When the 49ers and Chiefs play in Super Bowl LVIII this Sunday, it'll be a clash between teams who made it there with, of course, quality quarterback play, stellar skill-position talent, and stingy defenses.
And there are prospects in the 2024 NFL Draft whose games resemble those vital components of the Super Bowl 58 participants. This article provides those stars and their draft-class counterparts.
Let's dive into which prospects primed to be picked in April have stylistic similarities to a few of the marquee names who'll take the field Sunday.
For more extensive draft content, check out our latest prospect rankings and mock drafts, as well as our new weekly podcast, "With the First Pick," featuring former Vikings general manager Rick Spielman. (Check out the latest episode below.)
Chiefs DT Chris Jones --> Florida State DT Braden Fiske
Starting with an eyebrow-raiser. Fiske isn't currently a highly touted draft prospect. Jones was invited to the 2016 draft -- and somehow fell to the second round. Stylistically, these two were almost identical on film.
Jones was a long, somewhat sleek interior defensive line prospect who enjoyed a super-productive career as a dynamic, pass-rush-move extraordinaire at Mississippi State. He won with a ridiculous first step, long arms, and deceptive power. At the 2016 combine, Jones measured in at 6-foot-6 and 310 pounds with 34 1/2-inch arms.
Fiske doesn't have anywhere close to Jones' length and was nearly 6-foot-4 and 295 pounds with 31-inch arms at the Senior Bowl. Like Jones though, Fiske fires off the ball at damn near the speed of a blitzing linebacker, has a loaded arsenals of karate-style moves to beat blockers at the point of attack and lit up that stat sheet with 18.5 sacks and 34 tackles for loss in his final four seasons in college. Genuinely freaky athletes with high motors are worth their weight in gold on the interior of a defensive line today.
49ers George Kittle --> Georgia TE Brock Bowers
Kittle was a rugged low-volume receiver who starred in the trenches as a blocker at Iowa. Watching his film felt like he had the physical attributes to be a better pro catching the football than what he demonstrated in college -- mostly because the quarterback play was average at best with the Hawkeyes.
Sure enough, after going in the fifth round in the 2017 draft, Kittle has cemented his legacy as an elite three-down tight end. Now, as the focal point of Georgia's passing offense, Bowers had a much different collegiate experience. On the field, the way he moves with urgent power through contact, gets open with sharp cuts, and battles defensive ends and linebackers as a blockers is eerily reminiscent to Kittle.
Chiefs RB Isiah Pacheco --> USC RB Marshawn Lloyd
Pacheco was a unique cat in that he was under 6-foot, over 210 pounds (216 to be exact) and still ran in the 4.30s at the combine (4.37). I think Lloyd could be a new member of that prestigious testing community at the running back position.
At 5-9 and 217 pounds, he's almost the exact same size as the 5-10 Pacheco, and on film, the USC star repeated erupted through the second level. The compact rocket of a back averaged 7.1 yards per carry and took 24 of his 114 rushing attempts for 10 or more yards. While he doesn't run quite as choppy at Pacheco, this is a similarly built and explosive back available in this draft.
49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk --> LSU WR Malik Nabers
When entering the league out of Arizona State in 2020, this was the book on Aiyuk -- he was a well-proportioned outside receiver with dynamic burst, sustained speed, and leaping ability who didn't run many routes in college but proved to be a big-play generator.
That's exactly how I feel about Nabers, my No. 1 receiver prospect in this class. Yes, over Marvin Harrison Jr. LSU didn't ask him to run 15 different intricates routes and my theory on that is because he didn't have to and could still hit huge plays for the Tigers offense. Like Aiyuk, Nabers is a human torpedo with the ball in his hands and has the speed to win over the top of defenses. While there'll be a learning curve in the route-running department, like what's transpired with Aiyuk, Nabers has the rare physical gifts to become an All-Pro at the next level.
49ers DT Javon Hargrave --> Texas DT Byron Murphy
Hargrave was this somewhat mysterious prospect from South Carolina State who played with unhinging hips and lightning-quick explosiveness upfield. Once the small-school label was off, Hargrave hit the ground running in Pittsburgh but was always in the background. With the Eagles, Hargrave got more opportunity and, unsurprisingly, blossomed. It led to him signing a massive deal with the 49ers last March. And his disruptive ways have continued in San Francisco.
Hailing from the University of Texas fresh off a College Football Playoff berth, Murphy will be picked to go higher than Hargrave was but feels strikingly similar on film. He's an electric mover up the field and works tirelessly to win through blockers with speed-to-power conversion and an occasional pass-rush moves. Franklly, "smaller" super-athletic one-gap interior rushers like Hargrave paved the way for someone like Murphy, who's likely to be well under 300 pounds at the combine, to be picked in the first round.