2024 Draft: Which player (if any?) will break out?

[Voice_of_Reason]

I have said in multiple posts I think the biggest issue with Peter's roster construction to date has been the 2024 draft picks, specifically the 5 2nd and 3rd round picks, have not developed into definitive starters.

For reference, I started a thread in October of 2025 which you can reference with thoughts at that time. I will link it at the bottom, but I don't think things have improved much since then.

Going into year 3, this is a huge year for that draft class. I have argued it's because of that draft classes lack of development, it necessitated being more aggressive in Free Agency than you would want to be. I think there's no small part of Peters who thought he would get MUCH more out of that draft class in 2025, as the biggest leap for players is typically between years 1 and 2, and that's one reason they did less last year than they should have.

So here we are. The question is simple: which one of these guys will break out and justify their draft position in their third year. I'm going to ask for one in the poll. If you believe it's more than one, then vote for the top choice and put others in the comments.

I'm eliminating Daniels from consideration or discussion in this thread.

The candidates are:
- Johnny Newton (2nd round, pick 36): Has not been extremely durable. Has been a rotational player. Quinn said earlier this off season he has looked really good, but that was actually before the off-season workouts started, so it's more "hopes and dreams" as Conn pointed out. I question how much he's going to play. At the moment, I see him as DT 3 or 4 behind Payne and Kinlaw. He's competing with Settle for snaps. He will play, but how effective will he be?

- Mike Sainristil (2nd round pick 50): Had a really promising rookie season, was moved to the outside out of necessity (Thank you Forbes) and did pretty well. Year 2, they moved him inside and he struggled, then played a bit better on the outside later in the season. It seems like they are moving him back to the outside for 2026. He's undersized, but also has "moxey" as we like to say in these parts. He could be a very good fit for the new defensive scheme. But there are questions coming off of a bad sophomore season and due to his lack of size.

- Ben Sinnott (2nd round pick 53): Sinnott has done literally next to nothing in the passing game, but has proven a pretty good blocker. He might have been a poor fit for Kliff's offense, but a better fit for Blough's offense. That said, it's going to be hard for him to get on the field with Chig the primary target in the pass game and Bates as one of the best blocking TEs in the league.

- Brandon Coleman (3rd round pick 67): Had a really promising rookie season. Was hurt in camp, but split time with Lucas at LT until he took over the role mideway through the season. However then we traded for a top 3 LT in the league (Tunsil) and tried to move Coleman inside. He struggled at LG, and was replaced by Paul. He's also had a real problem with availability. He's been hurt in camp in both of his 2 years, and that frustrated coaches and one of the main reasons why he was replaced by Paul. However, he's a great athlete, and would seem to be a perfect fit for the zone-stretch run game.

- Luke McCaffery (3rd round pick 100): Has been one of the best kickoff returners in the league, but hasn't really caught on as a WR. He has 39 receptions for 371 yards and 3 TDs over 2 years. The coaching staff put him in a lot of different spots, and then he got injured and only played 9 games last season. He's part of a logjam of backup/second tier receivers who would project to play the slot with Williams (rookie) and Lane. Could he play outside? He has the size for it, but dunno.

- Jordan Magee (5th round Pick 139): The coaches love his athleticism. He was the theoretical heir apparent to Bobby Wagner because of this. He has struggled with availability, and to get on the field. And then the team went and drafted Stiles and now his role is much more cloudy. With the additions of Chenal and Stiles, and the likely move to a 3-4 defense with edge defenders playing OLB positions, where does Magee fit? He seems to be in a battle with Luvu, Chenal and Medrano (and maybe others) to even make the team or be active on gamedays.

- Dominique Hamption (5th round, pick 151): Was already released.

- Javontae Jean-Baptiste (7th round pick 222): Had turned into a good rotational player. Got hurt last year. Now his future for even making the team is really in doubt with all of the additions at OLB and Edge.

I'm going to vote for Coleman. For whatever reason, I think Coleman is going to stay healthy, beat out Paul (which I think the coaching staff definitely wants him to do) and play well in a scheme that should really fit him will. He's also going to play next to Tunsil. And if the rumors are true that Biadasz struggled with protection calls, being next to Allegretti might actually be helpful.

