A Look Ahead: Top Rebels to Watch for in the 2021 NFL Draft
The 2020 NFL Draft came and went without a single Ole Miss Rebel drafted. It's incredibly unlikely for that to happen two years in a row.
Since the turn of the century, Ole Miss has averaged one first round draft pick every other season. It's way too early to tell how high some of these rising draft-eligible players may be selected 12 months from now, but we do have a pretty good idea of who may hear their names called.
Following a year where he didn't get to hear his name called, but quickly was snagged up by the Miami Dolphins post-draft, former Rebel Benito Jones had some advice for that class in an interview with The Grove Report on Sunday.
"You have to make it to every meeting you can with every ball club," Jones said. "Keep your phone available and talk to everyone you can and keep a good relationships with everyone. Then work extremely hard during the season."
Jones didn't get to go through the standard pre-draft process due to the coronavirus pandemic, but next year's crop likely will. Here's the top draft-eligible Rebels to keep an eye on for the upcoming season and subsequent 2021 NFL Draft:
**reminder – to be draft-eligible, a player must be at least three-years removed from high school
5. Kenny Yeboah (TE, sr.)
A graduate transfer coming to Ole Miss from Temple, Yeboah will be immediately eligible to play in 2020. From 2016-2019 with the Owls, Yeboah made 11 starts at tight end, catching 47 balls for 538 yards and six touchdowns. Much of that production came in his final season at Temple, where he caught five touchdowns in 2019.
Ole Miss has been in dire need of tight end production since the Evan Engram days. Some of that was due to scheme – Dawson Knox was drafted in 2019 despite catching only 15 passes in his final Rebel season – but some has been due to a lack of quality talent at the spot. Yeboah will change that.
It's also worth noting that Lane Kiffin loves tight ends. In 2019, his final season at Florida Atlantic, Kiffin's starting tight end Harrison Bryant was the first Group of 5 player to ever win the Mackey Award, given to the nation's top tight end. Bryant caught 65 passes for 1,004 yards in the Kiffin offense last year and was drafted in the 4th round.
4. Lakia Henry (ILB, sr.) and MoMo Sanogo (ILB sr.)
Ole Miss' linebacker room is going to be incredibly deep this upcoming season. The top at the top of that list are a pair of seniors with Lakia Henry and MoMo Sanogo.
In his first year at Ole Miss in 2019 after transferring from the JUCO level, Henry started every game and led Ole Miss with 88 tackles. He also included 3.5 tackles for loss and a sack. Coming out of the junior college, he was rated the No. 3 overall junior college player by 247Sports.
Sanogo missed a good bit of the 2019 season after suffering a season-ending ankle injury during the second game of the season. As a sophomore in 2018, Sanogo finished third in the SEC in tackles per game with 9.3, becoming just the second Rebel of the past twelve years to record over 100 tackles in a season.
3. Ben Brown (OG, RS jr.)
After redshirting as a freshman in 2017, Brown has made every single start at right guard over the past two seasons. In 2018, he was one of only three freshman in the nation to start each game, being named to the SEC. All-Freshman team in a season where he totaled 10 knockdown blocks.
As a redshirt sophomore this past season, he played at both right guard and center, being used primarily as a guard. In 11 separate games in 2019, Brown did not allow a single sack.
2. Elijah Moore (WR, jr.)
Forgive the rising junior for his mental mistake in the Egg Bowl. That was six months ago and he's learned from it. It's in the past. Elijah Moore is simply the best wide receiver Ole Miss has, and he's likely to play a huge role in the Lane Kiffin offense in 2020.
Starting all 12 games for Ole Miss a season ago, Moore led the team in receptions (67), yards (850) and touchdowns (six). His 5.6 receptions per game posted 5th best in the Southeastern Conference, where he was named third team All-SEC by Althon. Moore did all this in a season where Ole Miss finished No. 11 in the SEC in passing.
1. Sam Williams (EDGE, sr.)
Here's a fun stat: in 2018, Williams' final year at Northeast Mississippi Community College, he recorded 28.5 tackles for loss and 17.5 sacks. There's a reason he was the No. 7 JUCO prospect in the nation by 247Sports. Sam Williams might be the best pure athlete on the Ole Miss team.
In his first year at Ole Miss, he was the one Rebel who could consistently get pressure no matter who he was going up against. In eight starts a season ago, Williams led the team in sacks with six, adding five more quarterback hurries and 9.5 tackles for loss.
Other players to keep an eye on: DB Jaylon Jones, DB Jon Haynes, DE Taquarius Tisdale, LB Jacquez Jones, DB Keidron Smith
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