2024 NFL Draft: Every team's best sleeper pick (2024)

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The Cardinals came into the 2024 draft with very little to speak of at receiver, and general manager Monti Ossenfort did his level best to solve that issue with the selection of Marvin Harrison Jr. at forth overall. Harrison reminds me of Larry Fitzgerald, another highly-drafted Cardinals receiver, so what’s not to like?

And then, with the 191st overall pick in the sixth round, Ossenfort and his staff pulled off a deep cut with the addition of UAB’s Tejhaun Palmer. Now, Roddy White came out of UAB, so NFL success at the position is not unusual, and Palmer has some serious size/speed stuff to deal with. At 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds, Palmer caught eight passes of 20 or more air yards on 14 targets for 264 yards and two touchdowns. Palmer may still be putting the finer points of his game together, but his tape yells pretty loudly.

“The guy has got upside, he’s got size and he’s got speed,” Cardinals Assistant GM Dave Sears said of Palmer. “We feel like we can develop his routes. The kid’s a tough kid, loves ball — those kinds of things. We definitely feel like there’s some upside we can develop with him. Our coaches, he was down at the East-West Game with them and they saw that first-hand down there too.”

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Falcons GM Terry Fontenot and head coach Raheem Morris spent most of their draft pressers trying to explain the whole Kirk Cousins/Michael Penix Jr. situation, but they were eager to talk about the addition of Illinois receiver Casey Washington when the subject came around.

“39 and a half inch vertical – prototype, size, speed,” Fontenot said of Washington. “He has measurables. He has traits. We spent time with him. We love the makeup. Plays with a chip on his shoulder. He’s a competitor. We know he’ll be able to contribute in other areas as well.”

The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Washington, who was somehow not invited to the scouting combine, went to Atlanta with the 187th pick in the sixth round. What did Atlanta like about Washington that they didn’t already have? Well, Washington is a big, vertical receiver who has an especially good grasp of corner and fade routes — the kinds of things that take cornerbacks where they don’t necessarily want to go against a big, fast dude. Last season, Washington caught four passes of 20 or more air yards on just nine targets for 165 yards and a touchdown. Target share may be an issue in the regular season, but if Penix is throwing the ball in the preseason, Washington should put on a show.

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Walker’s story is one of the more interesting of anybody’s in this draft class, and it’s Reason No. 7,382,469 that the NCAA is utterly ridiculous. Injuries and the COVID year prevented Walker from becoming a factor early in his collegiate career, but he a good 2022 season at Kent State. Walker then wanted to transfer to North Carolina to be close to his ailing grandmother, but the NCAA denied his request. Walker threatened to sue the NCAA, and the NCAA did what most bullies do when threatened — it backed down.

With that, and despite the fact that he didn’t see action until Week 6 of the 2023 season, Walker still caught 41 passes on 66 targets for 699 yards and seven touchdowns from third-overall pick Drake Maye. The Ravens stole him with the 113th overall pick in the fourth round, and there’s no telling how much higher he would have gone with a less complicated story. But he’s an X receiver in the right system.

“With ‘Tez,’ you get really a vertical receiver, size and speed,” Ravens GM Eric DeCosta said. “In some ways, [he] reminds me of a Torrey Smith-type of player – an outside, take-the-top-off, vertical threat with good size, and phenomenal kid, excellent jumping ability.”

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We’re not sure how the Steelers missed out on Hardy; the Pittsburgh native played 7-on-7 football as a kid with Joey Porter Jr. and Mike Tomlin’s son, Dino. In any event, a Bills secondary that got old seemingly overnight will benefit from Hardy’s presence. Last season for the Nittany Lions, Hardy allowed 26 catches on 48 targets for 318 yards, 164 yards after the catch, two touchdowns, two interceptions, five pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 71.4. Not bad for a player selected with the 219th overall pick in the sixth round.

At 5′ 9⅜” and 178 pounds and a wingspan that’s in the first percentile for cornerbacks since 1999, Hardy is absolutely a slot defender at the NFL level, but he has the potential to be a good one.

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Smith-Wade is another cornerback who played quite a bit outside in college, but projects to the slot for his NFL team. He was strong in coverage over four seasons with the Cougars (three as a starter), allowing 60 catches on 113 targets for 790 yards, 247 yards after the catch, four touchdowns, three interceptions, 16 pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 76.2. He also has experience in the box and as a blitzer at the line of scrimmage, but the Panthers want to see him in the slot, and he’s ready for that challenge, despite the fact that he had just 30 snaps there in college. The Panthers got him with the 157th pick in the fifth round.

