• Louisville running back Isaac Guerendo: Despite being the Cardinals’ No. 2 back this past season, Guerendo’s powerful running style should entice a team on Day 3.
• South Dakota State offensive guard Mason McCormick: He’s been one of the FCS’ best all-around offensive linemen in each of the last two seasons.
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The headliners of the 2024 NFL Draft are all well-known at this point. Players like Caleb Williams, Marvin Harrison Jr., Brock Bowers, Drake Maye and Joe Alt have all been watched very closely by talent evaluators for the last two-plus years.
While those players are all expected to come off the board early in the draft, the true backbone of NFL rosters is built after the first round. True gems can be found even with the final pick (San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy). Here are five sleepers to know in this year’s class.
Guerendo wasn’t even Louisville’s top running back this year, sitting behind fellow 2024 prospect Jawhar Jordan on the depth chart. However, Guerendo is above Jordan on PFF’s big board for how efficient he was on his limited touches. The 225-pound bruiser averaged 4.1 yards after contact per attempt this past season, seventh among Power Five backs.
Gould is a smaller receiver at 5-foot-8, 172 pounds, which should limit him to a slot-only receiver at the next level. He makes up for his lack of size with separation ability. Gould was charted as being open on 78.4% of his targets this season, which was in the 78th percentile for receivers this season. He could be a steal for a team late on Day 3 who could use a slot receiver.
OG MASON MCCORMICK, SOUTH DAKOTA STATE JACKRABBITS
McCormick has been one of the best all-around offensive linemen in the FCS for a couple of years now. He was one of only three offensive linemen at that level this year who earned 85-plus PFF grades both as a pass-protector and run-blocker. In 2022, he was one of two FCS guards to earn 80-plus PFF grades in both facets.
