Early 2024 NFL Mock Draft - 7(!) OSU Players in 1st Round
Well, this will certainly be interesting to look back at in 365 days.
Below is a link to a "way-too-early" 2024 NFL mock draft from 247 Sports. (Am I the only one who thinks the whole "way-too-early" thing is played out?)
Seven (7!) OSU players in the 1st round. If Day can't beat Michigan with seven 1st round draft picks, his seat might start getting a bit warm.
Also littered with players from Alabama, A&M, Clemson, ND, etc. Plus Texas has three, with Ewers at #12, Worthy at #12, and a TE later in the top 20.
My click-bait subtitle: "You will be shocked to learn which team does not have even one player mocked to be a 1st round pick!"
Henderson as a 1st rounder over Corum is laughable.
Way more ridiculous than that (and Henderson in the first round is ridiculous at this point) is Denzel Burke? If you make the first round based solely on being able to describe what UM receivers look like from behind, sure.
April 28th, 2023 at 12:41 PM ^
THIS!!! Shut it down.....no need to post anything outside of this.
I can understand Corum because he will be a bit older and has size concerns, but over Edwards? That's laughable. Henderson basically lost reps this past year because he couldn't hit the right gap. Between Edwards' improvement towards the end of last year and his anticipated usage in the passing game, I would be shocked if he wasn't taken before Henderson
And despite his pretty good size, a strong gust of wind seemed to be able to knock him over.
Agreed. Basically Carlos Brown. Could fly but the guy trying to tackle him breathed in his direction too hard and it knocked him over.
Granted it's a season away, and any player could flash, but even in his freshman year he didn't impress me that much. A poor-man's JK Dobbins at best. Dude hit gaping holes well, but didn't break tackles and didn't really make1st-round Iowa linebackers tear their spleens. I'm actually much more worried about that hulk they brought in from ASU last year who gashed us quite a bit.
Plus, w/r to Edwards, he's exactly what the NFL wants, a versatile dude like Christian McCaffery. However, after JJ stays put next year, Edwards is likely to be our only first-rounder, because it's still a young team, and a team that's not built to be an NFL factory, but to crush OSU.
I’m pretty confident Kris Jenkins will be a first-rounder next year. I’m also hopeful LaDarius Henderson will play himself into that draft position, but we’ll have a better idea of that possibility in the fall.
April 28th, 2023 at 12:09 PM ^
Wasn't Henderson already a borderline 1st round pick this year? I'd say it's pretty reasonable to assume that if he continues what he did at ASU against B1G comp and the added value of the Michigan name, that he'll be a 1st rounder
April 28th, 2023 at 12:33 PM ^
Henderson was never at ASU. That's that bowling ball Trayanum who transferred from ASU. He's scary. 5'11", 230. Harbaugh could do wonders with that guy.
Day doesn’t want to run the ball. Hartline doesn’t want to run the ball. None of their receivers want to block. They might have talent at back, but they will never lean on it as long as Day is there
April 28th, 2023 at 11:04 AM ^
Edwards had 990 yards rushing with a 7.1 ypc average but he also had 18 receptions for 200 yards.
Bijan Robinson went as high as he did in this years draft in no small part because he can caught the ball - 19 for 314.
Henderson had 571 yards with a 5.3 ypc average but only 4 receptions for 28 yards.
Maybe Allen Trieu is dosing instead of micro-dosing because ESPN doesn't have Henderson listed as a top 10 college RB let alone a first round pick,
Donovan Edwards should be higher than both of them, based on his dual skill set as a runner and pass catcher. Unless Corum shows top end speed, like sub 4.4 at the combine, then Henderson is considered the better pro prospect in many, if not most, NFL scout's grading systems.
I would take Edwards over Corum and Henderson without flinching. But Henderson was the most heralded of the three, had a stellar freshman year, and was injured all last year. If he bounces back to have 1400 yards or more, which is likely the projection, he will stupidly leap both our guys.
JJ should be rated higher than Ewers, but currently Ewers has the higher pedigree.
If UM gets to the Natty, it will because of JJ, Corum, and Edwards. Then the projections a year out do not matter.
My Just For Fun Projections for UM a year from now:
Edwards (1)
JJ (1)
Corum (1-2)
Rod Moore (2)
Our Henderson (2-4)
McGregor (2-4)
Jenkins (2-4)
Stewart (2-5)
Zinter (3-4)
Colson (3-4)
Harrell (3-5)
Sainristil (3-6)
Paige (4-5)
CJ (4-6)
Keegan (4-6)
Wilson (5-7)
Nugent (4-7)
Barrett (5- UDFA)
Barnhart (5 - UDFA)
Trente Jones (6 - UDFA)
April 28th, 2023 at 10:12 AM ^
Lions will draft Corum and Edwards in the first round next year.
April 28th, 2023 at 11:33 AM ^
With the Lions' draft history, this might not be a good thing for Corum and Edwards.
April 28th, 2023 at 10:52 AM ^
We are losing THAT many players ? This cannot be... you are taking some big assumptions.
April 28th, 2023 at 12:41 PM ^
Hard to know what a year will bring, and I'm optimistic due to JJ's raw talent. But I don't see JJ's developmental rate thus far having him as a first-rounder next year. That's not a judgment about talent, just about the fact that a Harbaugh offense doesn't emphasize the passing game, especially with what's returning, and JJ will have limited opportunities to show his stuff.
The NFL QB emphasis is so different than the QB in the Harbaugh offense. I don't get the sense that JJ is going to leap onto NFL radars over the course of 2023 enough to make it a slam dunk that he leaves. We're all homers, and we see many factors (leadership, attitude, running game) that make him perfect for UM's success as driving his larger value (for example, is there any back we'd rather have next year than a dude who's barely projected in the NFL top 10 RB's- Corum? No!). But the NFL, who just drafted a dude 2nd who has none of JJ's intangibles, has never won a big game, doesn't assess in the same way. Maybe I'm just foolishly hoping we'll have him for 4 years. Actually, I'm unaware of any UM QB who has ever foregone their senior year for the NFL.
Wow, two #12 picks. Whoever that team is will get a solid draft grade
And not a single highlight with OSU showcased the Michigan game.
I wonder what the number of OSU players drafted in the first round from this year and last year's drafts.
I learned a very long time ago that coaches are the most important component to winning games. OSU is exhibit A, in the wrong direction, in this regard. Michigan's coaching staff is elite.
I agree that coaching is very important.
And, though my opinion may differ from others, I really like what Mel is doing in EL, and what the combination of Third Base and Knowles are doing in Columbus.
Candidly - I hope they don’t change a thing…. Just keep doing what you’re doing - and perfect it.
I hate the NFL draft and I hate "Way Too Early" lists.
It has to be the most overhyped event in sports. Yes, the picks help determine your favorite team's future but it's mostly a crapshoot; a few seconds of the commissioner announcing a pick and 10 minutes of talking heads. Kinda boring TV, really.
April 28th, 2023 at 10:33 AM ^
Yeah and the commish sucks too. As much as I hope and laud M guys who make it to the NFL, I have no real allegiance to any NFL team. For me, the NFL is an ambient backtrack to sunday afternoons and something to pretend to have in common w fellow bros at the office on mondays. The NFL means nothing to me.
*stares daggers into the cold existential Void*
April 28th, 2023 at 11:56 AM ^
I’ve never had an NFL team either. I’ve lived in Michigan all my life.
Sure, because history has shown us that NFL teams are always right about how great the guys they take in the first round are.🙄.
April 28th, 2023 at 10:39 AM ^
That's not what the NFL draft is about, though. The 1st round is basically a casino. Teams identify superstar potential and snap those guys up, all other considerations irrelevant. It's a game theory thing. You can't create mismatches with "eh he's fine" players, of which there are plenty, so the 1st round is about pre-emptively yoinking every "we don't know if this guy will pan out but if he does he's got HoF potential" and cutting/trading 90% of them four years later. Everyone pretends to not notice that last part because it's ugly, but that's just the business and the NFL knows what it's doing.
So of course OSU players get drafted high because that's precisely how they're recruited, and what they sell themselves on -- absurd physical talent, even when they have nothing else to offer. In reality, their fates are largely sealed before they put on the red jersey. The real crime here isn't "bad" draft decisions but the perpetuation of this myth that the NFL draft, especially the 1st round, is a holistic evaluation of players. It's not, and that nonsense is what benefits programs like Ohio State.
These early mock drafts always discount smaller school players who might work their way into the draft. It's kind of like our projections of depth charts two years ahead of time; we put the 5- and 4-stars into the lineup, and then Ronnie Bell leads the team in receiving.
Lions win a playoff game!!!!!!
April 28th, 2023 at 10:42 AM ^
Not when they didn't address defensive needs.
The draft is not over yet. Yes, I freaked out last night when the took Gibbs, but they also took Campbell - aka a LB on a very good defense.
They have 3 2nd round picks with plenty of CB and DT still available.
How does this relate to coach Prime?
You may soon discover that the entire Colorado roster will be drafted… or, transfer…
I gotta give props to OSU for making a brand so massively overrated that their 2 5* DEs who really haven't done much at the college level, and if they were on Michigan would be considered busts, are considered 1st rounders based on name recognition only. JTT had a good game against PSU and basically racked up all his stats for the whole season in that game and Sawyer got his 4.5 sacks against Toledo, Wisconsin, IU, and Maryland
Toledo…
I get it. Big names who were big recruits at a program that has put the (I would guess) second most players in the first round over past 15 years. We all know Harrison Jr. is a stud; if I was an OSU fan though I would be very worried if he has even a slight injury early in the season. Like N. Bosa and JSN, he is in a position where he really doesn't have anything to gain at this point.
Michael Hall Jr. and Tuimoloau are definitely first round talents on paper. Their measurables and HS recruiting are great. On film, neither have looked like premier D-linemen but an even solid year should put them in the 1st. I don't know much about Donovan Jackson but he was a high recruit and has seen the field a lot. Egbuka also seems like a 1st round WR.
Now Henderson and Burke as 1st rounders is ridiculous.
Tuimoloau are definitely first round talents
He had 1 good game against PSU and was basically non-existent the rest of the year
Not saying this applies here, but I still laugh at every state fan saying Hutchinson only had one good game in college.
Yeah, that one jumped out at me because that game comprised 2/3 of his sack total and 100% of his fumbles and picks recorded on the year. Maryland handled him pretty well. NW handled him pretty well. If you look up his 2022 highlights 85% of them are from his PSU game. Again, he's got talent but the OSU shine is doing a lot to gussy up what was a pretty middling second year.
If I was a button for punishment I'd go back and reread the too early one from last year to see how wrong they all were. Quinn Ewers at #12 is objectively hilarious in terms of performance but I can see overvaluing a QB. But JT Tuimalao from OSU had one amazing game last year (vs PSU) and otherwise wasn't a "breakout" player and frankly feels more like a Zach Harrison type than some stud 1st rounder. Maybe he turns it around this year but lots of projection in that grade.
OSU will always have talent but it's starting to feel a bit like Kentucky in basketball where they have a lot of talented guys but don't really win at a commensurate clip.
High bar. They lost one regular season game, in the country's biggest rivalry game, then were a missed field goal away from beating the back-to-back national champion in the last four-team playoff.
How many times has Kentucky basketball been a missed free throw away from winning a national semifinal in a season where they only lost ... three games?
:-)
April 28th, 2023 at 11:04 AM ^
Conversely, they fucked around vs. Northwestern, Penn St, and Maryland and when they finally had to show up for their big games, they didn’t
April 28th, 2023 at 11:22 AM ^
Sure, but over the past 2 seasons they haven't won their division, their conference, or a playoff game. Their 2 "big" wins the past couple of years were against a Utah team in the Rose Bowl that (a) OSU couldn't stop at all and (b) barely lost despite being down to their (I believe) 4th and 5th cornerbacks against 3 NFL 1st-rounder WRs, and a ND team at home that turned out to be pretty meh. They lost to Oregon at home, they lot to UM twice, and while they're obviously still beasts recruiting it's also clear that Day isn't quite the player maximizer that Meyer was.
College football is such that if you have a certain level of talent relative to most of your opponents you can win a bunch of games. OSU has lost 4 games over the past 2 years, and that's incredibly impressive. But Clemson, a team that has been objectively dogshit on offense but also won 2 titles in the past decade, has only lost 6 games over that same span. They set a high bar but they clearly aren't meeting it, and it's hard to see them coming close again this year. There's no reason, on paper, OSU should have missed the playoffs 2 years ago and back into it this year - they didn't "earn" their way in and the fact USC had to play an extra football game against a good opponent is the only reason they even had a shot to play Georgia and lose close.
Readers digest version: lazy reporting has 10 players from each of the following schools drafted in 1st RD (Texas, OSU, Alabama)
There is no way in hell that 7 OSU players will go in round 1 because the NFL will draft without regard to reputation or hype.
And all of them will have another year of getting their ass beat by Michigan on film to drop their status
Just for fun here is an early mock for this years draft.
https://247sports.com/ContentGallery/2023-NFL-mock-draft-190287772/#190287772_11
Considering it was a year in advance, not too bad. They had 15 of the 31 correct (not necessarily in the correct spots), plus they did get the top 3 correct (again, not in the right order).
Also it looks like they could have nailed 5-7 more that will go in the 2nd round tonight.
As others have noted, this does not take into account other schools players "popping". It did go too heavy on WR, but hindsight is always 20/20....
SEVEN!! According to this Georgia had the most first round picks in 2022 with 5. (15 overall)
Wasn't Traveon Henderson hurt for a bunch of last year? Not sure if his listing on here is a hang-over from his HS ranking or if he just had a bad year this last year due to injury.
Per the OP's idea it is going to be really sweet to beat OSU when they have this much talent. It's starting to feel like the 90's when OSU was loaded but Biakabatuka or some one would go nuclear on them.
This reminds me of OSU's average ranking per recruit (high, very high) the last several years. Chalk it up to BPONE, but I won't rest easy until their recruiting goes down a notch (or Michigan's goes up another notch, which it may be doing).