“At nickel you’re never cold, you’re either in the run fit, you’re in the box or you’re guarding those quick guys in the slot, so you’re never cold at nickel,” he said. “I really love that about nickel and the defensive back variety pack, out of the corners and safety, just being that nickel, you’re closer to the ball.”

(Syndication: The Enquirer)

Bears fans who were over the moon with the picks of Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze in the first round might have cooled a bit when their team selected an offensive tackle and a punter with their remaining two picks. What about the need at edge-rusher? Well, general manager Ryan Poles apparently had similar concerns, so the Bears traded back into the fifth round and took Kansas edge defense Austin Booker with the 144th overall pick.

Last season for the Jayhawks, Booker had nine sacks and 38 total pressures, and though he’s a smaller man for the position (6′ 4½’, 240), his speed off the edge speaks volumes, and it will be accentuated over time with a more complete palette of pass-rush moves.

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After three seasons at Louisiana-Monroe, Newton transferred to TCU in time for the 2022 season. All he did for the Horned Frogs over the next two season was to make All-Big-12 twice, so the jump to a higher level was no issue whatsoever. Perhaps he dropped in the draft as a smaller cornerback who didn’t test well at the combine, but defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo knew exactly what his team was getting with the 149th overall pick in the fifth round.

“He was real good. [Secondary/cornerbacks coach Charles] Burks did a great job with him communicating. I sat in on a Zoom, and again, he can really talk the game. Smart football guy, good football awareness. As I mentioned, that kind of comes through when you talk to the guy. He’s just an overall good human being, which is always good to add.”

If Uncle Lou likes him, we’re in. Not that we already weren’t. The 5′ 10⅝”, 190-pound Newton can play inside and outside (which is how the Bengals envision his deployment), and last season, he allowed 25 catches on 52 targets for 303 yards, 120 yards after the catch, one touchdown, one interception, six pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 64.8.

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The Browns had Elijah Moore, Amari Cooper, and David Bell as their primary slot receivers last season, but Louisville’s Jamari Thrash, who the team got with the 156th overall pick in the fifth round, adds a different kind of juice. At 5′ 11¾” and 188 pounds, Thrash was going to have to become an expert at getting open off the line to survive at any level of football, and that’s what he did. Last year with the Cardinals (his first year at Louisville after four at Georgia State), Thrash caught 64 passes in 96 targets for 846 yards and six touchdowns. He’s not an alpha X receiver at the next level, but he is an interesting component to Cleveland’s passing game.

“Jamari, for us, we view him as a guy that can play inside and outside,” Browns director of player personnel Dan Saganey said of the pick. “He had a really productive college career at Georgia State, and then decided to transfer up to Louisville last year and had another big year there. So, a guy with speed, a guy that showed up really well through the Senior Bowl process. We really enjoyed getting to know him through our spring scouting process. And, you know, with these picks at this time of the Draft, we’re really looking to find players that we’re looking forward to developing, having our coaches get their hands on him and, you know, see what they can do. So, he’s a competitive kid. He’s had production inside and out throughout his college career, and he’s a good playmaker with the ball in his hands. So, add him to the room and let him compete.”

If you want to know more about Thrash, read our Jarrett Bailey’s interview with him.

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Yes, Jerry Jones has a lot of weird things to say about the player evaluation process, and that bears out in free agency. But don’t sleep on Dallas’ scouting department, led by Will McClay — that’s where all the great draft picks come from. And in the 2024 draft, the Cowboys got a sleeper at cornerback in the person of Wake Forest’s Caelen Carson. I spoke with Carson at the scouting combine, and he talked with pride about his ability to take the playbook and make something out of it.

Which shows up on tape. Last season, Carson allowed 36 catches on 64 targets for 436 yards, 146 yards after the catch, four touchdowns, no interceptions, four pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 98.2. Had Coleman turned a few of those pass breakups into interceptions, his metrics would more closely mimic what you see on the field. Maybe this is why the Cowboys landed him with the 174th overall pick in the fifth round.

I also asked Carson for his favorite NCAA play, and he went right to his battle with Keon Coleman when Wake Forest played Florida State last season.

