Tag: 2024 nfl draft grades

Dallas Cowboys select Western Michigan DL Marshawn Kneeland with the 56th overall pick. Grade: A+

Western Michigan DL Marshawn Kneeland gives the Dallas Cowboys all kinds of interesting possibilities along the defensive line.

For me, Marshawn Kneeland was one of the most fun players to watch in this class. I have a weakness for violent defensive linemen who can win from every gap, and Kneeland qualifies. I compared him to Za’Darius Smith as a big end who can also get it done everywhere from three-tech to nose shade, and Kneeland will give Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer all kinds of interesting possibilities. 

Marshawn Kneeland, who starred in football and track at Godwin Heights High School in Wyoming, Michigan, took his game to Western Michigan and became a force for the Broncos’ defense in 2020, with four sacks and 13 total pressures on just 91 pass-rushing snaps. Through four seasons, Kneeland kept that high pass-rush rate up, and in 2023, he had a career-high six sacks and 37 total pressures. At 6′ 3″ and 267 pounds, Kneeland also put up 38 solo tackles and 35 stops in 2023, and he had a strong Senior Bowl week as an exclamation point to his good game tape.

Every defensive coordinator wants a guy who plays like his hair is on fire at all times, and Kneeland certainly qualifies. He’s a multi-gap disruptor with a ton of upside, and I’m betting that a lot of NFL evaluators will set aside any small-school biases when discussing his professional potential.

PLUSES

— Gap-shooting edge-rusher who can quickly work from outside the tackle to the center, and will move to the pocket quickly.

— Can win everywhere from an edge alignment to head-over nose tackle.

— Relentless disruptor who works from snap to whistle.

— Stacks and sheds quickly and powerfully; his 83⅜” wingspan (90th percentile for edge-rushers) allows him to establish dominance from the snap.

— Brings extra juice as an off-ball “spinner” who can time rushes and work to the quarterback in a hurry.

— Has a dynamite spin move to disengage from blockers who slow him down.

MINUSES

— Kneeland’s frenetic style will have him missing targets in the backfield at times.

— Could stand to have more of a plan with his hands to knife through double teams and penetrate through more adept opponents.

— Must keep his leverage together to avoid being blocked out too easily by tight ends and running backs.

— Prone to biting on action and misdirection in the backfield.

— Strength of opponent is a legitimate concern in a transitive sense, though the tape shows more than enough NFL potential.

Kneeland has a fabulous playing personality — if there’s a play anywhere near him, he’ll do everything he can to kill it with fire. There are a few points of precision to deal with when he gets to the NFL level, but he’s an ideal multi-gap disrupting prospect in the next phase of his career.

Houston Texans select Houston OT Patrick Paul with the 55th overall pick. Grade: B+

The Texans went hometown with the addition of Houston offensive tackle Patrick Paul, one of the more adept pass-blockers in this class.

Well, the Texans didn’t have to travel far to get a good look at Houston left tackle Patrick Paul, and Paul is a nice addition to a roster that’s nearly Super Bowl-ready at this point. With Laremy Tunsil manning the left side, it’s likely that Paul will move to the right side, Paul didn’t play a single snap of right tackle in his five years with the Cougars, but he has the athletic flexibility to do different things. Paul isn’t a pure power guy, but he’s one of the more adept technical pass-blockers in this class.  

Patrick Paul was a three-star recruit out of Jersey Village High School in Houston, Texas, and he went with his hometown school with few other offers. He became a full-time player in 2021, his third season with the Cougars, and by then, he had developed his pass-blocking acumen to an impressive degree. Last season, he allowed one sack, one quarterback hit, and seven quarterback hurries in 496 pass-blocking attempts. Any team with a pass-heavy offense will love him; the question with Paul is whether he has that dawg in him to use his frame to dominate opposing defenders when it’s time to run to daylight.

PLUSES

— Outstanding combination of size (6′ 7½”, 332), arm length, and technique. Paul comes off the plane just looking like a left tackle.

— Has a natural kick-step that allows him to control the arc with his feet under him. Not a ton of wasted movement.

— Paul is really good at catching aggressive pass-rushers who want to displace him by shoving him through the numbers.