My runner up is Sainristil. I think he has a lot of talent, and he can be good in this defense. My reservation is his physical limitations and him playing outside and having to match up with bigger, stronger outside WRs consistently which I'm not sure he's capable of doing.

I think Jean-Baptiste is going to end up on the PS. I wouldn't be at all shocked if Macgee also is released and lands up there or on another team.

My biggest hope is Newton puts it all together and becomes a pass-rushing force from the 3-4. But that's a hope and I'm not betting on it.

I think this is likely Sinnott's last year on the team, though i think he's a player who could do well elsewhere. McCaffery, I just dunno. He could either just stay a ST player or he could be a good WR contributor.

Here's the link to the 2025 thread for reference:

2024 NFL Draft in Review

I did a little review of the 2025 draft after 1/4 of a season, and then skinsinparadise did a little 2024 recap in that thread. I thought it might not be a bad idea to have a thread for the 2024 draft class in review now that we have a year + of pay time on them to see how they are doing...

www.bgobsession.com

 

[Always Commander Never Captain]

Sainristil, I suspect this defense is really playing to his strengths. Zone corner, vision on QB, and he'll know how the pressure defense will operate at a high level and what the QBs are likely to try and do to attack it.

If Coleman was at RT it might have been him too, but really need to see more in Training Camp than what he put out last summer.

Newton was a bet on returning to form after the foot injuries. His college tape just looks different in how he moves at the snap. I don't think he's got that explosive movement anymore. But maybe another off-season away from the injury will help him get it back?

Sinnott will be running deeper routes, supposedly, Kliff didn't like his TEs running those. Maybe that'll unlock Sinnott's athleticism?

 

[NickyJ]

Same answer as last time, Mike Sainristril just because he broke out a first time and it will be really disappointing if that first time if he can't do it again.

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

Sainristil, I suspect this defense is really playing to his strengths. Zone corner, vision on QB, and he'll know how the pressure defense will operate at a high level and what the QBs are likely to try and do to attack it.

It really would be a good fit if it works out. The problem is zone turns into man when the ball is in the air. One thing our fans have gotten really grumpy about over the last, oh, 30 years, is having corners play off coverage on 3rd and 3 to 3rd and 5, because it seems like every time it's a quick through to the outside and the ball gets there before the CB can crash.

I'm interested to see how this defense handles that. Do they still play off and then try and crash on the quick pass? Or do they ask the CB to play press to take away the quick throw, but that leaves them vunrable to deeper routes and diminishes your ability to blitz in numbers because you should have some safety net for a CB playing press.

And if they play some press, is Sainristil going to be able to do that consistently given his size?

As I said, he's my runner up. I think there's a really good chance he could break out in this scheme. But I have questions.

If Coleman was at RT it might have been him too, but really need to see more in Training Camp than what he put out last summer.

That was the idea last year until they drafted Conerly. I do wonder if the fact Coleman was slotted for 3 positions in like a 3 month period screwed with his head a bit, and that caused some of the issues.

1. Finished the season expecting to be the starting LT in 2026.
2. Then they traded for Tunsil, and they said, "we're going to flip Coleman to RT"
3. Then just a few months later they drafted Conerly and they said, "Coleman is now moving to LG."

That's a lot of change for a young professional, all at the same time. And I could totally see how it would not be a huge confidence inducing move, in that he was basically replaced twice.

The reason I have confidence is he has a lot of athletic ability. And I'm going with the thought they screwed with his head so much last off season, now he really knows his role, and he's going to be able to excel at that role. I could be totally wrong about that, but that's what I'm going with.

Newton was a bet on returning to form after the foot injuries. His college tape just looks different in how he moves at the snap. I don't think he's got that explosive movement anymore. But maybe another off-season away from the injury will help him get it back?

He's just never looked right since the injuries to, I believe, both feet. I'm just more skeptical on him because he hasn't really even flashed. In the one game he flashed as a pass rusher, he had a really crummy game as a run defender.

Sinnott will be running deeper routes, supposedly, Kliff didn't like his TEs running those. Maybe that'll unlock Sinnott's athleticism?

