Category: 2024 NFL Draft Grades

Washington Commanders’ best draft sleeper pick: Jordan Magee, LB, Temple

Temple linebacker Jordan Magee has the potential to help the Commanders’ linebacker corps more than his fourth-round status might indicate.

Under new head coach and defensive shot-caller Dan Quinn, the Commanders had already picked a couple of first-round talents who lasted until the second round in Illinois interior defensive lineman Johnny Newton and Michigan cornerback Mike Sainristil. Given the off-season signings of Bobby Wagner and Frankie Luvu, it wasn’t a surprise that linebacker wasn’t a key priority, but with the 139th pick in the fourth round, Washington did take Temple’s Jordan Magee as a move ‘backer who can roll quickly all over the defense.

A do-it-all player, Magee had six sacks and 20 total pressures for the Owls last season, as well as 54 solo tackles, 41 stops, and 12 catches allowed on 16 targets for 85 yards, 41 yards after the catch, no touchdowns, no interceptions, two pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 86.7. He’s not unlike Luvu, who has become one of the NFL’s best linebackers in three years with the Jets and three more with the Panthers. Luvu was a “too small” guy who went undrafted out of Washington State back in 2018, so maybe he can tell the 6′ 1⅜”, 228-pound Magee that it’s not how you start, it’s where you finish. 

Tennessee Titans’ best draft sleeper pick: Jaylen Harrell, EDGE, Michigan

The Titans need more from their pass rush, and seventh-round rookie Jaylen Harrell could surprise on the edge.

The Titans didn’t select an edge defender until the seventh round of this draft, which is interesting, because it could be argued that the position was not a big strength coming into the process. Harold Landry had a good season, and Arden Key presents possibilities, but there isn’t a standout guy on the outside — especially with hybrid rusher Denico Autry off to the Texans. But there may be a sleeper over time with the 252nd overall pick in the seventh round in the person of Michigan edge-rusher Jaylen Harrell.

The 6′ 3¾”, 250-pound Harrell totaled six sacks and 31 total pressures in just 215 pass-rushing snaps for the national champs last season, and he’s a pure speed guy off the edge. Harrell may need a year of development at the NFL level to put his pass-rush plan together, but the traits are certainly worth the investment.

“I bring a lot of versatility, but I am a high-effort, high-motor guy,” Harrell said after he was selected. “I can rush the passer, set the edge, and get after the quarterback. I am just grateful for the opportunity, and I’m ready to get to work and put my full talents on display.

“Whatever this team wants me to do, I’ll do. I can play end, I can play outside linebacker, I can drop in coverage. So, whatever the team’s vision is for me, I’m ready to do it, and I’ll do it 100 percent.”

Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ best draft sleeper pick: Bucky Irving, RB, Oregon

Oregon running back Bucky Irving comes into a Buccaneers offense that could be perfect for his unique skill set.

Only Christian McCaffrey of the 49ers had more snaps last season than Rachaad White’s 337 among NFL running backs, and you have to include McCaffrey’s snaps through the Super Bowl for that designation. So. it was important for general manager Jason Licht and his staff to get White more rotational assistance, and the Bucs got a good one in Oregon back Bucky Irving with the 125th pick in the fourth round.

Last season, the 5-foot-9, 192-pound Irving ran the ball 186 times, gaining 1.192 yards and scoring 11 touchdowns. Irving may be short, but he’s not small — he forced 69 missed tackles last season, and that was just as much about power as it was about elusiveness. He also had 18 runs of 15-plus yards for 470 yards. In addition, Irving caught 55 passes on 61 targets for 395 yards and two touchdowns, so he can be deployed in a lot of different ways.

“We thought he might go a little bit earlier,” Buccaneers Director of Player Personnel Mike Biehl said of Irving. “He’s a guy we brought in on a ‘Top 30’ visit and spent some time with him. We thought maybe he would be a second-day pick, but he falls to the third day. I think even talking to him, when Jason called him, he had a little bit of a chip on his shoulder, thinking he should have gone earlier. We kind of like that. He’s just another right kind of character guy that we’ve been targeting. He fits that mold.” 

Seattle Seahawks’ best draft sleeper pick: Nehemiah Pritchett, CB, Auburn

The Seahawks made a fifth-round bet on Auburn cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett, and it could pay off in a big way.

The Seahawks and new defensive-minded head coach Mike Macdonald must have liked their time watching Auburn’s 2023 defense, because they took two cornerbacks from that program — Nehemiah Pritchett with the 136th overall pick in the fifth round, and DJ James with the 192nd pick in the sixth round. While James projects as an inside/outside cornerback, the 6′ 0⅛”, 190-pound Pritchett, who ran a 4.39-second 40-yard dash at the scouting combine, played just 13% of his snaps in the slot last season. He’s an outside speed cornerback in an old-school Seattle sense. Certainly in the overall mentality.

