The 2024 NFL Draft is just one day away! Here are some rumors that I have heard from sources with the draft just hours away.
As we reported here yesterday in the Hot Press, there is buzz from sources that the Raiders could easily take an offensive tackle at pick No. 13 and then look to trade back into the first round for Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. However, that strategy runs the risk of another team taking Penix and/or trading up in front of Las Vegas to get him. Thus, the Raiders would be taking a risk with such a plan. The question then becomes: do the Raiders like Penix enough to take him as the 13th pick of the 2024 NFL Draft?
That decision will be made by owner Mark Davis, general manager Tom Telesco and head coach Antonio Pierce. From his time as the Chargers’ general manager, Telesco is notorious for being tight-lipped and not seeking the opinion of his staff on players, ideas for roster improvement, or general feedback on the team. However, I have heard from sources that Telesco is said to be enamored with Penix. But those sources did not know if he liked Penix enough to value him as a top-16 pick. They thought the Raiders were more comfortable with taking another position at No. 13 and then moving up for Penix. However with the 2024 NFL Draft under 48 hours away all, rumors have to be taken with some consideration of doubt and smokescreen. There is no doubt that it will be fascinating to see what Las Vegas does on Thursday night.
Over the course of the draft process, there have been more frequent reports about some teams grading out LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers higher than Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. That definitely is the case; I know sources with multiple teams that said their franchises have Nabers over Harrison.
One AFC director of player personnel told WalterFootball.com:
Nabers’ tape is more impressive than Harrison’s …. We have a blue – elite – grade on Nabers with Harrison in gold. We think Harrison could get to blue as a pro, but right now, Nabers is the only receiver we have in blue.
While Nabers has some teams rating him ahead of Harrison, one thing going for Harrison is there are teams that have some character concerns with Nabers. Harrison did not come up with character concerns. Sources from multiple teams with top-10 picks said they had character marks for Nabers. That being said, they said the character was not bad enough to cause them to pass on him based on the questions or remove him from their draft board. Thus, Nabers looks like a near lock for the top six of the 2024 NFL Draft.
Another wide receiver who has been hurt by character and makeup concerns is Texas’ Adonai Mitchell. NFL teams found character issues with Mitchell at Texas and from his early years at Georgia. Another factor that has hurt Mitchell is franchises feeling he does a poor job of managing his Type-1 diabetes. Mitchell has a first-round skill set, but if he slides to very late in the first round or to the second round, it will be because of the character issues and concerns with how he manages his diabetes.
Other prospects have had major character issues that have really hurt them with NFL teams. Some NFL sources said their teams had dropped Ohio State defensive tackle Michael Hall Jr., Alabama wide receiver Jermaine Burton and Texas defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat off their draft boards because of character. All three have early-round skill sets, but each could slide in the 2024 NFL Draft because of character problems.
Every year, there are some prospects that benefit from a lot of media hype and others who don’t receive the attention they deserve. WalterFootball.com surveyed team sources as to which players were being overrated and overhyped, as well as which players they considered underrated
Overrated
Zach Frazier, C, West Virginia
Roger Rosengarten, OT, Washington
Graham Barton, OL, Duke
Underrated
Keon Coleman, WR, Florida State
Kris Jenkins, DT, Michigan
Sedrick Van Pran-Granger, C, Georgia
