Penn State puts 3 on ESPN's 'too early' 2024 NFL Draft first round mock
Penn State will not play its first game of the 2023 season for 58 more days. The 2024 NFL Draft, then, will not start for almost 300 more 24-hour cycles. Yet, that hasn’t, and will not, start “way-too-early” mock draft season from starting. In fact, it already did shortly after the 2023 pro selection process ended. Now, ESPN NFL Draft analyst Jordan Reid has compiled his latest predictions for who will go in the first round next year.
Reid has three Nittany Lions going on day one, which for those keeping track, will be April 25, 2024, in Detroit, Mich. The first member of head coach James Franklin’s program set to go is left tackle Olu Fashanu. He is slotted at No. 4 to the Indianapolis Colts.
“A major part of the Colts’ outlook hinges on the development of left tackle Bernhard Raimann,” Reid writes. “If he builds on his solid second half of the 2022 season and takes the next step, Indy could approach this pick differently. But for the time being, the Colts must add more protection for quarterback Anthony Richardson.
“Many scouts believed Fashanu would’ve been the first offensive tackle taken in the 2023 draft. But, he opted to return to Happy Valley for another season. He is an explosive and well-balanced tackle with the mirror-and-match ability to handle most edge rushers. He’s still filling out his frame, but Fashanu has the ideal length and strength to generate movement as a run blocker, too.”
Fashanu could have left for the pros last season, of course. But, coming back could make him a top-five pick instead of a top-10 choice, as Reid suggests.
Which other Penn State players could go in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft?
Chop Robinson is up next. The talented defensive end drawing national attention ahead of his second season at Penn State is mocked to Minnesota at No. 21.
“At 6-foot-3 and 242 pounds, Robinson is urgent and displays a variety of pass-rush plans. He did get first pressure within 2.5 seconds on an FBS-best 12.1% of his pass-rush snaps, which shows his ability to create chaos,” Reid writes.
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“Robinson still needs to fill out his frame and show he can be relied on as an early-down run defender. But, the potential is there.”
The last Nittany Lion on Reid’s prediction list is Penn State preseason All-American and junior cornerback Kalen King. He is sent to the Detroit Lions with the No. 25 overall selection.
King is one of my favorite players to watch on tape — he is an easy move,” Reid writes. “At 5-foot-11 and 188 pounds, he will be labeled as undersized for some teams. But, he reminds me of Denzel Ward as a prospect because of his ability to blanket receivers and slam throwing windows shut. He finished last season with 15 pass breakups, tied for fifth best in the FBS.
“It should not be surprising if King catapults up into the top half of the first round by next spring — or even ends up the first player selected at the position.”
Much will change about these predictions over the next 10 months. But, they are just the latest sign of how much talent Penn State has coming back for the 2023 season.