“I think I’m really intense when it comes to hitting. I’m not going to shy away from contact. You can turn on the film and you can see I’m super-aggressive. Most of the time, I just try to come up with a body part at corner.”

As far as we know, Pritchett’s opponents kept all their body parts last season, but they didn’t have a lot of production. Pritchett allowed 12 catches on 26 targets for 134 yards, 25 yards after the catch, one touchdown, one interception, three pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 58.8. Over five seasons with the Tigers, Pritchett allowed an opponent passer rating of 69.2. 

San Francisco 49ers’ best draft sleeper pick: Jacob Cowing, WR, Arizona

The 49ers got themselves a spectacular receiver in Arizona’s Jacob Cowing.

Assuming that the 49ers keep both Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk this season, the addition of first-round receiver Ricky Pearsall gives Kyle Shanahan a different kind of target for which to scheme in that Pearsall is one of those guys who knows how to get open. But what about the deep ball? Aiyuk led the team last season with 15 catches on passes of 20 or more air yards, and George Kittle was second with seven. That’s worked just fine to date, but it also sets the table for Arizona’s Jacob Cowing, who the team took with the 135th overall pick in the fourth round.

In 2023, the 5′ 8⅜”, 163-pound Cowing had six receptions on passes of 20 or more air yards on a team where the deep ball wasn’t a feature. His tape shows a lot of speed potential, and in today’s NFL, teams are less concerned with smaller receivers, given the use of motion and multiple deployments to keep them open, and away from bigger, more aggressive defenders.

“Very similar to what we got with [WR] Ricky [Pearsall] in that there’s not a route that he can’t run,” Shanahan said of Cowing. “He starts outside the numbers and he’s got the speed to get on top of people and threaten with a go. He’s got the quickness. Inside he’d be a big problem with just how shifty he is. He can run screens and things like that. Very good punt returner. For his lack of size, he makes up with mentality. His mindset, when he does cut, he’s always accelerating out of a cut. He’s trying to violently go through people and when you’re smaller, you hope they’re faster and quicker, which he is, and anything that you wanna knock on a smaller guy he makes up for in his mindset.”

Greg Cosell and I are both fans, and we discussed Cowing’s potential in Shanahan’s offense in “The Xs and Os.” 

Pittsburgh Steelers’ best sleeper draft pick: Mason McCormick, OG, South Dakota State

Mason McCormick is a small-school player, but he’ll show up big-time on the Steelers’ offensive line.

The Steelers made it abundantly clear in this draft that they’re sick and tired of being behind the 8-ball when it comes to their offensive line. They selected Washington tackle Troy Fautanu with the 20th overall pick in the first round, West Virginia center Zach Frazier with the 51st overall pick in the second round, and South Dakota State guard Mason McCormick with the 119th overall pick in the fourth round. Work that in with Broderick Jones, last year’s 14th overall pick in the first round, and there’s a changing of the guard, and tackle, and center in the Steel City.

McCormick was a no-star recruit, and the Sioux Falls, South Dakota native went with the only school who offered him anything. Over the next six seasons for the Jackrabbits, he allowed just three sacks, four quarterback hits, and 20 quarterback hurries in 1,605 pass-blocking reps. And his tape is full of power pulls and gap-scheme blocks that speak to his efficient power. After starring at the East-West Shrine game and the combine and training with O-line guru Duke Manyweather, McCormick found himself much more wanted than he had ever been before.

McCormick’s playing style has had people describing him as “the meanest nicest person around,” which he agreed with in his post-draft press conference.

“Yes, I think on the field, there’s only one way to play this game. And when you’re off the field, there’s no reason not to be a good person and nice to people.”

Philadelphia Eagles’ best draft sleeper pick: Johnny Wilson, WR/TE, Florida State

Florida State’s Johnny Wilson wants to be a receiver — not a tight end — and the Eagles will give him a chance.

When I spoke with Johnny Wilson about his favorite NCAA plays at the scouting combine, he made it very clear that he did NOT want NFL teams to think of him as a tight end as opposed to a receiver despite the limited opportunities for true receivers with Wilson’s measurables — there just haven’t been too many successful receivers over his 6′ 6⅜” height threshold.

“If you go look at the Louisville game, the tape speaks for itself. I feel like every week, I showed what I can do. Just look at the Clemson game; they had an elite defense, but I was able to create separation and make some plays against them.”

This 41-yard catch up the numbers against Clemson was a nice Exhibit A in Wilson’s case for himself — he burned up the numbers against cornerback Sheridan Jones’ press coverage, established the leverage he wanted, and took the ball in as safety C.J. Mickens was converging.

