Sports Talk

Good morning from 40,000 feet. I’ll be halfway across the country from my home base on the East Coast by the time you’re reading this, but that won’t prevent me from dropping another monthly update to my big board for the 2024 NFL Draft. The opening four weeks of the college football season helped create this new top 200 ranking of the best draft-eligible players. I broke the top 200 into 11 tiers. Tier 11 consists of dart throws – players who could outperform their rankings if healthy and drafted by the right teams. Tier 10 includes mid-day three picks who will offer value as early-career backups or rotational pieces. Tier 9 is slightly larger than Tier 10 and features the largest collection of day three talent in the top 200. There are several players in this tier who will rise into the top 100 by the end of the year. Tier 8 is only three players deep. All three entered the transfer portal after the 2022 season and landed in bad spots that have prevented them from showcasing their talent (for one reason or another). Tier 7 is the largest tier. It includes the vast majority of players who will be considered for third round picks. Most players in this tier will play significant snaps as mid-to-high usage rotational contributors as rookies.