Here are my before-the-season picks for the 2024 All-Rookie Team
USATSI
NFL training camp is finally upon us, therefore it’s time to piece together a Preseason All-Rookie Team.
Instead of one selection for every spot on the field, I’ve provided second-team picks along with honorable mentions. I watched quite a few prospects this past pre-draft process, so might as well write about as many of them as I can, right? Let’s go!
Quarterback: Caleb Williams, Bears
Second team: Jayden Daniels, Commanders
Honorable mention: Drake Maye, Patriots
We begin with … chalk. This doesn’t happen often, but I liked all three of the top quarterbacks selected in the 2024 draft — big arms, dynamic playmaking ability, and the time-tested pocket-passing talent needed as a basis for success in the NFL.
I’m going with Williams at No. 1 because of his well-documented situation in Chicago — maybe the best we’ve ever seen for a rookie first overall pick. I love the diversity in the receiver room with D.J. Moore, Keenan Allen, and Rome Odunze each possessing their own speciality, and don’t sleep on speedster Tyler Scott, a 2023 mid-round selection who can expand defenses vertically with ease.
Daniels does need to get rid of the football quicker than he did at LSU and make a concerted effort to avoid absorbing monster hits in the NFL, because he doesn’t have the body to sustain those repeatedly. Maye has some rough edges to his game, and the Patriots are clearly at stage No. 1 of a classic rebuilding. He’ll flash with his arm talent and improv capabilities on more than a few occasions in his debut campaign in Foxboro.
Running back: Trey Benson, Cardinals
Second team: Jonathan Brooks, Panthers
Honorable mention: MarShawn Loyd, Packers
I went Benson over Brooks based on talent, not opportunity. Because while Chuba Hubbard is technically the incumbent feature back in Carolina, we can safely assume Brooks will be that guy very close to, if not at the beginning of the season. Benson will have more of a challenge to earn carries as he starts his career behind criminally underrated James Conner, the vet who went over 1,000 yards on the ground and 5.0 yards per in 2023.
Eventually, Benson’s complete game — that comes with sub 4.40 speed Conner does not have — along with fresh legs will catalyze a promotion to a prominent role on an offense that should be wide open and not struggle to score points.
Brooks, off the ACL, will be a thunderous runner in Carolina, and while I’m not ready to label the offensive line as “good” just yet, the additions off Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis will bring that unit from the cellar where it resided in Bryce Young’s rookie season.
And don’t sleep on Lloyd for a few reasons — firstly, Matt LaFleur is a Kyle Shanahan coaching tree descendent, and we know how well it schemes running-back efficiency. Secondly, Lloyd is an impossibly thick and fast runner with subtle juking skill in tight quarters.
Perimeter wide receiver: Malik Nabers, Giants
Second team: Ladd McConkey, Chargers
Honorable mention: Troy Franklin, Broncos
Nabers was my WR1 in the 2024 class, so he gets the first nod here. I have minimal faith in Daniel Jones fueling a tremendous rookie season for a receiver, yet Nabers is so incredibly talented with juice galore, he should be able to transcend inconsistent quarterbacking. Speed and YAC make for a sturdy foundation at the receiver spot.
McConkey was the second selection of the second round, and he may have been the best pure separator in the 2024 class. Going deeper there, he got open for three years at Georgia in more than just one way. McConkey can lean on route-salesmanship, quickness, changing speeds, and hitting the accelerators down the field. I love him with Justin Herbert in an revamped offense with more opportunity than any in football.
Franklin pairing with Bo Nix will make for one of the better fourth-round receiver seasons we’ve seen lately, if he can consistently fight through press at the line of scrimmage.
Perimeter wide receiver: Marvin Harrison Jr., Cardinals
Second team: Rome Odunze, Bears
Honorable mention: Brian Thomas Jr., Jaguars
While I wasn’t as high on Harrison Jr. as some fellow draft analysts I respect a great deal — mostly because he’s not a mega YAC type — I simultaneously acknowledged how advanced he was as a route runner and marveled at his size/speed/ball skills combination. He seriously could catch 100 passes as a rookie, and he’ll generate some explosive plays down the field catching passes from Kyler Murray.