— Not a lot of issues with games and stunts; Paul is an aware player with his head on a swivel.

— Has a decent sense of when to attack with his hands; I’d like to see more of that when he hits the NFL, though that’s a personal preference.

MINUSES

— Quick movement outside with his first step might leave him more vulnerable to inside and spin moves at the NFL level. Recovery speed is more decent than spectacular

— For a guy with his agility, Paul’s hit rate outside and upfield is an issue; he needs to work on attacking moving targets.

— Small hands (9⅜”, third-percentile among offensive tackles) may affect his ability to latch on and dominate in power situations.

— Needs some work in the run game to work quickly to seal the edge. You see it once in a while, but he can be a bit of a spectator when you want an alpha dog.

— Overall, I would love to see Paul get defenders on the track more often and just drive them off the screen, because he has the physical potential to do so.

If your preference is for a glass-eating, ass-kicking tackle, Paul will probably not be your favorite. I like him as a big, agile pass-protector with most everything you need in that department. In offenses where pass pro is the order of the day, he’ll be a fine developmental starter. More balanced teams might look at him a bit sideways.

Washington Commanders select Michigan DB Mike Sainristil with the 50th overall pick. Grade: A

Michigan DB Mike Sainristil gives the Commanders what every modern defense needs — a do-it-all slot weapon.

If you’re yelling at the Commanders because they took a slot defender in the middle of the second round, pull your head out of 1999, and move it to 2024. In today’s NFL, if you don’t have at least one good slot guy, your defense is in big trouble. Michigan DB Mike Sainristil took his receiver skills to the defense, and became a tone-setter in the Wolverines’ national championship defense. He should be that same kind of tone-setter pretty quickly in the NFL.

A composite three-star prospect out of Everett High School in Everett, Massachusetts, Mike Sainristil was a star receiver and cornerback who chose Michigan and totaled 37 catches on 69 targets for 541 yards and five touchdowns in his time with the Wolverines. Sainristil brought that receiver’s understanding to his role as a primary slot defender, capping out in Michigan’s national championship season of 2023 with 29 catches allowed on 50 targets for 412 yards, 206 yards after the catch, four touchdowns, six interceptions, six pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 71.8. He also had 29 solo tackles, 18 stops, two sacks, and 11 total pressures.

In today’s NFL, you need at least one slot defender if you want your defense to work, so don’t pass Sainristil by just because he’s limited to the inside. He’s a smart, tough, aggressive, scheme-transcendent player who can work into an NFL roster right away.

PLUSES

— Quick closer to the receiver, and has a better eye for the ball than a lot of receivers do.

— Can lay in the weeds and jump routes with excellent timing and ball skills. Six INT and six PBU in the 2023 season.

— Matches the receiver through the route in press and off coverage, and has the easy speed to work through them.

— Understands and responds to switches and route combinations. Very heady in the open field.

— Outstanding hitter for his size; he’ll come down and lay the wallop, and a lot of his pass deflections come as a result of that.

— Great blitzer who shoots gaps like a running back, and is quick enough to get to the quarterback at an angle from the slot.

MINUSES

— Size (5′ 9½”, 182 pounds) will limit him to the slot at the next level.

— Has a tendency to leave too much cushion on angular routes, leading to easy completions he has the talent to prevent.

— Not a run defender of note; he gets blocked out too easily and his tackling is more made for receivers than running backs.

— Frenetic play style will have him biting on movement and action in the backfield.

— Will lose physical battles with tight ends and bigger receivers off the snap and up the seam.

We’re past the eras in which slot defenders were thought of in a pejorative sense; in a time when nickel is the new base defense, if you don’t have at least one good slot guy against a plethora of 3×1 and empty sets, your defense is going to be in trouble. Sainristil projects as a plug-and-play slot man with some hybrid safety potential, and I think that gives him a lot of equity in the eyes of NFL evaluators.

Carolina Panthers select Texas RB Jonathon Brooks with the 46th overall pick. Grade: B+

Texas’ Jonathon Brooks gives the Panthers a three-down back, and a true offensive weapon.

