Category: 2024 Player Profiles

STRENGTHS
TJ is that long-legged, long-arm, quick-twitch athlete, teams are looking for in a pure cover corner. He is quick to recognize and support the run and make tackles behind the line of scrimmage. He has that “wirier type” of physical strength that allows him to play physically against what may look like a bigger, stronger receiver. TJ does a good job communicating with his teammates and shows leadership skills and a High Football IQ to anticipate routes. He has the hands of a receiver to intercept the ball and with those long arms and legs can trail a receiver and still make a play on the ball. TJ is an excellent zone cornerback and matchup zone corner. Because he is a good tackler he can play more than one position in the defensive backfield.

CONCERNS
In the right defense, TJ is a star. In the wrong defense, he can get beat like a drum. He lacks the pure speed you look for in a pure cover corner but because he is a quick twitch athlete, he is able to minimize that lack of pure speed with instincts, recognition skills, and quickness. As long as TJ can be used in an off-coverage defense, he will impact.

BOTTOM LINE: 2.50
TJ can be used in the slot to cover those bigger receivers and Tight Ends but once again he is not going to make his living playing as a slot cover corner against any style of slot receiver. He also is not going to make his living in single coverages either. He will impact in off coverages and zone coverage, keeping the play in front of him and attacking the receiver or going for the ball once the ball is in the air. TJ can be an impact corner or defensive back but it just has to be in the right defense and this will affect his draft status with some teams.

STRENGTHS
Javon has hands of steel. His best attribute is his ability to catch contested passes. Javon has a big catch range and the athletic talent and agility to contort his body in the air and make the difficult catch. He has good size and has solid speed. He does an excellent job running routes, using the tricks of the trade, to get separation and make the impact catch. Because of his savvy style of running routes, Javon can line up in the slot or on the outside as a wideout. He has a high football IQ and should be able to play and line up at any one of the receiver positions for the team that selects him. He has so many moves and tricks that Javon is one of the better touchdown-makers in the red zone in this draft.

CONCERNS
Because Javon uses so many different “tricks of the trade” to gain separation it affects being a consistent route runner for his quarterback to throw too. It also makes it difficult for coaches to coach him. Javon is not explosive off the line of scrimmage and is slow getting into his routes also. He also, is not much of a run after the catch, type of receiver.

BOTTOM LINE: 3.19
Javon lacks the explosiveness off the line, and unless he is with a strong-armed quarterback the window to throw to him in a route, closes quickly and that’s why he has so many contested catches during a game. Javon has to be paired up with a quarterback who understands throwing to him will be different than throwing to most other receivers and coaches have to understand that Javon runs routes to the beat of a different drummer too. If he is selected by a team that understands these idiosyncrasies to Javon’s play, then he can become a number-one receiver. If not paired up with the right team it’s likely Javon works at being a number 2 or 3 receiver because of his ability to catch contested passes and score red zone touchdowns. When Javon ran routes at his pro day he ran clean routes and you could see the talent was there to be a top receiver in the NFL. If he can gain more explosiveness off the line of scrimmage and get into his routes quicker he will impact but until that happens it might be difficult for Javon to establish some consistency in his game. That being said, in the red zone Javon is one of the trickiest receivers I have ever seen and can impact big-time scoring touchdowns.

STRENGTHS
Dallin has the potential to be as impacting for an offense as the Chiefs Jason Kelce. He has those go-go gadget arms and hands to catch the ball and the acrobatic agility to adjust to the ball in the air. Dallin loves the physical part of football. He makes contested catches and one-handed catches while going over the middle knowing full well he is about to get hit and leveled. Dallin is a punishing runner and tackling him will make a defensive back think and hesitate. His ability to move the chains and score touchdowns is unique because of his catch radius and the fact that he is fearless and the fact that he delivers in the clutch. As I stated before he has the potential to be as good as Chiefs Jason Kelce. Dallin has the talent and skill set needed to control the middle of the field and make a Defense game plan for him.

