Denver Broncos |
DRAFT / UDFA GRADE: 3.5 Stars |
Total Picks - 7 |
DRAFT PICKS |
1 (12) Bo Nix / QB / Oregon |
3 (76) Jonah Elliss / EDGE / Utah |
4 (102) Troy Franklin / WR / Oregon |
5 (145) Kris Abrams-Draine / CB / Missouri |
5 (147) Audric Estime / RB / Notre Dame |
7 (235) Devaughn Vele / WR / Utah |
7 (187) Nick Gargiulo / IOL / South Carolina |
NOTABLE UDFA |
Blake Watson / RB / Memphis |
Lincoln Victor / WR / Washington State |
Dylan Leonard / TE / Georgia Tech |
Thomas Yassmin / TE / Texas |
Frank Crum / OT / Wyoming |
Jordan Miller / IDL / SMU |
Quinton Newsome / CB / Nebraska |
Cam Allen / CB / Purdue |
DRAFT & UDFA ANALYSIS |
Perhaps no team needed a QB entering the draft more than the Broncos. Despite this fact, they identified the QB they wanted, waited, and then Bo Nix fell to them. Nix seems like the perfect QB for coach Sean Payton. He is intelligent, reads the field well, is a good athlete, has good arm strength, and is highly accurate. Elliss, son of former Bronco DT Luther, is an ascending talent who is effective against the run and works extremely hard in his pass rush. He needs to add some pass rush moves but his upside is intriguing. Franklin has first round talent and Denver needs to replace Jerry Jeudy so this pick makes sense. KAD is quick, feisty, and competitive - he tends to get physical during pass routes and may be prone to PI calls in the NFL. Estime makes a great complement to Javontae Williams and gives the Broncos a powerful inside running tandem. Vele has good height and a large reach. He doesn't gain much separation but he high points the ball well and usually wins at the catch point. Gargiulo is a big, sturdy center with intelligence and good awareness. He should earn a roster spot this summer. |
Watson is quick to, and through the hole and gives Denver a different kind of RB to utilize in the passing game. He will push for a roster spot. Victor is an undersized slot receiver who has difficulty with physicality in his routes. Leonard is an H-back type TE with good hands and decent YAC ability. Yassmin, an Austalian, missed almost the entire 2023 season with an injury but has good hands and is dangerous after the catch. Crum earned a mid-round grade and surprisingly went undrafted. He profiles as a potential starting OLT with the feet, length, and nastiness to become a long time starter. Miller is a classic two-gap DT with the strength and balance to be a run stuffing force. Newsome is an experienced #1 CB for the Huskers who will push for a roster spot. Allen is a tough, physical press corner who lacks some agility to handle quickness in space and may be converted to safety. |
Kansas City Chiefs |
DRAFT / UDFA GRADE: 4 Stars |
Total Picks - 7 |
DRAFT PICKS |
1 (28) Xavier Worthy / WR / Texas |
2 (63) Kingsley Suamataia / OL / BYU |
4 (131) Jared Wiley / TE / TCU |
4 (133) Jaden Hicks / S / Washington State |
5 (159) Hunter Nourzad / IOL / Penn State |
6 (211) Kamal Hadden / CB / Tennessee |
7 (248) CJ Hanson / IOL / Holy Cross |
NOTABLE UDFA |
Spencer Sanders / QB / Ole Miss |
Carson Steele / RB / UCLA |
Emani Bailey / RB / TCU |
Phillip Brooks / WR / Kansas State |
Ethan Driskell / OT / Marshall |
Eyabi Okie-Anoma / EDGE / Charlotte |
Fabien Lovett / IDL / Florida State |
Curtis Jacobs / LB / Penn State |
Christian Roland-Wallace / CB / USC |
DRAFT & UDFA ANALYSIS |
The two-time defending Super Bowl Champions won their second consecutive title despite having a receiving corps that couldn't seem to catch a cold, let alone a pass last year (looking at you, Kadarius Toney!). Worthy is the fastest player to ever run at the combine (4.21) and is as quick as a hiccup - he can take the top off any defense and gives KC an element that had been missing since Tyreek Hill left. But his hands, especially in 2022, are spotty and he tends to make too many concentration drops. Suamataia is a raw, athletic developmental prospect with the feet and length to play OLT and the nastiness to be a dominate ORT. Wiley is a good athlete with a huge catch radius. He is interesting selection as another receiving TE in the mold of Travis Kelce and Noah Gray. Hicks is a complete safety with range, instincts, ball skills, and hitting ability. Nourzad played center at Penn State but has excellent size to become a guard. Hadden is an experienced, SEC corner who is battle tested and smart. Hanson is a developmental prospect with the size, length, and base to become a reliable backup inside. |
