NFL Draft Rankings: Big Board, No Commodores But That Means Nothing
The NFL Draft is fast approaching, and as the only real sporting event taking place soon, it has the attention of most football fans because it's all we've got that is new right now.
While there is speculation around the top players in the first round, there is also speculation around players in the other six rounds as draft pundits rush to share their latest mock drafts with fans.
While some of the mocks only predict the first round, or first three, others go all the way and cover the entire seven rounds, which is mostly fantasy at that point because of the variables that exist in the draft process.
For the Vanderbilt Commodores, fans know the names Ke'Shawn Vaughn, Jared Pinkney, and Kalijiah Lipscomb, who are all projected to be selected in the 4th through 6th round of the draft.
Pinkney, who many thought would be a first-round type player entering 2019, saw his stock plummet during the season and then took another shot when he ran slower than expected in testing at the Senior Bowl.
Lipscomb has been steady in his projections while helping himself somewhat in Mobile.
Vaughn, who will likely be the first of the trio selected has risen of late and could find himself moving out of the 4-6 range and making it as high as mid-third round according to one team scout who shared his thoughts this week.
Vanderbilt head football coach Derek Mason, appearing on a Nashville radio show on Friday, shared that he has spoken with coaches about both Pinkney and Lipscomb.
In his interview, Mason shared that he had spoken with the tight ends coach of the Houston Texans about Pinkney.
"We dug deep, and he came out of the conversation saying, 'Ok, that's what I wanted to know,'" Mason said.
Mason shared that he has also spoken with Eric Bieniemy, offensive coordinator of the Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs about Lipscomb.
As players, these former Commodores would likely be happy with wherever they might be selected, but Vaughn could well be the most pleased when all is said and done.
Rumors abound about the Tennessee Titans and their interest in Vaughn, a Nashville native who would play in his hometown if select by the Titans.
"We like Vaughn a lot," said one NFL scout on condition of anonymity. "But we where we have him, and from what we gather, the Titans are looking at him seriously, and they would pick before us in the round we would want him."
There are no guarantees for any of the three, but a future in the NFL for them is getting closer by the day.
