Round 4, No. 106: Titans draft North Carolina LB Cedric Gray (2024)

Three days and 257 picks later, the 2024 NFL Draft is over.

From No. 1 (Bears quarterback Caleb Williams) to No. 257 (Jets safety Jaylen Key), you can catch up on all of the action here, with news, analysis and reaction from The Athletic's NFL staff.

View every selection in our pick-by-pick tracker.

Required reading

• 2024 NFL Draft by the numbers
• Best undrafted free agents

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The Tennessee Titans selected North Carolina linebacker Cedric Gray with the 106th pick.

The Athletic NFL Draft analyst Dane Brugler on Gray: A three-year starter at North Carolina, Gray lined up at Will linebacker in assistant head coach for defense Gene Chizik’s 4-2-5 base scheme. Known more for his offense in high school, he established himself as one of the most productive defensive players in college football with 100-plus tackles in each of the last three seasons.

With his lateral agility and pursuit skills, Gray has terrific playing range to the perimeter and acceleration downhill. He was a tackling machine at UNC (only Power 5 player to average double-digit tackles per game in both 2022 and 2023), but he lacks functional take-on strength and too often finds himself stuck and swallowed.

Overall, Gray might not be exceptional in any one area, but he is equal parts athletic and aggressive and is always in the vicinity of the football. He projects as a rotational NFL linebacker and special teamer who will compete for starting reps as a rookie.

A year ago, the Patriots drafted three interior offensive linemen early on Day 3.

This year, they picked a right guard to open Day 3.

Eliot Wolf clearly wasn't satisfied with the depth there. Also worth noting Cole Strange is coming off an injury.

The Los Angeles Chargers selected Alabama defensive tackle Justin Egoigbe with the 105th pick.

The Athletic NFL Draft analyst Dane Brugler on Egoigbe: A one-year starter at Alabama, Eboigbe played right defensive end in coach Nick Saban’s hybrid fronts, spending most of his snaps at six-technique, 4i/5- technique, 2i/3-technique and nose (Jonathan Allen role).

He was able to return from a career-threatening spinal cord injury in 2022 and put together a career season in 2023, leading the Alabama defensive line in tackles (63) and finishing third (behind Dallas Turner and Chris Braswell) in pressures (30).

Eboigbe plays with a strong upper half and uses his length to lock out, stack and pry open gaps. His anchor will break down at times, and he is more rugged than powerfully explosive as both a pass rusher and run stuffer.

Overall, Eboigbe plays with the mentality and fundamental ability to control the point of attack. If he receives clean medical checks from team doctors, he can provide scheme-versatile depth on the defensive line.

Everything you need to know about the Atlanta Falcons' NFL Draft so far:

• Falcons draft picks: Grades, fits and scouting reports
• Best available for Day 3
• Kirk Cousins ‘stunned,’ Kyle Pitts ‘shocked,’ but Falcons feel good about Michael Penix Jr.

The Arizona Cardinals selected Texas Tech safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson with the 104th pick.

The Athletic NFL Draft analyst Dane Brugler on Taylor-Demerson: A three-year starter at Texas Tech, Taylor-Demerson lined up as a free safety in defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter’s 3-3-5 scheme, playing to the field side in two-high looks.

An All-State running back in high school, he moved to defense for the first time in his life at Texas Tech and developed into a rangy ballhawk, leading the Red Raiders in interceptions each of the last three seasons.

With his field speed, Taylor-Demerson (who goes by his nickname “Rabbit”) covers a lot of ground, anticipates routes well and naturally plays the football — although, he can be drawn out of position and recoveries won’t be as easy against NFL talent.

He plays with urgency as a top-down run defender, but his lack of length and play strength hurts his ability to get off blocks and finish tackles.

Overall, Taylor-Demerson is undersized, and his aggressive trigger backfires at times, but his explosive post/split-field range jumps off the screen and allows him to make plays on the ball in coverage and run support. His speed and developing instincts give him starting potential as a free safety or nickel cornerback, but the rough edges in his game might never smooth out, which would keep him as a backup and special teamer.

Panthers have a couple of nice blocking tight ends. Now they have a guy in Ja'Tavion Sanders who can be a big-time, receiving TE.

And he's the third weapon for Bryce Young in the first four picks.

Thursday night, Caleb Williams joined a video call with reporters back at Halas Hall, did a one-on-one with every TV station that made the trip and did several other interviews as the top pick.

Friday, he made his Chicago sports radio debut before standing next to Rome Odunze, holding their jerseys, and he sat down for his first of many news conferences in Lake Forest.

Every top pick, Odunze included, goes through a similar car wash, but Williams’ was more extensive, and he wasn’t tired. He took it all in stride.

“When you prepare mentally and physically and spiritually for moments like this, when you actually are in the moment, you don’t feel fazed,” he said. “You don’t feel nervous. You don’t feel the butterflies or anything like that. You’re ready for it. You’re prepared for it.