The Chiefs had a very active undrafted free agency period and brought in many of the top undrafted prospects available to be signed. Sanders looked like an NFL QB at Oklahoma State. He decided to transfer to Ole Miss but could not beat out incumbent Jaxson Dart. Sanders has good arm strength, mobility, and leadership skills worth developing. Steele, a transfer from Ball State, is a physical inside runner who drives his pads on contact but has minimal wiggle. He will battle it out with Bailey, the short but well-cut TCU RB who is quick and tough. The winner of this competition most likely earns a practice squad spot to start the season. Brooks is a slick and physical slot receiver who lacks size and durability issues persist. He could earn a practice squad spot with a good training camp. Driskell is huge with great length and a huge wingspan. He is not a smooth mover but is strong. He could earn a spot as a developmental ORT. Okie-Anoma is thin with good length. He teases pass rushing potential but has not delivered on it. Lovett is a similar type of player to DT Derrick Nnadi and could slot in as the backup two gap DT that frees up Chris Jones to reek havoc. Jacobs is a fast, athletic LB whose instincts are a bit lacking. He should excel on special teams. Roland-Wallace is a thin CB with good reach and short area reaction skills. He is a good tackler - special teams play will be his key to a practice squad spot. |
LA Chargers |
DRAFT / UDFA GRADE: 4 Stars |
Total Picks - 9 |
DRAFT PICKS |
1 (5) Joe Alt / OT / Note Dame |
2 (34) Ladd McConkey / WR / Georgia |
3 (69) Junior Colson / LB / Michigan |
4 (105) Justin Eboigbe / DL / Alabama |
5 (137) Tarheeb Still / CB / Maryland |
5 (140) Cam Hart / CB / Notre Dame |
6 (181) Kimani Vidal / RB / Troy |
7 (225) Brendan Rice / WR / USC |
7 (253) Cornelius Johnson / WR / Michigan |
NOTABLE UDFA |
Zach Heins / TE / South Dakota State |
Karsen Barnhart / OL / Michigan |
Willis Patrick / OL / TCU |
Thomas Harper / DB / Notre Dame |
Zamari Walton / DB / Ole Miss |
Akeem Dent / S / Florida State |
Jalyn Phillips / S / Clemson |
DRAFT & UDFA ANALYSIS |
Alt, a natural OLT at Notre Dame, will most likely move to ORT in LA. Alt and OLT Rashawn Slater should give the Chargers one of the best pass blocking sets of OTs in the NFL. McConkey, the best route runner in this draft, can line up out wide or in the slot. Injuries are the only issue with McConkey. Colson is a solid, all-around LB who can line up inside or out, is instinctive, smart, and a reliable tackler. Eboigbe is a big, strong, and sturdy DT / 5T with little agility or burst. He plays with great leverage and is difficult to move off the ball. Still is a highly experienced Big Ten CB with good size and length to line up as an outside CB. Hart has the size, frame, and playing style to excel as a press corner although he may be prone to penalties in the NFL. Vidal is compact, tightly wound, and physical RB with an aggressive running style. Harbaugh is going to love him. Rice, son of the GOAT, surprisingly fell to the seventh round despite making his senior season the best and catching 12 TD passes last season. He has size and a physical running style. Johnson has height, reach, and great deep speed. He's tight in the hips and suffers from concentration drops. But he made last year his best and is an ascending talent. |
South Dakota State runs a pro-style system where the TEs line up a Y-TE (in-line) and are blockers first, receivers second. In other words, he fits exactly what Harbaugh likes out of his TEs. Expect Heins to make the regular season roster. Barnhart has experience at guard and OT at Michigan and should provide the same versatility in LA. Patrick is an experienced guard with excellent size and girth. He should earn a practice squad spot this fall. TMB offers NFL size, length, and athleticism and the versatility to line up as an Edge or an OLB. He should force his way on the roster before the end of the season. Harper has played CB and safety and has flashed moments at both. The consistency is just not there. He should be a stud on special teams. Walton, likewise, is a tweener CB / S with good length and range. Walton and Harper are likely competing for the same practice squad spot. It should be interesting. Dent is an old-fashioned in the box safety who loves to crash down and support the run but has the range to cover a single high look. Phillips is more of a free safety type with range and ball skills. Dent and Phillips, two ACC rivals, will likely battle for the same practice squad spot. Interesting training camp battles in LA this summer. |
