NFL

2024 NFL Draft – Top 30 Big Board

Posted on by PJ Moran in NFL

Here are my Top 30 prospects – listed in order by grade – for the 2024 NFL Draft.

While I wasn’t able to personally analyze or fully profile as many prospects as I would’ve liked this year, I did take deep dives into the college tape for the majority of prospects near the top of consensus draft boards. And while I am publishing this on the day of the NFL Draft, I still plan to study some other prospects of intrigue in the weeks ahead, and I’ll make note if any of them are late additions to this Top 30 Big Board.

  1. Marvin Harrison Jr, WR, Ohio State (Profile)

Summary: “Marvin Harrison Jr is going to connect in the NFL; it’s maybe the surest thing in the NFL Draft for wide receivers with this type of dominant profile. It’s more a matter of whether MHJ becomes an All-Pro/future Hall of Famer type or merely a Pro Bowler.”

Pro Comp: Julio Jones

  1. Rome Odunze, WR, Washington (Profile)

Summary: “Rome Odunze was a Round 1 prospect following his 2022 junior season and then leveled up in 2023 to arguably the best player in college football. There’s no ceiling on this guy, and teams should be tripping over themselves to nab him in this NFL Draft.”

Pro Comp: Larry Fitzgerald

  1. Caleb Williams, QB, USC (Profile)

Summary: “He might be the rare case of a first overall pick whose circumstances actually improve upon reaching the NFL. He’s a scrappy player and has the size and moxie to take literal and figurative hits early on in his career and come out on the other side all the better for it. Williams is a gifted passer with star potential within the right offense.”

Pro Comp: Matt Stafford

  1. Joe Alt, OT, Notre Dame

Summary: If being a 6’9 starting left tackle for Notre Dame as a true junior made Joe Alt a potential unicorn, being that with refinement cemented him as one. He is razor sharp, moves effortlessly, and packs solid power for his lean frame. Alt is a hard-working technician who’s already good enough as a blindside protector to put near perfect games on tape, and he still has space to get better and stronger. It’s a valid argument to make that Alt has the clearest path to the Hall of Fame in this class.

Pro Comp: Jake Long

  1. Byron Murphy, DT, Texas

Summary: Byron Murphy just seems like a freaking handful for any IOL to block alone. He’s an extreme athlete for the position with amazing lower body bend and torque at the point of attack. He can win immediately off the snap, and he can stack-and-shed blocks against the run as he sees fit. This a very high ranking for a dude who basically burst onto the scene in the 2023 season, but Murphy is that much of a disruptive game-wrecker from the interior.

Pro Comp: Grady Jarrett

  1. Adonai Mitchell, WR, Texas (Clips)

Summary: “I’m bullish that AD Mitchell has what it takes to better work physicality into his game. Besides that, he has it all, IMO. I get the drawbacks, and there are murmurs of non-football flags, but on tape Mitchell is a can’t-miss prospect and would’ve been my WR1 in some other years.”

Pro Comp: Justin Jefferson

  1. Malik Nabers, WR, LSU (Profile)

Summary: “I’m just not as confident in Nabers’ progression into an NFL WR1 like I am with [Harrison Jr and Odunze]. Yes, it’s definitely a possible outcome, and that best-case scenario is where the Ja’Marr Chase comparisons are fair…or maybe he’ll just be a really good option for an offense though not quite a superstar.”

Pro Comp: Jeremy Maclin

  1. Michael Penix Jr, QB, Washington (Profile)

Summary: “He’s the Moneyball quarterback. There are so many reasons to write him off in draft war rooms: he’s old (turning 24 before Week 1), he’s lefty, he’s got a funky delivery, he’s torn his ACLs, etc. But he’s tough, reliable, anticipatory, and operates quickly without cutting corners – sign me up.”

