The 2024 NFL Draft will officially feature 54 players granted specialty eligibility to be part of the three-day weekend. As announced by the NFL today, here’s a list of this year’s underclassmen who left school and declared themselves draft-eligible.
| Name | Pos | College | |
| 1 | Ajou Ajou | WR | Garden City CC |
| 2 | Braelon Allen | RB | Wisconsin |
| 3 | Joe Alt | T | Notre Dame |
| 4 | Kiran Amegadjie | T | Yale |
| 5 | Terrion Arnold | DB | Alabama |
| 6 | Cole Bishop | DB | Utah |
| 7 | Austin Booker | DE | Kansas |
| 8 | Brock Bowers | TE | Georgia |
| 9 | Jonathon Brooks | RB | Texas |
| 10 | Arland Bruce | WR | Oklahoma State |
| 11 | Javon Bullard | DB | Georgia |
| 12 | Calen Bullock | DB | Southern California |
| 13 | Keon Coleman | WR | Florida State |
| 14 | Junior Colson | LB | Michigan |
| 15 | Cooper DeJean | DB | Iowa |
| 16 | Jonah Elliss | DE | Utah |
| 17 | Audric Estimè | RB | Notre Dame |
| 18 | Blake Fisher | T | Notre Dame |
| 19 | Troy Franklin | WR | Oregon |
| 20 | Michael Hall | DT | Ohio State |
| 21 | Marvin Harrison Jr. | WR | Ohio State |
| 22 | Jaden Hicks | DB | Washington State |
| 23 | Bucky Irving | RB | Oregon |
| 24 | Kalen King | DB | Penn State |
| 25 | Kamari Lassiter | DB | Georgia |
| 26 | JC Latham | T | Alabama |
| 27 | Cam Little | K | Arkansas |
| 28 | Drake Maye | QB | North Carolina |
| 29 | J.J. McCarthy | QB | Michigan |
| 30 | Amarius Mims | T | Georgia |
| 31 | Adonai Mitchell | WR | Texas |
| 32 | Malik Nabers | WR | LSU |
| 33 | Ja’Lynn Polk | WR | Washington |
| 34 | Jackson Powers-Johnson | C | Oregon |
| 35 | Ennis Rakestraw | DB | Missouri |
| 36 | Chop Robinson | DE | Penn State |
| 37 | Roger Rosengarten | T | Washington |
| 38 | Ja’Tavion Sanders | TE | Texas |
| 39 | Jade Shirden | RB | Monmouth (N.J.) |
| 40 | Maason Smith | DT | LSU |
| 41 | Carson Steele | RB | UCLA |
| 42 | Kingsley Suamataia | T | BYU |
| 43 | Leonard Taylor | DT | Miami (Fla.) |
| 44 | Brian Thomas Jr. | WR | LSU |
| 45 | Jeremiah Trotter Jr. | LB | Clemson |
| 46 | Dallas Turner | LB | Alabama |
| 47 | Sione Vaki | DB | Utah |
| 48 | Trevin Wallace | LB | Kentucky |
| 49 | Nate Wiggins | DB | Clemson |
| 50 | Caleb Williams | QB | Southern California |
| 51 | James Williams | DB | Miami (Fla.) |
| 52 | Mekhi Wingo | DT | LSU |
| 53 | Xavier Worthy | WR | Texas |
| 54 | Jaylen Wright | RB | Tennessee |
Comparatively, the list of 54 is small. Last year, there were 69 total names granted special eligibility after leaving school before completing their degree. Pittsburgh drafted four of them: OT Broderick Jones, CB Joey Porter Jr., TE Darnell Washington, and OLB Nick Herbig.
Some have speculated that college’s football NIL deals providing legal money to many players helped convince some to stay in school. The sad stories of players leaving early only to go undrafted may also play a factor, a better awareness of the value of staying in school unless you’re a top-round pick (of course, there are valid reasons why non-top prospects leave school early, often for family/financial reasons). Again, NIL may be helping alleviate that concern.
An additional four players graduated early and will also be part of this year’s draft. Technically underclassmen, they aren’t granted special eligibility because they completed their degree.
| Name | Pos | College | |
| 1 | Kamren Kinchens, | DB | Miami (Fla.) |
| 2 | Kool-Aid McKinstry | DB | Alabama |
| 3 | Byron Murphy | DT | Texas |
| 4 | Will Shipley | RB | Clemson |
The 2024 NFL Draft will be held from April 25-27 in Detroit. The Pittsburgh Steelers currently hold the 20th pick in the first round. With a handful of scouting reports already posted, look for wall-to-wall draft coverage over the next few months.