Will he though? I think 90% of the time they want to send a TE deep, they're sending Chig. To me, Chig's signing sealed Sinnott's fate. And I'm not sure it's entirely his fault. I think he was a bad draft pick because of scheme fit. And instead of giving him the shot to prove himself this year, they signed a guy who's clearly ahead of him. Again. And I'm not against the signing of Chig. However, I think it sealed Sinnott's fate unless there is an injury or something terribly unexpected.

 

[Faithful Fan]

I disagree with the premise that this was a bad draft class—most of these guys have been significant contributors already, which is all you can realistically expect—but I’ll play along.

I voted for LukeMcCaffery based on his pedigree, his production, and the fact he plays in a position of need. He has a lot of competition at the position though, and I do worry that Jayden doesn’t seem to look his way, so we’ll see.

His brother Christian is an All-Pro running back, his father Ed was an All-Pro WR, his mother is the daughter of an Olympic sprinter, and his other brothers played college ball. He started as a quarterback but transitioned well to WR in college, so he certainly has the football pedigree and raw athleticism:



He has also been a great kick returner and shown flashes at WR. He was starting to come on last year before breaking his collarbone in week 9. You may remember him scoring a few touchdowns, catching some deep balls, and a great sideline grab.





The other reason to like him as a breakout player is that we really need a wide receiver not named Terry to distinguish himself, but this cuts both ways because the team has a lot of young guns in competition for that position, so he will have to beat out Burks, Dyami, Lane, Williams, and Van Jefferson.

I also worry that Jayden doesn’t see him sometimes, I recall Troy Aikman commenting on how he was open but not getting the ball, and that shows up on film as well as in his target share from Mariota versus Jayden. Anyway, I hope he develops that rapport with Jayden, and I’ll be rooting for him in what should be a pretty intense WR competition in training camp.

 

[Conn]

My answer is Coleman as well. Just feels the most likely, but if I’m honest it’s an uninspiring list to select from which is really the whole story. Hoping for some big turnarounds.

Sainristil is who I would most LIKE to see break out, but it feels less likely for some reason. He’s flashed but never really in the solid way I want him to. He’s never locked down anybody, he’s just had games where he wasn’t picked on, and his playmaking we heard so much about hasn’t made up for it (yet). But I’m rooting for him.

I have zero faith in McCaffrey. I think he can be a very professional career ST’s contributor, which has value. I think he can be a role player at times. He’s not a natural receiver and his athleticism means nothing, there is no correlation between measured athleticism and productivity at WR beyond certain benchmarks that set the floor for NFL movement skills. WR has the least correlation between measurables and production of any position (I believe EDGE has the highest correlation, unsurprisingly). So other than what my eyes have seen so far and the fact that he’s related to some much better football players, I have no reason to project any sort of ceiling for him to reach. Positional converts rarely work out. The fact that we can name all the good ones in recent history pretty easily demonstrates that it’s an exception to the rule situation. I’m content if he remains a productive ST’s glue guy for a contract or two, the Reaves of the offense.

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

Conn i want more from McCaffery than the Reeves of the offense for where he was picked.

But you don’t always get what you want. The Rolling Stones taught me that.

I really think the coaching staff did him no favors. They asked a guy with not a lot of experience at the position to learn all the positions his rookie year, and haven’t found a spot for him to actually hone his skills. They keep moving him around.

They need to just stick him somewhere and let him learn that position.

So the small shred of hope o have for him is that Blough picks a spot and then he learns that spot and gets himself into specific packages where he can succeed. Wherever that spot is.

I tend to agree that it’s unlikely he’s more than a backup WR and ST player. But I’d consider that a miss on the pick. I guarantee you that’s not what they thought his ceiling was when they drafted him.

 

[RedWolf]

I voted Newton, more out of hope

 

[HTTR]

Luuuuuuuuuuke. McCaffrey genetics are about to kick in

 

[gbear2]

I will go with Coleman. From menory, didnt he get moved around in college too. I seem to remember when we drafted him and started him at LT, that wasnt a position he played for most of his college years. Then year 2 we say we are going to switch his side of the line, but then traded for a great LT and switched up the line again. When was the last time he got to play the same position 2 years in a row? He can onky benefit from some stability. A new scheme may screw with that again, but i have hope.

Luke is ny runner up. Before the season ending injury, he looked like he was putting it all together. Let's see if that was reality or mirage.