Pro Comp: Lefty Eli Manning

  1. Drake Maye, QB, UNC (Profile)

Summary: “There’s a not-so-crazy future where Maye continues to ramp up his creativity as he matures and takes more control of his offense, leading him to becoming one of the best playmakers at the position in the league. I’m coming into the clubhouse not feeling ultra optimistic about Maye’s NFL outcome, though. He still plays so young; the game moves fast for him and he just too often makes things too hard on himself.”

Pro Comp: Sam Darnold

  1. Terrion Arnold, CB, Alabama

Summary: Arnold is a ferocious DB with enough functional athleticism to thrive at cornerback. He’s ultra physical and one of the best college CBs you’ll ever see near the line of scrimmage. Arnold stops-and-starts very cleanly, and he’s instinctual with good ball skills. Arnold still could use more refinement and he’ll give up some space in coverage from time to time, so he’s not the lockdown man coverage CB1 that might usually go in the top half of Round 1 of the Draft. He’s a really good player though, one who’s very young and versatile too. 

Pro Comp: Paulson Adebo

  1.  Troy Fautanu, OL, Washington

Summary: Fautanu is a stout yet fluid scrapper with some of the best pass protection tape in this class. He’s always ready to strike and is a weapon-in-waiting for the right scheme. He’s still fairly raw and needs to operate with more of a plan in order to keep leveling up his game, and I did expect to like him more than I do at OT because of his solid length, but Fautanu remains a tough, malleable, and already very good lineman regardless of the position that he eventually calls home.

Pro Comp: Logan Mankins

  1. Jared Verse, EDGE, Florida State

Summary: Tenacious yet balanced, and explosive yet quick, Verse has the goods to thrive as an outside pass rusher in the NFL. His suddenness is potent, and he has twitchy hands and upper body movement to swim into the backfield off the snap. His lateral movement is excellent and he plays with a crazy hot motor. There is concern that Verse still doesn’t string rush moves together all that well despite his advanced age as a prospect, nor does he consistently channel his raw strength into game power, but he flashes enough at an important enough position to block out the bad stuff and just get excited for the good stuff.

Pro Comp: Olivier Vernon

  1. Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia

Summary: Bowers is a moose with the ball in his hands, and he’s a potential YAC game-changer for his future team with legit buildup speed, quickness, and power. He has the hand strength and hand-eye coordination to be a passing game weapon in the NFL, though his positional murkiness is weird and I wish I felt better about the breadth of his route tree, route precision, and downfield ability. It’s fair to wonder how much his college dominance can translate after losing physical advantages and the uber-friendly UGA offense, but this is a dude who we have seen practically win games by himself – which I doubt I’ve ever said about a college tight end.

Pro Comp: David Njoku

  1. Tyler Guyton, OT, Oklahoma

Summary: Guyton looks the part of a converted tight end when you watch him run, and he’s got the nasty streak of an offensive lineman that can’t just be taught. He is smooth and collected, and he’s already advanced at playing with his hands out in front. There is tape to back up the grand plans that some NFL play callers probably have for him as a lead blocker in the run game. Guyton’s pass sets are still a work in progress and you still can find examples of him feeling out the OT position, but I have faith that he’s a natural and that he’ll continue to mature in handling power. I’m a big fan.

Pro Comp: Ryan Clady

  1. JJ McCarthy, QB, Michigan (Profile)

Summary: “JJ McCarthy is a tantalizing prospect; that much isn’t a media creation. McCarthy is more athletic than [Brock Purdy and Zach Wilson] and has had more pro-style exposure too, but the more lowly glimpses from both of them that you see in McCarthy are also too glaring to ignore.”

Pro Comp: Kyler Murray

  1. JC Latham, OT, Alabama

Summary: It’s game over for defenders if Latham locks into them in the run game. He’s a very likable prospect with twitch for his humongous size and deliberate hands, and he’s constantly locked-in with reliable execution and no boneheaded plays on tape. There’s no denying that he’s pretty slow though, and it isn’t hard for defenders to expose Latham due to his size. He’s vulnerable but ultimately a player worth betting on with quite high upside.

