Tag: Jer’Zhan Newton

Vikings land defensive help in Dane Brugler’s first mock draft

Dane Brugler’s first mock draft of the year is out and it goes in a direction that Vikings fans won’t be expecting

The NFL’s regular season still has a handful of weeks left, but it’s never too early to start looking ahead towards the NFL draft. That’s exactly what The Athletic columnist Dane Brugler has done, dropping his first mock draft of the year.

In a departure from most mocks, Brugler has the Minnesota Vikings picking up some help on the defensive side of the ball, rather than sending them a quarterback like most prognosticators have at this point. With the 20th pick, Brugler has the Vikings grabbing Illinois defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton.

This pick may be a bit surprising to some who follow the college game and the NFL draft closely, as Newton isn’t necessarily seen as a consensus first-round selection — as Brugler points out in his analysis of the pick. Newton is considered by many to be undersized for the position, listed at just 6’2 and 295 pounds.

That makes the pick more confusing, as an undersized defensive tackle doesn’t necessarily fit what Brian Flores and the Vikings defense want to do in their 3-4 scheme. With that said, Flores has shown a propensity for finding spots for players who have talent, and using that talent to its fullest capability.

Newton would be an interesting fit for the Vikings defense, but if anyone could make it work, it would be Flores.

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Saints draft: 10 early candidates to be New Orleans’ first-round pick in 2024

Top prospects in the 2024 NFL draft are already deciding whether to go pro or stay in school. These 10 names should be on the New Orleans Saints’ radar:

Top prospects in the 2024 NFL draft are already making the tough decision whether to stay in school or turn pro, and the New Orleans Saints could be in a good position to add a difference-maker after losing their last two games — so it’s a great time to brush up on which players might be available.

With the Saints projected to be picking at No. 12 overall after their recent losses, they’ll have their pick of some high-end talent coming up out of the college ranks. And they’ll need the help. They need upgrades along the offensive and defensive lines, at the skills positions, and at quarterback. Derek Carr hasn’t played well enough to keep the Saints from evaluating all of their options.

Top 75 prospects at the end of the college regular season

Top 75 prospects for the 2024 NFL draft at the end of the college regular season from Draft Wire’s Jeff Risdon

Thanksgiving weekend brought the 2023 college football regular season to a close. Rivalry weekend was a great end to an interesting season. It also marks a good time to update the 2024 NFL draft prospect rankings.

Some of the prospects here have played their final college football games. With so many underclassmen, it’s possible some will opt to stay in college for 2024, too.

There is still considerable film work and study to be done even before we get to the postseason all-star bowls, pro days and the scouting combine in Indianapolis. Right now, I’ve gone through about one-fifth of the college game film and All-22 that I’ve accumulated through the year. I’ve seen exactly one FCS game and one D-II game (in person).

In short, changes will happen. But right now, this is how I see the prospects overall. Remember, big board rankings are not predictions of when a player will be drafted. That’s what mock drafts are for…

2024 mock draft: 2-round projections prior to NFL Week 10

The second edition of the 2024 NFL mock draft from Draft Wire’s Jeff Risdon

It’s time to update the two-round mock draft ahead of one of the last big weekends of college football.

My first edition of the 2024 mock draft came out after Week 4. There has been quite a bit of football, both college and NFL, to impact the projections.

The draft order here is based on the current NFL standings entering Week 10. We’re still in the “presenting ideas and possibilities” phase of draft projections, too.

Saints invest top picks on defense in updated 2024 mock draft

Mock Draft Monday: The Saints invested their top picks on defense in these updated 2024 projections, but do they really need another corner?

It’s another week and another Monday, so it’s time to review another mock draft. The latest projections from Curt Popejoy at Draft Wire have the New Orleans Saints investing their top 2024 NFL draft picks on defenders — but do they really need another cornerback?

We’re getting ahead of ourselves. Popejoy’s mock draft starts strong with the Saints landing Illinois defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton. “Johnny” Newton would be a dynamic playmaker to pair with Bryan Bresee in the middle of the New Orleans interior line; he’s the best pass-rushing defensive tackle in college football and has the athleticism to line up all over the formation.

NFL teams may question Newton’s length by pro standards (he’s listed at 6-foot-2 with 32-inch arms) but he weighs in at 295 pounds and has enough proven production to outweigh those concerns. The Saints should draft him if they can. Malcolm Roach could be leaving in free agency in the spring and their two veteran pickups this offseason, Nathan Shepherd and Khalen Saunders, haven’t fully met expectations on top of the depth chart.

So what about that second-round pick coming back to the Saints from the Denver Broncos? Popejoy made a curious selection here in linking New Orleans to Iowa State cornerback T.J. Tampa. Now, Tampa is a fine player, making full use of his physical tools to break up a lot of passes — Pro Football Focus charting found he has forced 19 incompletions in two years as a starter, and counting. If anything, he’s a little taller than the Saints usually prefer at 6-foot-2.

But what would a boundary cornerback add to the Saints defense next season? Marshon Lattimore is still in his prime, and though Paulson Adebo will be entering a contract year the team already has Alontae Taylor coming along well. They’ve developed other competent backups like Isaac Yiadom, so spending a top-40 pick on a corner wouldn’t be the best use of resources. It’s arguably the strongest position group on their team. Tampa would be a luxury they can’t really afford given protection issues along the offensive line and poor quarterback performance.

So who could be better options in the second round? Here are the next five players to go off the board in this mock draft:

  • WR Xavier Worthy, Texas
  • WR Johnny Wilson, Florida State
  • LT Jordan Morgan, Arizona
  • DT Kris Jenkins, Michigan
  • DE JT Tuimoloau, Ohio State

We’ve got a long way to go until the 2024 draft kicks off. The Saints are only halfway through their season, and they’re always more active in free agency while working to address team needs before the draft anyway. If they can’t reach the postseason, it’s worth asking whether they’ll have the decision-makers in the building we expect. Dennis Allen’s job should be on the line if he can’t get the Saints into the playoffs, and that’s far more important than any draft picks waiting to be made six months from now.

