2024 NFL Draft: 5 sleepers you don't know yet, but will soon

The majority of the talk leading up to the 2024 NFL Draft will be about college players who have been in the spotlight all year, and who will hear their names called on Day 1. First-round picks become a beacon of optimism for a franchise and their fan base. It's only natural that fans will spend months wondering which future superstar will be wearing their team's jersey at the start of the new season.

Draft picks taken on Days 2 and 3 have an impact more often than people would think, however. We all know the stories of Tom Brady and Brock Purdy, but nobody was really talking about them before they were drafted, and most people weren't talking about them even after they were drafted.

Here is a list of five players that nobody -- or at least not enough people -- is really talking about right now. If your team happens to draft them, you might talk about them for a few minutes, but these players have huge potential. These five players could be household names in the next two to three seasons.

5. Braelon Allen, RB, Wisconsin

The 2024 NFL Draft class might be the worst one for running backs that we have seen in recent memory. Not only is there no superstar at the top of the draft, there might not be a running back taken in the first two rounds. That's not to say there isn't production at the position, because there certainly is. My favorite player in this group is Wisconsin running back Braelon Allen.

Allen is a big running back (6-foot-2 and 245 pounds) and he will display good straight-line speed at the combine. Given his physical attributes, you might wonder why he is slated to be picked so low in the draft.

First off, he is tall and he runs tall. He gives defenders a large target to hit him, and he needs to be more compact, especially through the line of scrimmage. Second, he was used very sparingly in the passing game at Wisconsin. He displayed excellent hands and catch radius, but he has no route tree to speak of.

If your favorite team drafts Allen, he will likely be used early on in third-down situations. Eventually, he will graduate to a first and second down back, and as he develops his route running, an every down back. By the time he comes into his own, it will be time to pony up a contract extension.