Buy or Sell: 2024 NFL Draft Picks, UDFAs Living Up to Fathers' Legacies

The NFL is a pressure cooker—especially for youngsters entering the league. There's pressure to live up to draft slot. Pressure to make the team at all if drafted in the later rounds. Pressure to prove doubters wrong by making the squad as an undrafted free agent.

That pressure is only amplified if football is the family business.

Now, there are advantages to growing up around the game. Having a father who was an NFL star means a window into how the game should be played that other prospects just don't get early on.

But there are also expectations, if not from the family themselves than certainly from fans. They see that famous time and immediately think back to how dominant the father was—not how good the son is.

It's not exactly fair—but it is what it is. And when your old man was a Hall of Famer or even the greatest to ever play the position, the shadow cast from one generation to the next can be a long one.

This year, over a dozen players entered the NFL who are sons of former players. Every one listed in this piece has a father who was a Pro Bowler. Three have fathers with busts in Canton. Multiple others have watched pop be inducted into his team's Hall of Fame.

Some of these youngsters will go on to become really good NFL players. Or great ones—perhaps even greater than their fathers. Others will cling to spots on the ends of rosters, wind up on practice squads or out of the league altogether.

Bloodline doesn't guarantee success.

It just doesn't hurt, either.

Marvin Harrison Sr. was pretty good at catching a football—although spending most of his career catching them from Peyton Manning didn't hurt.

Over 13 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts, Harrison caught over 1,100 passes, racked up 14,580 receiving yards and scored 128 times. Harrison caught over 100 passes four times. Topped 1,000 receiving yards in eight straight seasons from 1999-2006. Harrison was named to eight Pro Bowls, was a first-time All-Pro three times, led the league in receptions twice and receiving yards the same number of times.

In 2016, Harrison was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He is regarded as one of the very best wideouts to ever play the game.

His son might actually be better.

In each of the past two seasons at Ohio State, Marvin Harrison Jr. has topped 1,200 receiving yards and scored 14 touchdowns. He was essentially unstoppable. Harrison was the No. 1 overall prospect on Bleacher Report's NFL Draft Big Board and the fourth overall pick in this year's draft by the Arizona Cardinals.

While speaking to reporters, Harrison Jr. said he's well aware of the shadow cast by his father—and the legacy that Larry Fitzgerald has at receiver in the desert.

"I've always had big shoes to fill, and being an Arizona Cardinal, knowing the legacy Fitz had, I'm going to do my best to hopefully out-do him like I'm trying to out-do my Dad," Harrison Jr. said. "They both had Hall of Fame careers. Hopefully I can do the same."

Nothing is ever guaranteed in the NFL. There are no "sure things."

But Harrison Jr. is the closest to one we have seen in a while.

BUY

Just like with Marvin Harrison Jr., it isn't especially hard to figure out who Frank Gore Jr.'s father is.

And just like with Harrison, that father casts a long shadow.

Frank Gore isn't in the Pro Football Hall of Fame—yet. But he played more games at running back (241) over 16 years in the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers, Indianapolis Colts, Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins and New York Jets than any player at the position in league history.

Gore surpassed 1,000 rushing yards in a season nine times. He was named to four Pro Bowls. And the list of names of players with more career rushing yards than Gore isn't a long one—Walter Payton and Emmitt Smith. That's it.

Frank Gore Jr. hasn't piled up those sorts of numbers yet, but he was productive at Southern Miss—over 4,000 career yards and 5.3 yards per carry. Those numbers weren't enough to get Gore Jr. drafted, but after he signed as an undrafted free agent with the Bills, Gore Sr. said Buffalo got a steal.

"We're good. We're going to Buffalo man to do our thing," Gore told CBS Sports HQ NFL Insider Josina Anderson. "Tell them they better be ready -- trust me. I know what I'm raising. Folks slept on my son; they slept on me, too -- they'll see. My bloodline is for real. Our (pre-draft) testing was identical. All the scouts were like you can tell that's my son. I (expletive) with (Brandon) Beane. He's the real deal. I'm happy to get my son to this point. We're coming to play."

It may well be that Gore Jr. turns out to be a decent NFL back. But he's not likely to start ahead of James Cook in Buffalo any time soon.

And he's even less likely to pile up 16,000 career rushing yards.