Pro Comp: Andre Smith

  1. Olu Fashanu, OT, Penn State

Summary: Fashanu is a ready-made left tackle who easily clears the NFL bars for movement and raw strength. He’s good-not-great in most departments though, and he can stand to improve his consistency – particularly as a run blocker. Olu won regularly on his college tape and offers a fairly high floor to his future NFL team at a valuable position, though there’s a decent amount to clean up here before he can reach a top tier of OTs.

Pro Comp: DJ Humphries

  1. Jackson Powers-Johnson, OC, Oregon

Summary: JPJ has hilarious brute strength and really impressive functional athleticism for his heavy build at the center position. He is a quick dude, and it’s also nearly impossible for defenders to rush directly through him. JPJ isn’t very sticky nor squatty, and he’s still figuring some things out on the fly, but I view that as untapped potential in his case since he’s still young.

Pro Comp: Travis Frederick

  1. Ladd McConkey, WR, Georgia

Summary: McConkey is practically unguardable in the intermediate level of the field with his extremely sharp cuts, well-above average speed, and a sneaky catch radius. He’s a pure hands catcher who can take manufactured touches from nothing into something. McConkey has his drawbacks: he’s not an all-fields ball winner, falls short of some physical benchmarks, and has a cloudy medical history. Those are the reasons why teams will have the opportunity to draft a separator like McConkey as late as wherever he’s eventually picked, though.

Pro Comp: Christian Kirk

  1. Brian Thomas Jr, WR, LSU (Clips)

Summary: “It’s very clear why Brian Thomas Jr is going in Round 1: this is a gifted 21-year-old kid who scored 17 TDs last season. I’m wary of his landing spot though, and whoever gets him isn’t getting a finished product. There’s a bunch to clean up, starting with better using tempo and his frame to his advantage.”

Pro Comp: Braylon Edwards

  1. Laiatu Latu, EDGE, UCLA

Summary: Besides his advanced age for the college game (now 23), it makes sense why Latu racked up massive stats over the past two seasons. He possesses extremely active hands throughout the entire pass rush, and he changes direction very well – which a sneaky elite 3-cone time backed up. Latu has solid bend to him, too. He’s an effective enough run defender with a hand in the dirt and enough pad level, but Latu has a generally light lower half and won’t set a hard enough edge against outside runs in the NFL. By EDGE standards in the NFL, Latu’s speed, burst, and length are all mediocre, as is the power behind his rushes. I didn’t come away from his tape as blown away as others despite the quantifiable production, but I could see him racking up high sack and pressure counts with some added bulk in the right defense.

Pro Comp: Jason Babin

  1. Quinyon Mitchell, CB, Toledo

Summary: Mitchell has a laboratory-concocted combination of size and speed for a cornerback, and it shows on tape via his fast breaks on the ball and strength at the catch point. It’ll be tough for any wideout to beat him deep, and he has great ball skills. Mitchell holds his own in zone coverage, too, so why the relatively lower ranking? You can see impatience and mixed-up focus between the quarterback’s eyes and his assignments across his tape, and he’s got some heavy feet despite his blazing straight-line movement. I usually love coming to the defense of smaller school prospects, but the level of competition that Mitchell faced was truly terrible. I’m glad he performed well at the Senior Bowl, but I can’t allow that to catapult him too far up the board. 

Pro Comp: Bradley Roby

  1. Cooper DeJean, DB, Iowa

Summary: I very badly wanted to come to the defense of Cooper DeJean as a cornerback, but nah…this kid is a safety at the next level. I don’t have nearly enough trust in his ability to execute in man coverage against NFL wideouts flying off the line of scrimmage on the outside. That said, DeJean is a compact and explosive drive-killer with excellent recognition skills. He’s got very good size and loves to mix it up – sometimes too much at the tops of routes. DeJean will take some odd angles and I don’t know if he can change direction well at all, but any team that just lets him play loose and downhill should be happy to have him.

