MY FAVORITE 2024 NFL DRAFT PROSPECTS AT EVERY POSITION ON THE FIELD
The 2024 NFL Draft is this week, and with it comes the first installation of something I’ve wanted to do for a very long time: the 2024 All-JP team! The All-JP team is a group of players that I loved watching on tape, with a good majority of them more than likely not hearing their name called on Day 1 of the draft. However, these are guys that I would pound the table for, and think they’ll be good pros at the next level. We’re doing every position outside of special teams, with two backs and three wide receivers, plus a nickel designation.
Quarterback: Michael Pratt, Tulane
I’ve written about Pratt before, considering the former Tulane signal caller one of the best passers in the nation before his injury. I still believe that he is one of the better passers in this draft class, even if he is a bit unspectacular. He throws the ball with good timing and has enough velocity to make throws to the intermediate levels of the field. Pratt is extremely tough and has the intangibles of a guy who has played in (and won) a lot of games. Pratt is in that next tier of QBs with Bo Nix, Michael Penix Jr and Spencer Rattler, and he might be one of the better guys in the bunch.
Running backs: Trey Benson, Florida State
Benson is my top RB in this class, and for good reason. The former Seminole runs hard behind his pads, shows really nice footwork on a lot of the gap scheme concepts that Florida State ran, and displayed the breakaway speed needed to take runs to the house. He still has some work to do with his vision on zone concepts as he tends to dance around on those, but with the NFL transitioning more towards gap runs, Benson is the best of the bunch in that department.
Dylan Laube, New Hampshire
Every year, there’s a small school back that captures the eyes of people at the Senior Bowl and throughout the college season. This year, it’s Laube, who is the best receiving back in this class not only by quality, but by sheer volume. In 2023, Laube caught 68 passes for 699 yards and seven touchdowns, and these weren’t all screen passes and dump offs. No, Laube was running legit routes from the backfield and in the slot, burning past linebackers and safeties on a variety of routes. The 4.54 40 time might scare some teams off, but he’s quicker in game and can be a really good third down back in the NFL.
Wide Receivers: Xavier Legette, South Carolina
Legette is big (6’1, 221), fast (4.39 40 yard dash), and explosive (40 inch vertical puts him in the 90th percentile of all receivers who tested at the Combine), which pretty much automatically puts him on a “my guys” list. Legette is still very rough around the edges when it comes to nuance as a route runner, but shows enough athletic potential to get there despite being an older prospect. He was on a steady diet of screens and go routes at South Carolina, which is what you can expect him to do as a rookie, but the ceiling is high for a guy who moves like Legette does.
Javon Baker, UCF
Baker is going to be a really, really good WR2 in the NFL. Despite being on the shorter side for an outside receiver (6’0), Baker has a 71st percentile wingspan and can pluck the ball out of the air. He’s got strong hands and is a physical player, who shows flashes of subtlety with his route running and is a better game speed athlete than his 40 time suggests. If he can work more on the rounding off of his routes at the top of his break, then the ceiling could be even higher.
Malik Washington, Virginia
Malik Washington is all gas, no brakes baby. The receiver is on the smaller side at 5’8, but has a rocked up 191 pound frame and is extremely dynamic after the catch. Working predominantly out the slot, Washington has sure hands, can create separation vs man coverage and be a jet sweep guy at the next level as well. The lack of size is going to keep him out of the early parts of the draft, but for a team that wants to get explosive in the later rounds of the draft then Washington is a great pick.
Tight End: Ben Sinnott, Kansas State
Sinnott might not be as explosive as other tight ends in this class, but he’s reliable in the intermediate levels and does one thing that most other guys in this class don’t do: block his ASS off. He gives full effort despite not having elite length (which causes problems in-line blocking), but he’s a tone setter as a run blocker with the ability to be versatile in the passing game as well. Very similar to Dolphins FB Alec Ingold, and fullback might be where Sinnott finds himself in the NFL.
Offensive tackle: Kiran Amegadjie, Yale
How about the Ivy League getting some representation on here! Amegadjie is still a bit of a work in progress, but his athletic tools are really nice to work with. Amegadjie has got freakishly long arms and it shows up on tape, where he can lock out and drive folks in the run game. Despite being 6’5 and 318 pounds, Amegadjie is pretty light on his feet in the passing game. He uses his long arms to keep pass rushers at bay. Because of the level of competition he hasn’t really been tested against NFL level pass rushers, and sometimes will widen his arms too much, but for any team that wants to develop a tackle into an eventual plus starter Amegadjie is my pick.
Roger Rosengarten, Washington
A guy who stood out in the preseason scouting, Rosengarten hasn’t gotten the same hype as most of his teammates, but he’s a very good right tackle in his own regard. He’s extremely light on his feet and quick off the ball, with the ability to cut off backside defenders in the run game. His ability to mirror in the pass protection department also is good, combining those light feet with impressive hand technique. Of all the offensive players outside of maybe Legette, Rosengarten is the one guy who I think could sneak into the back end of night 1, because those athletic tools and easy movement make him attractive to outside zone-based teams.
Guards: Cooper Beebe, Kansas State
Cooper Beebe would be a phenomenal chef at IHOP because he serves up pancakes all on his film. Whether it be via downblocks, pulling out in space or helping in pass protection, Beebe has knockout power in the run game and is an instant floor raiser for a rushing attack. While his range is a bit limited as a pass protector, he does a good job of recognizing pass rush games and helping on stunts. You draft Beebe because of how damn good he is as a run blocker, and for teams who run a lot of gap scheme and duo runs, Beebe is your guy.