SELL

Offensive linemen spend much of their careers colliding with equally massive defensive lineman in relative obscurity. Despite their importance to the success of an NFL team, O-linemen don't get big endorsement deals and television commercials.

However, while John Alt may not have been a household name, he had an outstanding career. A first-round pick of the Chiefs in 1984, Alt spent his entire 13-year career in Kansas City. Over that span he was named to two Pro Bowls, and Alt is a member of the Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Fame.

On one hand, it must have been quite the moment for John to see his son Joe (also a standout offensive tackle) selected as the first offensive lineman off the board in 2024. But it also had to be a little weird to see Joe drafted by an AFC West rival in the Los Angeles Chargers.

For his part, Joe said that it's going to feel strange walking into Arrowhead Stadium as "the enemy."

"That's going to be so weird," Alt told Chargers reporter Hayley Elwood. "Stepping into that stadium and there's my dad's name up there, it's going to be really weird, but also a really cool moment for me. What a full circle thing, being able to play the Chiefs, my dad's name up there, I'm on a different team, all that. It's going to be so exciting to be in that environment, so that's going to be one of those mental images I take and keep for a long time."

This is another instance where nothing is guaranteed—John Alt set a high bar for his son to clear. But from all indications, Joe is every bit the talent his father was—if not more so.

He probably has a long and successful career ahead of him.

BUY

There isn't a player on this list who has bigger shoes to fill in the NFL than Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Brenden Rice.

After catching 45 passes for 791 yards and 12 touchdowns at USC last year, the 6'2", 208-pound Rice was regarded by many draftniks (including Bleacher Report's Scouting Department) as an early Day 3 pick. But Rice fell all the way to Round 7 before the Chargers finally took a flier on him.

This did not sit especially well with Rice.

"Yesterday, I began to drop four rounds from where I was supposed to go," Rice said. "Today, I laid my brother to rest in Dallas. Trying to mourn, but also waiting for a phone call. I don't know what happened to make me drop but I'm glad God gave me the ability to focus on him and I felt as though God as well as Keith brought me back to Faith. Now begins the journey up the mountain once again. You will feel my pain."

We have seen more than a few players use a draft-day slide as motivation. But it's going to take a monumental amount of motivation for Rice to come within a light-year of what his dad accomplished over a Hall of Fame career with the San Francisco 49ers, Oakland Raiders and Seattle Seahawks.

Because Brenden's father is the Rice. Jerry Rice. The NFL's all-time leader in both career receptions and receiving yards. A 10-time first-team All-Pro. The greatest player in NFL history at his position. Maybe the greatest player in league history period.

Rice could become a fine NFL receiver. But all-time great is an awfully tall ask.

SELL

Luke McCaffrey enters the NFL trying to live up to a family double-whammy.

His father Ed spent 13 years in the NFL, mainly with the Denver Broncos. A third-round pick of the New York Giants in 1991, McCaffrey posted three straight seasons with 1,000 receiving yards while in the Mile High City, won three Super Bowls over his NFL career and was named to the Pro Bowl in 1998.

Ed has already had one son more than live up to that legacy—Christian McCaffrey is arguably the best running back in the NFL today. He is the reigning rushing king and Offensive Player of the Year, a three-time Pro Bowler and one of three players in league history to eclipse 1,000 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards in the same season.

A converted quarterback, Luke posted a 71/992/13 line last year as a wide receiver at Rice. He told reporters that he expects his father and brother to help him acclimate to the NFL.

"I think from switching positions, one of the things that I'm in a rush to get is as much experience as possible," he said. "And so, I'm in a position of blessings with people in my life who've had those experiences it helps me to kind of grow and learn from what they've been through too. I'm so thankful. I didn't earn those kind role models, those experiences that I get to learn from in my life because I didn't go through 'em. But to have those, those opportunities and those moments to learn from, you know, the people who I'm close with is such a blessing."

Luke actually ran a faster 40 at the combine (4.46 seconds) than his brother, but he's not as explosive as Christian or as big a target as his dad.

Still, the improvement he has shown in his development as a wide receiver has been impressive. It won't be a surprise if the latest McCaffrey to enter the league becomes a viable weapon in his own right.

BUY

To Terique Owens' credit, he told reporters before this year's draft that thanks to limited film and collegiate career that included stops at Contra Costa College, Florida Atlantic and Missouri state that he expected the 2024 draft to come and go without his name being called.

