Having done NFL Draft adjacent writing for the better part of the last four years, constructing a big board was something I had not done. Now, with less than a week to go until the Chicago Bears officially go on the clock (and, in all likelihood, select USC signal caller Caleb Williams), I thought this was as good a time as any to try and take a crack at putting one together, in what is a draft class I believe has some good talent even beyond the 50 players you see below. So, with that in mind, here's how I have my 50 best players in the 2024 NFL Draft lined up.
Gaffney's 2024 NFL Draft Top 50 Big Board
No. | Name | Position | School | Consensus Rank |
1 | Marvin Harrison Jr. | WR | Ohio State | 1 |
2 | Brock Bowers | TE | Georgia | 7 |
3 | Caleb Williams | QB | USC | 2 |
4 | Olu Fashanu | OT | Penn State | 9 |
5 | Malik Nabers | WR | LSU | 3 |
6 | Jayden Daniels | QB | LSU | 8 |
7 | Taliese Fuaga | OT/IOL | Oregon St. | 15 |
8 | Joe Alt | OT | Notre Dame | 4 |
9 | Drake Maye | QB | UNC | 5 |
10 | Rome Odunze | WR | Washington | 6 |
11 | Troy Fautanu | OT/IOL | Washington | 18 |
12 | Byron Murphy | IDL | Texas | 16 |
13 | Jared Verse | EDGE | Florida St. | 13 |
14 | Dallas Turner | EDGE | Alabama | 10 |
15 | Terrion Arnold | CB | Alabama | 12 |
16 | Laiatu Latu | EDGE | UCLA | 14 |
17 | Cooper DeJean | CB | Iowa | 23 |
18 | Johnny Newton | IDL | Illinois | 21 |
19 | Quinyon Mitchell | CB | Toledo | 11 |
20 | Adonai Mitchell | WR | Texas | 29 |
21 | Brian Thomas | WR | LSU | 19 |
22 | Kool-Aid McKinstry | CB | Alabama | 27 |
23 | Jackson Powers-Johnson | IOL | Oregon | 26 |
24 | Tyler Guyton | OT | Oklahoma | 30 |
25 | Amarius Mims | OT | Georgia | 20 |
26 | JC Latham | OT | Alabama | 17 |
27 | Ladd McConkey | WR | Georgia | 32 |
28 | Graham Barton | IOL | Duke | 28 |
29 | Mike Sainristil | CB | Michigan | 57 |
30 | Nate Wiggins | CB | Clemson | 24 |
31 | J.J. McCarthy | QB | Michigan | 22 |
32 | Kingsley Suamataia | OT | BYU | 42 |
33 | Ja'Tavion Sanders | TE | Texas | 55 |
34 | Michael Penix Jr. | QB | Washington | 35 |
35 | Chris Braswell | EDGE | Alabama | 50 |
36 | Darius Robinson | IDL | Mizzou | 31 |
37 | Xavier Legette | WR | South Carolina | 46 |
38 | Chop Robinson | EDGE | Penn State | 25 |
39 | Xavier Worthy | WR | Texas | 33 |
40 | Kris Jenkins | IDL | Michigan | 51 |
41 | Edgerrin Cooper | LB | Texas A&M | 37 |
42 | Zach Frazier | IOL | West Virginia | 41 |
43 | Trey Benson | RB | Florida State | 60 |
44 | Jonathon Brooks | RB | Texas | 58 |
45 | Jaden Hicks | SAF | Washington St. | 70 |
46 | Patrick Paul | OT | U. of Houston | 59 |
47 | Roman Wilson | WR | Michigan | 52 |
48 | Ja'Lynn Polk | WR | Washington | 65 |
49 | Marshawn Kneeland | EDGE | W. Michigan | 64 |
50 | Kiran Amegadjie | OT | Yale | 74 |
*- Consensus Rankings based on a vast array of different big boards
Where I'm Higher Than Consensus
Yale OT Kiran Amegadjie (+24), Washington State SAF Jaden Hicks (+25), and Michigan CB Mike Sainristil (+28)
A friend of mine who helps out in the D3 ranks recently mentioned a certain safety out of Wazzou that he liked by the name of Jaden Hcks, and after seeing enough of him for myself, I'm sold. More of your typical box safety, he plays mean as hell as a tone-setter in the run game and as a tackler in general. He has a ways to go as a cover guy, but there is a foundation you can work with here. Better yet, Dane Brugler from the Athletic has him even higher than I do, which is one hell of an endorsement to have.
Having recently done a full report on Sainristil, we'll skip over to Amegadjie, the final name to make the cut. While I think it's fair to have reservations about a tackle out of the Ivy League, you don't often find guys with his physical skill set, especially on day two of the draft. Also, despite not testing at the combine due to an injury, he checks off most of the athletic boxes you'd hope for. Always remember, you can find NFL-caliber talent at any level of college football, even the Ivy League.
Where I'm Lower Than Consensus
Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy (-9), Alabama OT JC Latham (-9), and Penn State EDGE Chop Robinson (-13)
Despite a monster outing at the NFL Combine, Chop Robinson didn't overcome a consensus slide back in February, and even still, I believe I'm a bit lower on him than most. His getting off the line is out of this world good, and he has some eBute fluidity. but that didn't lead to a ton of sack production in college, and combined with some lack of technique as a pass rusher, small frame, and some other issues, are the key reasons he's lower on here than you could potentially be expecting.
Onto Latham now, whose standing is a bit all over the place these days, although he's generally agreed upon as a top-30 guy. His physical tools are better than some of the tackles ranked higher than him, and he has almost unrivaled power, but working against speed as a pass protector was/is a trouble spot for him. Despite the placement here, I'm still a fan of what he's capable of, and he has a really good chance to outperform the grade, just as the man placed right above him, Amarius Mims, out of Georgia does.
As for McCarthy, he's probably going to go much higher than where he's placed here no matter what, but having scouted him for myself, I feel much better about his long-term outlook than I did a month ago. He should sit in year one no matter where he lands; I don't think he's ready to be a full-time starter yet, but he's still very young.
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