Penn State NFL Draft predictions: How many players will go, and where will they end up?

The 2024 NFL Draft starts Thursday in Detroit, Mich. No former Penn State players will be in the green room this year waiting to walk up onto the Draft Theater stage once their name is called. But, that does not mean no Nittany Lions will go in the first round. Far from it, in fact. As many as two could go on Day 1. And, a total of 10 could go off the board before the three-day process is complete, which would tie a program record set during the 1996 NFL Draft.

Before the picks start rolling in, Blue-White Illustrated is taking a crack at predicting both how many members of head coach James Franklin’s 2023 team and where they will end up. We break it down by day below.

Where could Penn State players go on Day 1?

There is no question that Penn State will have a first-round pick for the first time since 2022. The question is whether or not the Lions will have a pair of players go on Day 1 for the first time since 2021, when Micah Parsons went at No. 12 before Odafe Oweh went at No. 31.

Lions left tackle Olu Fashanu is the sure-fire first-round selection. The NFL Mock Draft Database consensus board, which combines predictions from around the Internet, suggests the All-American going at No. 14 to New Orleans is his most likely landing spot. Some have the Maryland native going in the top 10. On3’s Andy Staples is one person who has that happening, as he predicts Fashanu will go to Tennessee with the No. 7 overall selection. Others, like NFL.com’s Chad Reuter, have the lineman slotted outside of the top 20. He sends Fashanu to Miami at No. 21.

The other potential Day 1 pick from Penn State is edge rusher Chop Robinson. His chances of going somewhere during the first 32 picks are good but not guaranteed. The consensus sends him to Tampa Bay at No. 26 overall. Staples has him going at No. 30 to Baltimore. Arizona at No. 27 is another popular prediction. Some analysts also see Robinson falling into Day 2. But, there aren’t many who think that will happen.

Here are our day one predictions:

OT Olu Fashanu: Round 1, pick No. 13, Las Vegas Raiders: With the whole world knowing the Saints need offensive line help, the Raiders, as long as they don’t trade back, nab the Nittany Lion right before them.

DE Chop Robinson: Round 1, pick No. 19, Los Angeles Rams: The NFC West team needs pass-rushing help, and there’s no guarantee Florida State’s Jared Verse will be around at this point of the first round. We’ll assume he won’t be, which leads to LA taking the Maryland native.

How many former Nittany Lions could go on Day 2?

This is where the projections start to become murkier for obvious reasons. Getting most of the first 32 picks right is hard enough while trying to forecast trades, picks perceived as reaches, and so on. Going any further than that is the epitome of a dart throw (read on to see how we describe Day 3 selections).

With that said, former Lions end Adisa Isaac is the safest bet of all to be a Day 2 pick. There is a strong consensus that he will go in Round 2. But, falling into Round 3 is not out of the question. Projections range from Atlanta in Round 2 to Washington in either Rounds 2 or 3. We’ll take a wild stab and project Isaac to go in Round 2 to the Baltimore Ravens at No. 62 overall. It would give the AFC North team another talented pass rusher from a school it’s familiar with.

Next on our list is tight end Theo Johnson. He projects as the Nittany Lion who could go far sooner than expected in this year’s draft class. Many have him going either sometime during Round 3 or very early in Round 4. We’ll give the Canadian the benefit of the doubt and slot him in on Day 2 in Round 3 to the Cincinnati Bengals with the No. 80 overall selection. The confidence level is rather low, however, just simply due to a few seven-round mocks seeing this as a likely landing spot, and Round 3 selections are usually where group think goes to die.

Will a handful of Lions go on Day 3? Here are the Rounds 4-5 picks

Our best guess is yes. But, slotting where they’ll go is about as easy as predicting when to play 0 on a roulette wheel. And, doing that might even be easier than projecting seventh round picks. But, we’ll give it a shot anyway.

With a major caveat being the fact that Johnson could ultimately be the first Penn State alum off the board on Day 3, based on our projections so far, we’ll say that player is Curtis Jacobs. It won’t be a surprise to see him go as soon as Round 4 or as late as Round 7. The mock drafts are all over the place when it comes to where the Maryland native will land. There is a consensus that the Los Angeles Chargers will likely take a linebacker in this Draft. So, we’ll send Jacobs to the NFC West franchise with the No. 150 overall selection in Round 5.

Next up is center Hunter Nourzad. Some analysts have assigned the multi-year Penn State starter a Round 4 grade. That feels a bit high to this writer. But, he also got Juice Scruggs’ landing spot wrong by putting him too late, so take it for what it’s worth. With that said, most in the draft community see Buffalo using one of its fifth-round picks on an interior offensive lineman. Thus, we’ll send Nourzad to the Bills at No. 160 overall.

We’ll stay along the offensive line with our next Nittany Lion to go off the board: Caedan Wallace. The way the NFL Draft community thinks of the New Jersey native mirrors the way Nittany Lions fans did when he wore blue and white: Some are much higher on his abilities than others. With that said, it’s no secret that Philadelphia needs offensive line help in this draft. They have back-to-back picks in Round 5. We’ll say Wallace goes to the Eagles with one of them, either No. 171 or No. 172, barring trades that move those picks, of course.

Which Penn State players could go in Rounds 6 or 7?

Kalen King leads the way here. Some see the former Penn State cornerback as a Round 5 selection. But, most see him sliding into Round 6, and we’ll side with them by sending the Detroit, Mich., native to the Green Bay Packers with the No. 219 overall selection during that round.

Later on, in Round 7, we’ll project our final Nittany Lion to go off the board by sending Johnny Dixon to Detroit with the No. 249 overall selection in Round 7. Note that it wouldn’t shock us to see the Lions take King in Round 6 leaving Dixon for Green Bay in Round 7. Both teams look destined to take cornerbacks on Day 3, at the very least.

We should note that our predictions leave Lions cornerback Daequan Hardy undrafted. We will probably grow to regret that, as someone will likely take him in Round 7 to avoid having to play the undrafted free agency lottery to get him. But, it’s our stance for now.

Pickel Penn State 2024 NFL Draft predictions

Here they are in list form:

OT Olu Fashanu: Round 1, pick No. 13, Las Vegas Raiders

DE Chop Robinson: Round 1, pick No. 19, Los Angeles Rams

DE Adisa Isaac: Round 2, pick No. 62, Baltimore Ravens

TE Theo Johnson: Round 3, pick No. 8, Cincinnati Bengals

LB Curtis Jacobs: Round 5, pick No. 150, Los Angeles Chargers

C Hunter Nourzad: Round 5, pick No. 160, Buffalo Bills

OL Caedan Wallace: Round 5, pick No. 172, Philadelphia Eagles

CB Kalen King: Round 6, pick No. 219, Detroit Lions

CB Johnny Dixon: Round 7, pick No. 249, Green Bay Packers