometimes there's a misread (Josh Allen - didn't like lack of accuracy at Wyoming), and sometimes the call is flat-wrong (thought Joe Burrow was in an all-time perfect scenario in his final year at LSU).
So it's possible I'm just missing it with McCarthy, and I'm not putting him in the THEY'RE NOT FIRST ROUNDERS category like I had Baker Mayfield at one end, Kenny Pickett in the middle, and Johnny Manziel on the other side (I couldn't scream loud enough about them).
Again, McCarthy is a good prospect, and I'll eat it with a spoon if he's awesome and I can't see it, but he's a risk where he'll be taken.
2. Marvin Harrison Jr., WR Ohio State 3. Adonai Mitchell, WR Texas 4. Quinyon Mitchell, CB Toledo 5. JC Latham, OT Alabama
Most Underrated Players
Who are the underrated prospects of the bunch? These are the ones who seem to be falling through the cracks, but there's a lot there to like.
1. Mohamed Kamara, DE Colorado State A bit undersized and a bit more of an outside linebacker who'll try to make it as an edge rusher, the speed and playmaking ability should be there in the third round or even the fourth. Always working, he made 29.5 sacks and 45.5 tackles for loss with the Rams.
2. Keon Coleman, WR Florida State 3. TJ Tampa, CB Iowa State 4. Malachi Corley, WR Western Kentucky 5. Max Melton, CB Rutgers
Boom or Bust Prospects
These are the players with the talent to become among the best players in the draft if everything breaks right, but they're not sure things. They're the chance players with a world of upside.
1. Maason Smith, DT LSU A few years ago before getting hurt, there was No. 1 overall pick talent to get excited about. If he can put it all together, be consistent, and stay healthy, he could be among the best value picks in the 2024 NFL Draft.
2. Austin Booker, Edge Kansas 3. Anias Smith, WR Texas A&M 4. Michael Hall, DT Ohio State 5. Dillon Johnson, RB Washington
Sleeper Prospects To Know
You want the deep cuts? You want the Day 3 Saturday guys who might stick? If just one of these five becomes a regular starter, we're beating the odds. Start throwing these names around at parties and people will like you more.
1. James Williams, S Miami Safeties have been devalued for some crazy reason in the NFL Draft process, but that's where Williams comes in as a different sort of prospect. He's a 6-3, 231-pound safety who can play like a linebacker. There are health concerns, and he's a tweener, but there's a shot he fits what every D is looking for with his style.
How Good Are All The Positions In The 2024 NFL Draft?
And finally, we rank them. From the best to the weakest, the deepest and most talented to the meh - taking out kickers - here are the positions and how strong they are overall this NFL Draft.
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