Where did Penn State cornerback Kalen King go in the 2024 NFL Draft?

Penn State cornerback Kalen King is off the board in the 2024 NFL Draft. The Detroit, Mich., native who left the Lions early to start his time in the pros will do so in Green Bay. The Packers selected him with the No. 255th overall pick just three picks before the end of the draft.

King started the 2023 season by being billed as a potential first-round pick, and a likely early-round pick at worst. But, he fell into Day 3 due to up-and-down play as a junior following an third-team All-American honors from Pro Football Focus and a second-team nod from Walter Camp Football in 2022. Still, he believes his best football is ahead of him.

“I feel like this last season definitely was different, but for a variety of reasons,” King said at Penn State Pro Day. “One being I was coming off of an All-American season. I feel like opposing teams took it that way and I was not targeted for like half of the season. So that was a learning curve for me,” he said. “This season taught me a lot. I feel like every season I’ve been here, I learned something new.”

King is the eighth former Penn State player to go off the board. He follows tackle Olu Fashanu, who went at No. 11 to The New York Jets, defensive end Chop Robinson, who went to the Miami Dolphins with the No. 21st overall selection, Caedan Wallace, who went to the New England Patriots with the 68th overall pick, defensive end Adisa Isaac, who went at No. 93 to Baltimore Ravens, and tight end Theo Johnson, who went to the New York Giants at No. 107 and Daequan Hardy who wen to the Buffalo Bills with the 219th overall pick.

Tracking Penn State cornerback Kalen King’s path to the NFL Draft

At this time a year ago, you would not have found many prognosticators who regarded King as a Day 3 selection. Many described the Detroit native as a first-round talent, and the consensus was that he was an early Day 2 pick, at worst. 

But King struggled during the 2023 season, and he didn’t light up the Senior Bowl, the NFL Combine or Penn State’s Pro Day, either. As a result, he’s fell to Day 3. Still, it’s not all doom and gloom for the former four-star recruit. It only takes one team to fall in love with a player in order for him to surpass expectations, and one now has.

“My game shows my toughness, my heart, my competitiveness, and just the way I approach the game,” King said at Penn State’s Pro Day. “I feel like I’m one of the most competitive guys out there. Qualities like that don’t really show up on [testing] times. You’ve got to just really see it.”

It is true that King drastically improved his 40 time between the combine (4.61 seconds) and Penn State’s Pro Day (4.52). There is talent to work with, and he has another factor working in his favor in that he displayed excellent versatility as a member of Penn State’s secondary the past three years. 

“King has experience playing both sides of the field and as the field or boundary corner, providing good position versatility for NFL schemes,” analyst Greg Cosell wrote for The 33rd Team. “Overall, King possesses a good mix of physicality and athleticism to be a contributor in Year 1. He can develop into a good outside starting CB, especially with his alignment and coverage versatility.”

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