"I'm a late bloomer to this, so I see myself going as an undrafted free agent," Owens said, via Lindsey Pallares of the 49ers website. "Obviously, I have been working to get that opportunity to be drafted, but like I said, I'm a late bloomer. I've just been getting progressively better and hoping I will have the opportunity to get drafted."

Sure enough, the 6'3" 193-pound Owens, who caught 28 passes for 528 yards and 10 touchdowns a year ago, wasn't drafted. But he was signed by the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent, and his father (who knows a thing or two about playing wide receiver in the NFL) said that he thinks Owens has what it takes to stick in the NFL.

"Just to see where he is now, the progression that he's made even within just the end of last year, the last few games he had at Missouri State to where we are today, he's made leaps and bounds as far as becoming a really good receiver," Terrell Owens said.

Owens may well be an improved player relative to a year ago. But even with a father who is a legend in the Bay Area, Owens' chances of making San Francisco's 53-man roster aren't especially great.

Just making the team would be an achievement. Logging six trips to the Pro Bowl, racking up the third-most receiving yards in NFL history and making it to Canton like his pops would be a miracle.

SELL

Heading into the 2024 NFL Draft, Jeremiah Trotter Jr. was considered by many one of the best off-ball linebackers in his class and a likely Day 2 pick. But as so happens in the draft, Trotter Jr. fell all the way to the fifth round before the Philadelphia Eagles selected him.

Per Joseph Santoliquito of SB Nation, when the call finally came, Trotter's father had just one thing to say.

"It's time to go to work," Jeremiah Trotter Sr. said.

The elder Trotter knows quite a lot about "going to work" as a linebacker in the City of Brotherly Love. He spent 11 of his 12 NFL seasons with the Eagles, making it to four Pro Bowls and surpassing 100 total tackles half a dozen times. Trotter is a member of the Eagles Hall of Fame and a legend among Philly's fanbase.

The younger Trotter will wear the same No. 54 with the Eagles his father did. As he told reporters, it's something of a surreal time—but right now his focus is 100 percent on bringing the best version of himself to Philadelphia.

"I'm just focused on what I can control and that's me coming in, trying to be the best player I can, learning the defense and making sure I know what I'm doing, and being a good teammate," Trotter said. "I'm here to help the team any way I can and whatever role I'm put in, that's the role where I'm going to put in 100 percent effort."

Trotter is essentially a rangier, modernized version of his father. He shares his father's chip on his shoulder and hard-nosed physical style. Provided he can refine his coverage skills, Trotter could be one of 2024's better Day 3 bargains. He should be every bit the fan favorite his father was.

That he's literally following in his father's footsteps is just icing on the cake.

BUY

As the NFL has become more and more pass-heavy over the past 25 years, more and more players at the cornerback position have become stars. Over nine years in the NFL, Donnie Abraham never quite earned that title.

But as Adam Silvon wrote for Pewter Report, during his heyday with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Abraham was just that.

"He ranks second in team history in interceptions and was one of the more underrated cornerbacks during his time in the NFL," Silvon said. "He had five interceptions in five of his six seasons as a Buccaneer, and in 1999 paced all cornerbacks with seven interceptions, two touchdowns, and 25 pass deflections. Surprisingly, he was snubbed for the Pro Bowl that season but made it the following year by picking off another seven passes in 2000."

Playing opposite Ronde Barber probably didn't help Abraham's Q Score—but he was a Pro Bowler who had a very good professional career.

Abraham was a third-round pick out of East Tennessee State in 1996, but while his son Micah played at a slightly larger school (Marshall), it took until the sixth round and Pick No. 201 for the Indianapolis Colts to select the 5'11", 185-pounder.

Per George Bremer of CNHI Sports Indiana, Micah Abraham said that father made it clear that when he was drafted matters a lot less than what he does with the opportunity.

"His biggest thing was always just 'You're going to get an opportunity,'" Abraham said. "'You made plays. You have the film for it. You're gonna get the opportunity. It's not about when, but it's just about what you do with it when you get it.'"

Abraham has some of his father's ballhawking skills—over his last two seasons with the Thundering Herd, Abraham intercepted 10 passes. The Colts aren't especially stacked at cornerback, either.

But Abraham's lack of size could be a real problem in the NFL, and while his father was about the same size he was also a much better prospect entering the league.

He could prove us wrong, but Micah has the look of a special teamer and subpackage player more than an every-week starter.

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