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PFF: Former Wisconsin TE Jake Ferguson a tier-three fantasy tight end entering 2024 NFL season

PFF: Former Wisconsin TE Jake Ferguson a tier-three tight end entering 2024 NFL season

Former Wisconsin and current Dallas Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson is only a tier-three fantasy football tight end entering the 2024 NFL season according to ProFootballFocus.

Ferguson, Philadelphia Eagles TE Dallas Goedert, Las Vegas Raiders TE Brock Bowers and Minnesota Vikings TE T.J. Hockenson make up PFF’s third tier — players the website believes can be ‘top-10 contenders.’

Related: Big Ten Football Power Index Rankings for 2024: Which teams are underrated, overrated?

The former Badger tight end is ranked firmly behind first-tier tight ends Travis Kelce and Sam LaPorta, plus second-tier players Mark Andrews, Evan Engram, Trey McBride, Dalton Kincaid, Kyle Pitts, George Kittle and David Njoku.

Ferguson is entering his third NFL season after the Cowboys selected him in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL draft. The former Badger is looking to build on what was a breakout 2023 campaign that saw him record 71 catches, 761 yards and 5 touchdowns (plus 10 catches for 93 yards and 3 touchdowns in the Cowboys’ playoff loss to the Green Bay Packers).

He is entrenched as a top option in the Dallas passing game alongside star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb. A tier-three ranking is somewhat surprising given Ferguson’s upward trajectory, recent production and fantastic situation catching passes from Dak Prescott.

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A Wisconsin star one of PFF’s highest-graded returning Big Ten safeties

A Wisconsin star one of PFF’s highest-graded returning Big Ten safeties

Wisconsin star safety Hunter Wohler is among ProFootballFocus’ highest-graded returning Big Ten safeties entering 2024. He is tied for second (89.2 PFF grade) on the list, ranked behind only Purdue’s Dillon Thieneman (89.5 grade).

The rest of the top 10 includes Penn State‘s Kevin Winston Jr., Iowa‘s Xavier Nwankpa and Quinn Schulte, Ohio State‘s Caleb Downs, Indiana’s Shawn Asbury II, USC‘s Akili Arnold and Kamari Ramsey, and Washington‘s Kamren Fabiculanan.

Related: Ranking all 18 Big Ten coaching staffs entering the 2024 football season

Wohler returns to the Wisconsin secondary in 2024 after a fantastic 2023 campaign that included 120 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 1.0 sacks, 2 interceptions and 6 pass deflections. The junior was arguably the Badgers’ best defender throughout the season, leading a unit that finished No. 21 in scoring defense.

The rising senior again projects to lead the Badgers defense in 2024. A strong season wouldn’t only lead to more on-field production, but would also cement status as one of the top safeties in the 2025 NFL draft.

 

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Former Wisconsin DL picked by ProFootballFocus to break out in 2024 NFL season

Former Wisconsin DL picked for breakout season by ProFootballFocus

Former Wisconsin and current Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman Keeanu Benton was included on the ProFootballFocus 2024 NFL All-Breakout Defense by Gordon McGuinness on Friday.

The group also included Green Bay Packers DL Karl Brooks, Atlanta Falcons edge Arnold Ebiketie, Seattle Seahawks edge Boye Mafe, Baltimore Ravens LB Trenton Simpson, Dallas Cowboys LB DeMarvion Overshown, Chicago Bears CB Tyrique Stevenson, Minnesota Vikings CB Mekhi Blackmon, Buffalo Bills CB Christian Benford, Cincinnati Bengals S Jordan Battle and Kansas City Chiefs S Chamarri Conner.

Related: Wisconsin class of 2025 vaults up national rankings after addition of four-star WR Eugene Hilton Jr.

Benton earns this honor as he enters his second NFL season. His rookie campaign in Pittsburgh included 36 tackles, 1.0 tackles for loss, 8 quarterback hits, 1.0 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 2 pass deflections and an overall PFF grade of 74.8.

The former second-round pick capped off a stellar college career by being Wisconsin’s best defensive player in 2022. His four-year collegiate tenure included 80 tackles, 19.0 tackles for loss, 9.0 sacks, 4 pass deflections and 1 forced fumble.

