With testing numbers from the NFL Scouting Combine and this month’s Pro Day circuit so much fresher in our minds, it is easy to fall into the trap of forgetting the more vital information learned from last year’s college football season.
It’s important not to lose perspective on which prospects available in the 2024 NFL Draft are actually good football players rather than “just” exceptional athletes.
The players listed below didn’t necessarily have poor workouts, but they’ve been somewhat overshadowed by others who performed better. As a result, these prospects are flying under the public radar, though scouts see them as potential starters likely to be available on the draft’s second and third days.
Players are listed alphabetically.
1. Wisconsin running back Braelon Allen
His last name virtually guaranteed Allen would be the first player in this article, but he’s the perfect player to lead things off. A relatively pedestrian workout at the Combine should not distract from the fact that this 6-foot-1, 235-pounder averaged a hearty 5.9 yards per carry and racked up a staggering 35 touchdowns in just three seasons of college football.
Allen didn’t run the 40-yard dash in Indianapolis. However, his 32″ vertical jump and 9’9″ broad jump were among the five worst results among running backs tested this year and suggest that his timed speed won’t be much more impressive. Allen is surprisingly quick, however. And, as his size and 26 repetitions of 225 pounds on the bench press (second among RBs tested in Indianapolis) suggest, he runs with excellent power.
Allen isn’t a fit for every offense, but he’s among the best downhill backs in this class, projecting as a red-zone vulture at minimum and possibly a team’s bell-cow.
2. Kansas edge rusher Austin Booker
Among the year’s biggest breakout stars, Booker went from a reserve at Minnesota to a First Team All-Big 12 selection for the Jayhawks in 2023, ranking third in the conference with eight sacks and totaling 12 tackles for…
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Publish date : 2024-03-14 13:28:32
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