NFL Draft

8 late-round picks already looking like draft day steals

The preseason has been good to these guys.

Cory Kinnan

Jan 31, 2024; Mobile, AL, USA; National edge Austin Booker of Kansas (49) screams after a touch sack of National quarterback Bo Nix of Oregon (10) during practice for the National team at Hancock Whitney Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vasha Hunt-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 31, 2024; Mobile, AL, USA; National edge Austin Booker of Kansas (49) screams after a touch sack of National quarterback Bo Nix of Oregon (10) during practice for the National team at Hancock Whitney Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vasha Hunt-USA TODAY Sports / Vasha Hunt-USA TODAY Sports
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As we enter the last week of the preseason, there are some players like Austin Booker of the Chicago Bears, who are proving they should have been drafted much higher in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Last year it was wide receiver Puka Nacua who burst onto the scenes despite being selected on the third day of the draft by the Los Angeles Rams. He would go on to simply break the rookie receiving record. No big deal. Nacua, however, is an outlier in every sense of the word. There will not be a Puka Nacua every year. However, there are some players who are playing with a chip on their shoulder based on where they were selected in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Who are some of the other players who were selected in the late round of the draft who are outplaying their draft slot thus far? Here are eight players who are proving to be valuable assets to the teams that selected them:

2024 NFL Draft Austin Booker
Aug 10, 2024; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills running back Ray Davis (22) runs with the ball after making a catch against the Chicago Bears during the first half at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports / Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

RB Ray Davis, Buffalo Bills

Ray Davis has one of the best stories of overcoming adversity of anybody in the rookie class. Now breaking into the NFL nearing the age of 25, he is coming off of a stellar Week 2 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. In this game, Davis racked up 58 yards on eight carries, proving to be an elite pass blocker as well. He looks to cap off his preseason with another strong outing against the Carolina Panthers, but he plays for a team that loves to rotate running backs. Davis will see snaps as a rookie.

2024 NFL Draft Austin Booker
Aug 22, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs running back Carson Steele (42) celebrates after scoring against the Chicago Bears during the first half at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports / Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

RB Carson Steele, Kansas City Chiefs

Technically Carson Steele wasn't a late-round pick.

He was signed by the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent. And all he has done since then is outplay the likes of Keontay Ingram and Deneric Prince as he continues to grind his way to a spot on Kansas City's 53-man roster. He continues to run through wimpy defenders, racking up massive yards after contact. That was capped off with a 31-yard touchdown run through multiple arm tackles in the Chiefs' preseason finale against the Bears.

Steele deserves to make the roster in Kansas City.

2024 NFL Draft Austin Booker
Aug 11, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Dallas Cowboys cornerback Josh Butler (31) tackles Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Jordan Whittington (88) during the third quarter at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Hui-USA TODAY Sports / Jonathan Hui-USA TODAY Sports

WR Jordan Whittington, Los Angeles Rams

Puka Nacua does not grow on a tree. However, we might want to start asking ourselves why it is that wide receivers just seem to flourish under Sean McVay and in his offense. Perhaps it's because McVay drafts hard workers who he has a plan on how to use in his system. Texas' Jordan Whittington may just be the latest.

While Whittington is going to find most of his work on special teams early on in his career, being a leading receiver of all preseason players is a way to earn the attention of your coaching staff. That's just what he is doing, racking up 126 yards on 11 catches through two preseason games.

2024 NFL Draft Austin Booker
Mar 3, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Oklahoma offensive lineman Walter Rouse (OL63) during the 2024 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

OT Walter Rouse, Minnesota Vikings

Walter Rouse has a great deal of Power Five experience playing for both Stanford and Oklahoma throughout his college career. And now he enters the NFL level as a sixth round pick of the Minnesota VIkings, who have not been limiting his preseason workload.

Rouse has played a massive 94 snaps through two preseason games, and has yet to give up a sack. Allowing just three pressures on 61 pass blocking snaps, Rouse currently sits with a pass blocking efficiency of 97.5 percent. And he is doing it at both left and right tackle as he prepares to potentially become the Vikings' swing tackle in 2024 as a rookie.

2024 NFL Draft Austin Booker
Kansas redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Austin Booker (9) reacts after a sack in the fourth quarter of Saturday's Sunflower Showdown against Kansas State inside David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. / Evert Nelson/The Capital-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK / USA TODAY NETWORK

EDGE Austin Booker, Chicago Bears

Austin Booker would have been the NFL Defensive Player of the Year if they had given out preseason awards. But they don't. And while he will have to continue to improve his body of work against the run, Booker is proving that he must be on the field on passing downs and in obvious passing situations. He has been dynamic, explosive, and disruptive in the preseason.

Coming off of a game against the Buffalo Bills where he racked up three sacks, Booker capped off his preseason with a nasty spin move to get a pressure on the quarterback. The fifth round pick out of Kansas has been everywhere on the field for the Bears this preseason and has deservedly earned the hype he is getting.

2024 NFL Draft Austin Booker
Aug 11, 2024; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Denver Broncos cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine (31) pushes Indianapolis Colts wide receiver D.J. Montgomery (2) out of bounds during the second quarter at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports / Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports

CB Kris Abrams-Draine, Denver Broncos

Former Missouri cornerback had Day 2 grades coming into the 2023 season, but fell all the way to the fifth round and into the laps of the Denver Broncos. Through the first two games of the preseason he is showing why so many had high grades on him.

Through two preseason outings, Abrams-Draine has been targeted seven times and has surrendered just two catches for 16 yards and an opposing quarterback rating of 39.6. He has been sticky in coverage and even came away with an interception on a two-point attempt in the first preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts.

2024 NFL Draft Austin Booker
May 10, 2024; Tempe, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson (42) during rookie minicamp at the teams Tempe Training Facility. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

S Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, Arizona Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson had a lot of pre-draft love amongst NFL Draft analysts, and he is showing why early on. Whether it was his rangy interception against the Colts, the three stop tackles he has racked up, or the one catch for six yards on just two targets he has surrendered, Demerson-Taylor is making a name for himself in the desert.

And he is doing it from a variety of looks. Giving the Cardinals plenty of versatility on the backend of their defense, Demerson-Taylor has played 29 snaps in the box, 30 snaps over the top, and even five snaps in the slot. This type of versatility will help the rookie from Texas Tech find the field sooner rather than later.

2024 NFL Draft Austin Booker
Green Bay Packers safety Evan Williams (33) is shown before organized team activities Wednesday, May 29, 2024 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. / Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

S Evan Williams, Green Bay Packers

It has been quite a ride for safety Evan Williams.

Transferring from Fresno State to Oregon a year ago, Williams blew up onto the scene, leading him to be drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the fourth round this past April. And through the first two games of the preseason, Williams has only allowed three catches for a measly 14 yards while patrolling the backend of Green Bay's defense.

He has played 12 snaps in the box, 24 over the top, and six in the slot for the Packers without a missed tackle this preseason as well. The Packers just signed Xavier McKinney and drafted Javon Bullard in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft as well, but Williams is proving to the brass in Green Bay that he deserves to see Sunday snaps.

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Cory Kinnan

CORY KINNAN

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