Favorite Prospects of the 2024 NFL Draft

Dane Brugler, Robert Mays and Nate Tice come together to discuss their favorite players of the 2024 NFL Draft, from those in the top 10, to the ones slightly outside the top 100.
Download THE BEAST 2024 NFL Draft Guide - theathletic.com/5399690/2024/...
0:00 Intro / Draft anticipation
3:54 WR Malik Nabers
6:33 WR Rome Odunze
9:16 QB Drake Maye
19:43 CB Quinyon Mitchell
26:31 OC Graham Barton
30:49 DT Byron Murphy II
35:21 WR Adonai “AD” Mitchell
41:28 DE Marshawn Kneeland
46:21 Christian Haynes
50:09 CB Andru Phillips
55:56 CB TJ Tampa
59:12 LB Junior Colson
1:04:24 RB Tyrone Tracy Jr.
1:09:09 SAF Malik Mustapha
1:12:52 TE Tip Reiman
1:15:51 TE Theo Johnson
1:20:24 TE Jared Wiley,
1:21:51 TE AJ Barner
1:22:25 DE Braiden McGregor
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[@jacobberglin5459]

The conversation about Drake Maye is so spot on

[@ChuckNorris11741]

The week leading up to the draft is like Hanukkah for draft nerds. Thanks for all the great content

[@TheAthleticNFL]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@phl2150]

Theo Johnson makes turns like an oil tanker. It wasn't malpractice he just has no lateral quickness.

[@jamesfeldmann1095]

The close to this pod was fantastic. And showed these three and their chemistry. Cannot wait for the Draft!

[@johnofmalta]

My man Nate loves him some Drake Maye. That’s true love. Nate sees no flaws.

[@tonyk7387]

Lol find someone who loves you as much as Nate loves Drake. And never let them go

[@chasejones1999]

DK Metcalf is a good example of a guy who didn't have great college production.

[@123shoshan]

Adonai Mitchell is better

[@joeynickles7962]

@@123shoshanspecial talent but I worry about whether you’re gonna be able to get it out of him consistently. The fluidity at his size is INCREDIBLE. The hands (when he’s locked in) are INCREDIBLE. The body control is INCREDIBLE. Talent wise he’s right up there with those top 3. I just need to know if I’m getting big dog Adonai or ‘lil bro AD on a consistent basis.

[@kieranhinton9601]

Love the content fellas , these 3 guys seem to not have the fluff takes a lot get influenced having.

[@kieranhinton9601]

Do you guys have a discord ect

[@L_e_d_89]

I’ve been saying for the past month (since I really saw his tape). I can’t unsee Tyreek hill in Nabers YAC. He moves like no one else I’ve seen since Hill

[@SayjbeeMOB21]

Elite content fellas 🔥💯

[@TheAthleticNFL]

Thanks for tuning in!!

[@Oldsnake2240]

I'm really glad to hear Nate likes TJ Tampa as much as I do and sees what I see. I think he's a great fit for the Lions where they can develop him as an outside corner and get looks at safety. If he doesn't pan out at corner, I think he'd transition well to safety full time

[@wardog211]

I’m right with Dane. Quinyon and Murphy are my favorites of the defensive guys.

[@stancal9249]

The talk about Nabers and Odunze is so fun. I say that Nabers is jet fuel and Odunze is an adamantine beam. Nabers has specific use cases, but when used properly is absolutely devastating. Odunze can be used in any application and will be an incredibly useful piece that will never fail, and his strength will allow him to be the focal point and hide the potential weaknesses elsewhere in the foundation. Both great players, excited to watch their careers.

[@123shoshan]

odunze gets zero separation all his catches are perfect throws if he had AD Mitchell qb Rome odunze would of had 800 less yards big bust

[@dj7973]

If they want to, Nate and Dane should be NFL GMs in the future. They're awesome.

[@appratap87]

Love the Drake conversation. Would be cool to have you talk to Mueller about his take, since it is so different.

[@natej84]

Nate not being able to full throat AD Mitchell is concerning

[@wardog211]

AD Mitchell led all of the receivers in this class in unrealized air yards in 2023. That is, times where he got separation but the ball was off target. He had 535 unrealized air yards. They had him running deep a lot and Ewers was just hilariously inaccurate throwing down the field. If u add those yards to his production last year he’d be at like 1400 yards. Also something like 70% of his catches went for a first down or a touchdown. Some high number like that. I wouldn’t really get caught up in his production.

[@dj7973]

I have The Beast. How do I order Nate's draft guide? Thanks.

[@jimmymango00]

This would have been great if not for the mount union mention

[@joeynickles7962]

God I love Byron Murphy lol. I mean everything Dane said and more. He’s so damn explosive through the hips. Another thing that absolutely jumps off the screen is the lateral explosiveness. He does this little hop step thing where I swear to God it looks like he’s teleporting into the gap. It’s so frickin awesome! Another thing, once gets just a little bit of leverage on you in a gap, it’s over….he’s getting through that thing and there’s no way you’re gonna stop him. You give Byron Murphy the proverbial inch and he takes a mile. My comp for him has been a pissed off bull on the streets of Pamplona, Spain surrounded by tourists. He’s coming after you…and you better not be in the way. One of the ten best players overall and, yes, for my money, the best defensive player in the draft.

[@Ynkno]

Best in the draft??

[@dillonmurphy2394]

Not sure if you guys respond to comments/questions on here, but Nate/Dane (or anyone else in the comments); does Maye remind you of Jordan Love at all? I usually lean with the ‘Justin Herbert with slightly less arm and a hint of Josh Allen insanity’ as a comp, but Love has come up for me as well. Physically really similar, similar arm talent, accuracy is hit or miss, etc.