Fanbases of positionally needy teams tend to rend their garments when those teams take running backs early in a draft, but Texas’ Jonathon Brooks is no ordinary back, and he is the top player at his position on my board. His combination of size, speed, scheme-transcendent running style, and production gives the Panthers the every-down back they need. Brooks is an explosive play waiting to happen, and the Panthers need that desperately, wherever it comes from.

Jonathon Brooks was a four-star recruit out of Hallettsville High School in Hallettsville, Texas, and he chose the Longhorns after wanting to attend Texas A&M, but the coaching staff there reportedly thought he was too small, so that was that. Brooks had limited opportunities in his first two collegiate seasons, but that changed in 2023, when he rushed 187 times for 1,135 yards and 10 touchdowns. Brooks had 16 runs of 15 yards or more and he forced 63 missed tackles on those 187 carries, which is a pretty good summary of his playing personality.

Now, Brooks isn’t a pure power runner at 6′ 0⅜” and 216 pounds; he’s more versatile than that. But I do wonder if he’ll be downgraded by some NFL teams because he doesn’t have a pure headbanging style on the field.

PLUSES

— Can win in gap and inside zone concepts, but Brooks is an expert outside zone runner with quick vision and reaction to gaps, and the speed and acceleration to pick up extra yards outside.

— Vision and acceleration extends to the second and third levels, where he’ll change directions in a flash to get out of traffic from linebackers and safeties.

— Has the patience when needed to wait for blocks to develop, and then, it’s off to the races.

— 732 of his 1,135 rushing yards in 2023 came after contact; his 6′ 0⅜”, 216 pound frame shows up as a positive to a point in power situations.

— Brings an impressive arsenal of jukes and jump cuts, especially when running inside.

— Has some juice and YAC potential as a receiver out of the backfield, and the athletic traits to extend that to the slot.

MINUSES

— Most of Brooks’ yards after contact are created through speed and wiggle and defenders ankle-tackling him on the way to paydirt; he’s not a Derrick Henry-type bulldozer.

— Brooks’ NFL team will want to talk to him about better pass-blocking pretty quickly. He’ll bounce off blocks when he needs to engage.

— More smooth and gliding than aggressive and powerful.

— Brooks isn’t going to win a lot of scrums where he comes out of the other end of a dogpile at full speed.

Maybe you’d like a back of Brooks’ size to understand a bit more how to use that size to overwhelm defenders. On the other hand, guys this size with his juice to and through the open field don’t grow on trees. Any NFL team leading with outside zone as the fulcrum of its run game would be quite happy with what Brooks brings to the table.

Kansas City Chiefs select Texas WR Xavier Worthy with the 28th overall pick. Grade: A+

Xavier Worthy gives Patrick Mahomes the most dynamic speed receiver he’s had since Tyreek Hill.

The Chiefs have won two Super Bowls since they traded Tyreek Hill to the Dolphins, but they’ve had to do it with more singles than home runs in a downfield sense, and they’ve had to do it with receivers who were… well, let’s be kind and just say “inconsistent.” When the Chiefs traded up with the Bills to make their pick, everybody knew what was coming. Worthy’s track speed absolutely transfers to the field, and while he has his own consistency issues (get him a JUGS machine, stat), he immediately gives Patrick Mahomes that dynamite vertical target he’s been lacking. And Worthy’s size is less of an issue in an offense where shifts and motions will give him so much open space.

A four-star recruit out of Central East High School in Fresno, California, Xavier Worthy originally committed to Michigan, but academic issues delayed that process, and after considering Alabama, Worthy then chose to roll with Texas and head coach Steve Sarkisian because he liked the ways in which Sarkisian utilized DeVonta Smith, another smaller speed receiver, as Alabama’s offensive coordinator.

Speed is the important word here. Speed kills, and absolute speed kills absolutely. Worthy has absolute speed.

It was easy enough to diagnose that from watching his game tape, but when Worthy went to the 2024 scouting combine and set the record with a 4.21-second 40-yard dash, that was the clincher. And it was not the only instance in which Worthy put up preposterous numbers.

Now, the height/weight profile could be a problem. There are other smaller speed receivers who have succeeded in the NFL, but the guys who have done it in the modern era generally check in a bit heavier — more on the 180-pound scale.

