2024 NFL Draft top-100 prospects, overrated, underrated and best value players

It’s draft week! top 100 prospects have been lined out and as well as are some key takeaways from the list and this year’s draft as a whole.

This year’s first round should mostly be made up of offensive players. with around eight offensive linemen, seven wide receivers and five quarterbacks potentially making up 20 of the first 32 picks alone. 

The defensive class may only see one player selected in the top-10 picks — most likely cornerback Quinyon Mitchell or defensive tackle Byron Murphy II. There could be another two or three cornerbacks selected after Mitchell in the first round between Alabama's duo of Kool-Aid McKinstry and Terrion Arnold.

At least three edge rushers could go off the board in the first round, while tight end Brock Bowers is expected to go in the first 15 picks of the first round. That leaves roughly four spots or so open for other prospects to sneak into the top-32 picks. Defensive back Cooper DeJean and linebacker Edgerrin Cooper have the talent to be two of those four picks, if teams opt to take the top player at their positions. 

However, these teams could get concerned with the run on receivers, offensive linemen, cornerbacks, quarterbacks and edge rushers and chose to select players from these groups before the talent dries up by their next selection. The first-round selections could dictate how the rest of the draft goes. 

Here’s positional outlines on when the talent at each position starts to dry up, along with which prospects are being undervalued and overvalued by the consensus of public evaluators.

Seven-round NFL mock draft: The Sporting News predicts every pick

2024 NFL draft top 100 prospects

2024 NFL draft overrated, underrated and best value picks

2024 NFL draft quarterbacks

The quarterback position is going to be thin after the first round. There are about four players at the position worthy of being considered between Rounds 2-5. Spencer Rattler, Michael Penix Jr. Michael Pratt and Jordan Travis should all hear their names called before the sixth round.

• Underrated – Spencer Rattler, South Carolina
• Overrated – Michael Penix Jr., Washington
• Best Value – Michael Pratt, Tulane
• Day 3 Pick – Jordan Travis, Florida State

2024 NFL draft running backs

A running back may not be selected in the first two rounds this year. However, once the third round arrives, they’ll start to fly off the board. There should be 15-20 running backs selected between the third and fifth rounds. If a team is for a difference-maker at the position, the third round would be best to get your pick of the litter but talent can still be had until the end of the fifth round.

• Underrated – MarShawn Lloyd, USC
• Overrated – Jonathon Brooks, Texas & Bucky Irving, Oregon
• Best Value – Will Shipley, Clemson
• Day 3 Pick – Ray Davis, Kentucky

2024 NFL draft wide receivers

The wide receiver group is extremely talented and deep. Good players can be found in this draft from the first round all the way through to the fifth round. It’ll lead teams to question whether they should add early at the position, wait for value later or even double-dip in such a talented group.

• Underrated – Jermaine Burton, Alabama
• Overrated – Troy Franklin, Oregon
• Best Value – Jacob Cowing, Arizona
• Day 3 Pick – Ainias Smith, Texas A&M

NFL draft prospect pro comparisons: How each first-round player relates to an NFL star

2024 NFL draft tight ends

The tight end position is a bit odd this year. Bowers will go in the top 15 picks in the draft but the next tight end off the board is anyone’s guess. The most talked-about prospects at tight end after Bowers are Ja’Tavion Sanders, Cade Stover, Ben Sinnott, Jared Wiley and Theo Johnson. The predictions on who of the group will be selected 2nd-5th are all over the place with everyone having differing opinions. 

If a team hits on the right prospect, they may end up with the second-best player at the position from this class in as late as the third or fourth round. Teams could treat the tight end position like the running back position this year by waiting until the third round before forcing the issue.

• Underrated – Cade Stover, Ohio State
• Overrated – Theo Johnson, Penn State
• Best Value – Ben Sinnott, Kansas
• Day 3 Pick – Jared Wiley, TCU & Tip Reiman, Illinois

2024 NFL draft offensive linemen

The tight end position isn’t the only one in which prospects rankings vary drastically. The offensive line group has players ranked very differently depending on who is grading. It’ll make for great value on the teams that select correctly at the positions. If looking to draft an offensive lineman, teams should do so by the fourth round. The cream will rise with these NFL teams selecting their pick of the litter, leaving a thin crop of talent for the 5th-7th rounds at the positions. 

• Underrated – OT Blake Fisher, Notre Dame
• Overrated – OT Amarius Mims, Georgia
• Best Value – OG Christian Mahogany, Boston College
• Day 3 Pick – OT Caedan Wallace, Penn State

2024 NFL draft defensive tackles

The defensive tackle position is similar to the tight end position this year as there is a clear top-15 prospect at the position in Byron Murphy II. Then, just like with tight ends, there may not be another player selected at the position until the second round. There should be a healthy amount of talented defensive tackles going off the board between the second and fifth rounds, though. It’ll dry up by the sixth round.

• Underrated – Michael Hall Jr., Ohio State
• Overrated – Ruke Orhorhoro, Clemson
• Best Value – Fabien Lovett Sr., Florida State
• Day 3 Pick –  Marcus Harris, Auburn

2024 NFL draft edge rushers

The edge position is less than desirable in 2024. It’s a position that could slide in the draft as teams could wait for the right guy to fall to them in specific spots rather than forcing the issue as even the top guys all have questions surrounding them. Teams needing to draft edge this year may have to take guys earlier than they would like as there are only a couple of guys worth considering in each round. 

The best value at the position from this class will most likely come from players drafted between the second and fourth rounds. The risk is higher on the potential first-round guys and teams who pass on them will need to go back to the position on Day 2 or in the fourth round to start Day 3.

• Underrated – Austin Booker, Kansas
• Overrated – Dallas Turner, Alabama
• Best Value – Gabriel Murphy, UCLA
• Day 3 Pick – Jalyx Hunt, Houston Christian

2024 NFL draft linebackers

Linebackers could be like the running back position with no players selected in the first round. Edgerrin Cooper and Payton Wilson may be the only ones selected in the first two rounds. The fireworks will start in the third round, though, where linebackers should come off the board more rapidly and continue through the fifth round.

• Underrated – Tyrice Knight, UTEP
• Overrated – Payton Wilson, NC State
• Best Value – Curtis Jacobs, Penn State
• Day 3 Pick – Marist Liufau, Notre Dame

2024 NFL draft cornerbacks

Three cornerbacks are expected to be selected in the first round, but then there’s no consensus on the top players afterward. There’s talent at the position, but most of the prospects have an issue or two and few are considered clean prospects outside of Mitchell. 

Teams will be able to draft cornerbacks between the second and fifth rounds and still have an opportunity to land a good player. It’ll be interesting to see how teams value each player who either lacks traits or tools.

• Underrated – Ennis Rakestraw Jr., Missouri
• Overrated – Terrion Arnold, Alabama
• Best Value – Decamerion Richardson, Mississippi State
• Day 3 Pick – Dwight McGlothern, Arkansas

Safeties

It’s not the deepest group of safeties, but there are some good prospects in the first four rounds of this year’s draft. NFL teams will find it hard to land talent if waiting to select their safety in the fifth round or later and would be mostly just adding special teamers at the position.

• Underrated – Tyler Nubin, Minnesota
• Overrated – Jaden Hicks, Washington State
• Best Value – Tykee Smith, Georgia
• Day 3 Pick – Malik Mustaph, Wake Forest

Full 2024 NFL draft order