[@tonypassaretti]

Maybe Nate can teach Mays how to wear a baseball cap.

[@L_e_d_89]

I’m also going to flag plant that Bo Nix will end up being the most successful QBs in the class

[@kieranhinton9601]

You only have to look at jalen hurts to know maye is a qb starter with huge upside, maye can actually process as well 🤷🏿‍♀️

[@tannerclifford8190]

Denzel Mims did well at the senior bowl and was a bust. Idk if he like obliterated the completion in Mobile tho

[@drakeholliday5671]

Zay Jones had an amazing Senior Bowl and is just average. Not an inditement on Quinyon, I love Quinyon, but you guys were asking about hype Senior Bowls that were a little misleading.

[@kieranhinton9601]

If you’re talking Quenyon Mitchell no one showed out more then him at the senior bowl

[@drakeholliday5671]

@@kieranhinton9601 Yeah they were just asking if anyone had an awesome Senior Bowl like Quinyon and didn’t pan out very well in the league. Zay came to mind. He’s not bad, but he’s not a plus starter.

[@123shoshan]

@@kieranhinton9601Quinyon is biggest bust of draft

[@101gonzalez]

perrion winfrey is a good example of somebody who showed out at the senior bowl and did nothing after

[@olivervonkarl]

Great shoutout.

[@kieranhinton9601]

The best thing to do after college stops is block out all the shit noise, ppl get their rankings influenced so much by nothing.

[@hutch761]

Nate not taking it well that everyone is out on his boy Maye.

[@drakeholliday5671]

Nabers is WR1

[@kieranhinton9601]

I feel like this type of stuff is how jjeffo got drafted so late ❤

[@drakeholliday5671]

@@kieranhinton9601 Yeah I just feel like if MHJ had a different name more people would be willing to say they think Nabers is the best in the class.

[@AiyukIsHim]

@@drakeholliday5671 if he didn't get shoved in a locker when playing good cbs on the outside i would agree but nah dawg to me he is clearly #2 but MHJ is a decent amount above imo and if you think its just name we gotta be watching a diffrent player man

[@JJ-zr6fu]

@drakeholliday5671 yeah if MHJ Marv white people would be saying he’ll catch the ball but he won’t get you the big play.

[@drakeholliday5671]

@@AiyukIsHim MHJ goes down easy after the catch. Watching Harrison back to back after Nabers left me disappointed with Marvin’s ability after the catch. He goes down easy. The stats back it up, too. MHJ broke 9 tackles in 2023 and Malik broke 30.

[@JJ-zr6fu]

No on Murphy. He’s physically undersized with his arms and also all this tape is against the same guys who made tyree Wilson look amazing. Also name all the Aaron Donald types that are dominating in the league.

[@brentleighton6705]

DK Metcalf is obviously a better pro than he was a college wr...

[@joeynickles7962]

Everyone disses Mumula as this workout warrior who couldn’t play football but that’s simply not true. Should he have been drafted where he was drafted? No. But he was a good (not great) football player and had a good (not great) career. Some narratives die hard I guess. Vernon Gholston on the other hand just flat couldn’t play professional football.

[@Nicho_Ldn]

I’m not sure that a 2021 comparison is a compliment. lol That would suggest that a significant number of teams are going to make major misjudgements. You guys need to talk to Chris Simms about Drake Maye. Have a constructive debate.

[@kieranhinton9601]

Are you against drake maye?

[@JJ-zr6fu]

I think Sims is over correcting and over confident. He’s said maye misses to many easy throws because of foot work but as they said foot work isn’t hard to fix if the guy is athletic and willing to work on it

[@Nicho_Ldn]

@@kieranhinton9601 Neither one or the other. My team is fortunately not part of that QB draft circus this year. However, we have seen the sentiment towards Maye shift drastically in recent months. I don’t personally agree with Simms all of the time, but he does put in the research and will support his argument. I think it would be a worthwhile debate.

[@kieranhinton9601]

My favourite guy is literally unheard of and will be the best prospect at his position 🤷🏿‍♀️

[@123shoshan]

Ad Mitchell is better than odunze and Quinyon Mitchell isn’t even a 4th round talent

[@JJ-zr6fu]

AD takes plays off wrs are also divas idk if you can fix that

[@AiyukIsHim]

That Mitchell take is wild lmao

[@mtndewit]

If Mitchell is the best wr in 5 years that wouldn't be the biggest draft upset. Guys his size dont move like he does. At the same time if he busts out of the league it won't be surprising either. Questions about his effort and the diabetes concerns could derail his career even if he go all in as a pro. You just couldn't be more wrong about quinon. Duno what youve seen to make such a ridiculous claim.

[@mtndewit]

​@AiyukIsHim his ceiling is as high as anyone with his size speed and fluidity but he has huge potential to bust with a lack of effort and diabetes concerns

[@jlm4455]

Mitchell is overrated. He struggled in press 1 v 1s at senior bowl and despite his paltry level of comp wasn't as dominant as drafts experts would have you believe. 2nd round talent.

[@ThePenitentSquirrel]

Unless at 225 pounds I was secretly always stronger then 1st Round NFL DT a 455 pound front squat at 308 isn't very strong at all. That dude should be able to do 600 Front and 900 on his back. Y'all need to check out Lasha Talakhadze (and Gor Minasyan) easily one of the naturally strongest people on the planet. It's actually kind of fun to watch.

[@JJ-zr6fu]

Yeah that’s not a good weight to front squat especially if he’s being typed as a stout body.

[@ThePenitentSquirrel]

​@@JJ-zr6fu The more I think on it the more I feel like they were throwing around numbers that they thought sounded good, but are impossibly bad for a lineman. Those sounded more like QB or WR numbers.