Odunze will be hot on Harrison’s tail production-wise, and he’ll do in all in Chicago’s offense. It’ll just be nearly impossible for him to match his Ohio State draft contemporary in that stat book because of the Allen and Moore’s presence in the Bears receiver room. The Jaguars don’t have as talented a wideout group as Chicago, but it’s a collection of pass-catchers with plenty of NFL experience. Thomas will make the occasional big play deep, and he’ll scurry around after the catch with the Jaguars in Year 1.
Slot wide receiver: Jamari Thrash, Browns
Second team: Xavier Worthy, Chiefs
Honorable mention: Malachi Corley, Jets
Yes, selecting a fifth-round pick here with Thrash. He was the Tank Dell of the 2024 receiver class for me. Skinny, sudden, easy separator with surprising contact balance relative to his sleek frame and some giddy up once he catches the football. I love his positioning in the Browns offense too with 99% of the attention being paid to Amari Cooper, newcomer Jerry Jeudy, Elijah Moore and the always rugged, highly physical and efficient run game.
Worthy is going to rock with the Chiefs. I don’t know if he can nor will be a high-volume target for Patrick Mahomes, because the Chiefs attack has evolved into an offense that disperses the football essentially evenly to the pass catchers not named Travis Kelce. But the long ball is back in Kansas City.
Corley can be an extension of the run game with the Jets. He’s essentially a stock running back who refuses to the go down on first contact.
Tight end: Brock Bowers, Raiders
Second team: Jaheim Bell, Patriots
Honorable mention: Tip Reiman, Cardinals
Bowers is as ready as any first-year tight end from a receiving perspective. Releases, snappy routes, awesome ball skills, and despite average-ish size, he’s a dynamo after the catch. If the quarterback play is decent — and it was with Aidan O’Connell most of the time in 2023 — Bowers can eat in Year 1.
Bell in Round 7 was probably my favorite pick in the entire draft. He’s the exact type of H-back with elite YAC skills perfect for an offense that will likely aim to get the ball out of the quarterback’s hands quickly. Bell is the type of special talent with the ball in his hands who absolutely can maximize high-percentage throws.
Reiman was one of most unique tight ends I’ve ever scouted. A hair under 6-5 and 270 pounds with immense blocking skill and untapped ability as a receiver because of his freaky athletic profile. Pumped to watch him in Arizona, even behind Trey McBride.
Offensive tackles: Taliese Fuaga, Saints and Joe Alt, Chargers
Second team: Jordan Morgan, Packers
Honorable mention: Olu Fashanu, Jets
Many of the early-round tackles from the 2024 class aren’t pegged to start immediately, a rarity. But Fuaga and Alt should be Day 1 starters in their respective NFL cities, and while I firmly believe Alt needs to get considerably stronger at the NFL level, he is a towering, tremendous athlete, and length and natural talent go a long way early on for professional blockers as buoys while they add power to their games.
Fuaga has close to NFL power by the way, and flashed some Penei Sewell type movement skills at Oregon State. I thought Morgan was more of a Day 2 type, but I trust the Packers and evaluating offensive linemen. Fashanu was my OT1, and if Tyron Smith or Morgan Moses go down, he can step in for the Jets and the transition to the rookie will be as close to seamless as a team can hope for in that dynamic.
Interior offensive line: Christian Haynes, Seahawks and Jackson Powers-Johnson, Raiders
Second team: Brandon Coleman, Commanders
Honorable mention: Sedrick Van-Pran Granger, Bills
Haynes is a certified butt-kicker inside, blessed with light feet, a wide frame, and an unshakable equilibrium. I viewed Powers-Johnson similarly at the center spot, and even as he adds to his ability to deal with counter moves in the NFL, he too can lean on his inherent talent in Year 1.
Coleman was a sneaky-good third-round pick by the rebuilding Commanders. Why? He’s a supreme athlete, played multiple positions well on successful TCU teams, and has an NFL-caliber body. Van-Pran Granger’s film was too clean at Georgia — particularly in pass protection — for him not to make this list. He could be a vital interior swingman for the Bills blocking unit in 2024.
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Edge rushers: Laiatu Latu, Colts and Dallas Turner, Vikings
Second team: Jared Verse, Rams
Honorable mention: Chop Robinson, Dolphins
Latu and Turner are divergent rushers. Latu is an older prospect who rushes high, and plays with an advanced repertoire of pass-rushing moves. Turner is barely 21-years-old, wins with magnificent explosiveness and bend around the corner and is only scratching the surface with his hand work. He’ll be a weapon in Brian Flores’ ultra-aggressive defense in 2024.
