Penn State could have a historic week with the NFL Draft starting up on Thursday night as the Nittany Lions look to tie the program record of 10 draft picks set during the 1996 draft process. Penn State seems certain to break its record under James Franklin when eight Nittany Lions were selected in 2022 but getting to 10 picks will likely come down to the wire.
Also on the docket is the potential for two first round picks for the first time since 2021 when Micah Parsons and Odefe Oweh were both selected. The culprits this time will be longtime first round lock Olu Fashanu and the potential for a late first round selection of defensive end Chop Robinson.
No matter what you should expect to hear plenty of Penn State names called over the course of the three day event which begins at 8 p.m. eastern on Thursday night with the first round. Friday’s second and third rounds begin at 7 p.m. eastern while the final four rounds of action start at Noon eastern on Saturday.
Here are a look at the Penn Staters looking to get the call from NFL teams this week.
Olu Fashanu, Offensive Tackle, : Thursday will be a long time coming now that Fashanu has finally put his Penn State career behind him after staying for one more year despite knowing he was a first round lock. Some experts think Fashanu is still a bit inexperienced with around two dozen career starts, but there is no denying his size, abilities and the success he has put on tape. Nobody will ever know if Fashanu would have gone higher (or lower) if he had entered the draft last season but no matter what, he will be going early in the first round. A well deserved result for one of the best offensive linemen Penn State has produced.
Chop Robinson, Defensive End: Robinson didn’t post overly impressive numbers this season compared to last but his film tells the story of a player with all the upside in the world. A strong combine showing helped his stock as he established both size and speed, but Robinson seems to be lingering somewhere between late first round or early second round status. Only time will tell which way the cookie crumbles for the former Maryland transfer, but it stands to reason that he will have a solid NFL career on way or another.
Adisa Isaac, Defensive End: Isaac has made everyone forget about his achilles injury well over a year ago and made the most of having a counterpart like Robinson taking away some of the attention from him. Isaac is among the players who could be third off the board for Penn State and he, like Robinson, should have a solid NFL career if he can land in the right situation. It will be interesting to see if Isaac gets some play in a standup linebacker role in a defense that runs those sorts of fronts.
Theo Johnson, Tight End: Penn State should continue its solid production of tight ends in the NFL when Johnson hears his name called in the middle rounds. Johnson might not be as flashy as Mike Gesicki or as physical as Brenton Strange but he has a bit of both in his play. Johnson proved to be a reliable target for Penn State’s passing game so his size and his hands will be too much for NFL teams to wait on for long. The sooner there is a run on tight ends the better off Johnson will be.
Hunter Nourzad, Center: There’s a good chance that Penn State will have one of its best-ever drafts along the offensive line an Nourzad’s solid play at center and Ivy League history prior to Penn State ought to be a good match of abilities and IQ for NFL teams looking for both at center. There’s some chatter that Nourzad could end up in Pittsburgh, a comfortable move from State College.
Caedan Wallace, Offensive Tackle: Wallace has had one of the more solid and more overlooked careers along the offensive front at Penn State as there have been, but his talent, charisma and size could help him carve out a nice NFL tenure in his own right. There’s a chance Wallace goes before Nourzad, a testament to how well his collegiate career has gone.
Curtis Jacobs, Linebacker: The decision to return for another season last year has worked well in Jacobs’ favor heading into the draft. Now a fourth or fifth round projection, Jacobs isn’t going to fly off the screen as the biggest, fastest or most impressive linebacker in the draft but he’s going to be in the right place at the right time and make the tackle. Being reliable counts for something, and Jacobs is exactly that.
Kalen King Corner: At one point Kalen King’s stock couldn’t have been any higher. Now he appears to be somewhere in the late rounds. It will be interesting to see which one of these things turns out to be true – that King can be an absolute steal, or that King’s early rise was a flash in the pan. He didn’t have a bad final season at Penn State by any means, but he wasn’t the first or second round lock some people had fingered him to be. Draft position doesn’t dictate how your career will go, but King will have to prove some people wrong when it’s all said and done.
Johnny Dixon, Corner: A bit like King, Dixon has seen his stock drop over the last few months after a pretty solid final season at Penn State. Cornerback is an area where teams are picky about all the little details and Dixon has some things that will help him and some that won’t. Which ones win out the most will come down to the team. Dixon could end up having a great career, especially if teams let him get involved in the pass rush like he was at Penn State.
Daequan Hardy, Corner, Returner: If Penn State is going to match its all-time mark of 10 draft picks it could come down to what teams think of Hardy. If you’re looking for speed, there’s no question that Hardy has that in spades. If you’re looking for a player who seems too fast and too explosive to turn away, Hardy showcased that on special teams. Hardy was a solid corner in his own right but it was his work on special teams that elevates him to draft-possible. Hardy seems like the kind of guy who will make the most of an opportunity if he gets it, but the world of late round draft picks is an uncertain grind.