“Keon Coleman tape. Slot fade, I pressed him with outside leverage because I knew it was going to be a fade. I used my technique and flipped him to the outside. Didn’t turn my head, because he was in the slot, and there was too much space to the sideline, and he’s a big guy. If I had turned my head, he could have pushed me.”

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A receiver/cornerback star at Rancho Bernardo High School in San Diego, Devaughn Vele was frustrated by his lack of juice in the national recruiting services. He received no big-school offers, and instead of working his way up through a smaller program, he chose to serve three years in a religious mission in Samoa with the Church of Latter-Day Saints. When he came back to America, he walked on at Utah in 2019, got a scholarship in 2020, and became an Honorable mention All-Pac-12 player in 2022. Last season, despite missing three games due to injury, Vele caught 43 passes on 70 targets for 593 yards and three touchdowns. Because of all the things he’s done, Vele will come into the NFL as a 26-year-old, and he’ll turn 27 on December 12, before his first professional season is over.

Most likely, that’s why he lasted until the 235th pick in the seventh round.

Broncos General Manager George Paton was asked last week about selecting players of a specific age, and his answer in Vele’s case was definitive.

“Vele in particular, he was just too talented to pass up. We had a clear vision for him fitting in with what we are doing. Twenty-six [years old] is still young, relatively speaking. He plays a mature game. He has all the traits. He is a prototype. He is big and fast. For a big guy, he can get in and out of his breaks. We just thought he was too talented to pass up.”

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The Lions did a lot to reinforce their team in the 2024 draft (especially in the secondary), but their final pick might be the most interesting over time. Somehow, Detroit bagged Boston College guard Christian Mahogany with the 210th pick in the sixth round. Mahogany allowed no sacks, no quarterback hits, and seven quarterback hurries in 422 pass-blocking reps last season, and through he’ll need work on some technical points, he was a demon in the run game last season.

General manager Brad Holmes said that Mahogany had a little “dirt bag” to his game, and the rookie was quite proud of that designation.

“Yeah, absolutely,” Mahogany said. “It’s something that I really pride myself on and I’m just glad Mr. Holmes saw it as well as coach [Dan] Campbell and everyone else. That’s something I pride myself on, and I look forward to bringing it to the National Football League.”

Sounds like a Detroit Lion, yes?

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The Packers had a desperate need to re-install a culture of danger in their safety group after a disappointing 2023 season, and they went after it. They gave former Giants star Xavier McKinney a four year, $67 million contract with $23 million guaranteed, they selected Georgia do-it-all safety Javon Bullard in the second round, and they then took Oregon State’s Kitan Oladapo with the 169th overall pick in the fifth round. When you go from no safeties who can be deployed all over the field to three? Yeah, that’s pretty good.

Oladapo was primarily a deep-third and split safety defender for the Beavers last season, but he also excelled in short areas, especially in the red zone, where he came up with multiple denials against opposing offenses. Overall, the 6-foot-2, 216-pound Oladapo allowed 21 catches on 36 targets for 212 yards, 58 yards after the catch, one touchdown, two interceptions, seven pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 61.3. And he’s already got it together regarding one of the NFL’s most dangerous offensive trends — speed motion from one side of the field to the other.

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This offseason, the Texans got that much closer to a Super Bowl defense by adding Danielle Hunter to their edge-rush profile with a two-year, $49 million contract with $48 million guaranteed. Hunter is a perfect complement to Will Anderson, the reigning Defensive Rookie of the year, as Hunter’s game is about speed and bend, while Anderson is all about power to the pocket.

To double down on that speed/bend thing, Houston also selected USC end Solomon Byrd with the 238th pick in the seventh round. That pick could pay off far past its value. Last season for the Trojans, the Wyoming transfer totaled seven sacks and 41 total pressures on 320 pass-rushing reps. There’s not much to say about Byrd as a run defender, but then again, the Texans probably won’t line him up inside 20% of the time in 3-man fronts as the Trojans did for whatever reason.

With Byrd, you put him on the outside in a rotation and let him hunt… or you let him use his formidable gap quickness on stunts and games. No reason to overthink it.

