As the 2024 NFL Draft approaches, fans seem to think they have a grasp on which prospects are first-round picks and those who will fall to the later rounds on Days 2 and 3. However, every year, a few surprise draft sleepers start to gain first-round momentum later in the cycle despite hardly being mentioned in that range before.
In his latest 2024 NFL Mock Draft, ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. slid Washington offensive tackle Roger Rosengarten into Round 1 with hardly a mention that the pick was somewhat unique amongst mock drafts. So, is Rosengarten an NFL Draft sleeper, and could he be selected in the first round this April?
NFL Draft Sleeper: Roger Rosengarten Receiving First-Round Buzz
Pro Football Network’s Ian Cummings isn’t surprised to hear Rosengarten’s name in the first-round discussion. In fact, Cummings predicted it way back on Feb. 7.
“(Rosengarten’s) worthy of early-to-mid Day 2 consideration and could be a surprise Round 1 pick after testing,” Cummings said in Rosengarten’s draft profile.
Rosengarten currently stands at No. 62 overall on Pro Football Network’s Big Board and is the 10th-ranked offensive tackle. However, in terms of pure right tackles, Cummings has ranked Rosengarten just one tier below the top group of Taliese Fuaga, JC Latham, and Tyler Guyton.
Wherever he gets drafted, Rosengarten will likely be the second Washington offensive lineman off the board. Teammate Troy Fautanu played left tackle for the Huskies, but likely projects as an interior lineman at the next level and could be the first player at that position off the board.
While many analysts, including Kiper and me, thought Rosengarten would have been one of the top tackles in the 2025 NFL Draft, he declared following his redshirt junior season.
“I thought Rosengarten might return to college for another year; he could have been a top-10 pick with some more seasoning,” Kiper explains in his latest mock draft.
“He might be a steal here, though, as the right tackle is aggressive as a run-blocker and solid in pass protection (though he had his worst game of the season in the national championship loss). I really liked his tape when I went back through after the season ended.”
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The move could pay off for Rosengarten, as Kiper has him going No. 31 overall to the San Francisco 49ers. The top of the tackle class is strong, but Rosengarten could hear his name called early in the second round or perhaps earlier, even cracking the top 32.
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