CBS’ top 250 NFL Draft prospects board gives a look at which Mizzou football players have a shot at getting drafted.
This year’s NFL Draft could see a handful of Mizzou football players getting taken.
According to the CBS Sports 2020 NFL Draft Prospects rankings, there are five Tigers in the top 250. Those players are Jordan Elliott, Albert Okwuegbunam, Tre’Vour Wallace-Simms, Trystan Castillo-Colon and Yasir Durant. That list gives us a peak before the NFL Combine in which players are in the discussion so far.
On Friday, Peter Baugh of The Athletic reported quarterback Kelly Bryant is invited to the NFL Combine, which takes place Feb. 23-March 2.
Former #Mizzou and #Clemson quarterback Kelly Bryant received an invite to the NFL Combine, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
— Peter Baugh (@Peter_Baugh) January 31, 2020
Bryant played 10 games in 2019 and threw for 2,215 yards with 15 touchdowns and six interceptions.
As it stands right now, Bryant could be a late-round pick. There still is that question whether he changes positions at the next level, but one of the main reasons he came to Columbia was to improve his draft stock as a passer.
Elliott is the highest-rated player for Mizzou right now at No. 73. That is good for a third-round selection, which is where I would expect to see him go in the 2020 NFL Draft. But that all could change with his workouts, of course. Elliott is good enough to be a first-round pick, but his stats likely will land him in the second round at best.
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He has 5.5 career sacks, but had an outstanding 31 solo tackles this past year. He left Mizzou with a year of eligibility on the table, but that wasn’t a surprise. Elliott is the ninth-highest defensive linemen on CBS’ radar.
Before the season began, Okwuegbunam was looking to be a first-round pick. He has since slipped on most boards with updated rankings.
The early-entrant junior is listed at No. 114, which should place him around the fourth round for now. After combine and private workouts over the next few months, he could shoot back up to the second round, with a shot at getting back into first-round conversations.
But the position is a little deeper right now, even if there isn’t that slam-dunk first-round guy. Okwuegbunam is rated sixth on the list right now. The tight end played nine games in every season at Mizzou, and his least-productive year in terms of receptions and yards came in 2019, the first year he played without Drew Lock.
The trio of offensive linemen for Mizzou is where it gets interesting. The Tigers have Wallace-Simms, Colon-Castillo and Durant in this year’s draft who are included in the top 250.
Wallace-Simms is the most likely to get drafted as of now, but with guards, sometimes its easier for them to slip in the draft. Wallace-Simms could go as high as a third-round pick or undrafted. He is No. 146 on the list. Colon-Castillo came out early and it was somewhat of a surprise. Right now, the center is listed at No. 164. Durant could go anywhere between Rounds 3 or 7 for now, and the tackle is at No. 174.
Another player I’d expect to get drafted this year would be DeMarkus Acy. The senior cornerback was projected as high as a first-round pick last summer, but he is not listed on CBS’ rankings for now.
Depending on his pre-draft workouts, he probably goes anywhere from Round 2 to undrafted. That’s a wide span, but a lot still is up in the air.
The projections don’t mean much right now. A lot can chance over the next three months, but if this many players are in the discussion so far, that is good news for Mizzou football. The last time Missouri had six players go in the draft was 2015. You’d have to go back to 2009 to see six players’ names after that.