Tag: Kalen King

Kalen King drafted by Packers in Round 7 of the NFL draft

Penn State CB Kalen King and his wait to be drafted is finally over!

The wait may have been longer than once thought possible, but Penn State cornerback Kalen King is officially an NFL draft pick. King was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the seventh round of the 2024 NFL draft, thus avoiding falling into the territory of undrafted free agency.

King was a key recruit in Penn State Class of 2021 and wasted no time showing his value with an interception returned for a touchdown in his first spring game on campus. King quickly became a key player in Penn State’s defensive backfield and went on to earn third-team All-Big Ten honors in 2022 and second-team All-Big Ten in 2023. He was viewed as arguably the best cornerback in the nation a year ago with a potential first-round draft outlook. But King slipped in the buildup to the draft with a shaky showing at the Senior Bowl and in the NFL combine while others at cornerback shined.

But, none of that matters as the Packers may have found a late-round gem with a chip on his shoulder.

King was the eighth Penn State player selected in the NFL draft. He followed Olu Fashanu, Chop Robinson, Caedan Wallace, Adisa Isaac, Theo Johnson, Hunter Nourzad, and Daequan Hardy.

Catch all of the latest updates from the NFL draft with USA TODAY’s live draft tracker. For a look at each Penn State draft prospect, be sure to check out our Penn State NFL draft tracker.

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Best Penn State players still available on Day 3 of NFL draft according to ESPN

Penn State’s Curtis Jacobs and Theo Johnson some of the best available at their positions on the final day of the 2024 NFL draft.

Penn State was happy to see four members of its football family be selected by NFL franchises in the first three rounds of the 2024 NFL draft, but they are hoping to see more go on the final day of the draft on Saturday. Any NFL franchise looking to add a linebacker to the roster will have a few solid options to choose from beginning in the fourth round, including Penn State’s [autotag]Curtis Jacobs[/autotag].

Jacobs was a standout performer for Penn State and is ranked as the third-best linebacker still on the board according to ESPN’s ranking of best available players going into Day 3 of the draft. He is also among the top 25 best players available when the draft resumes with the no. 24 ranking.

North Carolina’s Cedric Gray is the top linebacker available according to ESPN’s ranking. Clemson’s Jeremiah Trotter Jr. is the second-best available linebacker before Jacobs according to the same ranking. All three players figure to make some NFL franchise very happy with the bargain they will seemingly be getting.

Theo Johnson among best TEs still available

Penn State tight end [autotag]Theo Johnson[/autotag] was hoping to go somewhere in the second or third rounds of the draft, but his wait will drag into Day 3 as well. Johnson is ranked as the fifth-best tight end still available with four rounds remaining, so he still has a very good chance of being drafted.

Ja’Tavion Sanders of Texas, Cade Stover of Ohio State, Tanner McLachlan of Arizona, and Jared Wiley of TCU are all ranked ahead of Johnson at the tight end position.

Hunter Nourzad watch is also on

Penn State has already had two offensive linemen drafted in the 2024 NFL draft. Olu Fashanu was a first-round pick of the New York Jets and Caedan Wallace went to the New England Patriots in the third round. But Penn State could get one more offensive lineman drafted with center [autotag]Hunter Nourzad[/autotag] lingering on the board on Day 3.

ESPN ranks Nourzad as the third-best center available. Only Georgia’s Sedrick Van Pran-Granger and Wisconsin’s Tanor Bortolini are ranked ahead of him.

Cornerbacks look like long shots?

Penn State still has a few cornerbacks sitting and waiting for a call from the NFL going into the final day of the draft. [autotag]Daequan Hardy[/autotag], [autotag]Kalen King[/autotag], and [autotag]Johnny Dixon[/autotag] are all still available, but all three are ranked between no. 21 and no. 25 at their position among best players available according to ESPN.

While Hardy and Dixon were always expected to be later round picks at best, the fall of King from a potential first-round draft pick a year ago is unfortunate to watch develop. If any player may have benefitted the most by returning for another season at Penn State, it is looking like it would have been King.

But maybe somebody is going to take a shot at King and capitalize on a player with a potential chip on his shoulder. If not, he will be one player to watch during the undrafted free agent frenzy following the draft.

Catch all of the latest updates from the NFL draft with USA TODAY’s live draft tracker. For a look at each Penn State draft prospect, be sure to check out our Penn State NFL draft tracker.

Follow Kevin McGuire on Threads, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

Where PFF ranks Penn State’s top 2024 NFL draft prospects

How does PFF rank Penn State’s draft prospects just before the 2024 NFL draft?