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The Colts were pretty set at receiver from a B-level to D-level perspective before the 2024 draft, and they upped the ante with Texas’ Adonai Mitchell in the second round. But don’t overlook the selection of Oregon State receiver Anthony Gould with the 142nd overall pick in the fifth round. At 5′ 8⅜” and 174 pounds, Gould tested very well at the scouting combine, and that all shows up on tape. Gould will be a slot guy at the next level, and he’ll amplify his place in the position with some nasty foot fakes at the line, and impressive vertical speed. And while he has some juice as a return man, General Manager Chris Ballard sees him as more than just that.

“Obviously, he’s got the return ability, but he can do some things at wideout as well. To add that speed – he’s a 4.33 guy, another speed guy. We know Anthony [Richardson] can throw it so it’s good to get both of those guys.”

Last season, Gould caught 44 passes on 70 targets for 711 yards and two touchdowns. Were he a bit bigger, and had he played in the SEC, we might be talking about a third-round pick here.

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What does Jaguars GM Trent Baalke love above all else, outside of pounding press box tables when his teams are losing (I know this from personal experience)? Draft prospects with ridiculous tools who are still looking to put it all together in a technical sense. Baalke certainly got one of those guys with Texas Tech edge-rusher Myles Cole.

At 6-foot-6 and 278 pounds, Cole has measurables right out of science fiction, and with four sacks and 27 total pressures in 281 pass-rushing reps last season, his tape is starting to back it up. Like a lot of collegiate defenders with ridiculous physical skills, Cole has yet to develop his hands for maximum impact against blockers — more often, he would just Godzilla those poor guys, and that would be that. So, maybe he’s a year away from doing any real damage, but when you get a guy like this with the 236th overall pick in the seventh round, you can afford to wait.

“Size, length, he’s a developmental guy for sure,” Baalke said of Cole after the pick was made. “Kind of got onto him later in the process just with his measurables, they just stood out. At that stage of the draft you’re looking for traits to develop, and he’s certainly got some.”

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Without Steve Spagnuolo’s defense, the Super Bowl champion Chiefs might not have even made it to the postseason. Key among Spagnuolo’s most important players reside in a secondary that Spags, GM Brett Veach, and the Chiefs’ scouting staff have prioritized. And the Chiefs have gotten these guys from the first round (Trent McDuffie), the fourth round (the now-departed L’Jarius Sneed), and the seventh round (Jaylen Watson). Now, there’s Tennessee’s Kamal Hadden, who Kansas City selected with the 211th pick in the sixth round. Last season, the 6-foot-1, 196-pound Hadden allowed 12 catches on 33 targets for 96 yards, 55 yards after the catch, no touchdowns, three interceptions, six pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of (this is not a typo) 7.0. When you watch Hadden close to the ball, he just looks like a Chiefs cornerback.

“Hadden was a guy that we kind of targeted there Day 3,” Veach said after the pick. “Tough physical kid, think he has a good press skillset and just like the way he plays. The one thing that we prioritize in the defensive backfield is not just the size but physicality and [we] think he’ll certainly bring that.”

Given his new team’s track record with cornerbacks in recent years, Hadden is someone to watch.

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I first watched Devonshire’s tape before I landed in Indianapolis for the scouting combine, and he immediately impressed me as a very good man/match prospect all over the field. He might not be the most immediate closer and transition player in zone, but any team looking for a cornerback who can press and carry should have found Devonshire interesting.

Ultimately, the Raiders found him interesting enough to take him with the 229th pick in the seventh round, which constitutes a pretty decent steal. Last season for the Panthers, Devonshire allowed 25 catches on 55 targets for 435 yards, 142 yards after the catch, three touchdowns, four interceptions, five pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 60.3. The Raiders have struggled for years to put a competent cornerback group on the field, so perhaps between Devonshire and fourth-round pick Decamerion Richardson from Mississippi State, they can get a leg or two up on that process.

Devonshire certainly doesn’t lack for confidence, as he told me at the combine.

“I started playing football at three, and my motivation was… I saw Darrelle Revis play, and Ty Law play, and the first position I learned was wide receiver. So, that one-on-one was instilled in my mind before I knew what the linemen did, and what the quarterback did, and the linebackers and safeties. I just picked my side as a cornerback, and I said, ‘I want to be the villain on this. I want to take guys out of the game.’ I would see how upset guys like Chad Ochocinco would be when Darrelle was locking them up, and I was like, ‘I want to be the guy who gives somebody that feeling.’ It takes confidence, and it takes a long time to get that confidence, but once you get it, it can be pretty good.”