Verse’s blend of power and flexibility were unmatched in his draft class, and I trust the Rams to get the most out of defensive front players. Robinson can be the best of the bunch down the road, and he will pop at times as a rookie in Miami.
Defensive tackles: Michael Hall, Browns and Byron Murphy, Seahawks
Second team: Braden Fiske, Rams
Honorable mention: Brandon Dorlus, Falcons
Hall did not belong in Round 2. I viewed his film at Ohio State as first-round caliber, and realize he can and will get better against the run as he adds more strength to his frame. But interior defensive linemen need to disrupt the pocket as pass-rushers today, and Hall can absolutely do that, particularly in Cleveland with the opposing game plans centered around stopping Myles Garrett.
Murphy and Hall are very comparable. Juice, juice, and more juice off the football, swim move, swipe move, and Murphy is further ahead halting the run. Fiske is another high-energy, ridiculously athlete on the inside, he’ll be a terror next to Defensive Rookie of the year runner-up Kobie Turner in Los Angeles.
Dorlus will be a steady contributor inside in Atlanta, just like he was for the past three years at Oregon. Unique frame and skill set.
Linebackers: Payton Wilson, Steelers and Jeremiah Trotter, Eagles
Second team: Junior Colson, Chargers
Honorable mention: Edgerrin Cooper, Packers
Wilson with the Steelers was a match made in football heaven. If he can stay healthy, he’ll be a Pro Bowl type by his second or third season in the NFL. Trotter’s instincts compensate for his lesser athletic profile, and the Eagles scheme linebacker production as well as any team in football because of their uber-talented and deep defensive front.
I didn’t love Colson on tape. Really. Didn’t see the coverage ability linebackers need today. But he was the best tackling second-level defender in the class, and landing with Jim Harbaugh absolutely will help his maturation process in the NFL. Cooper is a dynamic athlete who’ll pair nicely with former first-round pick Quay Walker in Green Bay.
Boundary cornerbacks: Quinyon Mitchell, Eagles and Terrion Arnold, Lions
Second team: Nate Wiggins, Ravens
Honorable mention: Chigozie Anusiem, Commanders
Chalk here. Mitchell and Arnold were my favorite cornerbacks in the 2024 class. They have it all. Mitchell has All-Pro upside. Arnold will be a steady pro for the next decade in Detroit. Man, zone, tackling, blitzing, ball skills.
Wiggins’ unprecedentedly slender frame scares me slightly, but he’s a proficient athlete with natural mirroring talent and the awareness needed to find the football. I’m going way out on a limb and selecting a UDFA for honorable mention here. Anusiem hovered well below the radar during the pre-draft process but ran 4.40 with a 37.5-inch vertical at 6-foot and 200 pounds. Plus, his film on the boundary at Colorado State was fantastic.
Slot cornerback: Kris Abrams-Draine, Broncos
Second team: Cooper DeJean, Eagles
Honorable mention: Kamari Lassiter, Texans
Abrams-Draine likely sunk in the draft due to some injury concerns. On film, this was not a fifth-round talent nor producer at Missouri. He defended 34 passes with seven interceptions since the beginning of 2021. If a cornerback has that type of production in the SEC, he knows what he’s doing at the cornerback spot.
DeJean will probably play four or five different positions in Philadelphia, and I love him most as a slot defender. He has the athletic prowess to live — and thrive — in space, and he will find the football.
I viewed Lassiter similarly, although he’s not quite as physically gifted.
Safeties: Malik Mustapha, 49ers and Jaden Hicks, Chiefs
Second team: Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, Cardinals
Honorable mention: Trey Taylor, Raiders
Mustapha is a chiseled rocket who can be a Tal Hufanga type in San Francisco as the veteran returns from injury. And playing behind San Francisco’s defensive front is quite the luxury for a defensive back. Hicks had no business lasting until the fourth round based on the size and coverage skill he demonstrated at Washington State.
Taylor-Demerson doesn’t bring a totally well-rounded game to the NFL. But when he sees the football, he has the burst needed to make repeatedly plays on the football down the field. Taylor was a steal for the Raiders on Day 3. There weren’t many other plus tacklers who held up in coverage as well as Taylor did at Air Force at his NFL-caliber size.