Pro Comp: Kyle Dugger

  1. Taliese Fuaga, OG, Oregon State

Summary: I certainly view Fuaga as a right guard despite his college alignment of right tackle. Beyond his noticeable lack of length, Fuaga takes repeated jabs over sustained blocks and looks generally stiff manning the corner of a line. He does move way better than I first expected; it’s flat-out impressive explosion for his size. He’s a very good run blocker on the move, and he packs absurd pop in his hands. Even if he’s not the bookend anchor that some have pitched him as, Fuaga is a potential Pro Bowler on the inside.

Pro Comp: Trey Smith

  1. Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU (Profile)

Summary: “I understand why Daniels will go in Round 1 of the Draft; he’s fresh off a season with 40 touchdown passes and is truly a killer runner for the position. Still, it needs to be said that Daniels isn’t a Mike Vick/Lamar Jackson “Houdini” type of QB runner. In the passing game, Daniels basically only took what was drawn up or right in front of him, and I definitely cannot say I love that we’ve seen Daniels at the age of an NFL rookie be merely ‘ok’ in college.”

Pro Comp: Kordell Stewart

  1. Graham Barton, IOL, Duke

Summary: Barton is an ultra aggressive finisher who possesses excellent body control. It isn’t always the prettiest with Barton, who’s more of a Steady Eddie than a weapon, but he finds a way to consistently win in pass protection. He’s a wrestling type of lineman whose hands can get wild and whose eyes can get glued. Barton won’t stay at his college position of left tackle in the NFL, and it’s fair to worry if his size advantage will be neutralized with that kick inside, but I trust that Barton’s skill will ease a position change – whether to guard or center.

Pro Comp: Cody Whitehair

  1. Dallas Turner, EDGE, Alabama

Summary: The on-paper appeal for Turner is obvious: he has the measurable speed of a running back and the measurable length of an offensive lineman. He’s a high effort player too, and he packs good power above the waist. He just isn’t bendy whatsoever – it’s actually shocking how upright he plays for his position and frame. Turner has a frustrating lack of effective hand usage on tape, and he does look undersized when matched up against bigger OTs. With generally ok yet low-floor run defense as well, he has the profile of a defender who might have had better odds at NFL success in an older era of the league with heavier deployment of standard base defenses.

Pro Comp: Leonard Floyd

  1. Johnny Newton, DT, Illinois

Summary: Newton was one of the tougher evaluations of this process, which wasn’t helped by a nursed injury during his 2023 campaign. Newton’s athletic tools aren’t anything special and there isn’t all that much skill to his game either, but he still wins due to the traits that you can’t teach: bend, power, determination. He always keeps his eyes forward and his body working towards the ball, and he tosses dudes if he gets to them in time. It is hard to look past Newton’s down-to-down inconsistency, which includes getting stuck on blocks that have no business slowing him down, but his appeal is clear. Newton should have a decently long career, because he’s versatile and the increasingly rare type of modern top DT prospect who isn’t a 3tech-or-bust.

Pro Comp(s): Sen’Derrick Marks

  1. Amarius Mims, OT, Georgia

Summary: Mims has laughably easy power and it’s pretty damn hard for defenders to beat him around the corner at his size. He can swallow defenders out of plays if he gets his hands on them, but that’s definitely an “if” – and that’s when Mims is healthy enough to stay on the field. Beyond obvious and extremely fair concerns over health, Mims has a long hill to climb as a run blocker and in general as a football player with some lacking instincts due to inexperience. You root for him just to stay upright, and if he does, I don’t think he’s as fast and freakish as advertised, but he’ll probably be good.

Pro Comp: Phil Loadholt

  1. Kool-Aid McKinstry, CB, Alabama

Summary: McKinstry is a smart, consistent, and scheme-proof player with plenty of production on tape. There’s a lot that he doesn’t do exceptionally, and he’s merely average when it comes to quickness, explosiveness, and instincts, but he can hang with bigger targets and runs better than he’s seemingly given credit for. Being an easy projection is boring around this time of year, but it’s a high-percentage outcome that McKinstry is a steady CB2 in the NFL, and there’s value in that.

Pro Comp: Rock Ya-Sin

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