NFL Player News

The Steelers selected Wilson in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft, 84th overall.

Wilson was widely expected to go sooner than this, but he falls to Pittsburgh here likely due to concerns about how well-rounded his skill set may be. The Michigan product is small at 5-foot-11, 185 pounds, and his generally strong 4.39-second 40-yard dash was actually a slight disappointment given that he was expected to be one of the three fastest receivers at the combine (his 4.39 was tied for sixth best). Still, Wilson is some version of very fast and should pose a consistent downfield threat in the NFL, even if he lacks other dimensions to his game. He risks getting cast largely as a speed decoy if he doesn't draw targets more consistently than he did at Michigan, however.

The Packers selected Hopper in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft, 91st overall.

Green Bay is restocking its linebacker room on Day 2 of the draft as Hopper joins Edgerrin Cooper among rookie Packer 'backers. Hopper has explosive lower-body strength and was a solid tackler at Missouri with an ability to make plays in the backfield (20 TFL in final two seasons). Like Cooper, Hopper is on the smaller side for an off-ball linebacker and will need to improve his play strength to avoid being routinely washed out of plays. If nothing else, Green Bay is going with a volume approach in addressing its linebacking group.

The Buccaneers selected Smith in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft, 89th overall.

Smith took a circuitous route to draft night. After starring at West Virginia early in his career with All-American accolades, Smith transferred to Georgia, where he had a brutal stretch of injury luck. A foot injury kept him out to start 2021, and then he suffered a torn ACL. After playing a rotational role in 2022, Smith secured a starting job at nickel in 2023 and got himself back on the NFL radar. Physicality is the name of his game, as he got in on 70 tackles as a fifth-year senior and showed coverage chops with four picks. He tested well at the combine, and if the injury woes are truly behind him, Smith is an asset at nickel or safety.

The Cowboys selected Liufau in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft, 87th overall.

Liufau was a "see ball, get ball" type of linebacker at Notre Dame with the ability to diagnose where the play was going and get there in a hurry, often with authority. His intensity led to him occasionally running out of plays but also record some impressive highlights. At 6-foot-2 and 234 pounds with 4.64 speed, his chase-and-tackle ability should translate to the next level. Dallas will have to get him to play more disciplined, but if they can accomplish that, Liufau can be an asset in this linebacker corps.

The Cardinals selected Reiman in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft, 82nd overall.

Reiman will likely do a lot of blocking at the pro level, and he certainly won't be stealing any targets from Trey McBride (or even Elijah Higgins), so his fantasy upside with Arizona seems pretty close to zero. With that said, Reiman could be an excellent player for real football purposes. At 6-foot-5, 271 pounds, the Illinois product is both ridiculously massive and improbably athletic for his build (4.64-second 40-yard dash). Defensive coordinators won't enjoy matching up with Reiman.

The Bengals selected Burton in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft, 80th overall.

Burton (6-foot, 196 pounds) is a former blue-chip recruit who transferred from Georgia to Alabama, displaying standout talent at both schools but also picking up his share of critics along the way. He developed a reputation for dubious judgement on the field and in the locker room both, and not as many former coaches went to bat for him as they normally would with a player of his abilities. With that said, Burton's fit at the pro level doesn't require much speculation. If he has his head in the game he has the talent to emerge as at least an average starter at some point, and for the Bengals he should be an immediate boost to the deep passing game. With 4.45-second 40-yard dash and impressive hands/tracking ability, Burton could hurt defenses that leave him in single coverage against slower corners.

The Browns selected Zinter in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft, 85th overall.

Cleveland's offensive line was decimated by injury in 2023, so adding depth there was a priority in this draft. Zinter will hopefully be able to help to that end in 2024, but he suffered a broken left tibia and fibula in his final career game in November. Prior to the injury, Zinter started 42 games at right guard for the Wolverines and was a road grader for a physical Michigan offense that emphasized running the ball and play-action passing. His status will be monitored in the lead-up to training camp, but if he's ready by then, he will be a quality depth piece on the interior.

The Rams selected Corum in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft, 83rd overall.

This is an interesting pairing as Los Angeles found a diamond in the rough in Kyren Williams in 2022, but Corum was likely the best player available at this stage. Corum had a storied career at Michigan with 3,736 yards on 675 rushes (5.5 YPC) and a whopping 58 scores on the ground, including 27 in his senior season. He's a stout back at a shade under 5-foot-8 and 205 pounds who doesn't have blazing speed but has tremendous vision and runs with exceptional toughness to pick up yards. Pass catching won't be his meal ticket in the NFL, but it doesn't need to be with Williams picking up that part of the offense. Corum is a threat to take carries from Williams right out of the gate, and while this strengthens the Rams backfield significantly, handicapping this backfield will be a headache for fantasy managers.

The Texans selected Bullock in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft, 78th overall.

Bullock was a safety at USC and could very well stick there in the NFL, but at just 6-foot-2, 188 pounds he risks getting clobbered in run defense if he doesn't add any weight. There are at least two bits of good news on this, though. The first is that Bullock might have the skill set to play at corner anyway, and at that position he'd have close to the ideal frame for press coverage. The second is that Bullock is still young, turning 21 on April 30. If Bullock were something more like 200 pounds in a year or two it wouldn't be shocking, and at that point he'd have a more conventional safety frame.

The Broncos selected Elliss in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft, 76th overall.

The son of former standout NFL defensive tackle Luther Elliss, Jonah is much smaller at 6-foot-2, 248 pounds and will therefore look more like an edge-rushing specialist in the NFL. Elliss' production at Utah implies the presence of a standout skill set, because he just turned 21 in April yet produced 12.0 sacks and 16 tackles for loss in just 10 games last year. Unfortunately, he was unable to do much pre-draft athletic testing as he recovered from a torn shoulder labrum.