With the college football season officially kicking off, plenty of attention is now turning towards the 2024 NFL Draft. There are players who feel like essential locks at the top of the draft, such as Caleb Williams and Marvin Harrison Jr. However, aside from them, there can always be a lot of movement in mock drafts. After the opening weekend of college football, let’s take a look at some risers and fallers for the 2024 NFL Mock Drafts.
With the college football season officially kicking off, plenty of attention is now turning towards the 2024 NFL Draft. There are players who feel like essential locks at the top of the draft, such as Caleb Williams and Marvin Harrison Jr. However, aside from them, there can always be a lot of movement in mock drafts. After the opening weekend of college football, let’s take a look at some risers and fallers for the 2024 NFL Mock Drafts.
2024 NFL Mock Draft Risers & Fallers
Risers
On my draft board for summer scouting, Jared Verse ended up being a top-5 player. But to the consensus, he was on the outside looking in. However, he generated four pressures on his 30 pass-rush snaps and a pass deflection against LSU. Last season, the talented pass rusher had 48 tackles, 17 tackles for loss and nine sacks. Verse looked the part in a primetime game during Week 1, and I’d expect that to carry into the rest of the season.
Kalen King (CB – Penn State)
Many draft boards could have Kool-Aid McKinstry from Alabama as the top cornerback in the 2024 NFL Draft. But everyone should get familiar with Kalen King from Penn State. Listed at 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds, King earned a 93.7 coverage grade from PFF last season. While he showed that he was one of the top cornerbacks in the country a season ago, he started the season red-hot in Week 1 against West Virginia. With 29 coverage snaps in week one, King only allowed two receptions off 5 targets his way, and that was only good for a total of 11 yards. There’s lockdown ability with King due to his athletic prowess and ability to play through the catch point.
Amarius Mims (OT – Georgia)
With an offensive tackle group that Joe Alt leads from Notre Dame and Olu Fashanu from Penn State, there’s a slight dropoff after them. However, Amarius Mims from Georgia could start seeing his name move up draft boards if he plays consistently as he did in Week 1 against Tennessee-Martin. On tape, Mims played with great patience and was technically sound on just about every pass play. He’s a former five-star recruit who only has two career starts, but he’s only given up two pressures during that time. Listed at 6-foot-7 and 330 pounds, Mims is light on his feet and has the potential to become a top-15 pick by the time we get to April. Keep tabs on his development throughout the season.
Fallers
While it may be too early to have anyone listed as a faller after one week, there’s one player who could be considered as a faller from the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. That player is Leonard Taylor III from Miami (FL). The talented defensive tackle from a season ago had 26 total pressures in 2022, and his violent hands were expected to be put on display in Week 1 against Miami (OH). Sure, the Hurricanes won 38-3, so there was no reason to play Taylor more than a few series, but the expectations are high for the potential first-rounder. In week one, he only played 15 defensive snaps, and he earned an overall grade of 46.9 from PFF. Fortunately for Taylor, the Hurricanes play Texas A&M this week, so he’ll get a chance to redeem himself.