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There are times when you watch a smaller-school player’s tape, and you immediately wonder, “How in hell did the bigger programs miss this guy?” For me, that was the case when I got into Troy running back Kimani Vidal as the NFL season ended. In Vidal’s case, he did get offers from LSU and South Carolina out of Marietta High School in Marietta, Georgia (one of his teammates was Cardinals edge-rusher BJ Ojulari), but he felt more of a connection with Troy’s coaching staff, so that’s where he went.

Which was exceedingly good news for the Trojans, who went 11-3 last season and lost to Duke in the Birmingham Bowl. 2023 was Vidal’s fourth and final season, and he went out with a big bang — 295 carries for 1,661 yards, 14 touchdowns, 94 missed tackles forced, 19 runs of 15 or more yards for 625 yards, and 82 first downs. Don’t be fooled by Vidal’s size or his small-school status; he has a chance to succeed quickly in the NFL, and the fact that the Chargers got him with the 181st overall pick in the sixth round? Down the road, a lot of NFL teams might regret not making that pick in that area of the draft.

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The Rams hit an absolute home run with the selection of Florida State edge-rusher Jared Verse in the first round (their first first-round pick since 2016), but in Washington State’s Brennan Jackson with the 154th pick in the fifth round, they got another edge defender who was almost as productive last season at another major program. Last season, Jackson totaled nine sacks and 40 total pressures to Verse’s 11 sacks and 62 total pressures.

Both players are power rushers to the quarterback, and in Jackson’s case, there’s a few pass-rush moves and speed to the pocket to build on. The native of Temecula, California is quite excited to play near home again.

“Just to know that I’m back here, I’m back home and now I get play in front of people who have been watching me play for years and years and years is just an incredible feeling,” Jackson said.

“The biggest thing is staying who I am in terms of being relentless and an energy monster and being physical on the field, because that can never change. And then also just realizing this is going to be a whole new playbook, being a sponge with knowledge, and getting on special teams, be someone that craves to be on the field to make big impact plays happen. There’s no better way than special teams early on, because those are game-changing plays. So bringing that same relentless motor and energy to all phases of the game is gonna help me stay here for a long time.”

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The Dolphins are the NFL’s conceptual answer to the question, “What if they build the entire plane out of the black box?” Head coach Mike McDaniel wants speed on the field no matter what, and that’s what he got in Virginia receiver Malik Washington. McDaniel was really happy to get Washington with the 184th pick in the sixth round, to the point where he had been bugging general manager Chris Grier to make that selection for a while.

When you watch Washington’s tape, the excitement is easy to understand. The 5′ 8½”. 191-pound receiver ran a 4.47 40-yard dash at the scouting combine, but he’s much faster on the field, especially the middle of the field, and especially after the catch. Washington led all receivers in the 2024 draft class with 710 yards after the catch, and now, McDaniel gets to envision Washington doing his thing with Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle burning opposing defenses with vertical routes. Opposing defenses won’t be quite as excited about all that.

“I think the way that they run their offense, the motions, the different ways they use people to get open and allow them to be themselves, allow them to work, I think that is very beneficial to me,” Washington said of his new team after he was selected. “Just getting a chance to find some underneath routes, find some ways to get open and let that YAC – a big piece of my game – and let that shine through.”

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Murphy is the lone undrafted player on our list, and while the Vikings had some good picks in the third day (most notably Oregon cornerback Khyree Jackson in the fourth round), it’ll be tough for any of those guys to present equivalent value to what UCLA edge-rusher Gabriel Murphy can bring. At 6′ 2⅜” and 247 pounds, Murphy may be a bit undersized for some teams, but he put up eight sacks and 61 total pressures last season, and he absolutely has NFL-ready tape.

Perhaps some evaluators thought that he benefited too much from being Laiatu Latu’s bookend, but when you watch the tape, there are enough examples of Murphy winning against more than one blocker in his way. He’ll make Brian Flores’ blitz packages that much more interesting and effective.