CONCERNS
Dallin is a solid blocker but don’t draft him thinking he is your typical blocking Tight End. If you don’t throw to him you might as well not draft him. Dallin will catch the ball down the slot because of his hands and fearlessness but the truth is, he is more of a 6’ 3” 245 lbs 4.78 40, control the middle of the field Tight End and touchdown catching Tight End.

BOTTOM LINE: 2.64
I can’t tell you how many Tight Ends I have profiled that have the talent to impact in an offense’s passing game that disappears once they get drafted all because a coach or QB refuses to pass the ball to them and they get stuck blocking all the time. Controlling the middle of the field on offense is the key to scoring and having a successful offense. QB, OC, TE, RB are the key positions that you have to have impact players to control the middle of the field. Remember “impact” is not about stats…it’s all about demanding attention. When a defense is worried and game plans for a RB or TE on a passing down that is what opens up the rest of the field and establishes one-on-one opportunities for the wideouts. Dallin can be as impacting in the passing game as Jason Kelce. He is not a pass-catching tight end because he is fearless and loves to give out punishment when you go to tackle him. He has that competitive killer instinct to make you pay if you want to tackle him. That’s the Kelce, Gronkowski, Witten, Shockey, Bavaro, way. I catch the ball and then I make you pay to tackle me.

STRENGTHS
Marshawn has the size and agility along with strong hands to control offensive linemen to become a power rusher defensive end for the team that selects him. He is one of the better defensive linemen in this draft at playing against the run. Because of his strong hands, Marshawn can engage and shed blocks quickly. As a pass rusher, he shows the agility and effort to get into the backfield to disrupt and take advantage of any miscues in blocking him by any offensive lineman. He is strong against the double teams, shedding blocks to make a tackle at the line. Marshawn reminds me a lot of the Buffalo Bills Shaq Lawson.

CONCERNS
Marshawn is an effort-type of pass rusher who is better against the run than he is at rushing the passer. If he can improve and become more explosive off the line of scrimmage out of his three-point stance, Marshawn could become a starting Defensive Lineman.

BOTTOM LINE: 3.99
Marshawn shows the agility numbers and with his strong hands, there is no reason why he can’t become more explosive off the line of scrimmage and improve his ability to rush the passer. Shaq Lawson was a first-round pick in the 2016 draft. I have no idea why he struggled to develop. I know I thought he was going to be a good player but after playing for the Bills, Dolphins, Texans, and Jets and finally back with the Bills, Shaq is a rotational player who gives excellent effort but just never seemed to turn the corner and become the player most of us thought he would become. Marshawn gets better every game I see him play in. He is more effective and quicker off the snap when he is standing up and I guess that’s because he is new to the three-point stance aspect of his position. If Marshawn continues to work hard, I think he can become a starting Defensive End in a 4/3 defense. He has the potential to move inside in passing-down situations because he is good against double teams and the run. Moving him inside, will also allow a team to take advantage of his quickness to pass rush, against a guard. Marshawn should be able to help big-time on special teams with the new kickoff rules because of his ability to shed and make tackles quickly and that alone has to account for something.

STRENGTHS
Kalen plays the cornerback position like a linebacker. He is excellent at supporting the run, shedding blocks, and making tackles with the aggressiveness and commitment to what he sees, like a linebacker. He looks to make the impact play and tackle and is a dynamite zone cover defensive back. His short are quickness and change of direction agility is excellent and he plays quicker than he times because of his high football IQ and instincts. Kalen shows leadership skills through his play on the field. Kalen can play more than one position in the defensive backfield depending on the style of defensive system.

CONCERNS
Kalen may lack the pure speed you look for in a pure cover cornerback and the recovery speed you look for to trail and make a play on the ball but don’t be fooled, this kid can play corner, safety, and in the slot.

