NFL Player News

The Commanders selected McCaffrey in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft, 100th overall.

McCaffrey originally arrived to Nebraska as a coveted quarterback recruit, but he couldn't stick at the position and ended up making the switch to receiver after transferring to Rice. He's a bit thin at 6-foot-2, 198 pounds and has little catch radius to speak of, but his athleticism tested well at the combine (4.46-second 40-yard dash, 6.7-second three-cone drill), and his production at Rice was generally encouraging, especially since he just started playing wideout in 2022. It's possible that McCaffrey might need some more developmental time after switching from quarterback, but the bloodlines are obviously highly favorable, and McCaffrey clearly possesses starter-caliber athleticism. Washington simply now waits to see how much he can improve with experience.

The Steelers selected Wilson in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft, 98th overall.

Wilson would have gone much earlier than this if not for his extremely long injury history at North Carolina State. Wilson's right knee and both shoulders have required multiple surgeries at various points, and he heads into the NFL a 24-year-old rookie after spending so much time on the shelf. His strengths as a prospect are obvious -- at 6-foot-4, 233 pounds Wilson is freakishly fast (4.43-second 40-yard dash), and this lends well both to his pass-rushing and his coverage abilities. Wilson will never be the linebacker you want lining up in the middle -- he stands very upright and his arms are bizarrely short, making it easy for guards to grab him first -- but in the open field very few ballcarriers can lose Wilson's pursuit.

The Jaguars selected Jones in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft, 96th overall.

Jones (6-feet, 190 pounds) didn't have as much hype as Florida State teammate and second-round Buffalo selection Renardo Green, but Jones was a good starting corner in his own right for the Seminoles and actually had the better athletic testing of the two players. Jones' arms are probably too short for press coverage, but his 4.38-second 40-yard dash, 39.5-inch vertical and 129-inch broad jump indicate uncommon vertical range. Jones will compete with the likes of Montaric Brown and Darnell Savage for reps behind starting corners Tyson Campbell and Ronald Darby.

The Eagles selected Hunt in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft, 94th overall.

Hunt (6-foot-4, 252 pounds) was a non-entity as a recruit and had to take a strange path from Cornell (where he arrived as a defensive back) to Houston Christian, and he wasn't especially productive there given the low level of competition. The reason the Eagles gambled on Hunt anyway is that his rawness might be explained by his inexperience, and he otherwise has excellent athletic tools to work with (4.64-second 40-yard dash, 37.5-inch vertical, 128-inch broad jump). Hunt is now in a race against time to build up his skill set before his developmental window closes.

The Buccaneers selected McMillan in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft, 92nd overall.

McMillan might not have as much hype as former Washington teammate Rome Odunze or even Ja'Lynn Polk, but McMillan was about as productive as Odunze and was more productive than Polk prior to McMillan missing roughly two months with a knee injury in 2023. In other words, if McMillan never got hurt, then Polk might not have been drafted ahead of the former. McMillan (6-foot-1, 197 pounds) demonstrated his skill set by producing alongside the likes of Odunze and Polk in college, and his solid combine performance proved the NFL viability of his athleticism (4.47-second 40, 37-inch vertical). Trey Palmer should not be in the WR3 role much longer for Tampa.

The Rams selected Kinchens in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft, 99th overall.

Kinchens came into the pre-draft process with potential to go much higher, but a disastrous combine performance hurt his stock. At 5-11 and 203 pounds, Kinchens was clocked with a 4.65 40-yard dash and had a broad jump that ranks in the seventh percentile among safeties. The lack of athleticism didn't hurt his on-field performance, however, and that's what the Rams are betting on. He was a first-team All-American performer in 2022 and finished his career at Miami with 11 interceptions and 26 pass breakups. He has instincts and coverage ability on film, but how it translates to the NFL will be tested immediately by opposing offenses, given the lag in athleticism.

The Bengals selected Jackson in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft, 97th overall.

Cincinnati is focusing on the interior defensive line on Day 2, as Jackson joins Kris Jenkins among rookie Bengals who play in the trenches. Jackson, a Texas A&M product, was a four-year player for the Aggies who broke through as a junior and continued his upward trajectory in 2023. Unlike Jenkins, who is tall and lean by defensive tackle standards, Jackson is stout at 6-foot-1 and 326 pounds. The Bengals have added two different types of defensive tackles who can provide different functions behind the starting duo of B.J. Hill and Sheldon Rankins.

The Bills selected Carter in the third round of the NFL Draft, 95th overall.

Buffalo needed a youth infusion in the middle of the defense coming into the draft, and Carter provides that. A Duke product, Carter was a decorated player during his time in Durham, earning third-, second-, and first-team All-ACC honors. He is a squat defensive tackle that is hard to move at 6-foot-2 and 302 pounds who fires off the ball. His most disruptive season came in 2022, when he had 11.0 tackles for loss, including 5.5 sacks. and while his statistics fell off a bit in 2023, he still put together a strong season. He projects to be the heir apparent to DaQuan Jones alongside Ed Oliver.

The Packers selected Lloyd in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft, 88th overall.

Lloyd had an out-of-control fumbling problem in college at both USC and South Carolina, dropping the ball 11 times on just 291 career touches from scrimmage. If he keeps doing that at the NFL level he quite simply will not play. The good news is that if Lloyd can manage to fix his fumbling problem, then he would have a lot of upside as one of the draft's toolsiest running backs. Lloyd packs memorable explosiveness and anchor onto a dense 5-foot-9, 220-pound frame, and when you pair his 4.46 speed with his low and dense center of gravity, you have a running back who's very difficult to tackle. With Josh Jacobs around there won't be much for Lloyd to do in the near future, but the Packers have an interest in developing Lloyd so that he might hit his upside scenario, even if years down the road.

The Ravens selected Isaac in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft, 93rd overall.

The Ravens went back to Happy Valley to address its pass rush, nabbing Isaac out of Penn State after spending a first-round pick on Odafe Oweh in 2021. Isaac suffered a torn Achilles in 2021 but came back strong the following season, playing all 13 games. Isaac truly made a name for himself in 2023 as a fifth-year senior with 7.5 sacks and 16 total tackles for loss. He's lean for an edge at 247 pounds, but he's also explosive with 4.7 speed. As it stands, he'll be part of a deep edge rotation in Baltimore that features Oweh, Kyle Van Noy, and David Ojabo.