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The Patriots have been trying in vain since Randy Moss was in his prime to find receivers who could separate from coverage, and the lack of those receivers was one reason New England’s offense was a trouble spot in Bill Belichick’s final few seasons. Now, there’s new blood up top with general manager Eliot Wolf and head coach Jerod Mayo, and evidently, a different way of scouting receivers. The Pats got Washington’s Ja’Lynn Polk with the 37th overall pick in the second round, and they doubled down with a great value in UCF’s Javon Baker with the 110th pick in the fourth round.

At 6′ 1¼” and 202 pounds, Baker is a big receiver with the ability to use his speed to take the top off opposing defenses. Last season for the Knights, he caught 15 passes of 20 or more air yards on 30 targets for 574 yards and four touchdowns. And at that size, Baker has no issue going for contested catches.

“We have leaders on the offensive side of the ball, and I would also say some of the additions, K.J. [Osborn] even Kendrick Bourne, those guys provide some leadership in that room,” Mayo said of the Baker pick, and the need for young alphas on offense. “At the same time, we wanted to draft good players, and you can’t help but turn on a UCF game and see that this guy really loves ball, the way he runs, the way he’s able to run routes. He’s just a good player.”

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The Saints came into the 2024 draft with some speed on offense already with Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, and A.T. Perry, but in an NFL where it’s all about creating and defending explosive plays, more acceleration is always good. To that end, New Orleans welcomed Pitt receiver Bub Means to its roster with the 170th overall pick in the fifth round.

In his 2023 season, Means caught 41 passes on 82 targets for 718 yards and six touchdowns. That catch rate may have you wondering about Means’ hands until you go back and review Pitt’s quarterbacks. As Greg Cosell and I got into in this week’s “Xs and Os,” Means is virtually guaranteed to be more productive and efficient with a quarterback who can actually get him the ball.

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With Saquon Barkley out of the picture, the Giants had a pre-draft running back rotation of Devin Singletary, 2023 fifth-round pick Eric Gray, and a bunch of “meh” after that. Which means that anyone coming in from the draft would have an opportunity beyond the preseason.

Enter Purdue running back Tyrone Tracy Jr., who at 5′ 11⅛” and 209 pounds, totaled 714 yards, eight touchdowns, 46 forced missed tackles, 14 carries of 15 or more yards, and 36 first downs on just 114 carries. That put Tracy with a yards per carry average of 6.3 — another arbiter of his big-play potential and ability to run with power. Tracy can also catch the ball. In fact, before he was a running back at Purdue, he was a receiver at Iowa, and he actually made big plays in that garbage fire of an offense. Not bad for a guy who was there with the 166th overall pick in the fifth round.

“He’s a former receiver. In terms of yards per carry, he’s been pretty good,” head coach Brian Daboll said of his newest running back. “He’s an athlete who has played receiver and then played running back and has some good production. We’ll throw him in the mix. Whether that’s in the kickoff return game or whether that’s at running back or the receiving part of it, we’ve got to do a good job of getting him in here and seeing where he’s at and then trying to fit him into the things that he can do well.”

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When Aaron Rodgers went down four plays into the 2023 NFL season, the Jets did not have a workable Plan B. So, the defense did its best, while the offense sputtered at best with Zach Wilson, Trevor Siemian, and Tim Boyle as Rodgers’ replacements. The Jets had no shot with that, and they knew it. So, they made a smart pick with the addition of Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis.

Had Travis not suffered a brutal leg injury against North Alabama on November 18, 2023, he could have made the discussion about second-tier quarterbacks in this draft pretty interesting (not to mention the College Football Playoff landscape). Last season when healthy, Travis completed 207 of 325 passes for 2,755 yards, 20 touchdowns, two interceptions, and a passer rating of 108.4. And that low interception total wasn’t the result of a dink-and-dunk mentality; Travis completed 18 passes of 20 or more air yards last season on 58 attempts for 591 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions.

“Jordan is a dynamic player and obviously a tough injury for him and the team last year, but dynamic player,” head coach Robert Saleh said. “He came on a 30-Visit, just getting a chance to spend time with him and get to know him as a person. He’s a special guy, you can see why teammates gravitate towards him and why he’s one of the more respected guys when you talk to other players at Florida State. So, we’re just happy to add him. He’s coming to a great situation with some unbelievable veteran leadership and kind of similar situation as [first-round offensive tackle] Olu [Fashanu], but even at a different level with the two vets we have in the room. So, really cool opportunity for him to learn, develop, and just showcase his ability.”