The 2024 NFL draft is approaching and the final player rankings are rolling out before the first round gets underway. Pro Football Focus unveiled its final big board for the 2024 NFL draft, and a couple of Penn State players

Offensive tackle [autotag]Olu Fashanu[/autotag] remains Penn State’s top draft prospect, and PFF has him ranked in the top 20 overall. Fashanu is ranked no. 17 in the PFF player rankings, but he is not the top offensive tackle on the board according to the rankings. Fashanu is the fourth offensive tackle on PFF’s big board.

Notre Dame’s Joe Alt (no. 5 overall), Oregon State’s Taliese Guaga, and Washington’s Troy Fautanu (no. 15) are all ranked ahead of Fashanu at the position. Fashanu was once considered a near-lock to be the top offensive tackle taken in the 2024 NFL draft, but the PFF big board suggests a few players at the same position will have a shot to go ahead of him. But, it is likely PFF still considers Fashanu a first-round talent with a top-20 player ranking. Of course, that all depends on how many teams need an offensive tackle in the first round. Fortunately, offensive tackle is a pretty important position.

Penn State edge rushers [autotag]Adisa Isaac[/autotag] (no. 38) and [autotag]Chop Robinson[/autotag] (no. 40) are the next highest-ranked Penn State players on the big board according to PFF. Isaac appears to be trending in a positive direction according to PFF following his results and performance this offseason, while Robinson’s stock may have dipped a slight bit. PFF did give Robinson a higher regular season grade in its evaluation than Issac received.

Center [autotag]Hunter Nourzad[/autotag] received the no. 111 ranking from the PFF big board, making him a potentially draftable asset. Tight end [autotag]Theo Johnson[/autotag] is ranked no. 135. Offensive tackle [autotag]Caedan Wallace[/autotag] come sin at no. 142 overall.

[autotag]Kalen King[/autotag], once viewed by draft analysts as a potential first-round pick and arguably the top cornerback in the draft pool, has seen the biggest slide in his overall draft stock. PFF currently ranks King at no. 177 overall, a far cry from his previous draft outlook. [autotag]Johnny Dixon[/autotag] makes an appearance at no. 192. Linebacker [autotag]Curtis Jacobs[/autotag] is ranked no. 207, and could be a potential bargain at that ranking for some NFL team. Speedy cornerback [autotag]Daequan Hardy[/autotag] is ranked no. 251 on the PFF big board.

See the full PFF big board to see how the draft pros[ects stack up before the 2024 NFL draft.

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Best photos from NFL draft prospect Kalen King’s time at Penn State

Check out the best photos of NFL draft prospect Kalen King from high school to Penn State.

Penn State cornerback Kalen King wasted no time in creating an impact within the football program. The highly-=rated recruit intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown in his first spring game with the Nittany Lions, and he was quickly on his way to living up to the hype out of high school. And playing in the same defensive backfield that produced multiple NFL draft picks like Jaquan Brisker, Ji’Ayir Brown, and Joeuy Porter Jr. put King in line to uphold that tradition of excellence.

King may have seen his NFL draft outlook take a hit at a tough time on his path to the pros, but he is still expected to hear his name called at some point during the upcoming NFL draft. And while he may not end up being the first-round pick he was once projected to be, but he will definitely be heading to the NFL with a bit of a chip on his shoulder with something to prove.

Here is a look at some of the bets photos of Kalen King on his journey from being a star on the high school football fields in Michigan to making big plays in the Rose Bowl with Penn State.

Penn State NFL draft prospect stock watch: Kalen King

Penn State cornerback Kalen King has been seeing his draft stock trend in the wrong direction.

The NFL draft is often a crapshoot, regardless of all the time and effort put into scouting the thousands of potential pro prospects every season. Teams, top draft analysts, media, and the average fan all have their opinions, but ultimately it’s a very inexact science. Players billed as first-rounders before the season fall into the late rounds, and unheralded guys blow up and end up in the first.

For Penn State, no player has seen their draft stock change as much as corner [autotag]Kalen King[/autotag]. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been for the better. King entered his junior season coming off a stellar 2022 campaign, one so good it made scouts wonder if he was a better pro prospect than former teammate and current Pittsburgh Steelers corner [autotag]Joey Porter Jr.[/autotag]

His season did not go as planned, but he still was being mocked in the late first round as recently as two months ago. He was able to participate in the Senior Bowl thanks to a new rule allowing some underclassmen, but his performance was memorable for all the wrong reasons.

His attempt at improving his stock at the NFL combine also fell flat, with a very disappointing workout.

 

He improved his 40 time at Penn State’s pro day, but his speed on tape lines up with his combine time. He is much quicker than fast, which doesn’t play well at outside corner. He profiles more as a slot player with his size and speed limitations, but he has almost no experience there at the college level.

