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T'Vondre Sweat Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Three under-the-radar 2024 prospects whose draft stock is soaring

By Michael Gallagher | Last updated 11/2/23

Midway through the 2023 NFL season, teams have a pretty good idea whether they should start making postseason plans or look ahead to the 2024 NFL Draft.

Next year’s draft class is loaded at several positions including quarterback, receiver, offensive line and edge-rusher, and there are plenty of players to be excited about beyond just the first round.

Here’s a look at three under-the-radar players who’s draft stock has been consistently rising throughout the first eight weeks of the college football season:

1. T’Vondre Sweat, DT, Texas

Unlike last year when three defensive tackles went in the first round and six in the first 64 picks, the 2024 class isn’t as deep and there’s a big dropoff from the top DT — Illinois’s Jer’Zhan Newton, who’s projected to be a top-15 pick — and the rest of the top prospects like Miami’s Leonard Taylor and Michigan’s Kris Jenkins, who are ranked in the 35-to-50 range.

However, Sweat has quietly put himself in contention to be a late first-rounder or early-to-mid second-rounder with his performance for the 7-1 Longhorns. Despite being 6-foot-4 and 336 pounds, Sweat moves more like a 250-pound edge-rusher than he does a stereotypical run-stuffing defensive tackle. His upper-body strength is a true asset that allows him to bulldoze through opposing offensive linemen and plug up running lanes.

T'Vondre Sweat is a FORCE

pic.twitter.com/EyudBoHyDy
— PFF College (@PFF_College) October 7, 2023

Sweat is Texas’s highest-graded run defender, per Pro Football Focus, and he has the second-most run-play tackles (18) and run stops (17). He’s also no slouch in the pass-rush department either, logging 13 pressures, nine hurries, and three QB hits with the second-best pass-rush win rate (17.3%) on the team.

2. Tyler Nubin, S, Minnesota

Several scouts are divided on how high Nubin should be ranked, but most typically agree that he, USC’s Calen Bullock and Miami’s Kamren Kinchens are the top three safeties in the 2024 class.

Beginning the year as a fringe first-rounder, Nubin has really come into his own as a shutdown defensive back. He’s allowed a completion percentage of just 20% when targeted this year, and he’s only surrendered two receptions for eight yards with three forced incompletions and three interceptions, per PFF.

Nubin is known as a ballhawk with tremendous closing speed and excellent coverage skills on deep throws. His instincts in coverage combined with the range to cover the entire field could be what ultimately helps Nubin get into the middle part of Round 1.

Minnesota’s Tyler Nubin is the ONLY player in the Big Ten this season to record ALL of the below:

• 20+ tackles (31 total)
• multiple INT (3)
• multiple passes defended (2)
• a sack (1)
• a forced fumble (1)

Nubin does it all. He’s one of the best safeties in CFB. pic.twitter.com/6AA6nuuGNB
— Ben Stevens (@BenScottStevens) October 27, 2023

3. Troy Franklin, WR, Oregon

There could be as many as six receivers taken in the first round — Marvin Harrison Jr., Rome Odunze, Malik Nabers, Keon Coleman, Xavier Worthy, Emeka Egbuku — and Franklin is making a strong case to be included in the second tier of receivers in the 2024 class.

He’s scored a touchdown in all but two games, and he hasn’t had fewer than four catches or 79 yards in any game this season. Franklin is tied for the fifth-most touchdowns (nine) in the NCAA and his 867 receiving yards rank seventh in the country. He’s also one of just 12 WRs with 700 or more yards to average 16.7 yards per reception or better.

Franklin has established himself as an early Round 2 receiver option along with Xavier Legette, Adonai Mitchell and Ja'Lynn Polk, and he could be the first wideout off the board on Day 2 when it's all said and done.

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