The Jets certainly deserve an opportunity to see what Aaron Rodgers can do for their offense, but Travis presents a better escape hatch if needed, as does veteran Tyrod Taylor.

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When I spoke with Johnny Wilson about his favorite NCAA plays at the scouting combine, he made it very clear that he did NOT want NFL teams to think of him as a tight end as opposed to a receiver despite the limited opportunities for true receivers with Wilson’s measurables — there just haven’t been too many successful receivers over his 6′ 6⅜” height threshold.

“If you go look at the Louisville game, the tape speaks for itself. I feel like every week, I showed what I can do. Just look at the Clemson game; they had an elite defense, but I was able to create separation and make some plays against them.”

This 41-yard catch up the numbers against Clemson was a nice Exhibit A in Wilson’s case for himself — he burned up the numbers against cornerback Sheridan Jones’ press coverage, established the leverage he wanted, and took the ball in as safety C.J. Mickens was converging.

“All his production is coming on the outside, running outside routes,” Sirianni said. “Really looking forward to working with him there at the wide receiver position.”

Roseman: “He’s — what’s the word?”

Sirianni: “He’s unusual. He’s unusual.”

The Eagles are just looking to get Wilson on the field to see what that unusual height/weight/speed ration can do for their passing game. They’re less interested in labels.

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The Steelers made it abundantly clear in this draft that they’re sick and tired of being behind the 8-ball when it comes to their offensive line. They selected Washington tackle Troy Fautanu with the 20th overall pick in the first round, West Virginia center Zach Frazier with the 51st overall pick in the second round, and South Dakota State guard Mason McCormick with the 119th overall pick in the fourth round. Work that in with Broderick Jones, last year’s 14th overall pick in the first round, and there’s a changing of the guard, and tackle, and center in the Steel City.

McCormick was a no-star recruit, and the Sioux Falls, South Dakota native went with the only school who offered him anything. Over the next six seasons for the Jackrabbits, he allowed just three sacks, four quarterback hits, and 20 quarterback hurries in 1,605 pass-blocking reps. And his tape is full of power pulls and gap-scheme blocks that speak to his efficient power. After starring at the East-West Shrine game and the combine and training with O-line guru Duke Manyweather, McCormick found himself much more wanted than he had ever been before.

McCormick’s playing style has had people describing him as “the meanest nicest person around,” which he agreed with in his post-draft press conference.

“Yes, I think on the field, there’s only one way to play this game. And when you’re off the field, there’s no reason not to be a good person and nice to people.”

(Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)

Assuming that the 49ers keep both Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk this season, the addition of first-round receiver Ricky Pearsall gives Kyle Shanahan a different kind of target for which to scheme in that Pearsall is one of those guys who knows how to get open. But what about the deep ball? Aiyuk led the team last season with 15 catches on passes of 20 or more air yards, and George Kittle was second with seven. That’s worked just fine to date, but it also sets the table for Arizona’s Jacob Cowing, who the team took with the 135th overall pick in the fourth round.

In 2023, the 5′ 8⅜”, 163-pound Cowing had six receptions on passes of 20 or more air yards on a team where the deep ball wasn’t a feature. His tape shows a lot of speed potential, and in today’s NFL, teams are less concerned with smaller receivers, given the use of motion and multiple deployments to keep them open, and away from bigger, more aggressive defenders.

“Very similar to what we got with [WR] Ricky [Pearsall] in that there’s not a route that he can’t run,” Shanahan said of Cowing. “He starts outside the numbers and he’s got the speed to get on top of people and threaten with a go. He’s got the quickness. Inside he’d be a big problem with just how shifty he is. He can run screens and things like that. Very good punt returner. For his lack of size, he makes up with mentality. His mindset, when he does cut, he’s always accelerating out of a cut. He’s trying to violently go through people and when you’re smaller, you hope they’re faster and quicker, which he is, and anything that you wanna knock on a smaller guy he makes up for in his mindset.”

Greg Cosell and I are both fans, and we discussed Cowing’s potential in Shanahan’s offense in “The Xs and Os.“

(Syndication: The Montgomery Advertiser)

The Seahawks and new defensive-minded head coach Mike Macdonald must have liked their time watching Auburn’s 2023 defense, because they took two cornerbacks from that program — Nehemiah Pritchett with the 136th overall pick in the fifth round, and DJ James with the 192nd pick in the sixth round. While James projects as an inside/outside cornerback, the 6′ 0⅛”, 190-pound Pritchett, who ran a 4.39-second 40-yard dash at the scouting combine, played just 13% of his snaps in the slot last season. He’s an outside speed cornerback in an old-school Seattle sense. Certainly in the overall mentality.

