ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. has three Tennessee players on his 2024 NFL Draft Big Board

ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. has three Tennessee players on his NFL Draft Big Board, which includes rankings for the top 10 players at each position group. Quarterback Joe Milton III, running back Jaylen Wright and tight end McCallan Castles were all made the cut on Kiper’s lists.

Wright was ranked the highest, at No. 6 among running backs. McCastles was No. 8 in the fullbacks/H-back category and Milton was ranked as the No. 9 quarterback.

Wright in November became the 19th running back in Tennessee football program history to go over 1,000 yards in a season. He ran 137 times for 1,013 yards averaging 7.4 yards per carry, reaching the 1,000-yard mark in 22 fewer carries than any other Tennessee running back before him.

Castles, the 6-foot-5, 252-pound tight end who transferred from UC Davis to Tennessee, was the third leading receiver in his one and only season with the Vols. He caught 22 passes for 283 yards and five touchdowns in 13 games.

Jaylen Wright’s Tennessee career: 368 carries, 2,297 yards, 18 touchdowns, 6.2 yards per carry

Wright in 2022 carried 146 times for 875 yards and 10 touchdowns. He had 85 carries for 409 yards and four touchdowns in nine games in 2021. He’s also caught 30 passes for 171 yards during his Tennessee career.

He was a three-star running back prospect in the On3 Industry Ranking out of Southern High School in Durham, N.C. in the class of 2021. He was ranked No. 515 overall in the class, No. 35 among running backs and No. 26 in the state of North Carolina.

Milton finished the season with 2,813 yards, 20 touchdowns and five interceptions.  Last season Milton threw for 971 yards and 10 touchdowns, appearing in nine games as Tennessee’s backup quarterback, playing behind Hendon Hooker.

Milton went out on a high note, completing 22 of 33 passes for 383 yards and four touchdowns in Tennessee’s regular-season finale against Vanderbilt on November 25 at Neyland Stadium. He ran five times for 11 yards, giving him six total touchdowns on the day.

Milton a recruit was a four-star prospect in the 2018 recruiting class out of Olympia High School in Orlando. He was ranked No. 242 overall, was the No. 17 quarterback and the No. 42 overall prospect in the state of Florida. 

ESPN Analyst: Joe Milton’s ‘arm talent stands out right away’

ESPN NFL Draft analyst Jordan Reid in December ranked Milton 11th in the 2024 NFL Draft quarterback class. In his breakdown of Milton, Reid wrote that he his “arm talent stands out right away — he has the arm strength to throw the football through a brick wall.”

“But,” Reid wrote, “while Milton attempted maybe too many fastballs in the past, I saw improved patience and better decision-making in the underneath areas this season.”

Reid quoted an AFC scout saying, “He’ll wow you up close with his size and arm, but we’re still waiting on all of it to click with him, and it just hasn’t happened consistently enough yet.”

That’s what Reid highlighted while explaining the areas Milton needs to improve.

“While Milton’s physical traits are apparent,” Reid wrote, “he still struggles with deep accuracy. He completed 28.6% of his passes of 20-plus air yards (103rd in the FBS). Touch on vertical throws remains a concern despite the arm strength. He has to learn to layer the ball to his desired spots.”