BOTTOM LINE: 2.53
Just because Kalen does not have the size, speed, and numbers most teams look for in a cornerback does not mean that Kalen will not be an impact Defensive Back. It just means he will struggle if you expect him to be a pure cover cornerback who can match up against 6’3” receivers who run 4.3, forties. Kalen is a football player. Give him an assignment on the field, and he will find a way to complete it. He has an intimidating style of play based on his football intellect, quickness, and physical tackling that compensates for his lack of pure speed, and allows him to play faster than he is timed at. He might wind up being moved to one of the safety positions or into the slot because of this intimidating style of play but in the right defense, he can play corner. He reminds me a lot of Packers/Bills corner Rasul Douglas. The difference is that Rasul is bigger but all the numbers are about the same and their style of play is very similar. Kalen is a football player and, in a draft, the best thing to do is to select players who are passionate, smart, aggressive tacklers, and instinctive who can be multi-position football players, and that’s what Kalen is. I’m not sure what round Kalen will be selected in but I do know this, whoever selects him, is getting a really good football player.

STRENGTHS
Kris is a solid…do your job…type of defensive lineman. He is smart and works well with his teammates. He has good size and strength and enough foot speed to be an effective disrupting type of lineman. You can use Kris as a DE in a 3/4 alignment or as a DT in a 4/3 alignment depending on down and distance. He shows leadership skills through his consistent play on the field and high football IQ and has the ability to get into the backfield quickly and make a play. He always seems to know where the ball is off the snap and this is a rare skill for most defensive linemen coming out in a draft. Kris has a lot of pass-rushing moves and if an offensive lineman makes a mistake blocking him, he will make him pay. Kris gives excellent effort on every play until he hears the whistle, and because of this effort alone, it make Kris one of the better defensive linemen in this draft.

CONCERNS
Kris is what I call an “Almost” Defensive player. He’s almost the right size. He almost just made that play. He almost defeated that double team, he almost made that sack. Nevertheless, because of his relentless effort, Kris will make plays because of that offensive lineman who…almost blocked him before he made that tackle, forced that fumble, or pressured that quarterback into throwing that interception. “Almost” works both ways when you’re an “Almost” player, who is relentless on every play.

BOTTOM LINE: 1.86
Kris reminds me a lot of a former Buffalo Bills DL Kyle Williams. Kyle wasn’t big enough or quick enough or fast enough to be a Defensive lineman in the NFL. That being said, he played for 13 years and had 609 tackles, 48 sacks, 103 Tackles for losses, and made most of his impact plays in the 4th quarter when his opponents got tired of blocking his relentless ass all game long. Kris has more pass-rushing moves than most Edge Rushers coming out in a draft so it’s likely he will impact more pressuring a quarterback than he did at the college level. Michigan used a heavy rotation system and still, Kris had the stats of a full-time defensive lineman with 17 solo tackles, 2.5 sacks, and one interception. The year before he had 29 solo tackles and 2 sacks. As far as pressures and disruptions…countless. It’s possible that Kris might be better suited as a DE in a 3/4 defensive alignment then again, because of his relentless effort I’m not convinced that will matter very much. I do expect Kris to become a core player, a captain, and a fan favorite no matter what defensive front he plays in just like Kyle Williams was. Kris is the type of player who could be selected at any round in this draft. He could be selected late in the 1st round or fall through the cracks and not get drafted until the 3rd, 4th or even the 5th round. He is the type of player teams will think he is either a great fit for their defense or a tweener.

STRENGTHS
Ben has excellent overall athletic talent. He is a smooth route runner making it easy for him to catch the ball. He has the size needed to be an inline blocker and the athletic talent to block in space. Ben is an excellent pass-catching talent, and inside the red zone can be used in the slot or on the outside.

CONCERNS
The way Ben plays on the field sends a signal to me that he is not passionate about the game in general. He has the talent to block but is not aggressive and in space, he doesn’t finish and move his feet and he drops his head. His route running lacks the speed and quickness he shows in his workouts. There are other issues but I’m not going to continue to pile on. Like I always tell you, it takes more than talent to play in the NFL.