The Eagles selected Wilson with the 185th pick in the sixth round, and both head coach Nick Sirianni and general manager Howie Roseman are fine with the receiver designation. “I think he can run the full route tree,” Roseman said. “I think a lot of times you do that when guys don’t have the lower body flexibility to get in and out of their breaks. We don’t see that with Johnny.”

“All his production is coming on the outside, running outside routes,” Sirianni said. “Really looking forward to working with him there at the wide receiver position.”

Roseman: “He’s — what’s the word?”

Sirianni: “He’s unusual. He’s unusual.”

The Eagles are just looking to get Wilson on the field to see what that unusual height/weight/speed ration can do for their passing game. They’re less interested in labels.

New York Jets’ best draft sleeper pick: Jordan Travis, QB, Florida State

Jordan Travis might have been a second-day pick were he healthy in 2024. Now, he’s Aaron Rodgers’ backup.

When Aaron Rodgers went down four plays into the 2023 NFL season, the Jets did not have a workable Plan B. So, the defense did its best, while the offense sputtered at best with Zach Wilson, Trevor Siemian, and Tim Boyle as Rodgers’ replacements. The Jets had no shot with that, and they knew it. So, they made a smart pick with the addition of Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis.

Had Travis not suffered a brutal leg injury against North Alabama on November 18, 2023, he could have made the discussion about second-tier quarterbacks in this draft pretty interesting (not to mention the College Football Playoff landscape). Last season when healthy, Travis completed 207 of 325 passes for 2,755 yards, 20 touchdowns, two interceptions, and a passer rating of 108.4. And that low interception total wasn’t the result of a dink-and-dunk mentality; Travis completed 18 passes of 20 or more air yards last season on 58 attempts for 591 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions.

“Jordan is a dynamic player and obviously a tough injury for him and the team last year, but dynamic player,” head coach Robert Saleh said. “He came on a 30-Visit, just getting a chance to spend time with him and get to know him as a person. He’s a special guy, you can see why teammates gravitate towards him and why he’s one of the more respected guys when you talk to other players at Florida State. So, we’re just happy to add him. He’s coming to a great situation with some unbelievable veteran leadership and kind of similar situation as [first-round offensive tackle] Olu [Fashanu], but even at a different level with the two vets we have in the room. So, really cool opportunity for him to learn, develop, and just showcase his ability.”

The Jets certainly deserve an opportunity to see what Aaron Rodgers can do for their offense, but Travis presents a better escape hatch if needed, as does veteran Tyrod Taylor. 

New York Giants’ best draft sleeper pick: Tyrone Tracy Jr., RB, Purdue

Tyrone Tracy, a former receiver turned dynamic running back. could make a big difference in the Giants’ offense.

With Saquon Barkley out of the picture, the Giants had a pre-draft running back rotation of Devin Singletary, 2023 fifth-round pick Eric Gray, and a bunch of “meh” after that. Which means that anyone coming in from the draft would have an opportunity beyond the preseason.

Enter Purdue running back Tyrone Tracy Jr., who at 5′ 11⅛” and 209 pounds, totaled 714 yards, eight touchdowns, 46 forced missed tackles, 14 carries of 15 or more yards, and 36 first downs on just 114 carries. That put Tracy with a yards per carry average of 6.3 — another arbiter of his big-play potential and ability to run with power. Tracy can also catch the ball. In fact, before he was a running back at Purdue, he was a receiver at Iowa, and he actually made big plays in that garbage fire of an offense. Not bad for a guy who was there with the 166th overall pick in the fifth round.

“He’s a former receiver. In terms of yards per carry, he’s been pretty good,” head coach Brian Daboll said of his newest running back. “He’s an athlete who has played receiver and then played running back and has some good production. We’ll throw him in the mix. Whether that’s in the kickoff return game or whether that’s at running back or the receiving part of it, we’ve got to do a good job of getting him in here and seeing where he’s at and then trying to fit him into the things that he can do well.”

New Orleans Saints’ best draft sleeper pick: Bub Means, WR, Pitt

The Saints have a highly underrated speed receiver in Pitt’s Bub Means, who they stole in the fifth round.

The Saints came into the 2024 draft with some speed on offense already with Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, and A.T. Perry, but in an NFL where it’s all about creating and defending explosive plays, more acceleration is always good. To that end, New Orleans welcomed Pitt receiver Bub Means to its roster with the 170th overall pick in the fifth round.

In his 2023 season, Means caught 41 passes on 82 targets for 718 yards and six touchdowns. That catch rate may have you wondering about Means’ hands until you go back and review Pitt’s quarterbacks. As Greg Cosell and I got into in the “Xs and Os,” Means is virtually guaranteed to be more productive and efficient with a quarterback who can actually get him the ball.