Some have even suggested he could be moved to safety, which he has even less experience playing. It’s no surprise with all the uncertainty surrounding his NFL role that his stock continues to plummet. According to NFL Mock Draft Database, King has fallen to a day-3 projected pick. That may end up being an overreaction but with the number of solid options at corner, it’s a real possibility.

I still believe King could become a good NFL player, but you can’t ignore his flaws. Hopefully whoever selects him has a solid plan in place to allow him to use his strengths.

Stock: Down

2024 NFL Mock Draft: Trades for QBs shake up Round 1; Ravens retool offensive line

We’re looking at an updated three round NFL mock draft for all 32 teams after the first wave of free agency

The Ravens are still in the crux of a potential Super Bowl window. Still, they’ll look drastically different on both sides of the football after undergoing massive changes to player personnel and the coaching staff. Eric DeCosta started the off-season with urgency, signing Justin Madubuike, one of the league’s best defensive linemen, to an extension. After inking Madubuike to a deal, Baltimore seemed to win the first wave of the free agency period after getting Derrick Henry for two years and $16 million. The talented running back could earn $20 million throughout the deal. All wasn’t perfect, as the Ravens suffered significant free-agent losses. Patrick Queen (Steelers), Geno Stone (Bengals), and Gus Edwards (Chargers) were among eight free agents to sign elsewhere. Baltimore also traded Morgan Moses to the Jets and released Tyus Bowser in a cost-cutting move. With the second wave of free agency set to begin, we’re looking at an updated three-round mock draft.

2024 NFL draft: Updated first round mock after Day 1 of legal tampering period

We’re looking at an updated first round 2024 NFL mock draft after the first day of the legal tampering period that saw Kirk Cousins to Falcons, Brian Burns to Giants, and Saquon Barkley to Eagles

The Ravens are heading into an uncertain offseason with an MVP quarterback, a shrinking Super Bowl window, and five of the top free agents in the NFL.

Baltimore GM Eric DeCosta and head coach John Harbaugh have started the journey of retooling a roster that is in flux and set to see significant changes at offensive tackle, running back, wide receiver, linebacker, and cornerback, among other positions.

Justin Madubuike’s contract allows the Ravens to approach the draft from the best player available approach.

Baltimore lost five players during Day 1 of the legal tampering period, and with a massive week of free agency discussions set to begin, we’re projecting the first round of April’s NFL draft for all 32 teams.

2024 NFL draft: Updated first round mock after Day 1 of legal tampering period

We’re looking at an updated first round 2024 NFL mock draft after the first day of the legal tampering period that saw Kirk Cousins to Falcons, Brian Burns to Giants, and Saquon Barkley to Eagles

The Eagles are set for wholesale changes after finishing the 2023 season 1-6 after a 10-1 start.

The dominos started to fall as All-Pro center Jason Kelce and star defensive tackle Fletcher Cox announced their retirements.

Brandon Graham, who turns 36 in April, is returning for one more final season, his 15th, and he’s one of the few guys on the roster deserving of writing his final script.

The first day of the legal tampering period offered a glimpse into the future after Saquon Barkley agreed to a 3-year, $37.75 million deal with Philadelphia, Kirk Cousins signed a $100 million contract with the Falcons, and the New York Giants acquired Brian Burns.

2024 NFL mock draft: 3 QBs are selected in Round 1, Ravens land a dynamic WR

We’re looking at a two round 2024 NFL mock draft projection for all 32 teams ahead of the new league year and NFL free agency

The Ravens are heading into an uncertain offseason with an MVP quarterback, a shrinking Super Bowl window, and five of the top free agents in the NFL.

Baltimore GM Eric DeCosta and head coach John Harbaugh have started the journey of retooling a roster that is in flux and set to see significant changes at offensive tackle, running back, wide receiver, linebacker, and cornerback, among other positions.

Justin Madubuike’s contract allows the Ravens to approach the draft from the best player available approach.

With a massive week of free agency discussions set to begin, we’re projecting the first and second rounds of April’s NFL draft for all 32 teams.

2024 NFL Draft: 3 QBs go early, Eagles land a dynamic safety in latest 2-round mock

We’re looking at a two round 2024 NFL mock draft projection for all 32 teams ahead of the new league year and NFL free agency

The Eagles are set for wholesale changes after finishing the 2023 season 1-6 after a 10-1 start.

The dominos are starting to fall as All-Pro center Jason Kelce and star defensive tackle Fletcher Cox have announced their retirements.

Brandon Graham, who turns 36 in April, is returning for one more final season, his 15th, and he’s one of the few guys on the roster deserving of writing his final script.

With free agency set to get off to a roaring start, we’re looking at the latest two-round mock draft for all 32 teams.