Christian Haynes, UConn
Another absolute finisher in the run game, Haynes plays all the way through the whistle and might be a bit more scheme versatile than other guards in this class. Haynes is proven on outside zone schemes while also being quite powerful on gap schemes and as a puller. Haynes shows a lot of various techniques as a pass blocker, using the snatch trap fairly well, and athletically has the explosion and movement skills to be a plus guard in the NFL for a long time.
Center: Zach Frazier, West Virginia
If you tell me that a center is a former wrestling champion, I’m already intrigued. Frazier is built Ford tough, and the former four-time West Virginia state wrestling champion has phenomenal play strength and the grip strength to last for a long time in the run game at the pivot point. Frazier does a great job of using his wrestling background to position his body into being in the perfect place at the perfect time. He’s coming off a broken leg which kept him out of Senior Bowl activities, but Frazier is your classic Day 2 center who starts for like a decade.
Defense
Defensive Tackle: Johnny Newton, Illinois
I will continue to bang the table for Newton until everyone hears it. He’s the best defensive player in the class and a surefire impact player from the jump. His explosiveness off the ball and violent hands made him a problem from a lot of alignments at Illinois, and in the NFL where he can focus on attacking instead of reacting as often he could take off. A lot of Sheldon Richardson in Newton’s game.
Ruke Orhorhoro, Clemson
The Nigerian-born Orhorhoro plays with bad intentions, and it starts in the run game. His violent hands and ability to stack and shed is among the best in the entire class, especially as a player who is deemed undersized weight-wise for DTs (294 pounds). The pass rush arsenal is still coming along slowly, but Orhorhoro is a ready made NFL run defender with a growing and expanding pass rush game. I’ll buy on that every time.
EDGE: Austin Booker, Kansas
Consider me a huge fan of Booker, a player who’s best football might be ahead of him. After only playing on around 600 snaps in his career at Kansas, he enters the 2024 draft, but his pass rush arsenal isn’t like that of an inexperienced player. Booker does a good job of stringing together moves and has great speed off the ball, some of the best in the class. He’s very leggy and his frame isn’t all the way filled out yet, but when he gets into an NFL weight room, watch out.
Xavier Thomas, Clemson
Another Clemson defensive linemen makes this list in Thomas, who has had a whirlwind of a college career. Coming in as a highly rated prospect, Thomas has battled a myriad of injuries and finally came into his own last season. His wingspan and arms are nothing to write home about, but he makes up for that by getting into the chest of opposing linemen and knocking them down with power. He can win from multiple alignments and is more than likely best as a hand in the dirt defensive linemen. A Day 3 flier on Thomas makes a lot of sense for a lot of teams.
Linebackers: Jaylan Ford, Texas
In a linebacker class that isn’t super spectacular, Ford’s name has still managed to go under the radar. As one of the few backers in this class with good coverage skills and traits, Ford can play either LB spot and succeed in the NFL if he’s kept clean. He’s still figuring out how to take on blocks (playing behind T’Vondre Sweat and Byron Murphy will do that), but Ford has the chops in coverage and in space to survive in todays NFL.
Jordan Magee, Temple
Another backer who is really good in coverage, Magee has range and the chops in coverage to be an eventual starting WILL LB in the NFL. His instincts and quickness will cause him to overplay some things in the run game as well as his lighter frame, but he ran well at the Combine and shows the spatial awareness to be a vertical dropper at the inside linebacker spot. Also could contribute on special teams.
Nickel: Mike Sainristil, Michigan
The true definition of “size of the fight in the dog, not the dog in the fight,” Sainristil is a machine at the DB spot. A former WR, the ball skills of a receiver show up for Sainristil when the ball is in the air, showing great ball skills and an ability to fight for the ball despite being 5’9. He also is a more than willing tackler, unafraid of sticking his nose in to make tackles and take on blocks. Sainristil is the definition of a modern nickel corner, a guy every team should have on their board.
Outside Cornerback: Renardo Green, Florida State
With as much man coverage as the Seminoles played in 2023, one of the FSU DBs had to be on here, and Green takes the cake. He’s close to 6’0 and about 186 pounds, but his ability to be physical with receivers and survive out on islands is a major plus. Despite 12 pass deflections, only one interception could keep him down the draft boards with his overaggression, but a team on Day 2 is going to get a serious press-man corner and eventual starter.
Cam Hart, Notre Dame
Hart might be the biggest corner in the draft, standing at 6’3 and 202 pounds. Another man coverage-based corner, Hart thrives in press where he can use his length to disrupt the timing of routes at the line of scrimmage. He really thrived at the Senior Bowl, showing improved patience and ability to sink his hips and move with other smaller guys. That’ll still be the question for Hart at the NFL level, but his tools make him one of my guys going into the NFL Draft.
Safeties: Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, Texas Tech
The safety class is a lot like the linebacker class, where there’s not many true superstars, but a bunch of good to very good players. Taylor-Demerson is going to be a really good pro because of his versatility. He’s played the post in quarters coverages, been the single high safety in cover 3, buzzed down to the flat, played the run, you name it. He’s at his best coming off the roof in Quarters-heavy defenses, showing good instincts and ball skills. While he’ll have the occasional fly by miss in the tackling department, he’s normally a sure tackler. He’s my top safety and a guy you’ll want to keep an eye out for on Day 2.
Cole Bishop, Utah
No matter how you slice it, Cole Bishop is just a good player. He can also be versatile, playing the post or buzzing down into the flat, and seems to just make plays around the ball. He’s also proven he’s a good NFL athlete, with a solid Combine performance. He’s a very instinctual player who wears a lot of hats in the secondary, which make him extremely valuable at the NFL level.