Las Vegas Raiders |
DRAFT / UDFA GRADE: 3.5 Stars |
Total Picks - 8 |
DRAFT PICKS |
1 (13) Brock Bowers / TE / Georgia |
2 (44) Jackson Powers-Johnson / IOL / Oregon |
3 (77) Delmar Glaze / OT / Maryland |
4 (112) Decamerion Richardson / CB / Mississippi State |
5 (148) Tommy Eichenberg / LB / Ohio State |
6 (208) Dylan Laube / RB / New Hampshire |
7 (223) Trey Taylor / S / Air Force |
7 (229) MJ Devonshire / CB / Pittsburgh |
NOTABLE UDFA |
Carter Bradley / QB / South Alabama |
Tulu Griffin / WR / Mississippi State |
Mason Pline / TE / Furman |
Andrew Coker / OT / TCU |
Will Putnam / IOL / Clemson |
Ron Stone / EDGE / Washington State |
Amari Gainer / EDGE-LB / North Carolina |
Ja'Quan Sheppard / CB / Maryland |
DRAFT & UDFA ANALYSIS |
Most draft analysts figured that Las Vegas was in the market for a QB in the first round. In fact, a common thought was that Michael Penix would be the likely pick at #13. Well, Atlanta threw a wrench into that plan. The Raiders, in fact, did not draft a QB last weekend deciding to go into next season with Gardner Minshew or Aidan O'Connell at QB. Bowers gives either QB a true difference maker over the middle of the field. Bowers runs good patterns and becomes a Mike Alstott-type runner in the open field. JPJ is big, mobile, and mean. He gives the Raiders a potential Pro Bowl center in the near future. Glaze played OLT at Maryland but may lack the agility to stay there in the NFL. He has enough ability to be a versatile backup lineman in the NFL. Richardson has prototypical size and length. He loses phase at the break point against quicker receivers and lacks some deep speed but he has the size to handle size downfield in coverage. Eichenberg is an old-school ILB with intelligence, toughness, and tackling ability. He should provide quality depth this coming season. Laube is a Danny Woodhead-type receiving back who runs good routes and has reliable hands. He'll compete for a roster spot this summer. Taylor, the 2023 Jim Thorpe Award winner, has an Air Force commitment but has the size, intelligence, and range to contribute in the NFL. Devonshire has average size and lengthbut is very fluid and matches up well with speed in space. If he doesn't make the 53 man roster, he'll earn a practice squad spot to start the season. |
Although the Raiders failed to draft a QB, they signed a draft-worthy QB in Bradley, the son of long time NFL coach Gus, Bradley has started at Toledo and South Alabama. He has an NFL-caliber arm with a quick release. He has enough talent to be developed on a practice squad for a season or two. Griffin is one of the quickest and most sure-handed slot receivers in this draft with the talent to be a third round pick. Expect Griffin to make the regular season roster when camps break later this summer. Pline, a former basketball player at Ferris State, is an ascending talent with size, reach, and blocking ability. He should start the season on the practice squad. Coker is massive with decent mobility for his size. He has the versatility to line up at guard or tackle. Putnam is highly experienced with multiple years of starting experience. Putnam lacks some size, length, and athleticism but is smart and coaches will love him. Stone is exceptionally quick with great bend and burst. He is a bit of a liability in the run game but he has one of the best closing bursts of any Edge in this draft. Gainer was a productive pass rusher, first at Florida State and then at North Carolina. He will need to display the ability to cover in space because he lacks the size to line up as a DE on run downs. He is very athletic and should excel on special teams. Sheppard can cover the slot and out wide. He'll need to excel on special teams to earn a practice squad spot. |
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