So, will Worthy’s NFL team stick with his weight as is, or try to beef him up a bit without losing any of that explosive potential? We can but wait and see.

PLUSES

— Record-breaking speed shows up on the field; Worthy can house a handoff or a quick screen, and he’s very adept at gaining separation in a straight line downfield.

— Has a nice sense of foot feints to get off press at the line of scrimmage and will then head into Acceleration Mode.

— Turns into his routes with little need to slow down and re-accelerate.

— Wins with late hands to the ball as it’s coming in.

— His ability to get open and up to top speed out of motion could make him a terrifying target in the right NFL offense.

— Not just a go/post/seam guy, Worthy will stick his foot in the ground to re-direct, and he’s got a pretty diverse route profile.

MINUSES

— For all his explosive potential, Worthy had just six catches of 20 or more air yards last season on 23 targets for 234 yards and two touchdowns.

— Focus drops are a legitimate issue; Worthy doesn’t have much of a catch radius, and he isn’t excited about heading into traffic.

— Blocking is more performative than effective.

— Creates YAC with speed as opposed to any sort of physicality; he’s not a contested catch player in the traditional sense, and his after-contact potential is iffy.

Worthy is more of a nuanced receiver than the speed numbers would have you believe. On the other hand, he isn’t as explosively effective as you’d like for a guy with his rare traits. A lot of that can be worked through with NFL coaching, but 5′ 11¼” and 165 pounds is what it is. Worthy’s NFL team had best have a clear plan for his schematic success.

Arizona Cardinals select Missouri DL Darius Robinson with the 27th overall pick. Grade: A

Adding Missouri DL Darius Robinson to their painfully thin defensive line is a major move for head coach Jonathan Gannon.

The Cardinals are light on talent just about everywhere on the roster, and their defensive line is especially, painfully thin. That will change to a degree with the addition of Missouri DL Darius Robinson, who can bully offensive linemen from anywhere on the defensive line. I try to avoid same-school comparisons unless absolutely necessary, but Robinson reminded me so much of Aldon Smith so quickly, the comp stuck. This is a major get for Jonathan Gannon’s defense. 

A three-star recruit at Canton High School in Canton, Michigan, Darius Robinson didn’t play organized football until his junior year. But he still had a couple of pressures as a true freshman in 2019, and worked his way up to First-Team All-SEC in 2023 despite an injury-plagued season. Last year, the 6′ 5⅛”, 285-pound Robinson was good for nine sacks, 42 total pressures, 22 solo tackles, and 22 stops, and he did that all over the defensive line — 81% EDGE, 19% defensive tackle, and 1% nose tackle.

Robinson projects as an ideal every-gap disruptor at the NFL level, and his athletic traits could have him as a plus lineman when his professional career expands.

PLUSES

— Very strong upper body; when Robinson gets into the blocker’s numbers with his hands, he can just collapse his opponent, and he has a great shock move to bring the blocker in and then just shed him aside.

— Freaky wingspan allows him to roll quickly with the inside counter; Robinson can cross your face before you know it.

— Excellent speed to and through the pocket.

— Has a bull-rush with serious potential; Robinson will be a tough go for NFL tackles in power situations. Once he gets a tackle on the track, the tackle is in big trouble.

— Can win everywhere from wide-9 to 3-tech.

— Got it done as a pass-rusher without the help of a lot of blitzes; had several pressures out of three-man fronts.

MINUSES

— Robinson will occasionally get over his skis in open space and just whiff on tackles.

— Needs to be highly aware of pad level and leverage, especially inside, or he’ll lose power battles right off the snap.

— Needs a better plan with his hands to avoid wrestling when he should be penetrating.

— Gets so involved in what’s in front of him that he’ll miss run keys that are a gap over.

I avoid same-school comparisons unless they’re unavoidable. In Robinson’s case, he had me thinking of Aldon Smith right away in the combination of wingspan and play speed. That Robinson generally rolled at 20-20 pounds heavier is a testament to Robinson’s unusual athletic profile for his size. There are things to clean up here, but the raw and refined tools make me think that he may disappear a bit in his rookie season, but over time, he could be a true multi-gap demolition expert.