Rams 2024 draft: We know about the risers, but what about the fallers?

Examining prospects that are dropping on draft boards

At this point of the new season, forecasting draft talent to the Los Angeles Rams is in full swing. Here at Turf Show Times, there’s no lack of articles from major media pundits and in-house content providers, all touting draft up-and-comers. But what about draft board fallers? Is there any value there?

Cornerback Kalen King of Penn State and Florida State wide receivers Keon Coleman and Johnny Wilson were all getting Round 1 run before the season, now they seem to be swimming in cement shoes. North Carolina WR Tez Walker dropped passes at the Senior Bowl, Miami safety Kam Kinchens didn’t test well at the NFL Combine, and TCU cornerback Josh Newton got lost in a losing season. It’s going to cost them all money.

There are others in the 2024 NFL Draft who, at one time, were rated as top prospects and have fallen from attention. Here are three with interesting back stories.

Austin Stogner- Oklahoma

For some young men, playing football is a life or death commitment. For Stogner, it was a reality. In a late-season game in 2021, he caught a pass over the middle and took a hard hit just above the knees, he went down and was helped off the field. He was ruled out for the rest of the game with a deep thigh bruise. As the post-game treatment protocols began, his leg didn’t respond and was attacked by a strep infection. The pain became unbearable and he was rushed to a hospital. The infection was eventually cleared out, taking 12 days of institutional care. Amazingly, he returned to play in the Sooners January bowl game, but had lost 35 lb. and was on a heavy course of antibiotics.

Before the injury, many draft experts projected Stogner on a pro trajectory and was expected to develop into an early/mid round selection. He has requisite NFL size, at the Oklahoma Pro Day he measured in at 6’ 6” 254 lb. with 34” arms and 9 3/4” hands. His speed (4.85 forty), burst (4.37 shuttle), and change of direction (7.25) numbers were adequate. Stogner had good explosion numbers ( 35” vertical and 9’ 8” broad), but his bench press strength was lacking at 16 reps.

Stogner plays a well-rounded game, he knows how to use his stellar length to block well on the wing, inline and out in space. He’ll need more upper body strength to subdue pro edge players, but does a good job of mirroring and staying attached to defenders in both pass and run blocking. As a receiver, Stogner had some drop issues early in his career and worked to overcome them. He needs sharper breaks against man but finds soft areas in zone. His best attributes are his frame and length. He understands how to box out defenders and is good at high point grabs.

In theory, Stogner is a matchup nightmare, big and long with formational versatility, in reality he’s an experienced, solid college player with 59 games and 33 starts who never really broke through the ceiling to reach his full potential. While many pundits say his on-field game hasn’t come back from his devastating injury, you cannot question his heart and commitment to the game.

Zion Nelson- Miami

Once projected as a possible Round 1 draft pick, Nelson has seen his career derailed by knee injuries. Built like a prototypical left tackle at 6’ 5” 316 lb. and blessed with 11” hands, 35” arms and an 84” wingspan, he also moves very well, both straight ahead and laterally.

He originally committed to Appalachian State, before Miami came calling. He enrolled early and after playing his senior year of high school at 235 lb., put on over 50 lb. in the month’s leading up to the season. He took to the offense, worked hard and earned the role of Day 1 starter at left tackle.

Nelson started 13 games as freshman in 2019 and at times, it wasn’t pretty. Learning the college game on the fly, he really struggled over the course of the season. He gave up 38 pressures and 12 sacks. As a sophomore, he lost his starting job but stuck with it and eventually won it back and became a top performer for the final seven games. Taking a COVID19 redshirt in 2021 and after a slow start came on to start 13 games with 15 pressures and three sacks. After the season, he decided not to declare for the draft and got a lot hype as one of the top returning tackles for the 2022 season. Then came the knee problems and he only played in one more college game.

Light-footed and twitchy with fluid move skills. Doesn’t fit well into a power game, he’s a finesse guy for an outside zone team, a quick screen game, and moving the deeper levels for blocks. Needs a lot of play strength work. Natural pass blocker who has good balance, is patient with his punch and gets rarely get beat outside. Needs anchor work and the polish that comes from reps.

The 23 year-old has only played in one game since 2021. Even so, he’s still on draft boards and natural pass blocking left tackles are always in demand. Is he just a shell of his former self? Another promising career wiped out by a series of injuries, or has it been simply a case of bad luck?

Zakhari Franklin- Ole Miss

The body is missing, but if found, should still be warm. Franklin was riding high, after all he had put together back-to-back standout seasons for the University of Texas, San Antonio Roadrunners. He had been solid in his freshman and sophomore years with 87 catches for 1186 yards and 10 touchdowns, but showed out as an upperclassman. He snagged 174 balls for 2,164 yards and 27 touchdowns. He left UTSA as its all-time leader in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.

It made the 23 year-old a hot commodity in the NCAA transfer portal. He had been granted an extra season of eligibility due to COVID19 protocols and decided to take his chance at improving his draft stock. Although he had both natural tools and on-field production, Franklin could not resist the call to prove he was not just a small-school wonder, but that his ability to compete was transferrable to the big stage of college football and then on to the NFL.

He reportedly flirted with Oregon and Miami, but decided on the Old Miss Rebels, making the SEC his home. Things went downhill fast in Oxford, Franklin had a minor knee injury in summer workouts that needed minor surgery. He missed fall practice and the first three games. struggling to gain traction in the talented wide receiver room and wide-open Old Miss offense. He got back for four games, before mysteriously disappearing. Ole Hotty Toddy reported from a pre-game press conference at the time:

One of the questions that came up was about wide receiver Zakhari Franklin.

Kiffin confirmed he made the trip with the team. However, Franklin himself made the decision not to play in the game. The 4th year HC of the Rebels also admitted he wasn’t sure what the future holds going forward for Franklin.

“He did make the trip,” Kiffin said. “I don’t know the plan for him the rest of the year. So, he ended up ‒ by his decision ‒ not playing. So, you’d have to ask him.”

When the question was asked, you could see from the reaction, that Kiffin was uncomfortable with answering. He took several seconds to answer, looking like he was trying to find the correct words.

On film, Franklin shows very good hands, ball-tracking, and is strong at the catch point. He’s built long and lean, 6’1 185 lb. with 33” arms. Played primarily outside. Although he’s not a twitchy mover and has only adequate build-up speed, he’s a good runner after the catch with solid contact balance and looks to spin out of tackles for extra yards. Fearless over the middle and blocks out defenders well. Needs to be sharper out of breaks and is sometimes lackadaisical finding soft areas of zone.

Zakhari Franklin was considered by Pro Football Focus as one of the top college receivers before the 2023 season and is still amongst Top 200 prospect lists. It’s a very deep 2024 WR class, does he have a fit ? Sleeper with potential?

Any interest from the Rams?

Likely not, this piece was less about prospecting for the L.A. draft as it was about examining what a fine line it is between being a highly-rated prospect and an undrafted free agent. How a top player can be suddenly exiled to the fringes by injury, bad decision, or off-field problems. I had two others I wanted to include in this article, defensive tackle Jermayne Lole and tight end Michael Trigg. The pair have bounced through several programs, but have decided to take one more shot at rehabbing their draft potential in college.

It’s not aways about traits, physical prowess, and innate talent. Pure chance has to be given its due.