By: Burke De Boer Sports Editor
Mock drafts are often made into mockeries on draft day, which is now quickly approaching. The NFL draft begins on April 27, and college players from across the nation will look to make impacts on professional teams.
Since 2000, the only defensive players ever taken number one overall have been defensive ends. This year’s draft, according to scouts and projections across the sports media world, will continue this trend.
Conventional wisdom has Texas A&M phenom Myles Garrett being taken first overall. Which some consider a career death sentence, as the first overall pick belongs to the Cleveland Browns.
But Garrett’s not shying away from the challenge. He had an interview with “ESPN The Magazine” when his draft stock started blowing up where he issued a warning to the number one team in the draft.
“If you don’t draft me number one, I will punish your team for the next 10 or 12 years,” said Garrett.
It’s a threat that he can back up. Looking at the numbers, he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.64 seconds at the NFL Combine and he leapt to a 41-inch vertical. All this while weighing 272 pounds and standing 6 feet 4 inches tall.
But some people do have Garrett being passed by on the first pick, in favor of North Carolina quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. Trubisky’s stock has skyrocketed, which is interesting considering he only started for one year at North Carolina. He had an explosive year, but played in a spread offense that will require him to adapt if he’s expected to play in Cleveland’s system.
Two running backs are in consideration to be selected highly in the draft, which is something of a rare occurrence in this modern football era. The top of the draft tends to be reserved for the passing game, either getting it going offensively or getting after it on defense.
But Leonard Fournette and Christian McCaffrey are different beasts when it comes to rushers. Which is why some mock drafts have them going in the top 10. Both declared for the draft after only three years at their schools. Not only did they leave their old schools behind, they also left their teams hanging during bowl season and sat out their bowl games, as to not risk injury.
Fournette rushed for over 1000 yards as a first-year student at Louisiana State and turned in an even better sophomore performance. His junior year didn’t cross the thousand-yard threshold, but he’s still projected above McCaffery.
McCaffery led the nation in all-purpose yards in both of his last two years, notably breaking Barry Sanders’ record for most yards in a season. However, the Pac-12 athlete is evidently valued less than the SEC-raised Fournette, and McCaffery is projected lower all across the board.
Both players will prove assets to any team that takes them, but it’s unlikely that either would have breakout seasons like Ezekiel Elliott had with the Cowboys in 2016. The Cowboys had the best offensive lining in the country that they put Elliott behind.
Additionally, Dalvin Cook is being taken in the first round by many mock drafts. Unlike Fournette and McCaffery, Cook topped 1000 rushing yards in every season he played. His 145 rushing yards helped Florida State topple Michigan in last year’s Orange Bowl.
Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu
