Early look at the top 20 NFL draft-eligible college football players taking the field in 2024 season

The deadline for players to declare for the 2024 NFL Draft has passed, so you can be reasonably confident which players on your favorite teams will be back on campus next year. Well, of course, that’s unless they enter the transfer portal when the spring window opens.

While there’s been plenty of hand-wringing and pearl-clutching about the current state of college football (some of which is deserved), there’s no denying that the age of NIL has led to far more star players returning to school in recent seasons. It used to be easy to know who would be leaving for the NFL. Is he likely to be drafted? He’s gone. Now, players have the opportunity to weigh the finances. Are they better off going to the NFL as a mid to late-round pick when they could earn more money in school next season while also maybe even improving their draft stock?

If you need proof of concept, three of the 20 players I included on this list last year are back among the group heading into 2024. They also play for the same team. As you can see, this list isn’t an exact science. I’m not simply listing the top 20 prospects for the 2025 NFL Draft. It’s a mixture of NFL Draft stock and worth to their current team. I also mix things up by position.

If there’s anything to learn from this year’s list, it’s that next year’s draft class looks to be heavier on the defensive side of the ball. There’s plenty of time for new names to emerge, but last year, we were confident guys like Caleb Williams, Drake Maye and Marvin Harrison would be top-five picks. This year, I couldn’t tell you who the top QB will be on anybody’s board a year from now. There’s a good chance it won’t be one of the three names listed below, but we’ll start there anyway.

Top 20 NFL draft-eligible players in 2024…

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Author : Tom Fornelli

Publish date : 2024-01-22 15:44:53

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