The rising star is projected to start for the Steelers at nose tackle in 2024 as he looks to further establish his role at the NFL level.

It’s safe to say Wisconsin dearly missed Benton’s presence during the 2023 season. His on-field, off-field splits were severe during what was a rocky 2022 season. The Badgers are still searching for his replacement along the defensive line and although there is some top-end high school talent entering the program, it enters 2024 without a Benton-like presence in the middle of the defensive line.

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ProFootballFocus lists Wisconsin’s secondary among the nation’s best entering 2024

How good is Wisconsin’s secondary set to be in 2024?

Wisconsin’s secondary was recently ranked No. 8 in the nation by ProFootballFocus.

The Badgers trailed only Ohio State, Iowa, Notre Dame, Michigan, Oregon, Texas and Georgia in PFF’s list. Reading into the list, the quality of Big Ten pass defense is expected to be top-notch in 2024 with five of the eight highest-ranked secondary groups.

Related: Wisconsin class of 2025 national ranking after addition of four-star LB Mason Posa

The No. 8 overall ranking makes sense for the Badgers. The team enters the 2024 season with a solid combination of established experience and exciting potential at the included positions.

Star safety Hunter Wohler leads both the group and the defense as a whole, while cornerback Ricardo Hallman enters as the only other NFL-level talent. The projected starting group also includes safety Kamo’i Latu, hybrid cornerback/safety Austin Brown and cornerbacks Nyzier Fourqurean and underrated transfer R.J. Delancy.

The secondary was one of the bigger focal points in Luke Fickell’s rebuild of the Badgers’ roster. His class of 2024 included four defensive backs (two safeties and two cornerbacks) and his class of 2025 already includes five (two safeties and three cornerbacks). Wohler, Latu and Hallman obviously remain from the Paul Chryst regime, but the rest of the group is a collection of transfer portal additions and top-end high school talent.

Here’s what PFF’s Max Chadwick wrote about the Badgers’ unit:

Wisconsin’s secondary features one of the nation’s 10 best safeties (Hunter Wohler) and a top-15 cornerback (Ricardo Hallman). Wohler earned the second-best coverage grade among FBS safeties in 2023 and was the second-most valuable safety in the nation, according to PFF’s wins above average metric. Hallman was a ball-magnet in 2023, tying for the national lead with seven interceptions. That helped him generate just a 37.4 passer rating allowed, which ranked ninth among FBS cornerbacks.

The Badgers also return four defensive backs who played at least 300 snaps last year and added one of the nation’s most underrated cornerbacks in Toledo’s RJ Delancy II from the transfer portal. He was among the nation’s 10 best cornerbacks last year in completion rate allowed, passer rating allowed, yards per coverage snap allowed and open-target rate allowed.

The secondary and linebacking core should be the strength of the 2024 Wisconsin defense. And it will need to be with the Badgers’ 2024 schedule including the top passing attacks of Alabama, Penn State, USC and Oregon.

If the secondary is ranked only No. 8 entering the 2024 season, it should rise in the coming years while top recruits including Amare Snowden and Braedyn Moore only gain comfort and experience.

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Multiple Wisconsin Badgers make PFF’s returning Big Ten edge rusher ranking

Multiple Wisconsin Badgers make PFF’s Big Ten edge-rusher ranking

Wisconsin linebackers/edge-rushers John Pius and Darryl Peterson received top-five rankings in ProFootballFocus’ recent list of the highest-graded returning Big Ten edge rushers.

Pius was No. 2 overall with a PFF grade of 85.1 last season at William & Mary. Peterson, meanwhile, was No. 5 with a grade of 80.7 with the Badgers Ohio State’s Jack Sawyer, Michigan’s Josiah Stewart and Maryland’s Donnell Brown were ranked No. 1, No. 3 and No. 4, respectively.

Pius was a significant piece of Wisconsin’s 2024 transfer portal class. The 6-foot-4, 244-pound edge departed William & Mary ranked second in program history in career tackles for loss (40.5) and fifth in career sacks (24.5).

The Arlington, Virginia native was also the only FCS player on the Butkus Award Watch List, earned an All-America First Team bid and wound up on the Senior Bowl Watch List. 247Sports had Pius as a four-star transfer recruit and the No. 16 edge rusher in the portal this winter.

