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2024 NFL draft rankings: Mel Kiper's Big Board, best prospects
ESPN PLUS $ MATERIALLet's update my prospect rankings for the 2024 NFL draft as we get closer to college football's conference title games.
As I mentioned during the preseason, I spent a looooong time this summer going back through the 2022 tape, watching lots of cut-ups and dozens of entire games. I had a watchlist of rising seniors and juniors after last season ended, but I kept adding prospects to the list based on my calls with scouts and front office execs in the NFL. I also love it when a player I don't have many notes on just keeps standing out, forcing me to make more calls and get the lowdown on their game.
Below are my top 25 prospects overall for the class of 2024, with the top 10 prospects at every position under that list. It's very early -- a lot will change between now and when I get on set in Detroit for the draft, which begins on April 25.
Two notes on these rankings before you dig in:
- There is a lot of projection involved here. Many of these prospects have started only a handful of games, so I'm not yet writing up detailed scouting reports. I expect many of them to be stronger, faster and better as we get closer to the draft, so I'll adjust my rankings as the season moves on.
- Heights and weights are based on what we have from schools; we don't get official numbers until the 2024 combine in March.
1. Caleb Williams, QB, USC
6-foot-1, 215 pounds | Previously ranked: 1The Trojans are struggling, losing four of their past five games, but it's not Williams' fault. There's a reason why defensive coordinator Alex Grinch was fired. Williams has thrown 29 touchdown passes to just four interceptions. He had a really tough game against Notre Dame, when he threw three of those picks, but he has bounced back and played really well. He also has matched his 10 rushing touchdowns from all of last season.
Just turn on the tape from any of the games from Williams' Heisman-winning 2022 season and you'll see why he's the top quarterback in this class. He had 52 total touchdowns -- 42 through the air -- with just five interceptions while completing 66.6% of his passes. He ranked in the top 10 in the FBS in QBR (87.6), passing yards (4,537), yards per attempt (9.1) and throws of 20-plus yards (69).
Williams is a fabulous playmaker, and there are "wow" throws all over his tape, even going back to his freshman season at Oklahoma. He's incredible escaping the pocket and making off-platform throws, excelling when plays break down. His improvisational skills are off the charts -- it's incredible how he can make the first defender miss and create first downs out of thin air. He has great field vision and throws dimes to receivers while under duress. He's incredibly creative, which is not something we can usually say of quarterbacks.
Now, Williams is not the prototypical passer in terms of size. At 6-1, he'd be below-average for a starting NFL quarterback. But as we saw with 2023 No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young, size matters less and less to the execs making decisions in front offices.
2. Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Ohio State
6-4, 205 pounds | Previously: 2I have an elite grade on Harrison, whose name should be familiar. His dad is that Marvin Harrison, whom I scouted coming out of Syracuse in 1996 and is now in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The younger Harrison is on track to get my highest pre-draft grade for a wideout since Calvin Johnson (2007) and Larry Fitzgerald (2004). Harrison has everything, from outstanding size and stellar hands to incredible body control and blazing speed. His dad ran a 4.33-second 40-yard dash before the 1996 draft but was just under 6 feet when the Colts took him in Round 1. Harrison Jr. is four inches taller and could have similar speed.
He caught 77 passes for 1,263 yards with 14 touchdowns last season. He has 59 catches for 1,063 yards and 12 scores this season.
3. Drake Maye, QB, North Carolina
6-4, 225 pounds | Previously: 3Maye had a fantastic debut season as the starter at UNC, throwing for 4,321 yards with 38 touchdowns and seven picks in 2022. He looks the part of a big-time NFL signal-caller. He can make every throw with ease. He's accurate on the move and can pick up first downs with his legs. Maye varies his pass speeds really well -- he knows when to take a little off to make it easier for his receivers. He has outstanding touch on vertical throws.
The biggest question about Maye this season was about who's catching his passes, as his top two receivers -- Josh Downs and Antoine Green -- are now in the NFL and transfer target Devontez Walker was finally made eligible. Breaking in new playmakers was part of the reason for predecessor Sam Howell's up-and-down 2021 season for the Tar Heels, and Maye has had to figure things out with a new group.
Maye has completed 65.8% of his passes this season, and his best performance came when he threw for 442 yards and three scores against Syracuse. Still, he has had a few sloppy interceptions, and I want to see him clean up those mistakes.
4. Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia
6-4, 240 pounds | Previously: 4Bowers was an instant difference-maker for the Bulldogs as a true freshman in 2021, catching 56 passes for 882 yards and 13 touchdowns. He followed up that season with 63 catches for 942 yards and seven scores as Stetson Bennett's No. 1 target, winning his second-straight national title. He's an advanced pass-catcher and should make an instant impact when he gets to the NFL.
Though he's not huge -- former teammate Darnell Washington made him look small at times -- he's a matchup nightmare for defenses. He has great hand-eye coordination and run-after-the-catch ability, and he can stretch the field down the seams. I also love the way he tracks the ball, high-pointing it above defenders. Bowers has 44 catches for 601 yards and five touchdowns this season, his first with Carson Beck throwing him passes. He had surgery on his injured left ankle in October, but he was able to return a few weeks later.
5. Rome Odunze, WR, Washington
6-3, 215 pounds | Previously: 7Odunze put up four straight 100-yard receiving games to begin the season, and I love his combination of size and speed. He's big, and he knows how to use his body to shield defenders. Watch him adjust on this touchdown catch against Boise State. Since 2020, Odunze has 175 catches for 2,660 yards and 20 scores. He's used both inside and out. He can make defensive backs miss after the catch. He is going to test extremely well at the combine.
If Odunze had entered the 2023 draft, he likely would have been a Day 2 pick, but if he keeps playing like this, he's going go in the top 20.
6. Shedeur Sanders, QB, Colorado
6-2, 215 pounds | Previously: 5Sanders has been sensational for the Buffaloes. After throwing 70 touchdown passes and 14 interceptions in two seasons at Jackson State, he has taken another step up with the jump to FBS competition. He's completing 69.5% of his passes with 26 scores and three picks. He's averaging 7.5 yards per attempt and throwing it all over the field, though Colorado's talent disparity was clear in its six losses.
Sanders is unflappable. He throws a great ball, showcasing pinpoint accuracy on intermediate routes and a heater when he needs it across the middle of the field. He can throw strikes on the move to his right or left. He's an excellent decision-maker and is highly competitive, which I love from a quarterback. Having watched Sanders' tape from 2021 and 2022 and the improvement he has shown this season, I see future top-10 pick potential. He's that good. He's only a true junior, which means he could return to school next season and compete to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 class.
7. Olumuyiwa Fashanu, OT, Penn State
6-6, 319 pounds | Previously: 6Fashanu had been moving up my Big Board last fall, before he announced in November that he planned to return to school in 2023. He could have been a top-10 pick in that draft, challenging Paris Johnson Jr. to be the top tackle off the board. In any other class -- a class without Williams and Harrison -- he'd be the easy pick as the No. 1 overall prospect. That's what kind of talent he has. Fashanu has the size, footwork and physical traits teams wanted in a high-end left tackle. He moves effortlessly and with urgency, getting his hands on second-level defenders with ease.
The exciting part? Fashanu is still developing. He has started just 18 games, including eight last season, and doesn't turn 21 years old until December. If he lives up to his potential, it's not out of the question that he gets an Orlando Pace-type grade heading into next year's draft.
8. Keon Coleman, WR, Florida State
6-4, 215 pounds | Previously: 8Coleman caught three touchdown passes in the Seminoles' season-opening win over LSU. He was dominant. Last season, he had 58 catches for 798 yards and seven touchdowns at Michigan State. He left for Florida State in the spring and already has passed that touchdown total with 10. Coleman's body control impressed me when I went back this summer to watch his 2022 tape. He excels in contested-catch situations.
With a big frame, he can bully smaller defenders. He didn't play much out of the slot last season, but he has caught three scores out of that alignment this season. His production has been up and down so far this season, but if we're projecting him forward, he's absolutely in the race to be this class' No. 2 wideout.
9. Malik Nabers, WR, LSU
6-0, 200 pounds | Previously: 9Nabers' best trait? It's speed. He can take the top off the defense. He was consistent last season, showing off elite separation skills and the ability to high-point receptions. He also was balanced, catching 35 passes when lined up in the slot and 37 when lined up out wide. That versatility will matter at the next level.
Nabers has good hands and showed toughness in taking a shot while hauling in a catch over the middle of the field. He tracks the ball exceptionally well. He gets easy separation on cornerbacks. I have been impressed with his run-after-the-catch ability. He lit up Mississippi State with 13 catches for 239 yards and two scores earlier this season. In total, he has 72 catches for 1,284 yards and 10 TDs.
