2024 Draft Board: Edge Rushers
The below information I included in the QB draft board earlier in the week, I'm going to include it for every board, but it will be identical on each.
If you've ever read one of my draft board articles before then you have an idea of what you'll see below, but there is a slight change. If you haven't read them, quick explanation, I use stats, athletic testing, past performance from current pro players, and formulas to try and determine the chances a prospect in the current draft has at succeeding as a pro. In the past I used a "PSR", and an "A Met" and "S Met" to give every player a round grade. Now, it all comes down to a Score. The scores differ by position, so before each draft board I will put what the high score was between the 2020-2023 drafts at that position. And at the bottom you will see a small blurb I wrote up for each position.
High Score: 74.05
My Draft Board
| Players | College | Score | Rounds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laiatu Latu | UCLA | 56.79 | Day 1 |
| Dallas Turner | Alabama | 54.02 | Day 2 |
| Austin Booker | Kansas | 53.69 | Day 2 |
| Javon Solomon | Troy | 52.52 | Day 2 |
| Mohamed Kamara | Colorado State | 51.72 | Day 2 |
| Jared Verse | Florida State | 49.26 | Day 2 |
| Javontae Jean-Baptiste | Notre Dame | 47.69 | Day 2 |
| Adisa Isaac | Penn State | 47.29 | Day 2 |
| Jaylen Harrell | Michigan | 46.54 | Day 3 |
| Chop Robinson | Penn State | 46.14 | Day 3 |
| Bralen Trice | Washington | 43.75 | Day 3 |
| Marshawn Kneeland | Western Michigan | 43.68 | Day 3 |
| Brennan Jackson | Washington State | 43.61 | Day 3 |
| Chris Braswell | Alabama | 43.60 | Day 3 |
| Nelson Ceaser | Houston | 42.17 | Day 3 |
| Braiden McGregor | Michigan | 41.56 | Undrafted |
| Jalyx Hunt | Houston Baptist | 41.37 | Undrafted |
| Xavier Thomas | Clemson | 39.37 | Undrafted |
| Cedric Johnson | Ole Miss | 39.25 | Undrafted |
| Khalid Duke | Kansas State | 39.23 | Undrafted |
| Trajan Jeffcoat | Arkansas | 36.02 | Undrafted |
| Eyabi Okie-Anoma | Charlotte | 34.76 | Undrafted |
| Jonah Elliss | Utah | 32.61 | Undrafted |
| Zion Tupuola-Fetui | UCLA | 24.27 | Undrafted |
| David Ugwoegbu | Houston | 0.00 | Undrafted |
| Eric Watts | UConn | 0.00 | Undrafted |
| Gabriel Murphy | UCLA | 0.00 | Undrafted |
| Myles Cole | Texas Tech | 0.00 | Undrafted |
| Solomon Byrd | USC | 0.00 | Undrafted |
Things worth noting:
-Turner drew a Day 2 grade, but I think he and Latu are the two with superstar potential at this position. I like Verse, but I think he'll be a solid starter, not a guy competing for DPOYs and 1st team all-pros.
-Chop Robinson's athletic testing looks great on paper, but when you take his size into account (254 pounds) his athletic score is just slightly better than Marshawn Kneeland's (267 pounds).
-Speaking of Kneeland, he's my sleeper pick. His Day 3 grade is mostly due to the "level of competition" he played at and how that factors into the formula. However, he had solid production, he has good athleticism, and he has good size (6'3", 267) and length (34" arms). I've seen a little second round buzz around him, I wouldn't be surprised if that turns out to be accurate.
-A game of inches: Javon Solomon being fourth on my board is going to surprise a lot of people. He's not a big guy (6'1, 246), though he does have solid length for his size (33.88" arms). His athletic testing wasn't over the top good, but it was pretty good and his production score was fourth for the position. Last year a similarly built Nick Herbig (6'2, 240) was third on my board, and he looks like he could be a future starter for Pitt should they opt to use Watt or Highsmith as trade bait down the road. Don't completely count an Edge Rusher out because they don't reach the standard height requirement, they just need the right scheme to succeed, see Shaquil Barrett as an example.