Final 2024 NFL Draft Big Board Explained: #11 - #20
H/T: @MathBomb
11 - Dallas Turner, EDGE, Alabama, 6'3, 247
Is a 10+ sack candidate available? Pull the trigger. If you’ve read 10 mock drafts this year, you’ve seen Turner to Atlanta as a 3-4 OLB at least 7-8 times. Incredibly likely Turner is the 1st defender off the board.
Turner turned in cyborg numbers in Indianapolis, but we already knew that was his game. Crashing down in supportive run defense is the area to be excited to see some improvement. Can he add additional pass-rush moves (See 2 moves beyond leaning on overbearing athleticism) to his arsenal after 3 developmental years under Nick Saban?
12 - Byron Murphy II, DT, Texas, 6', 297
Murphy is the kind of interior pass rusher athletically to go Top 15. Have you seen the way he looks? The Man Murphy is a Mack Truck. His ability to get his hands inside and drive under the offensive interior is a frightening forklift at just over 6 feet tall.
Seattle @ 16 and LAR @ 19 (floor) get me thrilled at the possibilities with Mike Macdonald and “replacing” Aaron Donald paired next to Kobie Turner.
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13 - JJ McCarthy, QB, Michigan, 6'3, 219
McCarthy is the 2024 “The NFL likes him much more than the Draft community.” This is funny because I projected Bo Nix as the Will Levis character to split the masses. McCarthy will go much higher than this ranking.
Don’t punish McCarthy for doing what Jim Harbaugh asked of him - complimenting the run game and “lean on someone” line with tight threaded window throws on 3rd Down and not turning the ball over as a team leader.
My top “You didn’t watch the tape/You don’t know ball” this year are negative “McCarthy arm strength” comments. Lol, the kid has a hose. Joe Milton III threw 62 mph at the Combine. McCarthy threw 61 mph. Unlike the kid at Little League Baseball who threw hard but couldn’t throw strikes (sorry for the stray), McCarthy can.
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14 - Laiatu Latu, EDGE, UCLA, 6'5, 265
Frankly, Latu tested better at the Combine than I expected. The medical went very well. This is a case of the media making a bigger deal than the 32 teams. The production, technical refinement, size, tape, and maturity are so, so good. It’s no question he has a bigger bag than Verse and Turner. Arguably the best overall tape of this entire class.
15 - Terrion Arnold, CB, Alabama, 6'0, 189
The ceiling is higher on Quinyon Mitchell athletically, but the floor is higher with Arnold. So defined, so well coached, so disciplined. His fluidity and twitch amaze me. With the maturity and extended Nick Saban/SEC experience on top of the talent, he’s ready, particularly for a press-man scheme.
16 - Quinyon Mitchell, CB, Toledo, 6'0, 195
Mitchell wins the Gold Medal for the pre-Draft process. He’s done nothing but answer questions about G5 competition, athleticism, and man-press coverage ability against equivalent athletes. Zone-schemed defenses may prefer Quinyon, that to say schematic preference could decide who’s gone first. The CB1 debate down the stretch between Arnold & Mitchell is fun and neither is “wrong.”
17 - Cooper DeJean, DB, Iowa, 6'1, 207
I’ve got DeJean as Safety #1, but that’s not saying he can’t play boundary corner or nickel. The ideal situation is a team with open-ended secondary issues throughout, such as the Bills or Packers. Don’t punish DeJean for not being able to test. A shame for his media stock, because he would’ve been a top performer blowing up the Combine. Talking about a freak athlete here.
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18 - Brian Thomas Jr., WR, LSU, 6'4, 205
If Thomas Jr. goes back to LSU, he’s WR1 & Top 10 in 2025. I have a hard time imagining anyone else as WR4 with BTJ’s athletic upside and downfield production (17 TDs in 2023, 1st ranking 17.3 YPC). Back to “Top 10 in 2025”, take the swing now at a discount. Jacksonville @ 17 should be the floor.
19 - Taliese Fuaga, OT, Oregon State, 6'6, 324
The most fun offensive line tape of 2024. Mauler, mean, punisher. The Tackle ceiling simultaneous with the Guard floor is comforting. Fuaga can be an All-Pro Guard and if you’re a run-heavy scheme in particular? Goodnight. Right Tackle specifically could limit team options versus say a Mims who can do both, along with Guard projections.
20 - Amarius Mims, OT, Georgia, 6'7, 340
With Mims’s bend, agility, reach, power, and heavy hands, he’s got it all to start at either Tackle spot. Mims comes back, he’s OT1 in 2025 and a Top 10 pick, similar to Brian Thomas Jr.'s situation. Also, similar to BTJ’s, take the shot at the value discount a year early having him in your building developing.
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