BOTTOM LINE: 4.89
Truth is, I get depressed when I watch a player with this much talent struggle to play up to that talent. Maybe it’s because he hasn’t played that much in the past or is thinking too much when he is playing. Maybe it’s because he is not getting the coaching he should be getting or everyone is telling him how good he is when he can be so much better. Maybe he went to class and actually studied…I don’t know. The first time I noticed Ben it was at the Senior Bowl practices. He stood out to me because of how smooth a route runner he was, and how easily he caught the ball, so I took note. Then I turned on the game film and I just saw a player who lacked the passion to play while the announcers were telling me that Ben is a Swiss army knife and a great player. I’m thinking, I must be crazy, just because he makes a play or two in a game does not constitute suggesting that Ben is god’s gift to the Tight End World. Ben ran a 4.6 forty and plays like he runs a 5.0 forty. His blocking is rudimentary at best. He is not a punishing runner after the catch Tight End. If a team drafts him and can turn the passion key on, Ben could be something special. That being said I just wonder if there is a passion key to be turned on?

 

STRENGTHS
Beaux is exactly what his name suggests he is, a big, strong, powerful, offensive lineman with solid athletic talent. He can make all the snaps and has the lateral agility to help out his guards when needed. Beaux has the footspeed and agility to go out to the second level to make his blocks and finish his blocks. He shows leadership skills through his play on the field, and the athletic talent to play more than one position for the team that selects him on the offensive line.

CONCERNS
Beaux is slow off the snap and gets up to high losing leverage and at the next level, no matter how strong you are, losing leverage will get you beat every time. Beaux may have to be moved to guard if he can’t improve these two issues quickly. That being said, I do believe that Beaux will wind up being a center at the next level.

BOTTOM LINE: 3.25
The first Rep at the Senior Bowl practices, Sweat put Beaux right on his back and ran over his face to the fake quarterback. That never happened again. Beaux stuffed Sweat at the line in just about every rep after that all three days. Beaux learned a lesson that day…your strength is not enough at the next level as it was in most cases at the college level. Beaux has to get quicker, keep his pad level low, and learn to turn his hips and move his feet, and drive his block up the field when he does get beat to his inside. If Beaux can improve in those areas he can be a Pro Bowl center. If not, he gets moved to guard. Either way, Beaux should be an excellent offensive lineman for the team that selects him.

 

STRENGTHS
As far as pure running back talent, Rasheen might be the best in this draft. His lateral agility, vision, balance, and burst are the best in this draft, and his route running and ability to catch the ball down the field is right up there with the best also. Rasheen is a natural runner and highly intelligent in understanding how to set up blocks to make it easy for his offensive lineman to block for him. He is such a smooth runner that he doesn’t look fast but at the same time, defensive players are flailing and lunging to make tackles as he glides by them gaining yards and scoring touchdowns. Rasheen is a touchdown maker scoring 23 TD’s in the 2021 season and 15 TD’s in the 2023 season coming off an injury. He runs strong between the tackles and seems to find that sliver of space to gain the needed yards when his team needs those yards the most. Rasheen reminds me a lot of former Ravens/Chiefs RB Priest Holmes. (Look him up, I can’t do everything for you)

CONCERNS
There are size concerns, and injury concerns, along with competition concerns that teams will struggle with when listing him on their boards. He got a freak injury in the Senior Bowl along with an ACL tear back in 2022. He came back and produced from the ACL and will do the same from the last injury (a torn bicep) at the Senior Bowl practices.