Peterson, on the other hand, has suited up for UW from 2021-2023. Over the past two seasons, the Akron, Ohio product logged 13 starts in 26 overall appearances at OLB.

 

The 2023 Academic All-Big Ten team member led the Badgers with 4.5 sacks and posted a career-best 47 tackles for UW as a redshirt junior.

Wisconsin’s defensive unit enters 2024 with a preseason SP+ Rating of 13.8, the seventh-highest in the nation. With four new squads slated to join the conference this fall, UW’s defensive front will need to perform at a high clip.

Wisconsin omitted from PFF’s ranking of college football’s top wide receiver corps for 2024

PFF is not high on the Badgers wide receiver corps in 2024:

The Wisconsin Badgers were left out of ProFootballFocus’ recent ranking of college football’s top wide receiver corps entering the 2024 season.

The list comprised of Oregon, Ole Miss, Ohio State, Georgia, Texas, Missouri, Miami, Colorado, LSU and Oklahoma.

Related: Where every Big Ten team ranks in ESPN’s 2024 College Football Power Index

The end-of-season rankings may reconsider the omission of the Badgers.

Luke Fickell’s program enters the season with one of the more exciting wide receiver corps in the country, led by rising star Will Pauling, established veteran Bryson Green and a host of promising underclassmen.

The returning production from 2023 does not tell the entire story. Pauling led the team in receptions with 74 and receiving yards with 837, but he was followed by Chimere Dike and Skyler Bell — both players who entered the transfer portal at the conclusion of the season.

That means the 2024 outlook includes a top-of-the-line talent in Pauling, an under-the-radar NFL prospect in Green and numerous snaps to go around to C.J. Williams, Joseph Griffin (transfer), Tyrell Henry (transfer), Quincy Burroughs, Trech Kekahuna and others.

There is no debating the top-end talent on Oregon, Ole Miss, Ohio State and Texas’ rosters. But the Badgers could rival those teams’ passing game production if all clicks in year two under offensive coordinator Phil Longo.

This is an article worth bookmarking for a post-2024 season revisit. I’d pick the Badgers to surprise many and enter the next edition of these rankings.

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Wisconsin iOL Joe Huber receives high grade by PFF entering 2024 season

Wisconsin iOL Joe Huber receives high grade by PFF entering 2024 season

Wisconsin football interior offensive lineman Joe Huber was ranked No. 9 overall in ProFootballFocus’ recent ranking of returning Big Ten interior offensive linemen.

Huber, a redshirt season with four combined seasons representing the Badgers and Cincinnati Bearcats, is ranked behind players including Michigan State’s Tanner Miller, UCLA’s Spencer Holstege, Ohio State’s Donovan Jackson and Iowa’s Connor Colby.

Huber received a 69.6 overall grade from PFF entering 2024-25. His 2023 campaign with included 13 starts at left guard and zero sacks allowed over 475 pressure opportunities,

The Dublin, Ohio native also posted a 76.2 pass-blocking grade via PFF in 2023-24, the 14th best in the Big Ten at his position.

The 6-foot-5, 310-pounder is entering his fifth season of collegiate eligibility after following head coach Luke Fickell from Cincinnati to UW.

 

Led by position coach A.J. Blazek, Wisconsin has a storied history of producing elite-level offensive lineman. As a staple in this season’s line, Huber will look to captain a group protecting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke and running backs Chez Mellisa and Tawee Walker.

Former Wisconsin OT Rob Havenstein receives low grade by PFF entering 2024 NFL season

Former Wisconsin OT Rob Havenstein receives low grade by PFF entering 2024 NFL season

Former Wisconsin and current Los Angeles Rams offensive tackle Rob Havenstein was ranked No. 22 overall in ProFootballFocus’ recent ranking of all 64 NFL offensive tackles entering the 2024 season.

Havenstein, a nine-year NFL veteran with the Los Angeles Rams, is ranked behind players including the New York Jets’ Morgan Moses, Denver’s Garett Bolles, Baltimore’s Ronnie Stanley and Buffalo’s Dion Dawkins.

Following a down year in 2022, Havenstein posted a PFF overall grade over 79.0 in 2023. His 85.6 run-blocking grade ranked fourth for players eligible at his position.

