NFL Analyst Has 'Draft Crush' on Missouri Cornerback Ennis Rakestraw Jr.
After a historic 11-2 season, several Missouri football players have gained NFL Draft attention as eight of them were invited to the upcoming NFL Combine.
One player that's stood out as potentially the first Tiger to be selected is cornerback, Ennis Rakestraw Jr., who missed three games in his senior season but still logged 35 tackles. However, NFL scouts think highly of the cornerback due to his impressive junior year when he logged 12 pass breakups. Rakestraw has been considered a first or second-round pick in practically every mock draft as opposing receivers near him weren't targeted often.
ESPN NFL Draft analyst Matt Miller opened up Rakestraw on Tuesday and stated some bold claims.
“Rakestraw is my guy," Miller said. "That is my draft crush this year. I think all of us that do this for a living, we get a guy or two that you kind of light up when you get a chance to talk about them."
Miller first praised Rakestraw for his "fantastic" toughness at the line of scrimmage, and he started to notice this when Mizzou played LSU. The game ended up being the Mizzou's first loss of the season, but LSU's potent offense was ineffective on Rakestraw's side of the field.
"I go back and watch the LSU game all the time," Miller said. "LSU's offense absolutely crushed everybody they played but they threw at him only one time, it was incomplete and they never went back to him the rest of the game, despite having (wide receivers) Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas who are probably going to be top-20 picks. I think that speaks to his reputation and how talented he is."
Miller was also impressed with Rakestraw's toughness as he shut down some of the best receivers in the upcoming draft while nursing a core muscle injury that he had surgery for in December.
Miller has Rakestraw being selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars with the No. 17 overall pick in his mock draft, but he could also see the NFC Championship runner-up Detroit Lions grabbing him at No. 29 if he's still on the board.
“If you’re looking for a prototypical Detroit Lion-type player, that physicality at the line of scrimmage—he is a great tackler in space, as well, especially for not being the biggest guy. He's probably gonna come in at 6-foot, 190 pounds, maybe 195 if we're lucky.
“He’s not a strikingly physical player when you’re just looking at height, weight, strength, but he absolutely plays as one of the most physical corners in this draft or any draft. He’s right there with some of the best corners I’ve evaluated when playing at the line of scrimmage and using that physicality.”