BOTTOM LINE: 1.83
Let’s take the concerns first. Rasheen and Priest are about the same size and weight. Priest at 5’9” 213, Rasheen 5’ 11” 206. Priest was undrafted and played for 10 years scored 83 TD’s and rushed for over 6,000 yards. He retired with many awards and injuries. As I always say…size matters when it comes to the draft but means nothing once a player gets on the field. To address the competition issue, we all know running back is the one position that is not affected by the level of competition. Good running backs come from any round in the draft and from any competition level from college. As far as injuries…we all know that’s an issue for the running back position so like Priest, Rasheen could go undrafted. Nevertheless, late in the draft why not take a player with 1st RD talent over players who are not 1st RD talented players? I would, especially at position fraught with injuries. It seems to me if a team needs to run the ball because their quarterback is not a “franchise” quarterback, they would have a plethora of running backs on the roster and practice squad. At least I would because if your offense doesn’t control the middle of the field they will struggle to score and that’s what good impacting RB’s, TE’s, Slot Receivers, and OC’s do, control the middle of the field.

STRENGTHS
Spencer is the most improved quarterback over the time he has been at the college level than any other quarterback in this draft. He has a good arm and throws the ball from the pocket and off the run with good accuracy. Spencer is a good overall athlete with the foot speed and agility to leave the pocket and gain yards when it is needed. He can play from the pocket because he is adept at manipulating it, giving himself more time before he feels the need to leave the pocket to extend a play. Spencer has learned over the years how to play his position mentally as well as athletically, and this has made him an intriguing prospect for teams to consider in this draft. He has starting quarterback talent for sure but he will be labeled as a potential backup quarterback by most teams, and this will affect his draft status.

CONCERNS
Spencer doesn’t have the bazooka-type arm, that most teams will be looking for to compensate for his lack of size. The other issue is, that in the past Spencer has tried to play “hero ball” and has made bad decisions because he thought he was the next Johnnie Manziel. Spencer will have to learn to stay within his abilities and not out-think his talent. Think Russel Wilson with less arm strength but smarter and a more sincere leader. He definitely has grown over the years.

BOTTOM LINE: 3.33
Spencer will most likely be selected in the later rounds but he is the type of quarterback that once he gets on the field it will be hard to take him off the field. As long as Spencer plays within himself and uses the talent around him he can be extremely effective and at times make the great plays when the other team least expects him to. This last year, the lights went on. He has learned to play the quarterback position mentally. Spencer has calmed down and learned to manipulate the pocket before leaving it and this has opened his eyes to making better decisions and making plays that are positive instead of negative. He’s a lot calmer and more intuitive. That being said, the concern is…will it last? Will the light stay on or will it get dull the more success he has? Will Spencer start to play “hero ball” again if he is on the field for more than 4 to 6 games? Spencer can challenge most of the starting quarterbacks in the NFL right now so beware QB’s, the Rattler could soon be in your house.

 

STRENGTHS
Ricky snatches the ball out of the air like a chameleon flicks its sticky tongue to catch its prey. He is a move receiver who is best used close to the line of scrimmage because of those sticky-like hands. Ricky can be that security blanket receiver that the best quarterbacks count on to make a play at the most important times of a game. He has decent size and speed along with good quickness and when he is lined up in the slot he becomes a match-up nightmare because of his grittiness to free himself up when you need him to. Ricky has a catch range that is adjustable and allows for less accurate quarterbacks to be less accurate but at the same time…successful.

CONCERNS
Ricky is not an outside receiver. He needs the ball in his hands quickly to be effective. He is what I call a light route runner because of his style of running his deep routes. He is obsessive at watching the ball in the air and loses control of his route the longer he runs it. He is better the quicker you get the ball into his hands… it’s just that simple.

BOTTOM LINE: 3.31
Ricky has the size and workout numbers to be used on the outside but his obsessive need to watch the ball in the air makes it difficult for him to play to that size and speed. So how can you take advantage of Ricky’s chameleon-like, sticky tongue-like, hands? He becomes your move receiver/slot receiver who runs the quick short curls, digs, crossing routes, and double move routes that give him the ball quickly and take advantage of his ability to move the ball down the field. Ricky will drop the deep ball but he will not drop the quick route ball. So, Coach Better, take advantage of his talent, don’t ask him to do routes that will not allow him to impact and Ricky will be, oh so fine and make catches that will, blow your mind.