The former First-team All-America selection at UW is entering his tenth NFL campaign with the Rams after being selected No. 57 overall in the 2015 NFL draft.

The 6-foot-8, 330-pound tackle was a member of Los Angeles’ 2021-22 Super Bowl-winning group. He has started 130 games at tackle with the Rams and played in a career-best 17 contests in 2022.

As one of the longest tenured Badgers in the NFL, Havenstein matched a school record with 54 career games played and helped UW set a school record for total offense at 480.8 yards per game during his fourth season in Madison in 2013.

With the emergence of running back Kyren Williams, creativity of head coach Sean McVay and the need to protect an aging Matthew Stafford in Los Angeles, the Rams’ offensive line will certainly need to perform in a top-heavy NFC West.

Former Wisconsin TE Jake Ferguson receives average grade by PFF entering 2024 NFL season

Former Wisconsin TE Jake Ferguson receives average grade by PFF entering 2024 NFL season

Former Wisconsin and current Dallas Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson was only No. 12 in ProFootballFocus’ recent ranking of all 32 NFL tight ends entering the 2024 season.

Ferguson finished the 2023 season with a PFF grade of 74.5, good for eighth-best at the position. PFF’s forecast has him down at No. 12, however, and ranked behind players including Chicago’s Cole Kmet, Jacksonville’s Evan Engram, Cleveland’s David Njoku and Arizona’s Trey McBride.

Related: Which Big Ten football team has the toughest 2024 schedule?

The former Badger is entering his third NFL season after the Dallas Cowboys selected him No. 129 overall in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL draft.

The rising star put together a breakout 2023 campaign as the team’s full-time starter, recording 71 receptions for 761 yards and five touchdowns. He also caught 10 passes for 93 yards and three touchdowns in the Cowboys’ season-ending NFC Divisional Round loss to the Green Bay Packers.

Ferguson is finding NFL success after a four-year Wisconsin career that included 47 games, 145 receptions, 1,618 receiving yards, 13 touchdowns and around one million mentions of his relation to Wisconsin legend Barry Alvarez.

Here’s what PFF has to say about ranking Ferguson at No. 12 of 32 starting tight ends:

Ferguson performed well enough as a rookie in 2022 that the Cowboys were confident in his ability to play full-time in 2023. He delivered, as his 74.5 PFF grade was eighth best at the position, while his 1.49 yards per route run was 15th.

I’d bet on his role only increasing as he gains more experience and camaraderie with Cowboys QB Dak Prescott. A No. 12 ranking should feel low by the time the 2024 season concludes.

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Wisconsin legend named a bounce-back candidate entering 2024 by PFF

Expecting a big year from Jonathan Taylor in 2024?

Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor was named a bounce-back candidate entering the 2024 NFL season by Pro Football Focus.

Taylor played 10 of the possible 17 games for the Indianapolis Colts in 2023 and recorded 741 yards and seven touchdowns on 169 carries. A preseason contract dispute and offseason surgery led to a late start to the campaign. A Week 12 thumb injury sidelined him for nearly a month.

Related: Where every member of Wisconsin’s record-breaking recruiting class of 2021 is now

The Wisconsin legend remains one of the best and most talented running backs in the league. With health, he’s proven to put up league-leading numbers. Availability has become the main question surrounding his career.

Taylor is looking to return to the 2021 form that produced 1,811 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns on 332 carries. That effort in only his second NFL season earned him Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro honors. But the running back has played in 21 of 34 possible games for the Colts since the 2022 season began. He’ll need to stay on the field to make a bounce-back year a possibility.

Here’s what PFF wrote about the Wisconsin legend:

Taylor was one of the NFL’s better running backs in his first two years, but injuries halted his production in the latter two. In 2023, he dealt with the effects of ankle surgery, not playing until Week 5, plus tore a ligament in his thumb.

In addition to potentially better health, Taylor is trending up for at least two other big reasons. For one, with Zack Moss heading to Cincinnati, Taylor should earn even more carries amid unproven depth behind him. Oh, and Taylor finally doesn’t have a contract dispute serving as the elephant in the room. The point is, don’t be shocked if Taylor has a huge 2024.

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