NFL Draft News & Analysis

2024 NFL Draft: Biggest differences between PFF's big board and mock draft ADP

2RTHNF2 Iowa defensive back Cooper DeJean (3) gets set for a play during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Iowa State, Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023, in Ames, Iowa. Iowa won 20-13. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

• Jayden Daniels is set to comfortably surpass his big board rank: The LSU signal-caller's average draft position in PFF's Mock Draft Simulator is between Pick Nos. 4 and 5.

• Cooper DeJean is a top-10 player on PFF's big board: The Iowa cornerback comes in at No. 8 in the rankings but is being drafted closer to Pick No. 22 in PFF's Mock Draft Simulator.

• Draft and trade for yourself: Try PFF's Mock Draft Simulator — trade picks and players and mock for your favorite NFL team.

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The final PFF big board of the 2024 offseason has launched, and with just a week to go until the 2024 NFL Draft, we can get a clear picture of which players PFF lead draft analyst Trevor Sikkema is higher and lower on than the consensus based on his big board rankings and average draft position in PFF’s Mock Draft Simulator.

With some weighting toward the top of the draft, here are the 10 biggest differences between big board rank and ADP among players expected to be drafted in the first two rounds.


Players Ranked Higher Than ADP

CB Cooper DeJean, Iowa

While DeJean was primarily an outside cornerback at Iowa, his size and athletic profile lends him to being a player who can thrive anywhere in the defensive backfield at the next level. He excelled in coverage in 2023, allowing just 43.5% of the passes thrown into his coverage to be caught, and earned a 78.6 PFF run-defense grade.


DI Johnny Newton, Illinois

Newton is on the small side and can get overwhelmed by double teams, but his production over the past two years in college has him as PFF’s top 2024 interior defender prospect. The Illinois standout, despite playing through injury in the second half of the 2023 season, won 15.4% of his pass-rush reps and earned a 77.1 PFF run-defense grade last year.


EDGE Adisa Isaac, Penn State

What jumps out about Isaac on tape, and is backed up by PFF grades, is how good he is against the run. Despite weighing in at just 247 pounds at the NFL scouting combine, he uses his leverage well to set the edge and gets off blocks using his hands. He’ll need those skills to win at the next level, given his size and strength, but he proved he could do it in college.


RB Blake Corum, Michigan

One of just two running backs ranked inside the top 60 on PFF’s final big board, Corum wasn’t as effective in 2023 as in 2022. However, he was coming off a meniscus tear and improved as the year went on. He was a difference-maker in 2022, leading all running backs in PFF rushing grade (96.2) and forcing 73 missed tackles from 248 carries.


WR Malachi Corley, Western Kentucky

Corley was one of college football's most productive receivers over the past two seasons and is coming off a 2023 campaign during which he averaged 2.78 yards per route run, ranking ninth among receivers in this draft class. A former running back, he has the vision to make people miss with the ball in his hands, forcing 55 missed tackles on 180 receptions over the past two seasons.

Click here to see Malachi Corley's 2024 NFL Draft profile.

Players Ranked Lower Than ADP

QB Jayden Daniels, LSU

Coming off a Heisman Trophy-winning campaign, Daniels figures to hear his name called as early as second overall in the 2024 NFL Draft. He’s lower than that on PFF’s final big board but is still viewed comfortably as a first-round player. The biggest concern with Daniels is how often he takes sacks, doing so on 20.2% of the plays where he faced pressure in 2023. However, it’s worth noting that this was 10.6 percentage points lower than in 2022, so he at least showed some improvement in that regard.


QB J.J. McCarthy, Michigan

Like Daniels, McCarthy is almost certain to be off the board long before his ranking suggests. He’s coming off his best college season, earning a 90.6 PFF grade and making a turnover-worthy play on just 2.9% of his dropbacks. The knock on McCarthy is his lack of “wow” throws on tape, with a 5.9% big-time throw rate that has him trailing Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye.


EDGE Darius Robinson, Missouri

Robinson’s draft hype grew significantly at the Senior Bowl, but after some run as a first-round player in mock drafts, both his PFF Mock Draft Simulator ADP and big board rank put him in the second round. He was a productive player in his final season at Missouri, earning an 81.4 PFF run-defense grade and winning 17.0% of his pass-rush reps, so he should immediately slot into a rotational role in the NFL.


OT Kingsley Suamataia, BYU

One of the more interesting players in a strong offensive line class, Suamataia would benefit from being drafted to a team where he can develop as opposed to being thrust into a starting role at left tackle right away. He earned an 86.1 PFF pass-blocking grade but just a 52.9 PFF run-defense grade in 2023. Still, he is a tremendous athlete and, at just 21 years old, has plenty of time to develop once he gets to the NFL.

Click here to see Kingsley Suamataia's 2024 NFL Draft profile.

WR Xavier Worthy, Texas

You can’t teach the raw speed that Worthy possesses. He set a record with a 4.21-second 40-yard dash time at the NFL scouting combine earlier this offseason, but he doesn’t come off the board until midway through the second round for most users in PFF’s Mock Draft Simulator. He doesn’t turn 21 until next weekend and has three years of impressive production at Texas, so he could very well come off the board earlier than expected.

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