 

[burgold]

I think Newton has a shot. I think this defense values defensive lineman quickness and penetration.

 

[burgold]

I think Sainristil would not be a breakout but more of a comeback. I'm willing to suspend disbelief and argue that 2025 was due to terrible coaching, sophomore slump, and a team spiraling out of control on defense.

 

[Boone]

I think Sainristil would not be a breakout but more of a comeback. I'm willing to suspend disbelief and argue that 2025 was due to terrible coaching, sophomore slump, and a team spiraling out of control on defense.

Agreed. I think Sainristil has shown he belongs on the field from a talent perspective, it's more a matter of learning and playing effectively within Daronte's system (whatever that ends up looking like). The biggest question isn't whether Sainristil is going to have a long career as an NFL DB - I think he will. The question is, at what position? Conventional wisdom coming out of college was that he was projected as a nickel corner and at 5' 9" (maybe 5' 10" on his tiptoes) would almost certainly be a slot guy. But in Washington he has seemed to play more effectively on the outside. It's not clear to me what the team actually thinks? When Lattimore busted here, it sort of forced them to use him opposite Amos so it's an open question if the plan is still to move him to the slot or continue using him as the 2nd outside guy.

I am still hopeful he will continue to improve, and one of the things I like most about him is he seems to have a nose for the ball with 6 interceptions in his first 2 seasons. That is encouraging.

 

[Always Commander Never Captain]

Agreed. I think Sainristil has shown he belongs on the field from a talent perspective, it's more a matter of learning and playing effectively within Daronte's system (whatever that ends up looking like). The biggest question isn't whether Sainristil is going to have a long career as an NFL DB - I think he will. The question is, at what position? Conventional wisdom coming out of college was that he was projected as a nickel corner and at 5' 9" (maybe 5' 10" on his tiptoes) would almost certainly be a slot guy. But in Washington he has seemed to play more effectively on the outside. It's not clear to me what the team actually thinks? When Lattimore busted here, it sort of forced them to use him opposite Amos so it's an open question if the plan is still to move him to the slot or continue using him as the 2nd outside guy.

I am still hopeful he will continue to improve, and one of the things I like most about him is he seems to have a nose for the ball with 6 interceptions in his first 2 seasons. That is encouraging.

Pretty sure the new DC stated he would be outside. They also paid Amik Robertson to be their Nickel. Rumor from OTAs is that Quan Martin was exclusively lined up at Nickel instead of Safety too, so he's the backup Nickel.

I think that position question of yours has been settled. The further question would be if Amos is healthy, and if Rasul Douglas looks as good as he did last season, what happens to playing time? Some teams do rotate outside corners, some teams hate that concept and want to give them 100% of the snaps.

Nobody we have is a shutdown corner, so I'd prefer a rotation to ensure both Amos and Sainristil get legitimate experience while Douglas is kept fresher.

 

[Boone]

Good info - thanks 🤛🏻

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

I think Sainristil would not be a breakout but more of a comeback. I'm willing to suspend disbelief and argue that 2025 was due to terrible coaching, sophomore slump, and a team spiraling out of control on defense.

I think you’re probably right based on his rookie season. Though I don’t think he ever locked anybody down.

If he has a great season I don’t care whether it’s labeled as breakout or comeback.

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

Pretty sure the new DC stated he would be outside. They also paid Amik Robertson to be their Nickel. Rumor from OTAs is that Quan Martin was exclusively lined up at Nickel instead of Safety too, so he's the backup Nickel.

I think that position question of yours has been settled. The further question would be if Amos is healthy, and if Rasul Douglas looks as good as he did last season, what happens to playing time? Some teams do rotate outside corners, some teams hate that concept and want to give them 100% of the snaps.

Nobody we have is a shutdown corner, so I'd prefer a rotation to ensure both Amos and Sainristil get legitimate experience while Douglas is kept fresher.

I think Douglas is absolutely a backup/depth piece who will rotate in to relive guys. Or play if there is an injury.

They want Amos and Sainristil to be the outside starting CBs. It would be really good if they were, 2 good draft picks working out.

The fact that Douglas is on the roster means you don’t have to rotate in a PS level player just to give a guy a blow or if there is an injury.