10. Laiatu Latu, OLB, UCLA
6-5, 265 pounds | Previously: 11NFL teams crave edge rushers, and there's a case to be made that Latu was college football's best edge rusher in 2022. He ranked first in the FBS in total pressures (55) and pressure percentage (19.1%), and his 10.5 sacks ranked ninth. He has been just as good this season. He ranks first in pressure percentage (20.6%), third in pressures (45) and fifth in sacks (11). He had a midseason stretch of 5.5 sacks and seven tackles for loss over three games.
Latu is a polished pass-rusher who knows how to use his hands and has a knack for slipping by offensive tackles. What I like, too, is that he understands that a sack is great but a strip sack is even better; he had three of those in 2022 and two more this season. He consistently disrupts plays behind the line of scrimmage. Latu plays on his feet off the edge of UCLA's defense, and he could be an ideal 3-4 outside linebacker at the next level.
11. Cooper DeJean, CB, Iowa
6-1, 207 pounds | Previously: 10Iowa's defense produced two first-round picks (Lukas Van Ness and Jack Campbell) and a third-rounder (Riley Moss) in the 2023 draft, and yet it was DeJean who kept catching my eye when I went back through the 2022 film. He had five interceptions, including three that he returned for touchdowns. But it wasn't just the big plays -- I was impressed with his technique on a snap-to-snap basis. He played in the slot and out wide, showing off tremendous speed to stick to receivers. He's just silky as a cover man.
DeJean has the physical tools to be the top corner in this class, but unfortunately his season has ended because of a lower-leg injury he suffered in practice in mid-November. He finished 2023 with two picks.
12. Joe Alt, OT, Notre Dame
6-8, 315 pounds | Previously: 12Alt has started 32 games at left tackle since the 2021 season, and I've been most impressed by his technique on a snap-to-snap basis. He rarely gets caught out. He mirrors well in pass protection, adjusting easily to secondary moves from edge rushers. He does a great job keeping his huge frame between the defender and his quarterback. From 2021-22, he allowed just 13 total pressures in nearly 700 pass-block snaps for the Fighting Irish.
Alt's father, John, was a first-round offensive tackle, too, going No. 21 overall to the Chiefs in 1984. He was 6-7, 275 pounds when he entered the NFL, which shows you how the game has changed since then.
13. Dallas Turner, OLB, Alabama
6-4, 242 pounds | Previously: 13I struggled a bit with Turner's 2022 tape because of who was on the opposite side of him. He's not the caliber of pass-rusher as former teammate Will Anderson Jr., who went No. 3 overall in April. Turner had 60 quarterback pressures over the past two seasons, while Anderson had ... 130. So, when Anderson is always getting to the passer first, it's tough to judge the other guy.
Still, when projecting what Turner could be, there's a lot to like. He shows flashes of stellar pass-rush moves, and he's good shedding blocks in the run game. He always has the physical traits to chase down running backs. The spotlight is on him to have a special season -- he has seven sacks so far. He also ranks 12th in the FBS with a 15.5% pressure rate.
14. Troy Fautanu, OL, Washington
6-4, 317 pounds | Previously: 14Fautanu has really impressed me this season. He played 114 snaps at guard over the past three years, but the majority of his time has been at left tackle, where he has allowed just two sacks and 19 total pressures in 26 starts. That's on more than 1,500 snaps. He is a hard-nosed, intense tackle, but he plays under control and has excellent feet and strong hands. He keeps the pocket clean for quarterback Michael Penix Jr., who has been sacked just seven times in 10 games.
I see Fautanu's future at guard as a way to best maximize his skill set, but I'm not ruling out that he'll end up at tackle. He reminds me a little bit of Alijah Vera-Tucker, who went No. 14 overall to the Jets in 2021. Fautanu's versatility will be a huge asset at the next level.
15. Xavier Worthy, WR, Texas
6-1, 172 pounds | Previously: 15Worthy is an electrifying player with the ball in his hands. His quickness and movement in space reminds me a little bit of Marquise "Hollywood" Brown, who starred at Oklahoma and was a first-round pick in 2019. Worthy is tall but very thin. He can fly by cornerbacks on vertical routes and take the top off the defense. He had 60 catches for 760 yards and nine scores last season and has 59 catches for 757 yards and four touchdowns this season.
His biggest problem last season? Catching the ball. He had 10 drops in 2022 -- he also dealt with a hand injury, to be fair -- but he has been more consistent this season, with five on 89 targets. Worthy also could be a dynamic punt returner at the next level.