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2024 mock draft: Updated projections after NFL Week 4

2024 mock draft: Updated projections for NFL Week 5 from Draft Wire’s Jeff Risdon

For the first few weeks of the college football season, Curt Popejoy has handled the mock draft projection duties here at Draft Wire. This week, it’s my turn to crank out my very first set of 2024 projections.

As with all of the mock drafts I do with one exception every year, these projections represent what I think the team might do with the pick at each selection. It does not necessarily reflect the choices I would make.

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The draft order here is the current NFL draft order after the conclusion of Week 4. There are some players included who are underclassmen that might not declare, most notably QBs Caleb Williams and Shedeur Sanders.

Top 50 prospects for the 2024 NFL draft for the beginning of fall

Updating the top 50 prospects for the 2024 NFL draft for the beginning of fall

Summer is falling into autumn on the calendar. While it might not feel like it in many places, the autumnal equinox will take place early Saturday morning.

That means summer football is over for the vast majority of college teams and 2024 NFL draft prospects. It’s a good time to take stock and re-rank the top 50 prospects on the overall 2024 big board.

These rankings are based on current observational grades and do not necessarily reflect the order in which they will be taken. That’s what mock drafts are for…

Jer’Zhan Newton and Olu Fashanu: Scouting review of the Illinois vs. Penn State standouts

Fashanu and Penn State won the scoreboard war, but Newton was the most dominant 2024 NFL draft prospect on the field

Any time two projected top-10 overall picks face off, it’s a college game that merits serious scouting attention. Illinois hosted Penn State on Saturday with Fighting Illini DT Jer’Zhan “Johnny” Newton and Nittany Lions OT Olu Fashanu both in action.

Fashanu and his Nittany Lions team won the scoreboard war, 30-13, but Newton handily captured the battle of the best prospect on the field. It’s not that Fashanu was bad, either; No. 74 didn’t have his best game, but Newton had one of the most dominant performances by a defensive tackle we’ll see all season.

The box score doesn’t do justice to how well Newton played. He finished with five tackles, one TFL, one PD and (unofficially per the ESPN broadcast) five QB pressures. The 295-pound Newton also blocked a kick.

He was in the Penn State backfield and disrupting QB Drew Allar all afternoon. It was a performance that reminded me of Gerald McCoy at Oklahoma, the kind that led McCoy to be the No. 3 overall pick in the 2010 NFL draft. The compact build and explosive power off the snap are very similar.

This two-play sequence is a great example of how impactful Newton was. No. 4 was not credited with the tackle on either play here, but he’s absolutely the reason those red zone plays failed for Penn State.

Unfortunately, one of the rare mano-a-mano matchups between Fashanu and Newton ended with the Illinois standout leaving the field with an apparent injury during the onset of garbage time.

Fashanu had some issues with being too upright in his stance on outside rushes. Normally he’s strong enough with his punch to negate being a little stiff-kneed, but the Illini defense gave Fashanu problems with inside/outside looks and off-snap quickness that made his initial set a beat more tentative. He was beaten cleanly for two pressures and had another where he was a half-count late to react to a move that led to a deflected pass.

Fashanu did better in run blocking. Again, the box score shows Illinois bottling up the ground attack (40 carries for only 164 yards), but Fashanu did well in sealing the outside holes against a well-heeled and disciplined Illini defense. He’s still not great at engaging in space, but the PSU offense didn’t ask him to do that very often. In heads-up run blocking, Fashanu looks very impressive for a left tackle prospect.

Texans draft Illinois DT Jer’Zhan Newton in Touchdown Wire 2024 mock

The Houston Texans address their defensive line by taking Illinois DT Jer’Zhan Newton in the latest Touchdown Wire 2024 mock draft.

The Houston Texans roster is substantially better than it was a season ago, and it should have promise even in the 2024 offseason.

Nevertheless looking forward to draft season can’t be helped as the Texans have at least made the three-day event interesting with general manager Nick Caserio.

The Texans won’t have twin first-rounders in 2024 as they sent their proprietary selection to the Arizona Cardinals to take Will Anderson. Houston will have the Cleveland Browns’ first-rounder.

According to Doug Farrar from the Touchdown Wire, that selection from the Browns projects to be the No. 19 overall pick in Round 1, which the Texans then use to take Illinois defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton.

In 2022, Newton generated 61 combined tackles, 14.0 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, and three pass breakups through 13 games. The 6-2, 295-pounder should be able to match or exceed such production in 2023, which would increase his draft stock.

Defensive tackles Maliek Collins and Sheldon Rankins both have contracts that expire at the end of the season. The Texans would still have Roy Lopez and Hassan Ridgeway under contract. If Houston were to go light in free agency in 2024, then Newton would have to be a target in the draft.

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2024 NFL draft: Initial top 20 prospects

The initial top 20 prospects for the 2024 NFL draft from Draft Wire’s Jeff Risdon

It’s been a couple of weeks since the 2023 NFL draft wrapped. Just enough time to sort through an early list of the top early prospects for the 2024 draft that will take place in Detroit next April.

I haven’t done a deep dive into most of these players, but I’ve studied them enough to have some level of confidence that they’re poised to excel in the 2023 college season and attract significant draft attention in 2024.

These aren’t necessarily in a strict order, but in general, this is how they would list out if I had to make a too-early big board. There is a lot of football to be played before any rankings should be considered too seriously, just as is the case with preseason college football polls. Also remember: big boards do not necessarily equal projected draft slots.