The 2024 NFL Draft is only a few weeks away. Fans and the media get excited about Day 1 of the draft every year. However, roughly 50% of the prospects selected in the first round fail in the NFL.
- More 2024 NFL Mock Drafts
- Expert Consensus 2024 NFL Mock Draft
- 2024 NFL Draft Guide
- 2024 NFL Draft Prospect Profiles
Talent evaluators fall in love with the untapped potential upside of a prospect. Unfortunately, those prospects typically have a low floor, making them boom-or-bust players. Sometimes, it works out for the NFL team, while other times, the player doesn’t finish his rookie deal with the club.
Meanwhile, there is the opposite type of prospect. The safe floor players who have a low chance of busting but typically come with a lower ceiling. However, that isn’t the case with this draft class. These five prospects have a safe floor and will stick around for the next several years. Yet, they also have tremendous upside.
Safest NFL Draft Picks
Marvin Harrison Jr. (WR – Ohio State)
The NFL world has waited two years to get their hands on Harrison. He broke out as a sophomore in 2022, becoming a go-to target for C.J. Stroud. The superstar had 77 receptions for 1,263 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns. Despite losing his quarterback to the NFL, Harrison Jr. put up similar numbers last year with Kyle McCord under center (67/1,211/14). He finished top-10 in college football in receiving yards both seasons. Harrison’s ability to win regardless of who is playing quarterback makes him a can’t-miss prospect.
Rome Odunze (WR – Washington)
While many NFL Draft experts have Malik Nabers and Marvin Harrison Jr. ranked ahead of Odunze, the former Washington star has one of the safest floors in this year’s draft class. He ended his college career with back-to-back seasons totaling at least 1,145 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. Furthermore, Odunze finished first or second in the PAC-12 in receptions (92), receiving yards (1,640) and touchdowns (13) last season. The star receiver led the wide receivers in the draft class in contested catches in 2023 with 17 (per PFF).
Brock Bowers (TE – Georgia)
Some might fear Bowers as a prospect after Kyle Pitts hasn’t lived up to his top-five draft pick hype. However, the former Georgia star is a near-can’t-miss prospect. He dominated as a freshman, totaling 56 receptions for 882 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns. Bowers finished second in the SEC and sixth in the country in receiving scores as a freshman. He is an elite athlete, playing a role in Georgia’s rushing attack. Bowers averaged over 10 yards per rushing attempt and had five rushing scores in college.
Joe Alt (OT – Notre Dame)
This year’s offensive line class might be the best in over a decade. While many think up to 10 offensive tackles could get drafted on Day 1, Alt will be the first one picked. The former Notre Dame standout was a 2023 Consensus All-American selection. He also earned the highest grade from PFF (90.7) among offensive linemen in the draft class. Furthermore, Alt is the only offensive lineman in the draft class to receive a top-five run blocking grade (86.5) and passing blocking grade (91.2) from PFF last year.
Jared Verse (EDGE – Florida State)
Verse might not be the first edge rusher drafted this year, as Dallas Turner is the betting favorite to be the first defender off the board. However, Verse is the safer prospect and should be a top-20 pick. He had back-to-back seasons with at least 12.5 tackles for a toss and nine sacks to end his college career. The star edge rusher ranked top-three in the ACC in sacks both years. According to PFF, Verse ranked third in quarterback hits (15) among edge rushers in the draft class last season.
2024 NFL Mock Drafts
Here are a few early predictions for the 2024 NFL Draft. We’ll continue to add our 2024 NFL Mock Drafts leading up to the start of Round 1.
- 2024 NFL Mock Draft: Thor Nystrom (1.0 | 2.0)
- 2024 NFL Mock Draft: Matthew Jones (1.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 5.0)
- 2024 NFL Mock Draft: Andrew Erickson (1.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 4.0)
- 2024 NFL Mock Draft: Kent Weyrauch (1.0 | 2.0)
- 2024 NFL Mock Draft: Derek Brown (1.0)
- 2024 NFL Mock Draft: Russell Brown (1.0 | 2.0 | 3.0)
- 2024 NFL Mock Draft: PJ Moran (1.0 | 2.0 | 3.0)
- 2024 NFL Mock Draft With Trades: Mike Fanelli (1.0 | 2.0 | 3.0)
- 2024 NFL Mock Draft With Trades: Marco Enriquez (1.0 | 2.0)
- 2024 NFL Mock Draft With Trades: Dennis Sosic
- 2024 NFL Mock Draft: Two-Round Writer Collaborative
- 2024 NFL Mock Draft: First Round Picks & Predictions
- 2024 NFL Mock Draft: Top 20 Picks & Predictions
- 2024 NFL Mock Draft: Top 10 Picks & Predictions
- 2024 NFL Mock Draft: Early Picks & Predictions
- Early 2024 NFL Mock Draft with Trades: Picks & Predictions
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Play | Spotify | Stitcher | TuneIn | RSS | YouTube
Mike Fanelli is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @Mike_NFL2.