“I think I’m really intense when it comes to hitting. I’m not going to shy away from contact. You can turn on the film and you can see I’m super-aggressive. Most of the time, I just try to come up with a body part at corner.”

As far as we know, Pritchett’s opponents kept all their body parts last season, but they didn’t have a lot of production. Pritchett allowed 12 catches on 26 targets for 134 yards, 25 yards after the catch, one touchdown, one interception, three pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 58.8. Over five seasons with the Tigers, Pritchett allowed an opponent passer rating of 69.2.

(Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports)

Only Christian McCaffrey of the 49ers had more snaps last season than Rachaad White’s 337 among NFL running backs, and you have to include McCaffrey’s snaps through the Super Bowl for that designation. So. it was important for general manager Jason Licht and his staff to get White more rotational assistance, and the Bucs got a good one in Oregon back Bucky Irving with the 125th pick in the fourth round.

Last season, the 5-foot-9, 192-pound Irving ran the ball 186 times, gaining 1.192 yards and scoring 11 touchdowns. Irving may be short, but he’s not small — he forced 69 missed tackles last season, and that was just as much about power as it was about elusiveness. He also had 18 runs of 15-plus yards for 470 yards. In addition, Irving caught 55 passes on 61 targets for 395 yards and two touchdowns, so he can be deployed in a lot of different ways.

“We thought he might go a little bit earlier,” Buccaneers Director of Player Personnel Mike Biehl said of Irving. “He’s a guy we brought in on a ‘Top 30’ visit and spent some time with him. We thought maybe he would be a second-day pick, but he falls to the third day. I think even talking to him, when Jason called him, he had a little bit of a chip on his shoulder, thinking he should have gone earlier. We kind of like that. He’s just another right kind of character guy that we’ve been targeting. He fits that mold.”

(Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports)

The Titans didn’t select an edge defender until the seventh round of this draft, which is interesting, because it could be argued that the position was not a big strength coming into the process. Harold Landry had a good season, and Arden Key presents possibilities, but there isn’t a standout guy on the outside — especially with hybrid rusher Denico Autry off to the Texans. But there ay be a sleeper over time with the 252nd overall pick in the seventh round in the person of Michigan edge-rusher Jaylen Harrell.

The 6′ 3¾”, 250-pound Harrell totaled six sacks and 31 total pressures in just 215 pass-rushing snaps for the national champs last season, and he’s a pure speed guy off the edge. Harrell may need a year of development at the NFL level to put his pass-rush plan together, but the traits are certainly worth the investment.

“I bring a lot of versatility, but I am a high-effort, high-motor guy,” Harrell said after he was selected. “I can rush the passer, set the edge, and get after the quarterback. I am just grateful for the opportunity, and I’m ready to get to work and put my full talents on display.

“Whatever this team wants me to do, I’ll do. I can play end, I can play outside linebacker, I can drop in coverage. So, whatever the team’s vision is for me, I’m ready to do it, and I’ll do it 100 percent.”

(Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)

Under new head coach and defensive shot-caller Dan Quinn, the Commanders had already picked a couple of first-round talents who lasted until the second round in Illinois interior defensive lineman Johnny Newton and Michigan cornerback Mike Sainristil. Given the off-season signings of Bobby Wagner and Frankie Luvu, it wasn’t a surprise that linebacker wasn’t a key priority, but with the 139th pick in the fourth round, Washington did take Temple’s Jordan Magee as a move ‘backer who can roll quickly all over the defense.

A do-it-all player, Magee had six sacks and 20 total pressures for the Owls last season, as well as 54 solo tackles, 41 stops, and 12 catches allowed on 16 targets for 85 yards, 41 yards after the catch, no touchdowns, no interceptions, two pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 86.7. He’s not unlike Luvu, who has become one of the NFL’s best linebackers in three years with the Jets and three more with the Panthers. Luvu was a “too small” guy who went undrafted out of Washington State back in 2018, so maybe he can tell the 6′ 1⅜”, 228-pound Magee that it’s not how you start, it’s where you finish.