DRAFT TRACKER 2024

Williams’ play is highlighted by rare escapability paired with the talent to exploit defenses once the play breaks down. He’s not tall, but he is well-built, with an arm to challenge defenses across the field. He can be a high-impact playmaker on the go or an effective pocket passer when he allows himself to trust his eyes on second and third reads. He can improve his accuracy and placement on intermediate and deep throws, but he’s unlikely to be known for pinpoint accuracy. It is admirable that he looks to keep his eyes up and make throws outside the pocket, but he’ll make things easier on himself early in his pro career by becoming a more decisive scrambler to move the sticks and carry on to the next set of downs. Williams is tremendously talented but often bites off too much responsibility and plays off-schedule. He has a good chance to hit new heights with a surrounding cast he trusts, but greater self-discipline and a well-structured offense might be needed to help him become a quarterback who can elevate a franchise to championship contention.

Lloyd's flashes on tape could lead a team to envision a more expansive role for him in its offense, but based on his play, he feels more like a good complementary option with big-play potential. Frankly, some of his South Carolina tape from 2022 felt more exciting than his 2023 USC film, despite the higher yardage-per-carry mark in 2023. While he ran with improved patience and set up blockers more diligently in '23, he ran with a greater sense of urgency the year prior and proved he could create explosive plays without as much help from his offensive line. Lloyd runs with slightly below-average vision but has the juice to play the role of "chunk-play slasher" and dangerous open-field pass catcher. Lloyd is a low-mileage prospect, and the scope of his role will obviously depend on scheme fit.

Long and athletic with a series of feast-or-famine plays all over the tape. Bullock can be scary good in coverage and scary bad as a run defender. He has the range to play single-high safety, the athleticism to line up over the slot and the ball skills to chalk up impressive on-ball production. As a run defender, Bullock's poor recognition, missed run fits and bad angles to the football cost his team chunk plays and touchdowns. He won't always see or process the game clearly, but the athleticism and playmaking talent are hard to overlook. He's young and talented, and if he runs well enough, there might be a team more interested in his skill set as a cornerback than as a boom/bust safety.

The bloodlines don’t get much better than Jerry Rice, so Brenden Rice might have a head start on the rest of the field. He’s big and plays a physical brand of football when cornerbacks want to fight over space. He lacks sudden feet, so beating press cleanly and separating on short routes could be challenging as a pro. Rice possesses good build-up speed to create deep-ball opportunities once his ball skills are added to the equation. Rice catches with quick, strong hands and good extension to help with frequent contested catches. There are some limitations at play, but he has enough checkmarks to project as an early backup with some upward mobility.

Washington’s measurables could work against him during the evaluation process, but his competitiveness and consistency should balance that out somewhat. He is a slot-only prospect with ordinary burst but above-average route acumen. He rarely creates big separation windows but makes up for it with an impressive win rate on contested catches. He’s fearless into the middle of the field and is a willing run blocker out of three-wide receiver sets. Washington is a talented return man and has some real dog in him on coverage teams. He should go on Day 3 and will fight for a roster spot as a WR5 with special teams value.

Highly experienced cornerback with good build and average speed. Roland-Wallace has the athleticism and play strength to disrupt the catch, but tight hips and average instincts limit opportunities for takeaways. He allows too much pitch and catch in front of him in off-man but is a much tougher matchup when pressing. He has the patience and footwork to match releases and is quick to get into the receiver's face from there. Roland-Wallace is just average shadowing patterns and doesn't have a big make-up burst in recovery. The size, strength and talent are worthy of a Day 3 selection and future backup opportunity.

Offensive lineman who has the grit, play strength and know-how to play guard, but his size and length could prevent it. Kingston has been well-trained in pass protection, with a steady posture and quick hand strikes, but he could have issues when he’s on an island and forced to defend both gaps against an athletic rusher. He’s capable of making zone-scheme blocks and does an admirable job of sustaining run blocks for as long as possible. While he never played the position in a collegiate game, Kingston’s future in the NFL might rest on his ability to prove he can snap and move to center. 

Interior lineman with below-average frame and physical traits relative to the NFL game. Barrs plays hard and is able to create favorable angles for himself despite some lower-body tightness and unorthodox movement. He was asked to slant and move at USC, but he’s very average at beating blocks in front of him when asked to play it heads-up. I don’t expect Barrs to be on the field for pass-rush situations, so he will need to prove he can play his best ball in a one-gapping system to make a roster as a 4-3 interior tackle.

An edge defender with a fairly productive run at both Wyoming and USC, Byrd fails to stand out physically or athletically on tape. He plays with solid aggression and play strength but finds himself entangled with blockers more than he should. He can be creative when attacking tackles at the top of the rush, but he struggled to get much done when tasked with taking on some of the more talented opponents on the schedule. Byrd possesses certain play features that are worthy of consideration, but he might not have enough above-average qualities to make much of a mark in the league.

Compact back with adequate size to keep runs on time between the tackles. Jones is a complementary back who makes up for a lack of juice with consistent tempo and a lack of dancing. He can take on contact and has pretty good vision, but he’s unlikely to create yardage for himself with elusiveness, power or speed. He shows some guts in pass protection and can get what’s available as a pass catcher, but Jones doesn’t appear to have the traits to help him stand out as a prospect.