PFF has released their early Top 150. Some notes from the top 30:
1. QB CALEB WILLIAMS, USC
2. WR MARVIN HARRISON JR., OHIO STATE
Right now, Marvin Harrison Jr. is getting top-three-overall-pick kind of hype for the 2024 NFL Draft. If you’re looking for us to temper that hype, you’re going to be disappointed.
Harrison, son of NFL Hall of Famer and Indianapolis Colts legend Marvin Harrison Sr., is as alluring as they come. His 6-foot-4, 210-pound measurables check the boxes for a WR1. Right away you can tell he grew up playing the position with how precise and calculated his hands and feet are at the snap out of his release, especially against press coverage. His hands are excellent, as evidenced by his 60.0% contested catch percentage last season. But he’s not just a big possession guy; his 36 explosive plays (passing plays of 15 yards or more) were the most for a wide receiver in the FBS in 2022.
He’s the total package, and one of the top receivers we’ve seen come through college football in recent years (and that’s really saying something).
3. TE BROCK BOWERS, GEORGIA
Not long after Kyle Pitts dominated his way through the NFL draft process to become the No. 4 overall pick in 2021, Bowers might be the highest-drafted tight end in history.
If Bowers could have declared after his true freshman season, he would’ve been a first-round pick. The 6-foot-4, 240-pound tight end gives shades of George Kittle with his ability to impact the offense as a receiver and blocker. He posted 92.2 and 90.5 receiving grades as an underclassman in 2021 and 2022, respectively. His 24 explosive plays (passing plays of 15 yards or more) in 2022 were the most in the FBS for any tight end.
And when it comes to catches through traffic (a necessity for tight ends), he recorded a 76.5% contested catch percentage last season, which was top-10 for all FBS pass-catchers.
Expect him to be one of the highest-ranked players in the class, regardless of position.
4. T OLUMUYIWA FASHANU, PENN STATE
5. QB DRAKE MAYE, NORTH CAROLINA
6. EDGE JARED VERSE, FLORIDA STATE
7. CB KOOL-AID MCKINSTRY, ALABAMA
8. CB KALEN KING, PENN STATE
9. EDGE CHOP ROBINSON, PENN STATE
10. DI JER'ZHAN NEWTON, ILLINOIS
11. CB COOPER DEJEAN, IOWA
12. DI LEONARD TAYLOR III, MIAMI (FL.)
13. EDGE LAIATU LATU, UCLA
4. WR MALIK NABERS, LSU
The 6-foot, 200-pound Nabers is a true playmaker. He recorded 1,017 receiving yards in 2022, and 48.6% of those came after the catch. He’s also made his case as one of the most natural and reliable pass-catchers in the class, with a 93.5% catchable pass percentage and a 61.9% contested catch percentage. He looks smooth as he accelerates and explodes out of his breaks. He’s also not limited to playing in the slot or on the outside — he can do it all.
It’s hard to watch his 2022 tape and not see a future difference-maker at the pro level.
15. S KAMREN KINCHENS, MIAMI (FL.)
Two years ago, Kinchens was just a three-star safety recruit. He was the 21st-ranked safety in the 2021 recruiting class and the 320th-ranked player by 247Sports. Now, heading into his first draft-eligible season, you’ll find his name atop most preseason safety rankings for the 2024 NFL Draft.
Kinchens brings top-notch free safety ability to the deep parts of the field and earned an elite 90.7 coverage grade in 2022. His range in coverage is impressive thanks to a good pairing of long speed and awareness. He also has excellent ball skills to come up with takeaways, as evidenced by his six interceptions and three forced incompletions last year.
He could stand to be more tenacious when attacking ball carriers in run defense, but his mindset, athletic ability and size (6-foot, 205 pounds) for the position are that of a true playmaker.
16. WR EMEKA EGBUKA, OHIO STATE
17. T JOE ALT, NOTRE DAME
The massive 6-foot-8 Joe Alt has been on NFL radars since high school. His frame will naturally remind people of former Notre Dame offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey, who was 6-foot-7 and 309 pounds at the 2018 NFL Combine.
Alt provides the same allurement with his size; he’s just so tough to get around. But where some offensive tackles get by with just being mountains on the edge, Alt has some finesse to his game, too. His feet are light and quick for a player of his size, and that showed up in his PFF stats, as he allowed just a 2.5% pressure rate on 409 pass-blocking snaps in 2022. He also showed his power in the ground game with an elite 91.4 run-blocking grade. He could make a case as the top offensive tackle in the draft.
18. T GRAHAM BARTON, DUKE
19. WR KEON COLEMAN, FLORIDA STATE
Normal 6-foot-4, 215-pound receivers don't move the way Keon Coleman does. He was a two-sport athlete in high school, playing both football and basketball, and he was so good at both that he even played for Tom Izzo’s men’s basketball team at Michigan State for one season while also contributing at wide receiver on the football team.
His body is well filled out, and that gives him a lot of strength at the catch point. Go pop on the Michigan tape from 2022, and you’ll see a player who simply would not be denied the football when it was in his vicinity, no matter how many defenders were near him or even on him.
He’s an “X” receiver type who came down with 12 contested catches and recorded a 60% contested catch percentage last season. Now at Florida State, he’ll have quarterback Jordan Tavis throwing him the football, which could lead to his most productive season yet.
20. DI KRIS JENKINS, MICHIGAN
21. CB JOSH NEWTON, TCU
22. EDGE DALLAS TURNER, ALABAMA
23. T JC LATHAM, ALABAMA
24. LB BARRETT CARTER, CLEMSON
Carter is the next super athlete linebacker to come from Clemson, but unlike some before him, he's a linebacker first and an athlete second. He’s a former five-star recruit, and the athletic pillars of that rating show up immediately. His potential as a run defender, pass-rusher and coverage player is high, as he did not record a grade below 75.0 in any of those three categories.
Carter forced five incompletions in coverage and notched 24 total pressures in 2022 (10.3% pass-rush win percentage). When he's been able to anticipate, his impact is high with forced incompletions and key stops. He has first-round ability.
25. EDGE BRALEN TRICE, WASHINGTON
26. QB BO NIX, OREGON
27. CB CAELEN CARSON, WAKE FOREST
28. WR ADONAI MITCHELL, TEXAS
29. WR JOHNNY WILSON, FLORIDA STATE
30. WR XAVIER WORTHY, TEXAS
