NFL Draft: Ideal landing spots for Tiger draftees

The LSU Tigers currently have seven guys who are expected to be drafted in the 2024 NFL Draft: Jayden Daniels, Malik Nabers, Brian Thomas Jr., Mekhi Wingo, Maason Smith, Jordan Jefferson and Charles Turner.

Everyone who's selected in the NFL Draft is expected to contribute in some type of way, but yet, every year we see anywhere from first rounders to seventh rounders who just don't pan out. A lot of the time, when a highly touted player doesn't work out, it's because of the situation he's brought into isn't the right fit.

Today, we're going to take a look at each of the seven Tigers who are expected to hear their name called this weekend and try to figure out the most ideal realistic landing spot where they should be able to thrive at the pro level.

There's been a lot of smoke about Jayden Daniels not wanting to go to Washington and preferring the Vikings, but a lot of noise like this around draft day is just smoke. At the end of the day, unless he pulls an Eli Manning, the Commanders have the final say whether they want him at No. 2 or not.

I don't really seem him making it past the Patriots at pick three if he doesn't go to the Commanders, so the choice was down to those two teams. Both teams have a below average offensive line, but the Commanders have far better weapons. Terry McLauren and Jahan Dotson are two very capable wide receivers and they just signed Austin Ekeler, who is a great pass catching back. The Commanders also hired QB guru, Kliff Kingsbury, as their new offensive coordinator.

When you look at the Patriots and Commanders, it's clear which team is ahead of the other in terms of talent and coaching, and luckily for Daniels, Washington has the first pick between the two, so if they want him, he'll be a Commander.

For Malik Nabers, the decision came down to the Cardinals, Chargers and Giants, because I don't see him falling further than pick No. 6.

Out of those three teams, I think the Chargers are the best landing spot for him, but I also think they're the least likely to draft him. Jim Harbaugh loves to build his team through the offensive line, but they are still desperately in need of weapons.

If the Chargers do take Nabers, they pair him with one of the top young quarterbacks in all of football, Justin Herbert. We've seen what Herbert has been able to do with Kennan Allen and Mike Williams, but Nabers gives him a different type of receiving threat since he can do so many things after the catch.

The Chargers currently sit at pick No. 5, right behind the Cardinals who are likely to take Marvin Harrison Jr., so if Harbaugh wants him, Nabers will probably be there at No. 5.

Brian Thomas Jr. is a hard one to get a grasp on. He has a legitimate shot at going top-15, but I could also see him falling to the late first round. I was really close to picking the Colts here, they have a young quarterback, an offensive minded head coach, and it feels like Thomas would compliment Michael Pittman's game quite nicely, but in the end, I went a different route.

The Buffalo Bills are probably the best landing spot for any WR in this year's class. They have one of the top-three quarterbacks in the NFL and just got rid of their two top receiving options. Their WR room is so depleted, any first round guy could step in as the WR1 this season.

Thomas is an elite deep threat, and we all know Josh Allen has an absolute cannon for an arm and loves to sling the rock downfield, so I think Buffalo is the best landing spot for Thomas.

Wingo is a bit harder to place just because, as a projected second to third rounder, pretty much every team is in play here. After looking through rosters and trying to find a contender that has a need at DT, I decided to go with the Rams.

Let me be clear, I'm not saying Wingo is going to be Aaron Donald, but they size up pretty comparably. Coming into the NFL, Donald was 6-foot-1, 285-pounds compared to Wingo's 6-foot, 284-pound frame, and they recorded virtutally the same vertical and broad jumps.

Again, not saying Wingo is Donald, but the Rams have experience developing and utilizing an undersized defensive tackle, and I'm sure the former Ram's Defensive Player of the Year wouldn't mind giving Wingo some pointers if he ends up in LA.

Maason Smith is another player that's hard to decipher. He's had a ton of visits with teams, and if they like his potential, he could be drafted as early as the third round, but there are also a lot of question marks about his production and health.

I think the Bengals would suit him very nicely because they have two experienced DT's in BJ Hill and Sheldon Rankins who will both start this year, but probably won't stick around too much longer. This will give Smith a couple years to develop and learn the NFL game before it's his turn to take over as a starter (if he ever gets to that point).

Smith is going to need time to develop as a prospect, so he needs to go to a team that is willing and capable of letting him sit for a couple years and learn from some veteran.

For all you LSU/Saints fans out there, this one's for you, because I truly think the Saints would be a great landing spot for Jefferson.

The Saints spent a first rounder on Bryan Bresee in last year's draft, but they could still use some help on the interior of their defensive line. Bresee was solid in pass rush, but he wasn't great at stopping the run. Luckily, that's exactly what Jefferson excels at.

In 2023, Jefferson had 34 tackles, missing just three while posting 15 stops in the run game (in 2022, he posted 18). Jefferson is big and strong and can eat up blocks inside, and while he wouldn't be a day one starter, he could very well work his way into a nice role with the right coaching.

Both the Dallas Cowboys and Chicago Bears have a very big need at center and are expected to try to find themselves some help in that department in this year's NFL Draft.

Charles Turner isn't expected to be an early round pick, but if one of these teams holds off long enough and selects him in the sixth or seventh round, he'd have a really good chance of making the roster.

The knock on Turner as a prospect seems to be his size. He's a bit smaller than the average center, but he's shown he can hold his own on one of the best offensive lines in the country and against top tier SEC talent.

It's really hard to predict where these late-round guys will go, but I think Dallas and Chicago give him the best shot to make a 53-man roster.

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