Mel Kiper Jr. Projects 2 Penn State Players in NFL Draft's 1st Round

Could the ESPN draft analyst be downplaying the Nittany Lions' chances in the 2024 NFL Draft?

Penn State football has been on a hot streak of late at the NFL Draft, with 37 players being drafted over the last six seasons. The stretch under head coach James Franklin is Penn State's best since 1992-97, when 39 Nittany Lions were drafted. Penn State's 2024 draft should continue that run, with three players earning first-round consideration.

ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. projects two Nittany Lions to go in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, but could he be underplaying the number? There's a lot of scouting and subterfuge before Detroit hosts the draft from April 25-27, but here's what we know now. Offensive tackle Olu Fashanu and defensive end Chop Robinson basically have solidified themselves as first-round picks, while Kalen King has some work ahead of him to become Penn State's first cornerback selected in the first round.

Kiper's first-round mock at ESPN posits Fashanu to the New York Jets with the 10th overall pick. Fashanu, a consensus first-team All-American, is the highest-graded offensive tackle on many draft boards, but not Kiper's. The ESPN analyst projects Fashanu to be drafted after Notre Dame's Joe Alt (at No. 7 to Tennessee). Fashanu long had been considered perhaps the first non-quarterback off the board, though Ohio State receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. changed that narrative. But Kiper also projects Fashanu following receivers Rome Odunze (Washington) and Malik Nabers (LSU), Alabama linebacker Dallas Turner and Georgia tight end Brock Bowers.

"He still hasn't come close to reaching his ceiling," Kiper writes of Fashanu, who did not allow a sack over the past two seasons.

Robinson, meanwhile, settles in Kiper's first mock at No. 25 to Tampa Bay. Robinson was a transfer portal success story for Penn State: a former linebacker at Maryland who wanted to rush from the edge, saw an opportunity to do that at Penn State and ran with it. Could he have pushed that ceiling higher? Kiper believes so.

"His 18% pressure rate was really solid, but it didn't translate into production," Kiper writes of Robinson. "Still, I expect Robinson to test well at the combine, and we know NFL teams fall in love with edge rushers who have high-upside traits. Robinson is still a bit raw, but he has tools with which to work."

What about King? The cornerback had a nice year, finishing second-team All-Big Ten, but did not deliver the consistently elite play that he had teased during the 2022 season. Still, King should impress at the NFL Combine, where he could earn back some first-round credit. Otherwise, King is a solid second-round selection.

Meanwhile, Penn State's record for a seven-round draft is 10 picks, which the program set in 1996. Could the Nittany Lions approach that this year? Penn State has four other prospects certain to be drafted: edge rusher Adisa Isaac, linebacker Curtis Jacobs, cornerback Johnny Dixon and tight end Theo Johnson. Three others are likely but will need a strong draft-prep cycle: cornerback/returner Daequan Hardy, center Hunter Nourzad and tackle Caedan Wallace. For Penn State, 10 draft picks seems like an attainable goal this year.

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