5 2024 NFL Draft Prospects Set to Rise Up Boards with Impressive CFB Seasons
Every year several NFL draft prospects seemingly rise out of nowhere with a big performance during the season and skyrocket up draft boards.
For example, heading into the 2019 campaign, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback and 2020 No. 1 overall pick Joe Burrow was barely on the league's radar as a projected late-round pick.
While Burrow's rise was dramatic, he's far from the only player to go from draft afterthought to blue-chip prospect with an impressive three-month performance in the fall. Take former Iowa defensive lineman Lukas Van Ness, who went from being a rotational player two years ago to the 13th overall pick in this year's class.
So, with the 2023 college football season set to kick off in a couple of months, let's take a look at a few players who could climb the draft boards this fall.
The players selected either missed time in 2022 due to injury, played behind a prospect(s) who was drafted last April or have shown flashes of stardom and just need more consistency/production this season.
Quinn Ewers
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Coming out of high school, Quinn Ewers was one of the most highly touted recruits in the history of college football. He was one of just six players to receive a perfect rating from 247Sports and left high school early to compete with CJ Stroud for the starting job at Ohio State.
Obviously, Stroud ended up winning that battle, and Ewers transferred back home to Texas where he was a standout last season. His arm strength is one of the first things that pop off the screen on tape as he can push the ball down the field and fit it into tight windows against zone coverage with ease.
The 20-year-old also throws with great anticipation for someone with only one year of starting experience.
Perhaps the best endorsement of Ewers, though, has to do with when he wasn't on the field. In Week 2 against Alabama last season, the Texas offense was humming early on as he was 9-12 with 134 yards and the game was tied 10-10 with 14:55 left in the second quarter.
Then, he went down with a strained clavicle and the Longhorns only managed to score nine points (three field goals) with 158 passing yards on 22 attempts the rest of the way to lose 20-19. There's no doubt that game would have been much different had Ewers been able to finish it.
The Southlake, Texas native is far from being an unknown commodity now, though, as he ranks 30th and is the fifth-best quarterback on Pro Football Focus' big board for the 2024 NFL draft class.
However, if he can build on his performance against Alabama, stay healthy and improve his accuracy, Ewers can play his way into the QB1 discussion with Caleb Williams and Drake Maye.
Zion Tupuola-Fetui
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Zion Tupuola-Fetui was someone I watched in preparation for this past year's draft until he opted to head back to Washington.
His 2020 tape was really impressive as he showed a blend of size (6'4" and 250 pounds), power and quickness. Also, he was pretty bendy and had good athleticism for someone of his stature, leading to seven sacks in four games.
However, the 22-year-old tore his Achilles tendon during spring practice ahead of the 2021 campaign which kept him sidelined for the majority of the season. Somehow he returned to the field six months after the injury but wasn't the same player as his quickness and explosion weren't the same.
The Washington product also suffered a concussion that year, which sidelined him for the rest of the campaign and the combination of the two ailments limited him to just five games.
Tupuola-Fetui only logged a couple of starts this past season as he was still recovering, but he did participate in all 13 of Washington's games and racked up 4.5 sacks in limited action. That was good enough to earn honorable mention All-Pac-12 honors and the 54th spot on NFL Mock Draft Database's (NMDD) consensus big board heading into the fall.
Now that he's completely recovered, Tupuola-Fetui could play his way into the first round and maybe even the top-15 discussion if he returns to his 2020 form. He has an NFL-ready frame and is an impressive athlete when healthy.
Johnny Wilson
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Originally a 4-star recruit, per 247Sports, coming out of Southern California, Johnny Wilson began his college career at Arizona State. He didn't see the field much for the Sun Devils, participating in just eight games during his two years there.
There was a lot of instability in the program at that time as the school and head coach Herm Edwards were under NCAA investigation, so Wilson entered the transfer portal and headed east to Florida State where he enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2022.
In 13 games, the 22-year-old finished with 43 catches for 897 yards and five touchdowns, including a 200-yard performance in the Seminoles' bowl victory over Oklahoma. He's a unique receiver who stands at 6'7" and 235 pounds but also has the speed to win deep down the field, evidenced by his 20.9 yards per catch last season.
That size and speed combination will play in any NFL offense and should pique the interest of offensive coordinators around the league, especially with another impressive season in 2023.
Part of the reason I'm bullish on Wilson's draft stock is this will be the second season he gets to play with quarterback Jordan Travis, who is also getting some NFL draft love. If that duo can put up those numbers in year one of working together, they could form a scary connection with more continuity.
The wideout is currently 41st overall and the seventh receiver on NMDD's board but don't be surprised if he finishes as a top-10 prospect and No. 2 player at the position come April.
With two years of good production, that size and speed combo is going to be hard for NFL teams to pass up during the draft.
Tyler Davis
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Tyler Davis was a 4-star recruit and the No. 12 defensive tackle in the country for the 2019 class, per 247Sports' composite rankings, coming out of high school.
The 22-year-old earned a starting spot as a true freshman on Clemson's defense and looked like a future star with 5.5 sacks and 9.5 tackles for loss, showing a blend of quickness and strength in the trenches.
However, injuries plagued him the next two seasons as he missed eight games and the numbers above dropped to 3.5 and 6.5, respectively, combined during that timeframe.
Davis was another guy I had my eye on during the last draft cycle, and he did manage to bounce back in 2022 with 6.5 sacks and 10.5 TFL. He was solid at taking on double teams and showed a handful of pass rush moves that he can win with, but he headed back to school to prove himself and boost his draft stock.
He ranks 61st overall and is the eighth defensive tackle on NMDD's big board, but he could easily play his way into the first round and maybe even the top spot at the position with another impressive campaign. His quickness and pass-rush skills could give him a similar trajectory to Pittsburgh's Calijah Kancey from this past draft class.
Also, with Bryan Bresee now playing for the New Orleans Saints, Davis should get more opportunities to prove himself for Clemson this year.
Jestin Jacobs
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Heading into last season, some people in the draft community thought Jestin Jacobs could push his Iowa Hawkeye teammate, Jack Campbell, as the top linebacker in the class.
Jacobs has excellent speed and athleticism to be a great coverage backer in the NFL who can take away the underneath areas in zone coverage and erase running backs and tight ends man-to-man, giving weight to the hypothesis above.
Unfortunately, he ended up suffering a couple of injuries at the beginning of the year, including a season-ending one that limited him to just two games in 2022.
Now, the former Hawkeye will suit up for the Oregon Ducks where he'll replace fifth-round pick Noah Sewell and Justin Flowe, another 2024 draft prospect who transferred from Oregon to Arizona.
He will finally get an opportunity to be the No. 1 linebacker on a defense this season, allowing him to show off more of those impressive coverage skills with a full workload. If he proves himself as a run defender, he'll climb draft boards and improve on his 117th overall ranking on NMDD's consensus big board.
Jacobs has shown good technique when playing the run, he just needs to add strength and demonstrate he's capable of being a three-down player instead of a sub-package backer.
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