“So with that and then the help of my support team — my dad, girlfriend and team outside of actual football and then actually the coaches and the people around me … my mentors that helped instill all these things in me throughout time, whether it’s me watching ’em or them telling me right from wrong or good job or bad job — you grow up and you progress. And so, they helped prepare me for these moments. The feeling of being worried in these moments doesn’t ever really cross my mind.”

The New England Patriots selected Texas A&M guard Layden Robinson with the 103rd pick.

The Athletic NFL Draft analyst Dane Brugler on Robinson: A three-year starter at Texas A&M, Robinson was plugged in at right guard in former offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino’s balanced run scheme.

After putting himself on the NFL radar with a standout sophom*ore season, his game showed slight decline in 2022, but he rebounded well as a senior and earned All-SEC honors.

As a run blocker, Robinson is powerful at the point of attack with the ability to displace defenders on base and double teams. He has a stout anchor as a pass blocker plus the natural girth to maintain his spot, but his inconsistent balance and timing hurt his ability to maximize his length and widen rushers.

Overall, Robinson plays with a rugged, physical demeanor and the play strength to stay connected, but his middling mirror skills in protection will be targeted by NFL pass rushers. He has a chance to provide depth for a power-based scheme in the NFL.

Franklin fell to Day 3, and the NFL might have a similar opinion as mine –– Torrey Smith –– which gives you an idea of his potential fantasy upside ... and inconsistency.

Marvin Mims is talented enough to break out in Year 2, keeping Franklin as the Broncos No. 3 option. Anything more than a D.J. Chark-like 35/525/5 season for Franklin shouldn't be expected.

Everything you need to know about the Indianapolis Colts' NFL Draft so far:

• Colts' draft picks: Grades, fits and scouting reports
• Best available for Day 3: Tanor Bortolini, Tyrone Tracy Jr.
• Colts believe Laiatu Latu is ‘elite’ pass rusher who can help Indy hunt down AFC’s premier QBs

Yet another weapon for Bryce Young and a tight end who has George Kittle upside.

His blocking weakness could limit his rookie-season snap count, but for fantasy, we care about the passing game, and Sanders can be an immediate threat given the current tight end depth chart. Consider Sanders a wait-and-see or deep-league stash, who could show up late in 2024 similar to Tucker Kraft did in 2023.

The Denver Broncos selected Oregon wide receiver Troy Franklin with the 102nd pick after a trade with the Seattle Seahawks.

The Athletic NFL Draft analyst Dane Brugler on Franklin: A two-year starter at Oregon, Franklin was primarily a perimeter receiver in offensive coordinator Will Stein’s zone -read, West Coast scheme (lined up wide for 80.9 percent of his snaps in 2023).

After leading the Ducks in receiving as a sophom*ore, he had the most prolific receiving season in Oregon history as a junior in 2023, setting single-season school records for catches (81), receiving yards (1,383), receiving touchdowns (14) and 100-yard receiving games (eight).

Franklin quickly builds his speed vertically to stack man corners versus free releases, and the threat of his deep-third skills can loosen mid-field coverage (eight catches of 40-plus yards in 2023). Though he tracks the ball in flight, he has smaller hands, and his finishing focus is inconsistent — especially through contact against physical defensive backs.

He will struggle early on against NFL press coverage.

Overall, Franklin’s polish and catch consistency must improve, but he can be a big-play weapon (before and after the catch), because of his linear twitch and gliding acceleration. He projects as a field-stretching Z receiver, similar to DJ Chark.

The Carolina Panthers selected Texas tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders with the 101st pick.

The Athletic NFL Draft analyst Dane Brugler on Sanders: A two-year starter at Texas, Sanders was a multi-dimensional tight end in Sarkisian’s spread, RPO offense (62.1 percent of his career snaps came inline). He needed only two seasons to become the Longhorns all-time leader among tight ends in catches (99), and his 68.9 percent first-down/touchdown rate in 2023 is the best among the tight ends in this draft class.

A true three-level receiving threat, Sanders has the athletic talent of a wide receiver and boxes out downfield to command the catch point (No. 2 among FBS tight ends with 12 catches of 20-plus yards in 2023, one behind Brock Bowers). Though he is a functional on-the-move blocker because of his range and pop, he needs to put more of a premium on leverage and positioning for him to survive as an NFL blocker.

Overall, Sanders needs to become “more available” in his routes and improve his reliability as a blocker, but he is a smooth operator with dynamic talent before, during and after the catch. He projects as an F tight end (similar to Gerald Everett) with starting upside in the NFL.

The first round of the 2024 NFL Draft included five trades on Thursday night, including the Minnesota Vikings trading up twice and the Buffalo Bills trading down twice. With their two first-round picks, the Vikings selected Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy and Alabama edge defender Dallas Turner.

Seven trades followed in the second round on Friday, with another four in the third round. Who will be on the move next?

Follow along here for updates on NFL Draft trades through all seven rounds.