2024 NFL Draft Stock Up
Jackson Powers-Johnson, C, Oregon
There were reports on ESPN that Powers-Johnson was overhyped and unlikely to go in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, but team sources did not agree with those projections. Multiple sources from playoff teams said Powers-Johnson is in the running to be their pick in the first round, with many thinking he is very likely to go in the 20s. I have Powers-Johson in the top 20 of my 2024 NFL Draft Big Board, and while he may not go that high, a number of sources are hoping he gets to their first-round pick. Powers-Johnson sounds extremely likely to be a first-round selection in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Cooper DeJean, CB/S, Iowa
As we reported months ago, DeJean was expected to be a workout warrior, and he put his excellent skill set on display in a workout for NFL teams last week. DeJean proved that he has size, speed and explosion. To go along with strong tape, DeJean has a lot of athletic upside while also drawing rave reviews for football character. Showing NFL teams that he was healthy enough to do the workout and is on track to be ready for the start of training camp helps to check a box for DeJean. I have DeJean going in the top 25 of my 2024 NFL Mock Draft, and he looks like a safe bet now to get selected on the opening night of the draft.
Keon Coleman, WR, Florida State
Coleman is not one of the top-rated wide receiver prospects for the 2024 NFL Draft, but I do know some teams picking late in the first round that have Coleman in the running to be their pick, depending on who else gets there. Those teams feel Coleman is well-suited to a being a X receiver who can make plays on the outside. While Coleman had a slow 40 time, multiple sources have brought up a long list of successful NFL receivers who ran slow times in the leadup to their drafts. Coleman could end up being a surprise first-rounder or high second-rounder in the 2024 NFL Draft.
2024 NFL Draft Stock Down
T’Vondre Sweat, DT, Texas
Every year, there seems to be one prospect who lacks the decision-making to lay low before the draft and ends up getting trouble. Sweat earned that notorious designation this year with a DWI arrest. As I reported many months ago, team sources had said that Sweat is known to be a big partier and a player with a lax work ethic, which led to him having problems with his weight. The arrest only serves to confirm those concerns. After that legal trouble gets factored in, Sweat could slide out of the early rounds and into the mid-rounds of the 2024 NFL Draft.
Andru Phillips, CB, Kentucky
There were some reports from staff at NFL.com that Phillips had some first-round grades and would go in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft. That report also listed the teams that Phillips had taken pre-draft visits with, and it clearly came from Phillips’ agent. In speaking to team sources, they had Phillips as a mid-rounder and thought there was zero chance of him being taken higher than the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft. I have Phillips as a mid-rounder in my 2024 NFL Mock Draft. Perhaps that NFL reporter knows a team that has him in the running for their second-round pick, but sources from multiple teams shared that their organizations have Phillips projected to the mid-rounds of the 2024 NFL Draft.
Roger Rosengarten, OT, Washington
There have been some in the media who have projected Rosengarten to the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, but his tape does not merit that outcome. While Rosengarten is not a bad athlete, he shows a serious lack of strength and a problematic anchor. Rosengarten is going to need to get much stronger for the NFL, and he may have limitations on how much stronger he can grow. Rosengarten looks very scheme specific and is only a good fit for a zone-blocking team as a pro. In the 2024 NFL Draft, Rosengarten looks more likely to be a second-round pick at best, and he could slide into the mid-rounds.
