Penn State football’s top 2024 NFL Draft prospects to watch
Jessica Wood Penn State should be ranked in the top 10 this preseason, and its sophomore class is stacked with talented players such as Nick Singleton, Drew Allar, Abdul Carter and Kaytron Allen, among others. But it’s next year’s draft class that could be a special group for coach James Franklin.
Penn State had six players picked in last week’s draft, following eight players drafted in 2022, the highest total during Franklin’s tenure. The 2024 class could challenge for that crown and just might have three players land in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft.
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The 2024 headliners
OT Olu Fashanu
Penn State might be home to the best offensive tackle in college football. Fashanu was a projected first-round pick had the left tackle declared this past winter. Dane Brugler, The Athletic’s draft expert, ranked Fashanu as his top offensive tackle and fifth-best prospect. Now, Brugler has him as the top tackle and the third overall pick. Get prepared for lots of Caleb Williams/Fashanu content this year as the USC quarterback and PSU lineman were high school teammates.
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Fashanu’s age has become an interesting storyline. He won’t turn 21 until December, and the 6-foot-6, 323-pound standout has limited wear and tear. He made his first career start in the Outback Bowl to end the 2021 season and started eight games last season before missing the rest of the season due to injury. Penn State hasn’t had an offensive lineman drafted in the first round since Levi Brown was selected fifth overall in 2007.
CB Kalen King
Penn State had 10 defensive backs drafted in the past six years. King could end up selected the highest of them all. After it looked like a lock that Joey Porter Jr. would go in the first round and snap Penn State’s streak of no defensive backs being drafted in the first round, King will have a shot to change that. As Porter, selected 32nd, prepped for the draft, teams made it a point to ask him about King and what impressed him about the junior.
With opponents avoiding throwing at Porter most of last season, King stepped up. He was credited with 18 pass breakups. Brugler projects King to go 16th overall.
Adding another layer of intrigue, the next draft is in Detroit, King’s hometown. King and his twin, PSU linebacker Kobe, starred at nearby Cass Tech.
Could Penn State end up with three players selected in the first round? It’s a strong possibility. Brugler projects Robinson, the former Maryland transfer, to go 17th overall.
Robinson, a junior, was timed running the 40-yard dash in 4.47 seconds this spring, tops among PSU’s ends. He showed up last season with 10 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks through 12 games.
Part of the intrigue with his transfer was because he’d be at Penn State for more than one season. Robinson should be one of the top edge rushers in the Big Ten, with Ohio State’s J.T. Tuimoloau — a name all too familiar to Penn State fans after last season — also vying for the conference’s top spot.
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Penn State had two players selected in the first round in 2021 (Micah Parsons and Odafe Owen). Should three hear their name called on opening night, this class would be the first to have more than two PSU players selected in the first round since 2003, when four players (Jimmy Kennedy, Michael Haynes, Bryant Johnson and Larry Johnson) were drafted in the first round.
Players on the rise
CB Johnny Dixon
In January, Penn State brought in North Carolina graduate transfer Storm Duck. By April, Duck was on the move to Louisville after Dixon, a senior, locked down the starting job opposite King. Dixon’s surge will be one of the more important developments for this team, but also for his NFL future. The former South Carolina transfer drew rave reviews from cornerbacks coach Terry Smith. Dixon has the advantage of playing alongside and competing with elite corners. Smith said this spring that Dixon was playing at an elite level alongside King.
“We already know Kalen is a preseason All-American,” Smith said. “Johnny Dixon can be an All-American next year, too. That’s how well he’s playing.”
DE Adisa Isaac
It’s been a long recovery since a season-ending injury in the 2021 preseason. Isaac returned to start all 13 games last season and contemplated declaring for the draft. Working opposite Robinson and with Dani Dennis-Sutton in the rotation, Isaac could be in line for a strong year. His 11 tackles for loss led the team last season. He also posted four sacks.
Back for a second season under coordinator Manny Diaz, Jacobs has shifted around the linebacking corps, a detail that speaks to his intelligence and athleticism. He’s started 23 games and had 52 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, four sacks and two fumble recoveries last season. Jacobs starred against Minnesota last year (14 tackles, seven solo tackles, two tackles for loss).
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TE Theo Johnson
Tight end Brenton Strange was selected in the second round by the Jacksonville Jaguars, where he’ll be reunited with receiver Parker Washington. Johnson — if he can stay healthy, which has been a challenge — has a rare combination of size (6-6, 256) and athleticism. That’s what made him so intriguing as a recruit when he was playing Canadian rules football but starred on the camp circuit. It’s a deep and loaded tight ends group at Penn State, and Johnson should lead.
Penn State needs Lambert-Smith to be the No. 1 receiver and also one of the best in the conference and country. Franklin made that challenge clear this spring. So far, Lambert-Smith seems to have responded. The former four-star prospect had one of the fastest 40 times on the team this spring (4.34), and if his late-season surge against Michigan State and in the Rose Bowl was any indication, Lambert-Smith could make a significant leap. If that happens, the junior could rise on draft boards.
Wild cards
WR Dante Cephas
He’s not on campus yet, but there will be lots of playing time up for grabs once the Kent State transfer does enroll. In 2021, Cephas had 82 receptions for 1,240 yards and nine touchdowns. Last season, he had 48 receptions for 744 yards and three touchdowns in nine games.
S Keaton Ellis
The senior who started 13 games last season was already named a team captain. Penn State’s run of successful DBs could extend to Ellis, who likely will end up wowing with his testing numbers, too. Keep in mind fellow safeties Jaylen Reed and Zakee Wheatley also will be draft-eligible.
Working on the left side next to Fashanu, Tengwall returned this spring after missing the last eight games of the season to injury. Listed at 6-6, 314 pounds, this year should provide an extended look at the four-star prospect who ranked 54th nationally and headlined Penn State’s 2021 class. It would likely take a dominant year in conference play for this jump to happen.
TE Tyler Warren
The former high school quarterback-turned-tight end has carved out a key role. Just how much teams will covet what the 6-6, 254-pound prospect can do remains to be seen. Warren’s numbers haven’t wowed (10 receptions, 123 yards, 3 TDs) but his value has been on display countless times, including around the goal line.
Penn State views its nickel as another starter, and that’s where Hardy factors in. He’s one of the fastest players on the team, with a 40 clocked in the 4.3s this spring. He can add value on special teams, too. At 5-9, 175, he doesn’t have the size teams covet, but his speed could be a separator.
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If Wallace locks down the starting spot at right tackle over intriguing sophomore Drew Shelton, then all of PSU’s projected starting O-line would be eligible for the draft (Fashanu, Tengwall, Hunter Nourzad, Sal Wormley, Wallace). Wallace has yet to put it all together. A four-star prospect who ranked 81st nationally per 247Sports in the 2019 class, it’s now or never. Wallace has started 27 games, and at 6-5, 328, the intrigue could be there, but the consistency has to match.
OL Hunter Nourzad
Nourzad, filling in for center Juice Scruggs who was selected by the Houston Texans in the second round, stayed for an extra season for a reason. Shifting from guard to center will come with challenges, but if he is successful, his versatility could make him an interesting option. He’s 6-3, 312 pounds, and was an honorable mention All-Big Ten selection last year after making eight starts.
(Photo of Olumuyiwa Fashanu: Scott Taetsch / Getty Images)
